It is that time of year again! The Super bowl of our sport, the 2015 CrossFit Open! The Open is 5 weeks away. The first workout will be performed at CFP Friday evening at 6:30 pm as a part of our Friday Night Lights series (#FNL).

The following is a mini guide to preparing yourself for the best open yet, or to help you make it through your first open ever. Remember, this is not about making it to the games, this is about picking a time of year to test our overall fitness, and to set a boatload of PR’s! One thing that can be guaranteed is that every workout will be a challenge. It will require the physical preparedness of a unicorn, and the mental fortitude of a shaolin monk riding that unicorn, to make it through all 5 weeks.

The Open will test all aspects of your fitness, but strength is the basis of making everything easier. We for the most part know what to expect from the open, infact since 2010 there have only been about 14 movements performed in the open (this year could be totally different). And of those 14 movements only 10 have been featured in every open for the past 3 years. Knowing this I must stress WORK YOUR WEAKNESSES. If you can’t do one of the movements mentioned in this article below, practice it, put it in your warm up or cool down. Read this article and prepare for the knowledge bombs to be dropped (yes, I know this is for the 2014 open). http://cfganalysis.blogspot.com/2013/11/what-to-expect-from-2014-open.html

Daily Prep

• 2 min. Hand stand hold / 2 min. Hang from pull up bar (alternate days)

• 25-50 Push ups / Ring rows (alternate daily) – Shoulder stability and a quick easy way to develop some hardcore baseline strength.

• Core work – Planks, hollow rocks, leg raises, T2B – Your core is what allows you to efficiently or not efficiently transfer power from your legs to your upper body. Core work should primarily be done post workout.

• Mobility – Shoulder, Hips, and Ankle. 15 minutes minimum – More training requires more recovery! Hit up a CFP Yoga Class or page through our copy of the Supple Leopard and pick 3 movements to perform for 5 min. each.

All of these items are great to start your day, warm up before a workout, or post workout.

Weekly Prep

• Rep Accumulation -2-3x per week add in triplet (3 movements) for your warm up before class focusing on skills you struggle with(DU’s, MU’s, C2B). This should not be performed for time, but instead quality of reps. Focus on alternating pushing and pulling movements. Obviously plan enough time to get through this before class begins. Reference this article again http://cfganalysis.blogspot.com/2013/11/what-to-expect-from-2014-open.html

• Add 1 extra day of Weightlifting per week (Snatch and Clean and Jerk)

• Add 1x per week – 30 min. recovery row or 50-100 burpee workout @ 75% effort – A little extra endurance and doing things that suck will make the open easier. You could also alternate these week 1 row – week 2 burpees!

Remember recovery is the key. Here are a few general guidelines that besides for training, will help with life in general.

• 7-8 hrs of sleep per night (best way to naturally produce more testosterone)
• Drink your body weight in ounces of water daily – Our bodies are 98% water, enough said.
• Eat 3 square meals a day (Mostly paleo w/ potatoes and maybe a glass of whole milk) another good rule of thumb to improve your eating for performance, is trying to eat close to 1 gram of protein per lb. of body weight.
• Supplements – For supplements to be effective, your sleep and eating should be in place first. SFH Fish Oil with D3 / Progenex Krill Oil and a good Whey protein like SFH or Progenex are a great way to support an already healthy diet. Protein post workout, Fish oil before bed.

Click below for a sample week preparing an individual for the 2015 CF – Open using the above mentioned methods. (Make your own weekly schedule that fits your lifestyle. This could easily be converted to fit a 3, 4, or 5, days per week schedule) *This is in addition to your normal workout routine. Also notice some of this can be done in your own home.

Sample CF Open weekly prep