Big changes are here for the 2025 CrossFit® season. Quarterfinals are gone, and in-affiliate Semifinals are the new bridge to the Games. What does that mean? The Open just got a whole lot more important. Those three weeks are no longer just a stepping stone—they’re the gatekeeper. If you want to progress, you’ve got to be on point right out of the gate.
With fewer chances to prove your worth, every rep, every second, and every movement matters. The Open now demands the perfect combination of preparation, execution, and mental toughness aka it's going to suck, but you'll feel real good about it.
If you want to read more about the CrossFit® 2025 Season changes, find out more here.
Let’s break it down.
Predicting Which Movements Will Turn Up in the CrossFit® 2025 Open
While nobody has a crystal ball, years of Open programming give us a pretty solid idea of what to expect. CrossFit® loves consistency, so certain movements tend to pop up year after year.
Here’s what you should be ready for:
- Thrusters: Endurance, strength, and coordination in one brutal package. Expect these to show up as part of a high-intensity couplet or triplet, particularly in the 3rd week of the Open.
- Chest-to-bar pull-ups: Grip strength and efficient kipping are your best friends here. They’re often combined with cardio elements or barbell work.
- Dumbbell snatches: Unilateral strength, control, and coordination. These tend to test how well you can maintain your form under fatigue.
- Clean and jerks (Barbell): Whether it’s a heavy single or high-rep cycling, clean and jerks challenge strength and technique under pressure.
- Rowing: Pacing and power output make this a staple. Rowing often gets paired with gymnastics or bodyweight movements to tax your engine.
- Wall balls: Stamina and accuracy matter here, especially when paired with other movements that spike your heart rate.
- Toes-to-bar: Core endurance meets grip strength. Toes-to-bar often demand consistent rhythm and pacing, especially in longer workouts.
- Handstand push-ups: Strict or kipping, these require strength, balance, and composure when you’re deep into a workout.
- Double-unders: Coordination and efficiency are key. They show up frequently, often as a separator in fatigue-heavy workouts.
- Deadlifts: Heavy or high-rep, deadlifts test raw posterior chain strength and how well you can hold on when things get tough.
- Muscle-Ups (Ring and Bar): Muscle-ups, whether on the rings or bar, often serve as a high-skill separator in workouts, demanding precision and efficiency, especially when paired with heavy lifts or high-volume conditioning pieces.
Key Areas of Focus
The Open isn’t just about who’s the strongest or fittest. It’s about execution. Here’s what you need to hone:
- Technical Excellence Under Pressure
- Nail consistent movement patterns, especially under fatigue.
- Know and meet movement standards—don’t leave reps on the floor.
- Master transitions to save time between movements.
- Strategic Workout Approach
- Engine Tests: Build your cardio capacity and mental toughness.
- Technical Challenges: Sharpen your gymnastics skills and learn to hold them under pressure.
- Heavy Hitters: Get comfortable lifting heavy in the middle of a workout, not just at the start.
- Mental Preparation
- Develop routines to calm pre-workout nerves.
- Visualize yourself overcoming tough moments.
- Practice staying focused and positive when things get tough.
Let’s deep dive more into each point.....
Workout Execution Strategy
The Open rewards not just fitness, but smart execution.
Here’s how to approach every workout and crush it first time:
- Phase 1: Assessment
- Phase 2: Planning
- Phase 3: Execution
- Stick to your pacing strategy but adapt to how you’re feeling mid-workout.
- Keep a laser focus on movement standards—no wasted reps!
- Monitor and adjust in real-time to stay in control.
Understanding CrossFit® Open Programming: Patterns, Strategies, and Preparation
After analyzing every Open workout since 2011 and helping thousands of athletes through these competitions, we've identified clear patterns in how Open workouts are programmed.
The Two-Part Workout Structure
The Open often uses two-part workouts to create separation among athletes. This isn't just random programming - it's a deliberate strategy to test both skill and stamina. Here's what we typically see:
Pattern 1: Skill to Strength
Think of workouts that start with gymnastics and transition into barbell work. A classic example is handstand push-ups leading into increasingly heavy clean and jerks.This tests your ability to maintain shoulder stability and overhead position even after pre-fatiguing those same muscle groups.
How to prepare: Practice your gymnastics skills under controlled fatigue. After your regular handstand push-up practice, do a set of strict press at 65-70% of your max. Then go back to handstand push-ups. This builds the specific stamina you'll need when these combinations show up.
Pattern 2: Engine to Power
Another common variation starts with a conditioning piece before testing explosive movements. You might see something like a 1000m row followed by heavy power snatches. The rowing creates an oxygen debt that makes maintaining proper positions on the barbell much more challenging.
How to prepare: Work on power output after steady-state cardio. Do 5-8 minutes of steady rowing at a moderate pace, then immediately perform three heavy but technically perfect power cleans. Rest 2-3 minutes and repeat. Focus on maintaining your positions even when breathing hard.
