Preparing for the CrossFit Open
Written by Conquer Athlete Coach Chris Rudnick
Preparing for the unknown is, and will always be, a challenge. In a sport that prides itself on being unpredictable, our preparation has to be thoughtful and very carefully curated. If it isn’t, we will be wasting our time chasing a thousand things, making little to no progress at all. Doing for the sake of doing can only get you so far.
Here are some ways that coaches and athletes can prepare themselves for the CrossFit Open. This is definitely not exhaustive, but will surely help to get you focusing on what will put YOU in the best position to perform at your best. As always, having a Coach to help guide you through the X’s and O’s will always be your best resource, but for now, let’s call this a close second.
Step One: Understand what The Open Tests
The CrossFit Open is the great equalizer. It doesn’t matter who you are, you are able to participate and “throwdown” with everyone in the CrossFit Community. This is important because this means that the programming is typically based on “inclusivity.” With that said they do try to throw in a movement or two to tease out the elites from the average-joes, but overall these workouts are meant to be more accessible then any other stage in the CrossFit season.
From looking at previous Opens there are a few things we know we can expect:
Lower skilled movements
Easy to judge movements
Relatively lighter weights
7-20 Minute time domains
Right away this tells me that I probably don’t need to be too focused on something like Pegboards to be successful in the Open. I also know that developing my aerobic capacity will be something that can separate me from the rest during the workout.
What else do we know?
Well thankfully CrossFit releases an equipment list to help us get oriented to what some of the movements may be. Typically we don’t see things like sleds, sandbags or ski ergs due to gyms not always having the space to house these implements.
Well then… what do we see?
Below is a list of commonly used pieces of equipment that we’ve seen year after year in the Open. Understanding this list is another great way to help organize your preparation. Be warned, the second we think we know anything, is the second CrossFit throws us for a loop. So don’t crucify me if there is something added that isn’t included in this list.
Rowing
Dumbbells
Boxes
Barbells
Wall Balls
Jump Rope
Pull-Up Bar
Wall-Space
I think that list can be very helpful, but we can do better. We’ve had more than a decade worth of Opens and if we’ve learned anything it’s that CrossFit likes to test a lot of the same movements, year in and year out. If you’ve done more than a couple opens then you know that we’re going to see movements such as:
Thrusters, Burpees, Box Jumps, Wall Balls, Pull-Ups, Toes to Bar; Rowing, Burpees, DB Movement.
Those movements have been in over 60-70%+ of the Opens with some included in close to 90%. If that doesn’t tell you that you need to pay close attention to those exercises then you need to take a hard look in the mirror.
Step Two: Decide where you are weakest as an athlete
To do your best you need to have a strong sense of what your strengths are and what your weaknesses are. Once those are known you have to take the time to develop your weaknesses the best you can. How you approach this will be dependent on the time you have before the Open. Ideally 1-2 training cycles will be most practical to get best results. If you don’t have that kind of time then I suggest you focus on two things going into the workouts.
Pacing
Nothing is won in the first round. In order to do well at these workouts you have to decide what you think is a tough but manageable pace, stay there until you’re close to the end and then give that final kick. Really take advantage of your warm up so that you can decide what that pace might be for you. If you don’t and go in without a plan, you’re likely to hit that threshold way too early and as a result your performance/score will suffer.
Movement Efficiency
The smoother we move the more energy is conserved. Take time to work on cycling the dumbbell and barbell. Work on all the different ways you can complete a burpee or a box jump …. or a burpee box jump. Make sure that the movement style doesn’t just reflect the workout, but more importantly what you’re capable of doing in an efficient manner.
There are plenty of other things you could potentially focus on, but when your time is crunched, having your eye on those two things will definitely yield great results.
Step Three: Nutrition, Sleep, Mindset
In the days and weeks leading up to the Open you MUST be prioritizing your nutrition, sleep, stress and general mindset. If you are not then you have already lost out on the chance to perform at your best. These things cannot be touched just the day or two before. For the body to really appreciate the effects of these things, it takes time.
Nutrition:
Make sure you are getting enough quality calories, specifically the macro and micronutrients that support good health and performance. Use a food tracker to help make clear whether or not you are hitting your needs. If you aren’t then you have time to make the necessary adjustments. Also, drink more water.
Sleep:
Sleep needs to be adequate. Just because you think you can perform great on 5-hours of sleep doesn’t mean you actually are. The body needs 7-8 hours of sleep each night to fully restore and recover from everything done during the day. Start the habit now of getting enough sleep so that you are in an optimal state on competition day. One “catch-up” night of sleep doesn’t make up for a week worth of under-sleeping.
Mindset:
If you’re not in the right mindset leading into the Open, then you are destined to fail. One of my favorite quotes is “expectations dictate realities” which pretty much means if we think we’re going to do bad, then we’re more likely to do bad. Preparation helps tremendously to cultivate a positive mindset, but in addition to the gym work, you should also be self-reflective on the other areas of your life.
Stress from those other areas can bleed into performance so make sure you are managing, or at the very least, compartmentalizing, any stress caused from work, family or your social life.. Journaling, meditation, faith are all methods or ways in which you can start reconciling these stressors.
Summary:
Preparation matters. What you do day in and day out matters. It’s never too late to do something that can help you to perform at your best. It’s a matter of taking whatever time you have and being very deliberate with it. CrossFit tries to keep us on our toes every single year, and they are pretty good at it, but that doesn’t mean we can’t at least try to outsmart them. Take what I included in this blog post and try to implement it into your day to day and watch it help YOU to do the best that YOU can during the Open.
