CrossFit Open Prep for Any Goal
Written by Kirsten Ahrendt
I applaud your courage and your effort! I imagine you had some fun, while simultaneously trying something new, scary, or difficult, like a skill you were uncertain of, an intimidatingly heavy weight, or a pace that seemed unreasonable. Congrats – you faced fear!
CrossFit Open Prep Plan
If you are now inspired to shore up weaknesses so that you can improve your performance next year – or even if you didn’t participate this year, but would like to be capable of the skill and strength to do so next year – now is the time to begin training with intention, focus, and a plan.
Identify Your CrossFit Weaknesses
You can pretty easily identify what your weak points are by answering a few questions:
- Were you missing a skill (like bar muscle-ups or pull-ups)?
- Were you missing mobility (like overhead in order to perform a wall walk)?
- Was a weight too heavy for you to move repeatedly or at all? (deadlift, thruster)
- Did you run out of steam and endurance during the 15-Minute AMRAP in 22.1?
Identifying Where You Are in CrossFit
When charting a path towards what we want to achieve, it helps to begin with an objective idea of “where we are”. There’s a cool website called “Beyond the Whiteboard” that puts data and analysis from scores from the Open into a graph. If you really want to improve, take a look at the bell curve on these graphs. Where do you fall? And what skills do you need to develop (strength, skill, or capacity) to move the needle forward?
The CrossFit Open is Not My Focus or Purpose for Training…Now What?
If you did the Open workouts “just for fun” or they were “just another workout” for you, you’re not alone! Did you know that less than 5-10% of our gym population is interested in competing in CrossFit?
When we recognize what we’re not interested in spending time and energy on it creates clarity for what we actually DO want to apply our energy and focus towards. I’m not sure who needs to hear this, but let me state it:
You can train at Invictus, a gym with a serious history in CrossFit, and have no desire to do, compete, or pursue the sport of CrossFit!
Using Your CrossFit Fitness Outside the Gym
In fact, you’re part of the silent majority of our gym population. Many of our coaches use the fitness they gain in our gym to pursue other activities – such as Brazilian Ju Jitzu, mountain biking, hiking, trail running, and tossing their kids around.
Share your perspectives on how to explore fitness outside of the “box” in the comments!
Invictus Athlete Programs
Whether you want to train for the sport of CrossFit (The Open) or for your adventures and life outside of the gym, we have both in-person and online program options to suit your needs!
