The 2014 CrossFit Open is just weeks away. What does it mean to be part of the Open? The Open is 5 workouts set over 5 weeks. You will have 5 days to complete each workout and send in your results under our Gym’s profile. The Open is for EVERYONE! Even if you have no desire to compete or are brand new to Crossfit – EVERYONE is able to participate in these weekly workouts. It’s an opportunity for you to gain an appreciation for your strengths, weaknesses and mental toughness.

The first Open workout will be released on Thursday, Feb. 27. The fifth and final Open workout will be released five weeks later on Thursday, March 27. Athletes will have from Thursday evening until Monday evening to do the workout and submit their scores.

It is recommended that only athletes comfortable with RX weights and movements sign up. There will be a chance every week for our entire community to experience each workout as it will be part of our normal programming. There will be scaling options of course! On the fence about signing up? Ask a coach to see if it is right for you.

We plan on making an event out of it on Friday evenings (this is still in the works), and might even team up with another gym. If you are not interested in officially signing up please plan on attending and supporting those athletes who are. With some loud cheering, music, and beer it’s bound to be a good time!

Please sign up HERE.

Function vs. Performance

There are some days where the workout on the board is split under the terms “Function” and “Performance”. So what do these mean and how do they apply to you as an athlete (because all of us are athletes whether you like it or not)?

Function – This training group’s goal is to maximize favorable adaptations with smaller amounts of input. What does that mean? You will normally see the term “Function” as designating a scaled version of the workout. The movements or loads involved are designed to not hold you up because of lack of technique, coordination, or muscular strength. The focus is on proven training protocols that will maximize strength development, body composition and will give good exposure to a variety of movements. You apply to the function group if your training age is very low (i.e. just started CrossFit, little to no experience with sport outside of CrossFit, deconditioned, lacking in neuromuscular coordination). Function means to maintain or increase fitness as it applies to the real world.

Performance – The performance group is just as it sounds. It is for those who have a good base level of fitness, have been involved with sport recently, or have been doing CrossFit for a while now and have a solid foundation of all the movements. This group is ready to test there fitness inside and outside of class. Performance is about applying your fitness. You will need a solid understanding of proper mechanics, a greater emphasis on applied mobility, and the consistency it will take to achieve your goals. Higher level gymnastics and attention do detail when breaking down the olympic lifts are two defining parts of performance.

So, which one are you?