It’s finally that time of year again.
You, your fellow athletes and friends, and CrossFitters all around the globe descend upon their affiliate floors to take on the same three tests over three weeks.
Personally, I refuse to call Open events “workouts”—and I’ll explain why in a moment.
Since my very first CrossFit Open back in 2016, I’ve heard the same question over and over:
Why should I sign up for the Open? What does it actually do for me?
My friend, that’s exactly what I want to answer here—so stick with me.
The CrossFit Open can be a tense time of year for a lot of athletes.
We train hard. We chase intensity, PRs, technical improvement. We leave blood, sweat, and sometimes tears on the gym floor day in and day out. For many people, being “tasked” with a competition isn’t necessarily why they walked into CrossFit Achieve in the first place—and I completely understand that.
For others, the Open feels like putting your fitness under a microscope. Unfamiliar movements, rep schemes, and loading parameters can shine a very bright light on perceived weaknesses.
No matter where you fall on that spectrum—and everyone in between—the reason to sign up and give your best effort is the same. And it’s simple.
The CrossFit Open is so much more than a competition.
Yes, it’s the biggest, most widespread, and most approachable competition in the sport. But what often gets overlooked is what the Open really provides: accountability, shared effort with your friends and co-fitnessers, and an opportunity to care just a little bit more about your training for a focused three-week block.
It’s not about chasing a leaderboard position or broadcasting your score to the world.
It is about giving your fitness structure, purpose, and momentum.
It’s about strengthening bonds, cheering for the people you care about, and feeling accomplished after doing something genuinely challenging—something that carries a little more weight than the constantly varied, functional movements at relatively high intensity that we do Monday through Saturday, 52 weeks a year.
As coaches, we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Friday Night Lights.
Mark them on your calendar. Show up for your friends and your team. The energy is unmatched. If you’ve never experienced it before… you’re in for a treat.
You’ll work out alongside people from other class times—people you don’t see often, or maybe have never even met. How cool is that?
And then there are the shared emotions: the nerves, the laughs, the collective suffering, the cheers, the high-fives, the release after your first muscle-up, a PR lift, or simply getting farther into a workout than you ever thought you could.
These moments are rare. And the longer you stay in this game, the more you learn to appreciate—and look forward to—them.
There’s no denying that the Open is a competition. It’s the single largest online competition in the sport of fitness.
But I want to challenge how we think about the leaderboard.
Instead of seeing it as a ranking, think of it as a mirror.
At the end of the day, fitness is you vs. you. The Open leaderboard simply shows you where you fall across a massive, global spectrum of athletes.
Every year, I expect to crush some workouts—and absolutely eat it on others. And every year, I’m surprised in both directions. There are tests I hate that I end up placing far better in than expected, and tests I love that expose clear gaps.
That’s the real value of the leaderboard: it tells you exactly what you need to work on—and what you can maintain. That’s invaluable information, and it’s something your coaches are excited to help you interpret and prioritize in the 365 days between Opens.
If you’ve done the Open before, you get a direct comparison to a past version of yourself.
If you’ve never done it before, you get something just as powerful: the experience of being scared, showing up anyway, and doing the damn thing.
This isn’t about being the fittest or most elite athlete in the room.
It’s about applying, pushing, and testing yourself—first and foremost.
I hear the fear all the time:
“I’m not ready.”
“I’m not fit enough.”
Those thoughts usually come from fear of judgment, fear of exposure, or fear of failure.
Let me promise you three things:
- You will not be judged. Not at Achieve. Not by your coaches. Not by your friends. Not by anyone we allow into our community. If you ever feel otherwise, tell me—and I’ll address it immediately.
- You will be exposed. That might feel uncomfortable, but it may also be one of the best things that happens to you. Exposure shines a light on what needs attention—and I’ll be the first one in your corner with support and a plan.
- You might fail. But you will also surpass your expectations. You will impress yourself—and likely everyone around you. And to me, that’s worth every ounce of risk.
As a coach who has worked with many injured and recovering athletes, I want to be very clear:
The Open can be done safely and intelligently.
Yes, there are prescribed loading parameters and skills for RX, Intermediate, and Beginner divisions—and I believe we should respect those. But if you’re managing a musculoskeletal issue, we will absolutely modify the test appropriately.
You’ll still get a score. You’ll still get a leaderboard. It may just look a little different this year—and that’s perfectly okay.
Scaling is not weakness. It’s intelligence.
Training around pain while having a plan to get healthy is always better than sitting out. Your long-term health will always matter more than short-term ego.
This year, you have two ways to sign up.
Option one: register officially through CrossFit HQ for the usual $20. This is my personal recommendation—you get the full global leaderboard and immediate feedback on your fitness.
Option two: register through CFA and put your $20 directly back into our community. While we don’t get the global leaderboard this way, we absolutely appreciate the support. If that’s your choice, hell yeah—we’re grateful.
Either way, that $20 does something important.
It puts skin in the game.
It’s a commitment to yourself.
And it removes the easy exit ramp of staying home with a box of cookies.
Officially signing up changes how people show up—whether or not they care about rankings.
When it’s all said and done, the Open becomes a turning point for the year ahead.
It gives you clarity.
It fuels momentum.
It builds confidence.
You showed up. You worked hard. You followed through.
And it helps guide what your training—and your focus—should look like over the next 12 months.
So with all of that said…
Join us for the 2026 CrossFit Open.
You can sign up here through CFA and get registered for a team.
You can also sign up officially through HQ here—no double charge.
Grab a shirt if you want to commemorate the year.
Most importantly, remember this:
Your coaches have your back. We’ll guide you through every step with empathy, care, and attention to detail.
You won’t be alone.
You’ll have the best damn CrossFit gym behind you—every rep of the way.
