As promised, I wanted to have some of our own members share with you their experience of participating in the open.
There are many reasons why members think The Open is not for them or something they are not capable of participating in. Those reasons vary from limited ability to perform certain skills, not feeling they have been doing the sport long enough, too old or too young, not competitive, just here for the community, and on and on and on.
This week here are three testimonies touching on why age should not be a reason to not do The Open. And some pretty great reasons for encouragement to participate not just in the workout but on a team with your fellow members.
Meet Susan:
“Hi! My name is Susan, I am 68 years old and typically come to the 4PM class, and I have been doing CrossFit for 6 years. Last year was the first year I did the Open. I participated to see where I was with my fitness and to have fun with my crossfit friends. I was very nervous, anxious, and questioning my decision even as I was doing it. But the coaches all encouraged me/us to just do our best. The work outs were modified to each person’s ability and the scores were “only numbers” but I felt I did my best. Of course when it was done I felt great accomplishment and a part of the group!! The best thing about The Open is the camaraderie with the whole gym. Everyone is in the same boat! Everyone is trying their hardest. Don’t worry about doing The Open. It’s just a good workout where you have a judge keep count of your reps. It’s a measurement of where you are in your fitness and worth being a part of!”
-Susan Higgins
Meet Makala:
“Hi, my name is Makala Marshall and I’m 12 years old. I have been doing CrossFit for 6-8 years. I think the first time I did the CrossFit open was 2022. I did the open because it was at the gym, and I felt comfortable and because it was basically a workout for everybody to do. (So, I didn’t really have a choice). When doing the open I was tired, scared, happy, and I guess excited. I wasn’t nervous because I had other people doing it at the same time, so I wasn’t alone. When completing the open I wasn’t really thinking about anything but my reps and finishing the workout. I think my favorite thing about the open was that after the open you’re like really happy or feel good about yourself because you finished it and really pushed yourself. If one of my friends wanted to complete in the open but they felt like they were too young and don’t really feel like they are good enough I would tell them that there are many young kids that do CrossFit and that me and Kaili do it so therefore you wouldn’t be alone and that we would be doing it with you. I would tell them that they are great and then bring up a goal that they thought that they could never do but that they achieved and that makes them smile. Then I would probably beg them to do it with me!”
-Makala Marshall
Meet Kaili:
“Hi, my name is Kaili Marshall, I am 12 years old. I have been doing crossfit for about 5 years. I typically come to the 4pm class with my mom and sister Makala. The first year I did the crossfit Open was in 2022. I didn’t really have a choice to participate in the Open because it was the workout of the day. I was kind of nervous before doing the open because it was a new experience andI did not know what to expect. After the open, I was glad that I had done it because it was kind of fun. Honestly, my favorite thing about the Open was that the workouts were more challenging than the regular WODs. The workouts had the right amount of intensity and pushed me where I needed to be. If someone came to me and told me that they were not sure about doing the open because of their age or because of their insecurity, I would tell them that it does not matter their age and that the Open is a good way to see how far you have come from when you started.”
-Kaili Marshall
3 perspectives from 3 different athletes. They’re signed up for The Open – you should too. You can either sign up with CrossFit or you can sign up with Coach Kaitie at the gym. We’re excited to do these workouts with you!