Post Open - Time to Reset

Post Open - Time to Reset

A bit of a shorter one, it's been a busy few weeks for me, full of ups and downs as far as my career aspirations (both in my day job and coaching) and physical endeavours go. I've spent a long weekend away on the Isle of Skye and am feeling relaxed, refreshed and in a great mindset to plan and attack the next few months. Some time away certainly helps put everything in perspective and helps clarify the direction of travel.

It's easy to get caught up in the rat race and keep grinding away without taking a moment to look up and reflect. For many of us the year starts and ends with the CrossFit Open so there is no better time to step back and reflect on our achievements and set goals for the coming year. Post Open is a great time to reassess and readjust, especially with the information gained from performance against a worldwide leader board. From a coaching perspective, watching and listening has been incredibly insightful.

For example in 24.2, as a former rowing coach, it was amazing to see some people put into practice some of the coaching points I have tried to give over and has really solidified my want, as a coach, to find time to do more work with people on this area. If we look logically Rowing comes up pretty consistently in the Open and if we are looking at Hyrox it's a fundamental movement that, if done well, can really set you up for success in the second half of the race. On a programming note I thoroughly believe that rowing, again if programmed well, transfers fantastically to building stamina and power in a majority of functional movements.

More interestingly though has been listening, in person and online, in the build up to workouts being released. The discussion was consistently around the movements people wanted and equally didn't want to show up. As a coach that was really interesting because it shone a light on areas that we need to  help in over the next 12 months. Those areas have to turn into opportunities.

As we reflect, as athletes and as coaches, it's great to ask questions of our peers and our community and get help to shape and mould what our plans look like going forward. I know personally I have conversations planned in to talk about my next steps as a coach and as I set my performance goals as an athlete I will be reaching out to a coach to get some help. One of the great things about the CrossFit community is that, in the majority of cases, we are all here to help.

Whatever you plan to do from now until the next Open, have fun doing it and remember that this is meant to be for health and happiness!

Andy