The Efficiency Game
The Open rewards athletes who can move smoothly and consistently through workouts. This isn't just about being fast - it's about being smart with your energy and technique.
Transition Management
We've seen countless athletes lose valuable seconds on transitions between movements. The Open often programs workouts where efficient transitions can make up for slightly lower work capacity.
For example, in a workout combining wall balls and rowing, the athlete who can quickly adjust their rower and get started might gain 2-3 seconds per round over someone who's technically stronger but slower in transitions.
How to prepare: Practice your equipment setup and movement transitions as part of your regular training. Time yourself getting in and out of the rower. Practice picking up and putting down your jump rope efficiently. These small details add up over multiple rounds.
Movement Standards Under Fatigue
The Open has strict movement standards, and maintaining them gets harder as you fatigue. This is especially true in workouts that combine similar movement patterns. For example, if you see thrusters paired with wall balls, you'll need to maintain hip and knee extension standards for both movements even as your legs fatigue.
How to prepare: Film yourself during training, especially in the later rounds of workouts. Watch for movement breakdown and identify when it starts to occur. Then work backward from there - if you start breaking down at round 6, practice maintaining perfect form through round 4-5 before adding volume.
The Stamina-Strength Combination
The Open loves to test your ability to express strength while under cardiovascular stress. This shows up in several ways:
Ascending Loading Schemes
You'll often see weights increase as the workout progresses. This tests not just your absolute strength but your ability to maintain technique as fatigue accumulates.The classic example is ladder-style workouts where the weight goes up each round while your energy reserves go down.
How to prepare: Practice progressive loading in your training. Start with lighter weights and perfect form, then gradually increase the load while maintaining movement quality. If form breaks down, you've found your fatigue threshold - that's your target for improvement.
Mixed Modal Conditioning
The combination of cardiovascular demands with strength movements is a staple of Open programming.Think rowing paired with deadlifts or wall balls with double-unders. These combinations test your ability to manage your breathing and maintain power output.
How to prepare: Structure your training to include "breathing practice" under load. For example, perform a set of moderate-weight deadlifts, immediately followed by 30 seconds of double-unders. Focus on controlling your breathing during both movements rather than just trying to move as fast as possible.
Programming Implications for Your Training
When preparing for the Open, understanding your CP (Creatine Phosphate) battery's role in performance can guide your programming choices. The CP battery refers to your ability to perform short bursts of high-intensity work and recover quickly, a skill that is often tested in workouts combining moderate conditioning efforts with heavy lifting.
For example, while a moderate rowing piece followed by heavy lifts may not significantly develop this capacity, focusing on 500-meter repeats paired with moderately heavy singles and strategic rest periods can better simulate the demands of the Open.
This type of programming emphasizes recovery between efforts and maintains strength output under fatigue—key attributes for Open success.
Let’s explore how energy system development, technical practice, strength endurance, and recovery management can align with these principles to create a balanced and effective training strategy for the weeks leading up to competition.
Energy System Development
Your conditioning needs to be well-rounded. Include short, intense pieces (3-5 minutes), moderate-length workouts (8-12 minutes), and occasional longer sessions (15+ minutes). This variety ensures you're ready for whatever combination appears.
Technical Practice
Spend time on movement transitions and standards maintenance. Film yourself regularly and be honest about where your technique breaks down under fatigue. Work just below that threshold to build capacity while maintaining quality.
Strength Endurance
Include workouts that test strength after pre-fatigue. This could be as simple as performing your strength work immediately after a short conditioning piece. The goal isn't to hit PRs but to maintain good positions under fatigue.
Recovery Management
The Open is three weeks long. Your ability to recover between workouts matters as much as your ability to perform them. Practice active recovery methods and get comfortable with the weekly rhythm of competition.
The Open isn't just about being the strongest or having the biggest engine - it's about being well-rounded and smart with your approach.
Use these patterns to guide your training, but remember that the Open always has a surprise or two. The best preparation is to be ready for anything while mastering the basics.
Recovery and Preparation Between Workouts
The three-week Open format means recovery is critical. Here’s how to stay fresh and ready:
- Active Recovery: Incorporate light movement like swimming, yoga, or mobility work. Read more here.
- Tissue Work: Use targeted mobility, and massage to reduce soreness. Read more here.
- Nutrition: Focus on balanced meals with plenty of protein, carbs, and hydration. Read more here.
- Sleep: Aim for 7-9 hours to maximize recovery and mental clarity. Read more here.
Feel like this is what’s letting you down? You can read more here.
How to Train Smarter
To get ahead of the competition, train smarter, not just harder. See a weakness in the list below? Click on the link to read the step by step video on how you can improve before the open!
