5 Tips on Preparing for the 2014 CrossFit Open

2014 CrossFit Open is about to begin - Image from games.crossfit.com

The 2014 CrossFit Open begins on Feb 27, 2014. If you are smart, you will have begun preparations. Here are some tips on what you might want to focus on...

Are you excited? I am. I love the Open season. I love the competition, the camaraderie, the workouts and I really love watching the elite go through their paces. For all the haters out there, I think CrossFit HQ do a fairly good job. It is hard to cover for every eventuality and I think each year is getting better.

Here are some of my tips on how to prepare for this year's Open.

1. Know the movements of the previous 3 years.

These are the movements that have made up the previous 16 Open workouts (there were 6 workouts in 2011)

Each movement has its own article...to read it in a new window, just click on it!

• Burpees – regular and bar-facing
• Box Jumps
• Chest-to-bar Pullups
• Clean and Jerk (and variations)
• Deadlifts
• Double-Unders
• Muscle Ups
• Push Ups
• Overhead Squats
• Shoulder to Overhead
• Snatch (and variations)
• Thrusters
• Toes-To-Bar
• Wall Balls

2. Work on your weaknesses

Knowing these movements won't guarantee they will be in the 2014 Open but past experience has shown that CrossFit HQ likes to repeat workouts, combine workouts or play with variations of the same movements.

e.g.

• Open Workout 13.1 was 12.1 and 12.2 combined
• Open Workout 11.6 and 12.5 were the same
• Open Workout 12.4 and 13.3 were the same
• Open Workout 13.5 was a variation of 11.6 and 12.5 - Thrusters and CTB Pullups
• Open Workouts 11.2, 12.3 and 13.2 were very similar

You can try to guess what they are going to do in the 2014 Open but the whole idea of CrossFit is the Unknown and Unknowable...to be prepared for anything, right? But there are only so many movements and exercises they can use that is easily videoed for judging online...don't expect a 400m run to be in there! There haven't been any kettlebells or dumbbells used so far...maybe a debut in 2014 - or too hard to judge standards?

3. There is still enough time to work on your technique and strength

If you have a plateau or if the weights of previous years are near your 1RM, then drop back the weight, work on your technique and strength and you will be right come Open time.

You can read about my Front Squat improvements here...

4. Ask your coach to be brutally honest and tell you what you need to do to improve!

Your coach knows what you need to do. Quite often, I see people ignoring their coach, their cues and instruction. It is time to check that ego at the door and listen to your coach. Put in the extra bit of work. It pays off. Spend 15mins after your class on flexibility, stability, strength or technique. There is still time.

5. Take care of your niggles NOW

As a Physical Therapist, I can help you get rid of those niggles, improve your technique, help your coach work out why you can't do what they want you to do and basically be your legal performance enhancer. But I need time to help you. You need time to put it into practice.

Trying to fix niggles and pain you have had for 6 months the week before the Open is really hard to do. Even worse is at Regionals and you tell me you have a problem and you are about to do a Chipper workout. The best I can do is patch you up to get through it.

If you really want to do well, then get in early to see your favourite therapist and get it sorted NOW.

If you want to see me in Sydney Australia, then go to www.myphysios.com.au and book in there. Contact me if you want a Skype consultation - I don't take your money unless I feel I can help you via Skype!

So get to it people - let me know if you have any other tips by leaving a comment below 🙂

Keep your eyes peeled for more posts about how to improve for each workout 🙂