CrossFit Open Inspiration

ERIN

You’re never “too new” to do the Open. Consider it your baseline and watch yourself grow every year!

Of course it’s scary. But being surrounded by your supportive gym friends gets you through and you feel like a major bad ass after every WOD.

This is my fifth year doing the Crossfit Open (Scaled Represent!) and I wouldn’t miss it for anything. It’s my annual baseline to see how I’ve grown as an athlete and I always surprise myself.

The Open lights a fire in you like nothing else: every year I find myself lifting more weight or finally seeing a few reps of a skill I didn’t know I had.

ANNE

“Prior to joining Bluprint I didn’t even know that you could participate in the CrossFit Open as non Rx athlete. My old gym participated, but if you weren’t performing at an Rx level you were invited to come cheer on those that were, not compete. Imagine my surprise last year when I learned that there was an option for me to participate as well. I knew that I wouldn’t be winning any prizes, but as a former collegiate athlete and age grouper triathlete participating in the open gave me a outlet for my competitive side. (I would be lying if I said I didn’t check the standings weekly!)

I had no idea what I was in for when the open started, but I was nervous each week for what was ahead. It was like being on the starting line at a race all over again. It’s amazing how 20 minutes of work can shatter you, yet leave you with such a great feeling of accomplishment. I also love that Bluprint embraces the open as a community. Not only do you compete, but you score for others and when you’re not doing that everyone sticks around to cheer on their friends. The other great takeaway, was that I was able to meet people that don’t workout at “my time”, it was great being introduced to so many other people and I am happy to now call them friends.

JOHANNA

I would simply say that its a great way to see how much progress you have made physically and mentally throughout the year. Even if you didn’t set goals, you will likely surprise yourself at how tough you are. It has also been a really fun experience to go through with the BP crew. Working hard with friends is the most fun.

PEGGY

Whether you finish first or last, there is always a group of people cheering you on. That alone was huge to me. There were days I was discouraged, feeling like I could’ve done better, but I realize that’s natural. It was motivating to see everyone tackling the workouts at different levels, and although they were challenging, we all got them done.

This year, I am super excited to participate again since I know I’ve come a long way. Weightlifting was something I was never comfortable with, and I still struggle, but I know my coaches have set me up for success. The energy in the gym is awesome on those Saturdays and I can honestly say it’s empowering. In the end, it’s just another CrossFit workout with even more support from the BluCru. It really is a ton of fun.

Thats my feedback from an “Okay” CrossFitter!

TYLER

Athletes of all capabilities are welcomed and supported during the 5 week competition. I have seen amazing feats by athletes of all capabilities in our gym community. It truly is a chance for the Gym Community to come together and share pains, successes, and experiences in an extremely fun environment.

KYLE

The Open is a surefire way of humbling yourself. If you have weaknesses they will certainly be exposed. Each year is a new opportunity to grow. #reigningchamp

SELBY

The open is a great way for you to see the benefits of you putting in work everyday throughout the year.

Whether its gymnastics, weightlifting, or just grinding, every year is a chance to get better. If you’re an everyday “cross fitter” just looking to grind, this is the only time you will get to work at this intensity. Take it.

DOUG

CF Open workouts are always tough and ive never regretted them…except that one with the thrusters & burpees. F that one.

Sign-Up

DAN

I have found the open to be an exciting and humbling event that helps to show you how you have improved year over year. It also shows you how much room you have to improve and how you compare with others outside our gym.

Also, the gym atmosphere during the open provides additional excitement and motivation to push yourself beyond what you normally would do.

Finally, what else do you have to do on Saturday mornings in the middle of winter?

BECKY

“If you’re feeling the pressure, just think of the Open as a regular CrossFit class with your friends & take one movement at a time. I realized no one cares how long it takes you to finish, no one cares that you have to scale back a little, everyone cares that you push yourself to do the best you can and have fun with it.”

ELIZABETH

The Open really “opened” my eyes last year, so to speak. Going into it for the first time was intimidating – I didn’t think I had the strength or skills necessary to participate.

Each week, it became clear that all workouts truly are scalable for any skill level, while at the same time, pushing you to lunge, wall ball and thruster farther than you thought you could. Every workout announcement brings anxiety and nerves, but that is quickly outweighed by the exhilaration of completing the workout and kicking its butt.

I’d encourage everyone to take the plunge and sign up!

SCOTT

I was an athlete my whole life and I really enjoyed competition but lost that when my career started to take over. It wasn’t until Bluprint opened my eyes to the CrossFit Open that I realized this was a perfect way to get some of that competition back not only against myself, my gym pals, but essentially the entire world. In my head I hold myself accountable to get better every year and that has really helped my overall health as it forces you to do better in your nutrition, sleep, workouts etc.

BYRON

For those of you who are super busy and only have time to read the first part of this CF Open Testimonial – I’ll explain my past experiences like this:

Empowering

Inspiring

Challenging

Fun

Eye Opening

For those of you who’d like to know the whole truth – here it is.

For years I’d been working within my “comfort zone” not being challenged enough to create real change – both physically and mentally. I’d go about doing the workouts that I liked, punch the clock at the gym, and get on my merry way.

I participated in my first CF Open workout in 2012…7 minutes of Burpees.

Yes, it was the first time since childhood I felt like I had asthma again, but it was also the first time since college football that I felt challenged. Once I recovered from the “what the f*ck did I just do” sensation following the workout – I immediately had a series of thoughts:

I’m a badass!

What did my friends get in this workout?

How would I do that workout differently next time to improve?

What’s the next workout?

And finally, I don’t need to do burpees for a couple of weeks 🙂

You see, it only took a 7-minute workout to CHANGE MY LIFE and the way I viewed exercise as a whole. It’s about more than just completing 5 workouts. It’s about surprising yourself by what YOU can accomplish. It’s about inspiring and being inspired by hard working peers. It’s about stepping outside of that cubical lifestyle of corporate America and doing something that invigorates your soul.

And that’s exactly what participating in the CrossFit Open is all about. You’ll be empowered, inspired, challenged, and feel like a complete badass because you are the 1% of this world who gives a sh*t about yourself.

Here’s to the 2018 CrossFit Open.

RACHEL

“I look forward to the Open because it’s an opportunity to add another element of challenge and commitment to your workout routine. For five weeks you’ll put yourself out there to compete in an encouraging and supportive environment. Each week you’ll be motivated by your peers to step up your game and work even harder. You’ll kick off the weekend on a positive note, feeling energized and proud of what you accomplished. You definitely don’t want to miss out on the fun!”

MAURA

CLAIRE

“Doing the Open is fun because it feels more like a competitive sport and less like just working out. I like the workouts because they’re always new and different from what you do in the gym day-to-day, and they are always the hardest workouts of the year. The Open workouts naturally push you to work harder and faster than you thought you could and I get such a sense of accomplishment when I complete one of these workouts.”

LEIGHA

“Are the workouts in the CrossFit Games tough? Yes. Intimidating? Somewhat. Will you be worn out and sore? More than likely. However, I never felt more motivated to “do better” than I did during and after the CrossFit Games. You get the opportunity to workout with many athletes that you are familiar with and meet athletes you may not know as well because they workout at different times. All these athletes will support you and motivate you during the open. It was so amazing for me to see others perform and push themselves to do their best. It pushed me to work harder during and after the games. The games made me think about how I wanted to improve as an athlete, and I truly believe I was more motivated to improve as an athlete than I ever was after the games ended.”