This year’s CrossFit Games Open workouts ruffled some feathers. The constraints of having only three tests mean that overdoing certain movement patterns, time domains, or workout styles can significantly skew the testing.

This can really impact the enjoyment of your average CrossFit box member, who is not overly invested in their results but genuinely enjoys taking part. Ultimately, these situations raise the question of who the Open is for, what the main goal of this competition is, and whether the programming is aligned with these factors.

In this week’s episode, we talk all about the Open, the tests, and what it could look like if there were some level of standardisation or predictability to make it more engaging for every CrossFit box member.

Listen Here:

Show Notes:

[1:30] Unbalanced testing with the CrossFit Open workouts
[5:00] Making the Open more enjoyable
[7:30] The purpose of the CrossFit Games Open
[11:00] Who is tracking their scores seriously in the Open
[15:00] How can CrossFit separate itself from other fitness competitions with the Open
[18:30] Does standardising the Open workouts make it more engaging
[22:30] Is the unknown and unknowable useful for CrossFit