The CrossFit Open and Taking Risks

The road to the CrossFit Games has officially begun! For those not in the know, the road begins with the CrossFit Open. Over 100,000 athletes worldwide have registered to participate in the Open. Over the course of five weeks, a workout will be announced on Wednesday night, and competitors have until Sunday night to do the workout and submit a score. The top 48 men and women and 30 teams from each region will move on to the Regional Games in May and June. From there, the top 3 men, women, and teams will move on to the CrossFit Games in July. There is also a Masters division which is broken up into age groups for the more “mature” athlete (myself included!). The top 20 Masters worldwide go straight from the Open to the Games.

Jennifer being awesome!

The vast majority of people who sign up for the Open do not have a shot at the Games (myself included!). So why do we do it? I do it for the challenge. During the Open, I am faced with things that I have to do in a workout that I would normally not subject myself to. For example, the first workout just closed and included a ton of burpees and progressively heavier snatches. I have never snatched 100 pounds in a workout, but that’s what it called for, and guess what? I did it! Knowing that I had to submit a score made me take myself out of my little comfort zone and at least try to do something I had never done before.

Prior to the start of the Open, I read this great article,”Four Reasons Why Every CrossFitter Should Participate in the CrossFit Games Open” by Danette “Dizzle” Rivera. (Here’s the link- http://breakingmuscle.com/crossfit/four-reasons-every-crossfitter-should-participate-crossfit-games-open). I came across this great quote:

As adults, we suddenly believe that we are not allowed to fail at anything especially things that are supposed to be fun, so we avoid the risk of putting ourselves out there. Without that risk, we might not experience the biggest thrills.

Dylan snatching 135 pounds!

We have 8 athletes of all different levels of fitness participating in the CrossFit Open at ALL IN. With only one workout down, I have already seen the most amazing things as these athletes surprised even themselves with what they were able to accomplish. From a teenager who had only been CrossFitting for two weeks snatching 135 pounds multiple times to a 55-year-old woman repping out burpees like they were nothing, from a couple of Moms pushing themselves to their limits to a couple of dudes smashing personal records for new ones- it has been incredible to witness. These athletes will not make it to the Games this year. But I guarantee you they probably feel like they won the Games after exceeding the expectations they had probably placed on themselves.

How many things have you decided not to do because of your fear of failure? I have learned that it is those very things that create the fear of failure that can make you feel more alive than anything else. I cannot imagine going through life choosing to avoid those situations. Take those risks. You only have one life to live. The reward at the end can be so great!