We are coming to that time in the year again when we all start spouting off about the Open.  What is the Open I hear some of you cry, is it a golf tournament or is it Anthony’s open door policy? No, it’s the CrossFit 2019 Open. Here is a brief breakdown for you boys and girls who aren’t fully down with the who, the where, the what and the why of the CrossFit Games. 

The Open is the first stage of the games and its online results format allows people to participate against each other from all over the world. A worldwide online ranking will select athletes to go on to one of the 8 Regional competitions(the second stage) followed by the final stage, where 100 finalists take part in the Games themselves.

It’s pretty amazing to see how it has grown in size and popularity (and sponsorship). I remember the first CrossFit Games competition, held in Aromas California in 2007. It was a good old grassroots, spit and sawdust, lifting in the garage with workouts pulled out of a hat affair. There were no professional athletes and almost anyone could and did take part.

So, what will we be doing down at Momentum Training during this time?

Thursday night for 5 weeks starting on the 21st of February us CF nerds will be pushing our refresh button on the CF games site to see what the workout will be for that week (the workouts are helpfully named 19.1-19.5) and what surprises the Open is going to throw at us to test how generally physically prepared we really are. Then we will bore each other for a few days working out the best tactic for the workout and then also slagging it off because we didn’t do very well and it didn’t play to our strengths.

When the workouts are posted there is an RX version, this means as prescribed or the full monty. There are also scaled versions and we – your team – will also breakdown the workouts and offer some guidance, tactics and also stress the scales that might work best for you. Historically many people, despite usually being sensible in the gym, have just tried to RX the Open workouts and we have had a number of injuries on muscle ups, walking lunges, deadlifts and more. Please listen to your coaches, not your testosterone levels. This is not dick swinging club so remember, safety first, please. Safety never takes a day off.

We will be holding the workouts every Sunday during the CrossFit classes. The Open will begin starting on 24th February 2019. This will involve doing the Open workout for that week with your fellow gym buddies and coaches (if the workout suits them), recording your scores online if you have entered and then having a shandy afterwards. If this doesn’t tickle your fancy we will also be offering a team smash and grab workout similar to the individual one.

If you’re looking to register, make sure you search for us under “CrossFit Hackey”. Both Claudia and Josh will be the coaches that will verify your scores.

Come on down and have a go, it’s a laugh.

This week we’re talking consistency, like the kind where you show up, put in the work and get results at the end. Some have asked why we are sticking to the same A’s and B’s in the programming for a month. The simplistic answer is that with consistency, we develop specific skills, and in the end get more work done. When changing programming week in and week out we never really do accomplish much. A little bit like trying to pee and poo at the same time, not much really happens.

We’re building to bigger and better things here and they take time, like a fine bottle of red. If we show up, follow the tempo, reps and rest, and record the weights lifted to have a base to build from, we will see improvements week on week. Although a random approach would still get you a great workout, the progression will be less.

With the CrossFit Open commencing on the 21st Feb we will be holding the workouts during the Sunday CrossFit sessions. We will be making this more inclusive this year. For those who wish to submit their scores, you will need to sign up here. These people will be judged, scored and verified according to the CrossFit Open rules. For those people who aren’t fussed about scoring, we will be modifying the workout into teamwork so that you still get a great class without having to compete.  For those wondering what the hell this is all about you can read here.  At the end of the day, we want people to come in, have fun and walk away with a smile on their face. This will be an all-welcoming workout that anyone can take part in. Come stop by and see what all the fuss is about.

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