Gymnastics Progressions:
- Master muscle-ups such as bar and ring muscle ups
- Handstand skills, such as wall walks, kipping & strict HSPU
- Strict movements, such as pull ups & toes to bar
Weightlifting Efficiency:
- Work on barbell cycling
- Alternating dumbbell movements
- Mixed-modality strength
Metabolic Conditioning:
- Crush Assault bike intervals
- Varied double-unders
- Steady-state rowing/running
Advanced Programming Guide for CrossFit® Open 2025
After working with thousands of athletes preparing for the Open, we've learned what makes the difference between a good performance and a great one. Let's talk about how to approach your training in these crucial weeks leading up to competition.
Movement Pattern Development
The reality is that movement quality matters more than ever in the 2025 season. With the elimination of Quarterfinals, every rep in the Open needs to be perfect. But here's what most people get wrong - they practice movements without a clear purpose.
When you're working on movement patterns, start your sessions fresh. We've found that taking 15-20 minutes at the beginning of class makes all the difference.
Focus on positions that give you trouble - maybe it's the bottom of your thrusters or that split second at the top of your pull-ups.
A simple way to improve position awareness is to add strategic pauses to your movement practice. Take thrusters, for example. Instead of jumping straight into high-rep sets, try this:
Hold the front rack for three seconds. Feel where the barbell sits, how your elbows position, where your core engages.
Then descend slowly, pause at the bottom, and drive up explosively. Do this for 5-10 reps before any workout with thrusters. You'll start to develop a really strong sense of what positions actually work for you under fatigue.
Understanding Time Domains
The Open has a way of testing different time domains each week. You might see a 4-minute sprint one week and a 20-minute grinder the next.
Let's break down how to prepare for each:
Short Duration (1-4 minutes)
These workouts are about power output and smart redlining. A lot of athletes struggle here because they've never really practiced true high-intensity work. Try this approach:
Set up an assault bike sprint interval - 30 seconds work, 30 seconds rest, for 8 rounds. But here's what matters: track your calories each round.
If you're dropping more than 2-3 calories from your first round to your last, you need more rest. This isn't about pushing through pain - it's about maintaining power output.
Medium Duration (5-12 minutes)
This is where most Open workouts live, and it's where pacing becomes crucial. Take a classic couplet like thrusters and pull-ups. Instead of going all-out in the first round, break your work into sets you could repeat five times over.
We see this mistake all the time - athletes burning out after two rounds because they didn't respect the time domain.
Longer Duration (13+ minutes)
These workouts are as much about mental approach as physical capacity. One strategy we've found effective is to break the workout into quarters in your mind. Take a 20-minute AMRAP - your only job in the first five minutes is to find a sustainable rhythm. No hero sets, no sprinting, just smooth movement.
Position-Specific Strength
Having a big clean and jerk is great, but the Open demands strength in specific positions. Think about where movements actually challenge you in workouts. For many athletes, it's not the absolute weight that's the problem - it's maintaining position as fatigue sets in.
Take the front rack position. Instead of just doing more front squats, try this: hold a moderately heavy front rack for 60 seconds while practicing your breathing. Walk with it. Do step-ups. Build comfort in that position when your body's under stress.
Technical Work Under Fatigue
Here's something we've learned from years of Open preparation - you need to practice technical movements when you're tired, but not so tired that form breaks down completely. There's a sweet spot.
Try this after your strength work but before the day's workout: do two minutes of wall balls, then immediately perform 10 thrusters at a weight you'll likely see in the Open. Rest a minute, then repeat it three times. The key is to stop if your form starts to break down. We're teaching your body to maintain standards even when it's challenging.
Weekly Training Structure
Let's talk about how to put this all together in a training week that makes sense:
- Mondays focus on movement quality when you're fresh. Film yourself. Be honest about what needs work.
- Tuesdays hit one specific time domain hard. Pick your focus and commit to it.
- Wednesdays are for active recovery and skill work. This isn't a rest day - it's an opportunity to dial in positions without the pressure of intensity.
- Thursdays build strength in those key positions we talked about.
- Fridays simulate Open conditions. Get someone to judge you. Learn to handle that pressure.
- Saturdays develop your engine with longer pieces. This is where you build confidence in your pacing.
- Sundays are for intentional recovery. Mobility work, light movement, and mental preparation matter.
The Open rewards athletes who can perform consistently under pressure. This isn't about perfect training - it's about purposeful training. Focus on quality movement, smart pacing, and position-specific strength, and you'll see the results when it counts.
Final Thoughts
The 2025 CrossFit® Open isn’t just about fitness—it’s about executing with precision and strategy. We can’t emphasise this enough.
Prepare for the staples, refine your weaknesses, and approach every workout with a plan. These three weeks can set the tone for your season, so bring focus, discipline, and a little fire.
Remember: It’s not just about who’s the fittest—it’s about who’s the most prepared. So study the workouts, stick to your plan, and crush every rep.
Let’s make this your best Open yet!
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