We wanted to give the Sandbox a big shout out for the number of people who have registered for the open. We are one the smallest boxes but we are near the top of the leaderboard with total members registered. Signing up for the open and competing each week takes a lot of courage, especially if you haven’t competed before!

We look forward to watching everyone compete and learning about your strengths and weaknesses so we can continue to help you improve over the year. Come on out to the announcement tonight if you can and if not, we are excited to watch you all compete these next five weeks!

If you haven’t signed up yet, now is the time:

https://games.crossfit.com/cf/login?returnTo=%2Fcompetition&flow=games

All right guys….

The CrossFit open is now upon us! We wanted to give you a rundown of how we will be organizing it this year at the Sandbox. A new rule stipulates that we must have a video recording of all the top times at the gym in case we qualify for regionals so we are going to do things slightly different this year.

Before we go over the logistics, we wanted to take a moment to stress that the open is for everyone at the gym, not just people who hope to make it to regionals. 5 weeks of competing in the open will teach you a tremendous amount about the sport of CrossFit and your potential. Each member will get 1 on 1 with a certified coach each week. That coach will give you pointers and efficiency tips and help you to push yourself harder than you ever have before. The result will be that you will be a more efficient athlete and you will learn what your body is capable of. You will have 5 benchmark scores to gauge how much you are progressing with CrossFit over time. You will be able to see how you compare with 150,000 other athletes. You probably won’t be anywhere near the top and you may even be somewhere near the bottom, but you will be able to compare your strengths and weaknesses versus other athletes from all over the world.

We expect every member to sign up at the Sandbox. It is only $20 and is worth every penny for you. We do not make a dime off of this but a lot of coaches donate their time to make this happen because they know how beneficial it is to you guys!

The two excuse we tend to hear a lot that won’t work:
“I am going to be out of town one weekend.” It costs $20. If you miss one weekend that’s 4 dollars. You’ll be fine..

“I am not in shape, or I am too new.”
Doesn’t matter. Most of the workouts start out light enough. Do the workouts that you are capable of. You will be competing against people who are 9 months pregnant, have broken or no legs, arms, etc. The oldest competitors are in their 80’s. You are not doing this to be the fittest man or woman on earth. You are doing this so you can learn about you as an athlete and what you are capable of. You are 1 on 1 with a coach who will watch you warm up and if they do not think you are ready for a particular workout they will not make you do it. If that happens, then be ready for the workout the next week.

So, that being said, here is the schedule….

Thursday:

On Thursday nights we will have the CrossFit Open Workout Announcement viewing party at 8:00pm. We will have the live streaming of the workout announcement playing on the monitor and broadcast over the speakers. We generally get 20 – 30 people in attendance for these and 1 or 2 brave souls usually give the workout a shot that opening night. These announcement parties tend to get bigger each week as newer members start to get more excited about the announcements each week.

Friday:

Whether you are signed up for the open or not, you will be doing the Open workouts. If you are not signed up, you will do the open workout during the class as usual. Nothing will change. If you are signed up for the open you will do the open during the class but will be working with a coach 1 on 1. This will be for all the classes on Friday. After all the members go, some of the coaches might go Friday night at 7:00 to be videotaped. So stick around and cheer on your coaches as they lay it all on the line.

Saturday:

There will be regular classes on Saturday at 8:30 and 9:30. At 10:30 more coaches will be competing in a taped session. Stick around after the workout if you can to watch!

Sunday:

During open gym members can complete their open workouts and some coaches will probably be going as well. You are only allowed to complete each workout once as we have a limited number of coaches who donate their time for the 5 weeks.

We are looking forward to a fun five weeks with you guys! Now go sign up!

Registration is now available for the 2014 CrossFit Games Open!

What is the open?
The open is a 5 week competition of sorts that takes place at your local affiliate (At The Sandbox). The main purpose of the open is to qualify athletes and teams for regionals. There are 17 CrossFit regions around the world and the top 60 athletes from each region are invited to compete. The top 3 people at each regional event are invited to compete in the CrossFit Games in California for a chance to win $250,000. Additionally, the open qualifies the top 30 teams in each region as well. Last year 140,000 people of much different abilities registered for the open!

Who should register?
The main purpose of the open is to qualify competitors for regionals. However, what we have found over the years is that the open is one of the most rewarding things our members take part in throughout the year. The community aspect of CrossFit is just as important as the fitness aspect for most CrossFitters. At CrossFit Hardcore we expect 100% of our members to sign up for the open. Once a week you will get together with everyone else from the Sandbox and you will cheer for them as they compete and they will cheer for you as you compete. It is not about whether you get the best score. It is about you giving 100% and leaving it all on the table. Even if you have been doing CrossFit for only two months, the open could be for you.

What workouts should I expect?
The workouts usually start out very light so that even if it is your first week of CrossFit you can still take part. The workouts tend to have stages that get progressively harder to help rank people according to their fitness level.

When is it?
Every Thursday starting February 27, an Open workout is posted. The workouts are released on Thursday night and you have until Monday night to submit your score. We like to get everyone together on Friday night or Saturday morning to have a lot of people cheering but we will do our best to get you a coach to judge you on the day you are available.

What are some other benefits?
The open tests many different aspects of your fitness. It gives you a ranking for each wod and an overall ranking. You will learn more about your abilities in 5 weeks than you will the rest of the year. Your weaknesses will come to light and you will find some strengths you never knew you had. You will probably find yourself looking up efficiency tips to do the wods better and you will come out the open a much smarter athlete. Additionally, you will have a ranking that you can aim to improve next year. Did you finish in 10,000th place this year? Try to get in the top 5,000 by next year!

How much?
It is actually very cheap. Only $20 and you get a computerized ranking each week and hours and hours of fun and hard work. It is worth every penny!

How do I sign up?:

1) Go to: https://games.crossfit.com/cf/login?returnTo=%2Fcompetition&flow=games

Hey everybody! We just wanted to let you know that we will be closed this Saturday and Sunday for The Resolution Games. Everybody will be across the Street at the Pompano Beach Park and Aquatic Center. Sandbox members are competing, judging and volunteering all weekend.

All the vendors and sponsors are going to be having mini wods and challenges so you will have a chance to workout at The Resolution Games to win some cash and prizes. If you want the best workout of the year, sign up to help with equipment! Ask anyone who has done it before. Guaranteed 5 pound weight loss! JK…. We can still use ,more volunteers though so please let us know if you are available!

At the very least, please stop on by. There will be so much for you and your family to do at The Resolution Games so try and make it if you can and root on your fellow sandboxers!