The Open - Part 4 |
 | Fast forward approximately 9 months and a coach asked me if I was going to register for The Open. I quickly replied “no” and left it at that, because the thought of working out in front of someone who is judging my reps, competing against other people in the gym whose fitness was far beyond mine, and the fear of not being able to do a workout or failing during the workout scared me! |
That Friday, February 22nd, 2019 I went to class thinking that I could do a regular class while others participated in The Open. To my surprise, that was not the case! So, that night I participated in my first Open workout, 19.1 and it was one of the best workouts I had done to date. I remember, Erin H. was my judge and she no-repped me on a couple of reps.
My worst fear was right in front of me, not Erin (lol), but the fact that I was being judged and watched by someone. Erin quickly followed her no-rep with things like “great job, Brandon” and “keep it up, Brandon” which is exactly what I needed to hear. That night I went home, registered for The Open and proudly entered my score online.
My worst fear was right in front of me, not Erin (lol), but the fact that I was being judged and watched by someone. Erin quickly followed her no-rep with things like “great job, Brandon” and “keep it up, Brandon” which is exactly what I needed to hear. That night I went home, registered for The Open and proudly entered my score online.
My perception of the Open was so wrong!
 | The Open is about pushing each other, not competing against each other. The Open is all about supporting each other, celebrating each other’s accomplishments and seeing what extra effort we can possibly give. The Open helps you to set goals for the year to come, gives you a baseline to compare your fitness levels from year to year, and helps you identify both physical and mental weaknesses that you could work on before the next Open. |
Ultimately, The Open is about building a stronger community while working on you! I am now entering my third Open with a new skill, the double under, and can’t wait to get started!
My advice to anyone on the fence as to whether or not to register for the Open is DO IT. This is the time of year to set your goals, build community, come together to show off our fitness and tell 2020-2021 that our community is as strong as ever!
Brandon S.
My advice to anyone on the fence as to whether or not to register for the Open is DO IT. This is the time of year to set your goals, build community, come together to show off our fitness and tell 2020-2021 that our community is as strong as ever!
Brandon S.
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The Open - Part 3
with Diana O
My first CrossFit open was in 2014. I had literally just started CrossFit a month before. Everyone was going on about signing up. I was completely clueless, but it was such a BIG deal, so I did it. And it was SOOOO fun. I would always tell people I was never a competitive athlete because I didn’t like putting that much pressure on myself and didn’t like losing.
But the open is different.
The Open brings everyone together; it unites the gym and members and pushes you to get outside your comfort zone. I always feel that anyone I’ve done Open workouts with, or judged or been judged by, we all have a tighter bond between us because we all appreciate the battle and the push to do the very best we can.
We all work hard in our workouts every day - but when you are “judged” and you are putting scores on a worldwide scoreboard, you will surprise yourself at how much more you will push yourself. You will see that yes, you are good enough, and hey, you are WAAAY fitter than you think when you know where you rank with those your age.
But the open is different.
The Open brings everyone together; it unites the gym and members and pushes you to get outside your comfort zone. I always feel that anyone I’ve done Open workouts with, or judged or been judged by, we all have a tighter bond between us because we all appreciate the battle and the push to do the very best we can.
We all work hard in our workouts every day - but when you are “judged” and you are putting scores on a worldwide scoreboard, you will surprise yourself at how much more you will push yourself. You will see that yes, you are good enough, and hey, you are WAAAY fitter than you think when you know where you rank with those your age.
 | My first year, I ranked 800 something - out of 10,000 - I was so happy I was fitter than more than half the people in my age category - and that was 1 month in! The next year I saw my progress climb from 800 to close to the top 200…..and then the push for the AGOQ was on and brought out the competitive nature in me. Every year, you see how you progress, and you can quantify how far you’ve come. We all get caught in the things we can’t do and where we want to be better, but the open, year after year, shows us that we are improving - and that we should stop being so hard on ourselves!! |
What I also love about the open is seeing people do things they would never normally try. I got my first chest-to-bar in the open - and only because I stood under that stupid rig for 10 minutes and had to figure it out. My judge, Caro, kept giving me tips - and I finally got one! It was the best day ever. I got my first bar muscle-up in the Open - same thing - but now Caro’s husband Phil was judging me. I got one - and I’m not sure who screamed louder, Phil or Myself! I was on cloud nine again.
