The Open is over for another year. The excitement of the past five weeks has died down. The intramural results were announced. I can now go out for dinner on Thursday nights without having to apologize for watching the live announcement on my phone under the table. But as the competition ends, our next year of training begins.
First of all, I want to congratulate everyone who participated this year. The Open is a chance for everyone to experience the thrill of competition in a safe and friendly environment. Thank you to everyone who took the time to judge and support another member. The workouts are gruelling and there is nothing fun about them. What makes the Open a great experience is the way the community rallies around one another. We build each other up to complete tasks that otherwise seem impossible.
So now the Open is over, it is time to refocus for the year ahead. If you felt disappointed by a result, use that as motivation to set goals for the next year. Maybe your toes-to-bar let you down, or you had a really hard time with wall balls. Write down what you struggled with and use the experience to get better. Come talk to Jordan, Hillary or me and we can help you develop an individual program to get stronger or improve a skill. Use Open Gym on Fridays to practice your goats.
Here is a really simple and effective method I use to improve skills. Most recently I used it to work on toes-to-bar and chest-to-bar, but it can be applied to pretty much anything.
- 5-10 minute EMOM, beginning with a manageable number of reps.
- Each week, add a rep.
- g. Week 1: 10 min EMOM, 5 t2b (50 total) Week 2: 10 min, 6 t2b (60 total) Week 3: 10 min, 7 t2b (70 total), etc.
EMOMs are great because they are time-efficient and a very manageable way to accumulate volume. Adding just 1 rep a week isn’t overwhelming, but over a month or two you will see a huge improvement. Imagine where you could be by the Open next year. Give it a try!
Here’s to another year of hard work and dedication! I can’t wait to see what you guys achieve in 2017.
