Brett puts perspective on the CrossFit Open: 

The CrossFit Games Open

I’ve heard some whining about being 4,000th in the world and sucking or not getting a good score because the right shoelaces weren’t used or the people making up the workouts didn’t choose the right movements. Aside from the fact that people without limbs are competing in The Open without whining, I would ask that you reread the rule…

Don’t Work Out! Train!

…and then take full advantage of the training opportunity that The Open provides!

You can’t cherry-pick. Hit them all and enjoy the energy on Saturday mornings! Don’t miss a workout because it’s hard. Use the opportunity to train.

You have thousands of people to compare yourself with, but most importantly, you have people who score similarly to you one week crushing you or getting crushed by you the next. Take advantage of the chance to find your weaknesses because that is what you need to start training and improving. There is even profile info listing lifts and benchmark scores that you can compare to your own to see if you are performing where you should be. You can make goal-setting for the next workout easier if you try to beat the person who finished one place higher than you this past week. Or you can try to beat their 2k row time.

I know. You’re not competitive. Bullshit! Ever tried to lift 5 pounds more than last week and been excited about the improvement? You competed with your former score and demonstrated improvement by winning. It’s okay to compete, especially with people entering scores in Korea who you may never meet and who will never get mad at you for using them as a marker to surpass (they’ll never know, even after you comment “Good job last week!” on their profile).

So quit yer belly-achin’ and get training! Get yer $20 worth.