I could go on and on with the firsts that happen during the open! So many get their first ring muscle-up in the open - and maybe that’s not your goal, but hey, it’s like being a kid again, just trying some new fun things! It’s incredible what happens under a little extra pressure and push.
So really - what the worst that happens if you sign up?
But more importantly, what the best?
You will surprise yourself.
I can vouch for that 1000%!
Diana O.
I could go on and on with the firsts that happen during the open! So many get their first ring muscle-up in the open - and maybe that’s not your goal, but hey, it’s like being a kid again, just trying some new fun things! It’s incredible what happens under a little extra pressure and push.
So really - what the worst that happens if you sign up?
But more importantly, what the best?
You will surprise yourself.
I can vouch for that 1000%!
Diana O.
The Open - Part 2
with Carolyn
Well, the Open was the thing to do… apparently.
I had joined CrossFit Closer about three months before the 2018 Open, so in the name of 'giving it a go,’ 'might as well see what this is all about, and the continuous encouragement to sign up, I did. I remember bits of it vividly…. Not the workouts exactly, for I was just doing what was outlined for the day, scaled (of course) because the Rx version was well out of my reach.
I don’t remember how I scored, it got entered, but that was also years ago now. I do remember Robb (Chartrand) as we partnered for the workouts, and as being a complete newbie to it all, he got me all set up. Strategy, encouragement and counting… the counting is super important! I remember the energy and excitement as the weeks went on. What would this week bring, and would it play on my perceived strengths or weaknesses?
I had joined CrossFit Closer about three months before the 2018 Open, so in the name of 'giving it a go,’ 'might as well see what this is all about, and the continuous encouragement to sign up, I did. I remember bits of it vividly…. Not the workouts exactly, for I was just doing what was outlined for the day, scaled (of course) because the Rx version was well out of my reach.
I don’t remember how I scored, it got entered, but that was also years ago now. I do remember Robb (Chartrand) as we partnered for the workouts, and as being a complete newbie to it all, he got me all set up. Strategy, encouragement and counting… the counting is super important! I remember the energy and excitement as the weeks went on. What would this week bring, and would it play on my perceived strengths or weaknesses?
 | The 2019 Open rolls around, and I was excited to part of it again. I had a year under my belt… I had faith that I would at least be a bit stronger than the year before, but I was definitely still doing the scaled workouts. I remember Larry (McNaughton) most from this year. He always brought in printed-out score sheets for our morning group to score. :) Each week during the Open, Friday mornings became increasingly more about the excitement of your group and what they would surprise themselves with that day. It’s incredible what some extra adrenaline and the encouragement of your peers can help you achieve. |
The 2020 Open showed me just that. I was encouraged to do the Rx workouts….funny how others sometimes know your strengths better than you do. I strung together more double under than I ever had before (possibly by sheer will), and thanks to the help of Chelsey (Corrigan), I completed some single-leg squats; who knew??
Participating in the Open over the last few years has just been fun. We have a pretty amazing community already, but the energy, encouragement, laughter, and commiserating are amplified in the best way for those few weeks.
Participating in the Open over the last few years has just been fun. We have a pretty amazing community already, but the energy, encouragement, laughter, and commiserating are amplified in the best way for those few weeks.
| This year’s Open, I have no idea what to expect… I have been working out with one dumbbell, one KB, a band and a tippy chair for the last month. I know it will challenge me, but more importantly, I will experience it with a bunch of great people and Pete’s (Lancaster) sarcasm. Carolyn. |  |
The Open - Part 1
with Martin Charron
I started CrossFit a few months before the 2017 Open. I was very hesitant to sign up for the open because I definitely felt that I was not good enough to compete. I could barely manage to do all of the new CrossFit movements that I was learning.
My first experience was much better than I was expecting. Obviously, the workouts are very challenging, but they are also fun because we do them as a group. With the scaling options that are available, I was still able to do all of the workouts and push myself beyond what I was expecting.
Competing in the open in 2017 gave me my personal starting benchmark. At the end of the day, even though there is some friendly competition at the gym, the only person that I’m really competing against is myself. Doing the open every year allows me to see how much I’ve improved (or not) throughout the year and even more important over the years.
My first experience was much better than I was expecting. Obviously, the workouts are very challenging, but they are also fun because we do them as a group. With the scaling options that are available, I was still able to do all of the workouts and push myself beyond what I was expecting.
