5 Common Mistakes to Avoid in CrossFit Open 26.1

In the few years I’ve been doing CrossFit, I’ve noticed certain patterns of mistakes people make in the Open workouts that cause them to blow up or simply not execute to the level of their potential.

Those mistakes were on full display again during Open 26.1.

While this list is specific to Open 26.1, the general principle behind each mistake applies to all Open workouts — and to your life beyond the box.

Even if you’ve already completed Open 26.1, keep this list handy for the rest of the Open.

CrossFit Open 26.1 Workout

Before we get into the mistakes, here’s an overview of the workout.

Open 26.1 is a pyramid scheme of sets of wall balls alternating with box jump overs and box step overs holding a medicine ball.

• 20 Wall Ball shots
• 18 Box Jump Overs
• 30 Wall Ball Shots
• 18 Box Jump Overs
• 40 Wall Ball Shots
• 18 Medicine Ball Box Step Overs
• 66 Wall Ball Shots
• 18 Medicine Ball Box Step Overs
• 40 Wall Ball Shots
• 18 Box Jump Overs
• 30 Wall Ball Shots
• 18 Box Jump Overs
• 20 Wall Ball Shots

The time cap is 12 minutes.

Read: 3 Strategies to Avoid Self-Implosion in CrossFit Open 26.1

5 Mistakes to Avoid in CrossFit Open 26.1

(1) Going Out Too Hot

One of the my favorite guiding principles of life is to know the game you’re playing.

This is not a race to the finish. It’s an endurance test.

The vast majority of athletes will not finish this workout in 12 minutes. For most of, this is about how far you can get in that time frame.

Here’s what I saw across my gym: athletes sprinting out of the gate, speeding through the opening wall balls and box jumps, and then hitting a wall by the end of the set of 30. Once you hit that wall, you’re not just moving more slowly; you’re also pausing longer between sets to try to catch your breath.

Any gains you earned by shaving some time in the opening sets are erased the first time you need to pause for 30 seconds to recover.

The key to success is to start at a pace you can sustain for the duration.

(2) Disregarding Your Plan Because “You Feel Good”

To succeed at 26.1, you need to go in with a plan for how you’re going to break up the wall balls — and you need to stick to it.

That’s where many people fall apart. I watched athletes at my gym abandon their plans in the early rounds only to hit the wall when they got to the round of 66. Some fell apart in the round of 40.

After, when I asked why they had abandoned their plan, they had the same response: “I felt good so I didn’t need the break.”

That’s the trap of the pyramid scheme.

Of course you’re going to feel good at the beginning. You’re on fresh legs; you are fueled by the adrenaline of the Open environment.

That brief pause to drop the ball for a breath might not seem like it makes much of a difference when you’re in the first round.

But understand that the break in the sets of 20 and 30 aren’t about those sets; those breaks are about managing what happens later.

The breaks in the early rounds establish a rhythm and cadence for every set of wall balls. You’re grooving a pattern so that your cadence becomes automatic.

Do a set of wall balls, drop the ball, take a breath, pick up the ball, repeat.

By breaking before you need to, you establish the pattern of contained pause so that the later pauses don’t spiral out of control.

On the other hand, if you go by feeling, then you end up going by feeling later in the workout. That’s when the mental games take over.

The key to success is to have a plan and be disciplined in sticking with your, no matter how you feel.

(3) Walking Away During Your “Break”

I see this in every Open workout where there’s a high-volume of movement that requires breaking it up into smaller sets: athletes put down the barbell, medicine ball, or dumbbell, and then they take a lap around the gym.

This is a huge waste of time and energy — both physical and mental. It takes you out of the game and keeps you stuck in your head.

When you set up for your wall balls, plant your feet and measure your distance. Then keep your feet planted until you’re done.

When you break up those large sets of wall balls into smaller subsets, your feet should not move.

Put down the ball. Breathe a specific planned number of breaths. Pick up the ball. Resume.

That’s it.

Make it a pattern so that your thoughts and emotions stay out of it. This is not the time to tour the gym or contemplate your life choices.

To maintain focus and preserve your energy, keep your breaks contained and stay rooted to your spot.

(4) Checking the Clock or Looking Around

The other common behavior I see during the workout is athletes constantly checking the clock or looking around the room.

Neither of these approaches serves you, and they are not necessary.

One of the best things about the Open workouts is you have a personal coach (a “judge”) by your side. This person counts your reps and keeps track of time for you. A good judge will also pace you.

This is a huge advantage. It means you don’t have to think about the time or the rep counts or anything else, which frees up energetic bandwidth to execute. It’s the ideal hyperfocus situation.

Even with my judge by my side, I still count my reps in my head; it helps me keep to my established rhythm and cadence. But I surrender everything else to the judge so I can stay focused on the task.

To free up energy for sustained performance, keep your focus on your execution and give everything else over to your judge.

(5) Stopping to Rest When You Should Be Moving

In every workout, there are times when you want to create pauses — and times when you need to keep moving. Knowing which is which is vital to your success.

I watched as athletes plowed through large sets of wall balls only to outright stop in the middle of the box jumps or box step overs.

This is backward.

The sets of wall balls are the places to introduce brief breaks so that you can sustain performance longer.

When you get to the box jumps and box step overs, you want to keep moving — even if it’s slow. The step-overs especially can be a form of active recovery. You can slow down and breathe as you walk up and over the box.

The cost to restart those med ball box step overs is much higher than the cost to restart the wall balls.

Recognize when to pause and when to keep moving. Slow is better than stopped.