I haven’t been a member of a Crossfit gym for a couple of years now and although I’ve continued to base my training around functional fitness, the access to Crossfit ‘virtually’ has really made me realise how much I miss the ‘physical’ community that comes with being part of an affiliate. Plus, you know, with a 24hr Crossfit Challenge on the horizon, joining a gym and getting some proper training in is probably a good idea, I guess!

The Open workouts were tough (as expected) but despite the seriously unhappy tummy I suffered with as I began to pile the pressure on myself before each workout, I really enjoyed the challenge. It was also good to put myself through the pre-workout nerves, my insecurities around having to video myself and pushing myself a bit harder than usual… partly because I think it’s important to get out of your comfort zone but also because I proved to myself that I could do it – two very important factors for the success of my 24hr challenge.

I wasn’t especially pleased with my performance, it was a bit sloppy in places and I could definitely have done with a scaled version of the equipment free workouts so I felt a bit of a fraud submitting my scores, even though I wasn’t going to be anywhere high enough in the rankings for anyone to look at my entries. But, it did help me to learn a lot about where I need to make improvements with my technique and work on my strength in certain movements. I also learned to focus on each section of a workout at a time rather than thinking about completing the whole thing so that it didn’t seem so overwhelming, and to tell my self that it is just 15 or 20 minutes of my life, it won’t last forever so why not give it everything and see what I can achieve.

The Open reminded me of the importance of recovery too. With a busy life as a working Mum, I am sometimes guilty of finishing a training session without worrying about refuelling or doing a decent amount of stretching, only to leave me feeling faint a few hours later and aching the next day. However, finishing each of the workouts for the Open, lying flat on the floor, heart pounding and hands shaking was an excellent prompt to get some good energy back in my system and take some time to stretch my muscles out. That said, the fully body DOMS I experienced after the final workout lasted three days!

I feel a bit lost without Dave Castro’s workout email this week but I have spent some time thinking about how I will plan my training in future to ensure I work on my weaknesses and technique. My main takeaways from the Crossfit Open that I will remember as I prepare for my 24hr challenge are to pace myself so I don’t fatigue too quickly, try to relax and enjoy workouts with less of the nerve enducing pressure I put on myself, remember I am capable of more than I think and to recover well.

Here’s to the gyms reopening soon, getting stuck into some hard work and making sure I’m more than ready when the date of my challenge rolls around!