The CrossFit Open began on Thursday, February 23 and will be running through March 27, showcasing hundreds of thousands of athletes. These athletes must complete five workout routines over five weeks. Participation in the CrossFit Open is open to anyone, and those who compete work to secure a position in the CrossFit Regions, and then the CrossFit Games which occur in August.
Every Thursday night throughout the duration of the Open, organizers release the workout for the week to those participating in the competition. Participants then have the week to complete their workout in front of a judge.
All CrossFit affiliate gyms around the country allow their athletes to participate in the Open, including CrossFit gyms in Quincy and in the surrounding areas, such as in Weymouth, Braintree, and Boston.
The first CrossFit Games took place in Aromas, California, in 2007. The ranch where the Games are held is the family property of Dave Castro’s parents. Dave Castro is the most recognized face of CrossFit Headquarters along with CrossFit founder and CEO Greg Glassman. Castro began his career as an intern in the original Santa Cruz, California, CrossFit gym while working as a Navy SEAL in Monterey. Castro is now the Co-director of Training and the Games Director for CrossFit.
CrossFit is a fitness regimen developed by Greg Glassman over several decades. Glassman was the first person in history to define fitness in a meaningful, measurable way: increased work capacity across broad time and modal domains. He then created a program specifically designed to improve fitness and health.
CrossFit focuses on constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity. All CrossFit workouts are based on functional movements, and these movements reflect the best aspects of gymnastics, weightlifting, running, rowing and more, which Glassman saw as the core movements of life. These workouts focus on moving the largest loads the longest distances, so they are ideal for maximizing the amount of work done in the shortest time. Intensity is essential in CrossFit for results and is measurable as work divided by time—or power.
CrossFit workouts vary on a daily basis. Every day the workouts are posted and athletes who belong to an affiliated gym are able to view them. The workouts, more often than not, contain vigorous activities such as wall balls, pushups, pull ups, and weighted squats. Men and women are both able to join CrossFit gyms, joining millions of people all around the world now who are CrossFit members.