Upper East Side

Ah, the CrossFit Open! The one time a year where the entire CrossFit world is throwing down with the same workouts. It’s also the time of year you get to test yourself against your fellow athletes, get to see your coaches huff and puff too, and see where you rank against CrossFitters across the globe. This year, there are A LOT of changes to the CrossFit Games season but one thing remains true — the CrossFit Open is still here for the community!

The Open provides all of us with a unique test of everything we’ve been working on for the last year, while allowing us to compete from the comfort of our home gyms. If you’re new to CrossFit, the Open provides you with an opportunity to see what you CAN do and where you can go in the next year. For those who take the competition route, it’s an opportunity to earn a spot at the CrossFit Games and prove your fitness on the world stage.

WHAT IS THE OPEN?
The Open is a five-week long event that’s been around since 2011. In 2019, we’ll see two CrossFit Opens for the first time and see where the Open will take place for future years. This year, the first Open will run from February 21 to March 25. After the conclusion of the 2019 CrossFit Games (July 29 – August 4), the second Open and NEW annual time slot will be in late August (official dates coming soon).

Whether you’re a competitive athlete or just enjoy getting stronger and fitter, the Open has always been an opportunity to show yourself what you can do.

Every Thursday at 8 p.m. EST, that week’s workout — and accompanying standards — is announced by CrossFit HQ through a “live announcement.” In the past, CrossFit has brought on celebrity CrossFitters such as Samantha Briggs, Rich Froning, and numerous others to throwdown and be the first post some pretty crazy scores. You have from 8 p.m. on Thursday evening, when the workout is announced, until the following Monday at 5 p.m. EST to submit your score to the CrossFit Games website. This theme continues throughout the 5 weeks.

WHAT IF I’M NEW TO CROSSFIT?
Hats off to you! You should participate in the CrossFit Open. This is an opportunity to show you can do and possibly impress yourself by learning a new skill or hitting a PR along the way. The Open is meant to challenge you and put obstacles in your way. It’s up to you — with guidance from our awesome coaches at EVF Performance to help get you over those obstacles the best way YOU can.

Scaling is always an option and is encouraged by us here at EVF. We want to make sure you enjoy your time and don’t put too much stress on your performance. It’s a time to learn and find your limits so we know what to tackle in the following year of training!

This is also a great opportunity to get some personal attention through 30-minute skill sessions and 60-minute training sessions with a coach. These sessions are hugely beneficial when it comes to learning a new skill (looking at you toes to bar, double unders and muscle ups) as you get all eyes on you, individual feedback, and homework to help you get to the next level of skill sooner!

WHAT SHOULD I CHANGE FOR THE OPEN?
Short answer: Nothing!

Long answer … The last thing you want to do is make changes to your diet and/or training during the Open. Our programming at EVF already caters to your participation in the Open. We dial back the overall volume and intensity day to day and try our best to set you up for success on Fridays. What you may find during the Open is that you feel really good, rested, and ready for more. Great! SAVE THAT ENERGY for your Open workout attempt! That extra energy is going to be begging you to come to open gym and put 10 to 20 minutes into some ring muscle-up practice, but do you best to say no and get after the class workouts each day, rest on Thursdays, and get after each Open workout on Fridays.

Whether you just started with us or are a CrossFit veteran, we encourage you to sign up and take on the Open. Now is the time to challenge yourself, support your fellow athletes, and see how powerful it can be to connect with the worldwide CrossFit community. See for the first workout this Friday!