Why Sign Up for the CrossFit Open?

Why sign up for the Open?
Boy oh boy, there’s a lot of discussion going on around the gym over this.
“It’s too competitive.”
“I PR’ed in things I never thought I would.”
“There are muscle-ups. No effing way.”
“Greg Glassman is rich enough.” (Fair argument.)
“It’s so freaking electric.”
“Again… there are muscle ups.”
I’m signing up. Again. And I’d like to share my reasons why, and I’m hoping you’ll decide to join me.
This is my 4th Open. Over the years, there were several events where my score was 1. Or 0. But I tried my damnedest.
But last year’s Open changed, and it changed me.
The 2015 Open introduced a scaled option. In other words, there are 2 workouts: the Rx (which is required in order for you to move on to Regionals – which, by the way – NONE of you are doing. Get over it.), and the scaled. Oh wait… that sounds like a regular class at Second Wind CrossFit.
You can chose which workout you do. No mistake, even the scaled workouts were hard, for me, at least. For others, they were easier, and trying to do the Rx made more sense.
Here’s why you should consider signing up:
1. Now, there’s something for everyone. And without the Open, you would just be doing one of those workouts on Friday morning anyway. That’s what we schedule for 5 straight weeks. So why not see your name on a real leader board, just for the heck of it.
2. Don’t like to be competitive here at the gym? Consider being competitive with some mook in South Carolina. That’s what Gayle and I did last year. After the first week’s scores, we zeroed in on Females, in our age range, who could clean and jerk about the same as us.
In other words: we found our match. And we tracked ourselves against those chicks for 5 weeks. Gayle actually found a gym-owner’s wife who coached, was the same age, and probably could have exchanged clothes. It was a fun competition without the other person knowing. It gave me a goal – someone to beat. And I’m not  competitive.
3. You’ll PR. I promise. You’ll PR on SOMEthing. Every year, someone gets a muscle up. Last year, I PR’ed a couple workouts, but the one I most remember was 15.1. We did that WOD last week. At the end, you had 6 minutes to do your heaviest C&J. I got 80. Never did that. PR. But then I missed 90. I dreamt about that 90 all year. I dreamt about getting under the bar. Last week I got 97.5. I’m hoping to get 100 during the Open. I wouldn’t be that far without last year’s Open.
4. It’s a party on Friday night, with athletes running in waves. Steve and Colby orchestrate an incredible event. You may get asked to judge. You will probably have to ‘no rep’ a friend. And it’ll feel good, because you now understand why it matters. You’ll see CrossFit in a whole new light.
5. Your own training will change after the Open. You’ll have new respect for the WODs. You won’t complain as much because you know you’ve done harder. You’ll start understanding the difference between rowing for meters or calories (and why your damper changes). You’ll start strategizing your daily workouts. You’ll recognize what foods work for you. You’ll change. Period.
6. You’ll do something you never did. You can’t say that every day. You must register before Sunday. 16.1 is announced Thursday night. Friday morning, we’ll do the WOD. Friday Night Lights is 5pm-8pm, with the 16.1 workout running in waves. Makeups on Saturday at 11am. Record your score by Sunday.
Do it. It’s a freaking blast.