The Open is finally upon us! Hopefully you’ve already signed up to compete in this year’s intramural Aevitas Open. If not – go do it NOW! To receive a T-shirt you must register HERE by Friday, February 10th!!
Whether you’ve signed up to compete in the CrossFit Open, the Aevitas Open, both, or neither, we’ve rounded up a few helpful tips to make sure these next three weeks go as smoothly as possible, and you can get the most out of this annual test. Keep reading to learn about all the ways you can make this year your best Open year ever!
Tip #1 – Get Your Schedule in Order
We will be “officially” completing the Open workouts during Friday classes, just like previous years. If you can make your schedule work to come in and complete the workout on Friday with everyone, do it!
Not only will this ensure that you get a proper warm-up, strategy tips, etc. but this will also allow you to feed off the magic energy of the Open, competing with your fellow gym buddies to win the day!
Completing the workout on Friday with the group also ensures that you get it done, instead of having to coordinate a make-up time.
If for any reason you can’t make it to Friday’s class, please let a coach know as soon as you can, so you can plan when to come in and complete the workout for the week. Whether you are signed up for the CrossFit or the Aevitas Open, submission time is the same – Monday evening at 8:00 PM
Tip #2 – Get Your Gear in Order
You know how you keep saying that you need a new pair of wrist wraps? Or how about the fact that you keep leaving your jump rope at home and need to borrow one every workout? It’s time to get your gear together and bring it to the gym!
And what great timing, we just completed the cubby clean-out, so all open cubbies in the gym are up for grabs! Just gather your items that you know you might want in the gym for a specific workout (jump rope, wrist wraps, grips, knee sleeves, lifting shoes, etc.) and claim your spot!
Also, if you had something in a cubby that got cleaned out, let a coach know what you’re missing! We have the items stashed away for the time being (but not for very long!)
Tip #3 – Get your LIFE in Order!
Just kidding, kind of…
What we mean by this is, now is a great time to check in on all the lifestyle factors that happen outside the gym, that contribute to your ability to perform inside the gym.
Sometimes we just need a reason to do this anyway, so why not now?! Here are some things to ask yourself:
- Are you getting enough sleep each night? A good rule of thumb is to try to be in bed for 8-9 hours every night. We realize this isn’t going to work for everyone and every situation but getting closer to that goal is ideal. Maybe it’s time to reevaluate your bedtime routine, or put your phone in another room to avoid midnight doom-scrolling
- Are you fueling your body well? Try to fill yourself up with lots of healthy fruits and vegetables, and enough protein to support your exertion
- How about that water intake? We recommend taking half of your bodyweight(in pounds) and try to get that many ounces of water each day. So a 200-lb person would want to aim for 100 oz of water each and every day (plus more for exercise). Check in and see how close you are!
- How’s your headspace? Check in with your current stress level, etc. If something is eating at you day and night, chances are you’re not going to be able to fully recover and be ready to give each week’s workout your very best.
Tip #4 – Plan Your Weekly Workouts Appropriately
With any athletic event, it’s important to know how hard to push your workouts leading up to the big day! Luckily, a lot of the strategy for workout intensity and volume is built into our programming, since we plan to hit each Open workout on Friday. However, from an athlete’s perspective, it’s also important that you keep tabs on your energy exertion leading up to your Open workout.
This might mean going hard on Sunday through Tuesday workouts, then tapering your intensity or taking a rest day Wednesday or Thursday. Depending on how the actual Open workout goes for you, you may also want to consider taking some more rest over the weekend than you normally would, so that you’re ready to attack next week’s challenge.
Tip #5 – READ the Open Workout Ahead of Time!
Novel idea, we know! But checking in with the workout each week before you come to the gym is a great way to make sure you fully understand what’s coming. The workouts will be posted on Thursday night each week, and you can find the workout along with all of the movement requirements and scaling options at games.crossfit.com
If you don’t have time to check, or you know checking the workout will skyrocket your WOD anxiety – no worries! The coaches will have a plan that will get you the best workout possible, and will be able to answer any and all questions. However the more prepared you are and the fewer questions that need answering, the more time we can spend preparing for the workout itself
The other great reason to check in with the workout ahead of time, is that knowing the workout requirements will allow you to understand the judging requirements. We will all be judging for one another during class (and if you choose to complete the workout at another time, you will also need to find a judge). Knowing what a good rep and no-rep looks like will help make sure you’re able to judge correctly!
OK so now that we’ve gotten all of that out of the way, let’s go have fun, shall we?! We are really excited about the Open this year and can’t wait to see everyone learn and grow and (hopefully) just have a blast!
See you in the gym!
