Editor’s Note: In this three-part series, Morning Chalk Up Senior Writer Emily Beers documents her journey completing the Open workouts for the first time in eight years.
Dread. Fear. Overthinking.
Nausea. Anxiety. Overthinking.
Pressure. Panic. Overthinking. And a whole lot of leaderboard watching.
That was the CrossFit Open for me, in a nutshell, between 2012 and 2017.
As much as I hate to admit it, as a four-time Regionals athlete OG and 2014 Individual CrossFit Games athlete, I never enjoyed the Open.
Not once.
Sure, I grew from it, built character from it, and overcame fears from it, but I never enjoyed it.
A New Me in 2025
After stepping away from doing what I have called before “real CrossFit,” let alone competing, for the last eight years, I decided to join my gym—Kea Athletics in Surrey, BC—at their Friday Night Lights to complete the 2025 Open workouts.
- For me, CrossFit means showing up four days a week, five days a week when I don’t get derailed by ten other things going on in life, and hopping into a class for one hour. I give it my full effort once or twice a week and pace myself considerably on the other days.
As a 41-year-old mother to an 18-month old, I’m fitter than most people I know, but I, in no way, have elite fitness.
Needless to say, this year’s Open is about pushing myself just enough to feel proud of my effort, having fun, and socializing with the people I’m starting to get to know at my new gym.
CrossFit Open Workout 25.1
Walking into the gym, pushing my little man in the stroller, I couldn’t help but smile.
I arrived at the gym for an Open workout, and I wasn’t nervous or anxious. While I was maybe dreading the pain a little bit, I was relaxed and didn’t feel any pressure to prove anything.
I warmed up with the class, and someone asked me what my goal was for the workout.
I laughed and said, “I have no idea. Just to try not to rest much, if possible, I guess.”
That’s when it dawned on me how different and enjoyable this experience was going to be.
- For the first time ever before an Open workout, I hadn’t thought much about it, hadn’t overthought it. I didn’t have a game plan, and it felt amazing.
OK, so I lied. About 30 seconds before the clock started, I did have a brief moment where I felt a wave of nerves rush through my stomach.
But then I looked at my husband and son, and it brought me back to the present day, one in which I enjoy and appreciate what my body can do without needing to compare myself to others or feel pressure or expectations.
What happened next surprised me even more.
During my past experiences in the Open my nerves were always so high that my heart rate skyrocketed to an uncharacteristic place early in the workout, not because I went out too hard, but because I had so much anxiety I couldn’t control.
This usually caused tingling in my face and throughout my entire body and sometimes partial blindness, which caused me to slow down and resulted in a performance I knew was way worse than it could be during an ordinary training day.
Not this time.
Two minutes, three minutes, and five minutes into the burpees, dumbbell cleans-to-overhead, and lunges, my heart rate was in control, and my body felt calm, which only built my confidence that I could push myself without red flags.
During my competitive days, before an Open workout I would always tell myself, “Who gives a shit about the pain you’re in? Keep pushing.” But as soon as the workout started, I would wimp out, fearing going too deep into the pain cave.
Not this time.
I got to the round of 15 and I started to be in some pain, but I was actually able to tell myself mid-workout, “You’re OK. You’re not in that much pain. And who gives a shit about the pain?
Keep pushing.”
And I believed it.
The truth is, I did stop three times during 25.1.
- Twice to take three deep breaths lasting just a few seconds, and once to tie my shoelace during the round of 18 burpees (I know, a wimpy move). Then I heard the owner of my gym say, “That’s your one break.” And I thought, ‘You’re right. Suck it up.’”
And I did.
I finished the round of 24s and logged some burpees in the round of 27 and couldn’t have been happier with my effort.
That is how fit I am right now at this moment in time and I’m at peace with that. My score was still in the top seven percent of women in the world, and I’m actually pretty proud of that.
It’s funny how relative the feeling of success can be. From 2012 to 2015, if I didn’t have a top-five score in the Canada West region, I would be pissed off that I wasn’t better, or fitter.
Today, being in the top 1,000 in North America West in 25.1 felt great.
Thirteen years have passed since I did my first Open, and I can confidently say 25.1 is the proudest I have ever felt after an Open workout.
Bring on 25.2.
More CrossFit Stories
- Drag Racing Champion Antron Brown Uses CrossFit to Stay Fit Physically and Mentally
- Adidas Athletes and Community Members Take on 25.1 at Riginal CrossFit Nürnberg in Germany
- 3 Guaranteed Ways To Crush the CrossFit Open This Year
Featured image: Kea Athletics
