What is the CrossFit Season and What is the off-season?

The CrossFit season is typically from the CrossFit open in February / March each year and extends until the completion of the CrossFit Games at the end of July / early August. Each year is slightly varied from start and finish dates but it will be consistently around this time frame.

With the exception of the .1% of participants, the CrossFit season doesn’t usually extend to the CrossFit Games and the off-season would initiate earlier than it would for the elite field of competitors.

If you are fortunate enough to continue through to the CrossFit Games, you would essentially have an off-season from sometime in August right through to late February, boasting a total of 6-7 months. This is a huge amount of time, but necessary for many athletes to recoup, rebuild and prepare after putting their bodies through such an intense physical state during the season.

For others, the CrossFit season can be as short as 1-3 months, which leaves a large gap to fill – which is predominantly more of the year spent preparing than competing. It is this time allocation that is so very important to cover ground on needed essentials in the sport of CrossFit, in order to extend that 1-3 month period further.

Yes there will be local competitions and online variants throughout the calendar year, which are also present in the off-season. These are hugely valuable to enter and compete in as they keep you accountable to train hard to perform well. For many, these competitions aren’t a hindrance to progressive development through training as they are so far out from the CrossFit season and / or won’t affect the immediate outcome of the CrossFit season.
This is a sure way to continue the “spark” for the sport, learn and grow through adversity of competition and build a bigger network / community through meeting the same like-minded people.

However, for some, the off-season is super important and every available training day is an absolute MUST to work on weaknesses that those athletes know will be present at the certain stage of season they intend to be at.

Here are a couple of examples

Athlete A – looking to qualify to the individual quarterfinals via the CrossFit open.

This athlete will be aiming to achieve a basic foundation of fitness over everything else. Fitness and capacity trumps everything in the open. You will need some basic movement patterns to be effective during the open such as double unders, dumbbell variation work, toes to bar, chest to bar pull ups, general barbell work, row capacity, burpees. This athlete is looking to finish in the top 10% of their respective region in order to qualify for
the individual quarterfinals.

Athlete B – looking to qualify to the semifinals via the online quarterfinals. This athlete needs to have a much higher level of complex movements to a high standard. Movements will include exercises such as GHD situps, rope climbs, handstand walking, strict handstand push ups, ring / bar muscle ups, heavy olympic lifting, great capacity to perform a large amount of volume in a short few day window. This is essentially the next added layer on top of the open.

Athlete C – looking to qualify for the CrossFit Games via the semifinals. This athlete essentially needs the same foundations as the quarterfinals athlete with a few added extras. This is where workouts and equipment can be extremely varied and inconsistent with other competitions but specific to that particular event and location. There could be offsite running, swimming, long aerobic events, obscure objects and movements. This is where you
need to be prepared for anything and everything. Athletes looking to qualify for the quarterfinals via the open generally don’t train the same way this athlete does as the seasons are different.

Athlete D – looking to compete effectively at the CrossFit Games. This athlete needs to be an all round athlete. Strong athletes excel at the CrossFit Games for sure. But the strongest athletes don’t necessarily mean highly competitive and often that’s not the case. Capacity is the name of the game and it is a long brutal week of competing. Those who can recover and continue to compete at near maximal effort each workout usually do very well at the CrossFit Games. This is where you will see the most amount of variation and obscurity among
events. There is also A LOT of running. Every event has some type of run transition and it pays to have a solid base of running under your belt by this point in the season. Not just specifically for the singular event alone but also for damage control on your body / CNS over the course of the week added up with all the collective volume.

Summary

In essence, the off-season differs for every version of athlete. We encourage willing competitors to compete all year long as long as it doesn’t obstruct your training and progressive development. It is so very important you align your weaknesses within your program and understand appropriate and viable timelines in which those weaknesses would develop. Ask yourself, ‘Do I need to focus on my wall balls right now, do I need to develop ring muscle ups, do I need to have adequate rope climbs and GHD situps?’ Have a plan B and plan C – but you first must understand the test.

The off-season is your chance to grow before the test comes round again. Stay motivated, stick to your plan and have a successful off-season.