The CrossFit Open is one day away and the only thing the CrossFit community wants to know is what they’ll face during the three-week event. But, for now, all they can do is pick over Dave Castro’s 24.1 hint and wait for the CrossFit Open 24.1 announcement.
So, when I had the chance to chat to six-time CrossFit Games champ Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr, I couldn’t resist asking for her predictions.
“It’s safe to say that you should be prepared for anything and everything, right? It’s CrossFit. And if you’re not, I think you missed the memo,” Toomey-Orr tells me.
However, this year CrossFit announced the top 25% of athletes in each division will qualify for the online quarterfinals—up from 10%—and Toomey-Orr suggests this shift could mean higher-skill exercises like muscle-ups and heavy Olympic lifts will be reserved for later stages of the season like the quarterfinals and semifinals.
In other words, make sure you’ve brushed up on the basics.
“I think they’ll focus on the general population in the Open. So things that are going to be very manageable for the affiliate to run within the facility, and things that allow people to feel accomplished when walking away—the classics like burpee box jumps.
“I definitely think we will see rowing in there, and probably some toes-to-bar, pull-ups or even muscle-ups.”
The most important thing for Toomey-Orr is that we see three Open workouts which, when combined, provide a comprehensive test of fitness.
“We need to make sure we’re capturing the right people who can really do strength; people who can do a lot of bodyweight movements well. Variety—in order to get to the next section—is going to be really important to set the scene for the whole season,” says Toomey-Orr.
Toomey-Orr and her programming business PRVN will be hosting the CrossFit Open at their newly opened affiliate in East Nashville: PRVN HQ. This will also be the site of the third and final CrossFit Open 2024 announcement, where she will face the current third-fittest woman on earth Arielle Loewen in a head-to-head showdown.
This leads Toomey-Orr on to the other element she wants to prioritize in this year’s Open: enjoyment.
“It’s meant to be a really fun time for the community to get together and see each other on the leaderboard,” says Toomey-Orr. “just have fun with it.”
“We will be doing the Open every week at PRVN HQ, and I know I will be doing my own workouts there. So if people are going to be in town and they need a gym, we will definitely be open for it. It’s going to be a very fun year because it’s the first year for us.”