Competing in the open in 2017 gave me my personal starting benchmark. At the end of the day, even though there is some friendly competition at the gym, the only person that I’m really competing against is myself. Doing the open every year allows me to see how much I’ve improved (or not) throughout the year and even more important over the years.
 | We all have different goals that we want to achieve with CrossFit, but ultimately we all want to be a healthier and stronger version of ourselves. I would strongly recommend that people sign up. It is the perfect opportunity to measure your fitness progress. I struggled with doing all of the scaled workouts in 2017, but over the years I was able to complete them and even do some of the RX workouts last year. It’s a good feeling to see the immense progress that we do over the year because it is definitely not visible on a day-to-day basis. |
“It’s better to be at the bottom of the ladder you want to climb than at the top of the one you don’t.” ~ Stephen Kellogg
Regards, Martin
Regards, Martin
 | For the first time in a long time, I am able to eat my meals without feeling like I have to deprive myself of the foods I truly enjoy. We incorporated delicious foods and recipes into my meal plan that I look forward to eating. |
I went to see Lindsay with the goal of losing body fat, gaining strength, retaining my bone density and improving my performance at the gym. At the age of 58, my body just seemed to stubbornly hold onto the extra fat, even though I was eating whole foods for the most part. I had tried various diets in the past, but I knew I was missing the mark as I kept stalling in weight loss and would eventually give up.
Lindsay helped me figure out how much protein, carbs and fat worked for my activity level, age and lifestyle. It’s been working like magic since! For the first time in a long time, I am able to eat my meals without feeling like I have to deprive myself of the foods I truly enjoy. We incorporated delicious foods and recipes into my meal plan that I look forward to eating.
I never feel like I’m depriving or restricting certain foods... This is a lifestyle change that I can stick to forever
A huge win for me has been being able to walk by the lunch room without reaching for a cookie and doughnut! I never feel like I am depriving or restricting certain foods, I eat everything in moderation and choose foods that provide me with the energy I need for my workouts and busy lifestyle. After working with Lindsay, I have lost nearly 7 pounds of body fat, gained muscle and have drastically improved my energy levels. I’m no longer hungry - I actually feel like I am constantly eating, yet still losing weight. It's amazing! This is a lifestyle change that I can stick to forever and even if a holiday temporarily derails me, I know have the tools to get right back on track. Thanks Lindsay for all the help, the recipes, tips and moral support!”
Thoughts from Lindsay
 | Proud doesn’t even come remotely close to how I feel about Kristina and her amazing the transformation over our time spent working together. It is clients and hardworking individuals like Kristina, that fuel my passion for helping others reach their health and fitness goals. Watching the evolution of a client as they embark on a journey with you is an opportunity that I don’t take lightly. I am so thankful for the faith and trust that my clients instil in me as they start on their journey to optimal health. |
Kristina (whether she knows it or not - she does now!) was my first nutrition client at CrossFit Closer. She also went on to participate in the Nutrition Games. Trust me when I say that nothing makes a coach happier than to see their clients put in the hard work and effort needed to reach their goals. Kristina was a phenomenal student who not only did her homework but went above and beyond doing extra workouts, research, recipe testing and got creative in the kitchen.
Not every week was smooth sailing, but we ironed out the kinks, pinpointed the areas where she was struggling and crafted her game plan. Surprisingly, what blew me away at the end of our time together wasn’t her amazing weight loss (which was 7 pounds of pure body fat by the way!), it was her change in mentality. Prior to starting coaching, Kristina didn’t have a routine or self-care practices. We established daily practices that she needed to be implemented to reduce her stress levels and anxiety so she could focus her attention on where it was truly needed.
Not every week was smooth sailing, but we ironed out the kinks, pinpointed the areas where she was struggling and crafted her game plan. Surprisingly, what blew me away at the end of our time together wasn’t her amazing weight loss (which was 7 pounds of pure body fat by the way!), it was her change in mentality.
During our last meeting, Kristina thanked me for helping her achieve her health and weight loss goals, but for also helping her change her lifestyle. Kristina has become one of the most positive, upbeat and encouraging individuals that I am proud to know. Her mentality around weight loss and health, in general, have changed for the better. She doesn’t need me to remind her that she is capable of any goal she sets her mind to. Whether that be a pull-up or weight loss - this woman can do anything. Thank you for being such a wonderful person to work with Kristina. I’m so proud of you and am excited to watch you continue to reach and surpass all of the goals you set for yourself in the future!
All my love and support,
Mustard
All my love and support,
Mustard
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