The CrossFit Open is about four weeks away and No Excuses CrossFit is excited to announce its plans for the five-week online competition.
Beginning on Friday, Feb. 22 and every Friday for the five weeks during the CrossFit Open, we will be hosting Friday Night Throwdown.
The purpose of Friday Night Throwdown is to make each member feel larger than life for five weeks. If you have been training with us for a while, you know how awesome Friday Night Throwdown was last year. This is an opportunity to enjoy the benefits of our community, competition and test your fitness.
Here’s how it works.
From 5:30-8:30 p.m. on Friday night during the CrossFit Open, we will run approximately 7 to 9 heats of the Open workouts. Gym members are encouraged to arrive early and stay late to cheer on everyone. Family and friends are also welcome to come cheer you on at no cost!
This way of doing the CrossFit Open is intended to help bring our gym community together for five weeks and create an awesome experience for anyone that participates as an athlete, judge or fan. Think of it like a big CrossFit party every Friday night!
Everyone that signs up for the Open will be put on a team that will be selected and led by a No Excuses CrossFit coach. However, the winning team of Friday Night Throwdown won’t be based on who has the best athletes or the best scores. Points will be awarded for attendance, team spirit, charitable donations and a weekly challenge.
The following are some Frequently Asked Questions. If you still have a question or concern, please contact Coach Brandon at brandon@noexcusescrossfit.com
Q: What is the CrossFit Open?
A: The CrossFit Games season begins with the CrossFit Open. Each Thursday night a different workout will be posted by the CrossFit Games. Last year, the CrossFit Open reached more than 324,307 athletes around the world. As a gym, we will perform the workout on Friday during Friday Night Throwdown.
Q: What are the dates and times of the Friday Night Throwdown?
A: Friday, Feb. 22 from 5:30-9 p.m.
March 1 from 5:30-9 p.m.
March 8 from 5:30-9 p.m.
March 15 from 5:30-9 p.m.
March 22 from 5:30-9 p.m.
Q: What’s the cost to do Friday Night Throwdown?
A: The cost is $24 and this helps offset some of the cost by the gym that’s associated with Friday Night Throwdown. This covers things like photographer, staffing, in-house leaderboard, opening the gym on Sunday, prizes, supplies, etc.
Q: Why are we using an in-house leaderboard and not the CrossFit Games leaderboard?
A: There’s two reasons for this. 1. The athlete does not have to enter their score for the in-house leaderboard. The coaches/captains will take care of that. 2. The in-house leaderboard will allow us to create a third version of the CrossFit Open workout and be able to enter that score into the in-house leaderboard.
Q: What time can I start warming up?
A: The gym will open at 4:00 p.m. for you to begin warming up on your own. A warm-up will be placed on the whiteboard.
Q: Can I do the Open WOD in the morning class?
A: No. There will be a regular class WOD posted for the 5 a.m., 6 a.m., 8:00 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. classes.
Q: What time is each heat going to start and how do I pick a heat?
A: A heat will run approximately every 20 minutes, depending on the length of the WOD. You can sign-up for your heat time on the whiteboard beginning at 4:00 p.m. Heat times are tentatively set for the following — 5:30, 5:50, 6:10, 6:30, 6:50, 7:10, 7:30, 7:50, 8:10, 8:30 — but are subject to change depending on the WOD.
Q: If I WOD in the first heat, do I have to stay the entire time?
A: No, but we would love for you stay and cheer on others while they WOD.
Q: Where will spectators sit during the WOD?
A: We will have bleachers set up for spectators to use.
Q: What if I’m not doing the CrossFit Open? Can I still come workout on Friday nights?
A: We are encouraging everyone to participate in Friday Night Throwdown. If you do not wish to participate, you can come to the morning classes, you can take Friday as a rest day or show off your fitness in the community by going for a run, swim, bike ride, pick-up basketball game, tennis match, etc. If you still want to come on Friday evening to workout, that’s fine. Just keep in mind it won’t be a traditional style class.
Q: Will there be food at Friday Night Throwdown?
A: Yes! We are still working on the details, but we plan to have food available for $10-15 per person. You will need to sign-up by Thursday each week, so we know how much food to prepare and cook.
Q: What if I can’t come on Friday night? Can I do the Open WOD on another day?
A: Yes, the make-up day for the CrossFit Open will be on Sunday from 2-4 p.m.
Q: So what’s the Friday schedule going to look like?
A: 5:00 a.m. – Regular class schedule and WOD
6:00 a.m. – Regular class schedule and WOD
8:00 a.m. – Regular class schedule and WOD
9:30 a.m. – Regular class schedule and WOD
12:30 – Regular class schedule and WOD
2 p.m. – Gym set up
4:00 p.m. – Gym opens, warm-ups begin
4:30 p.m. – CrossFit Kids Open
5:30 p.m. – First heat of Friday Night Throwdown
9 p.m. – Clean-up
Q: Will there be childcare provided?
A: We can have childcare available. Please sign up for childcare by 10 am on Friday.
Q: I just started CrossFit. Should I do Friday Night Throwdown?
A: Yes you should, especially since there’s a scaled division and we will create an additional Open division.
Q: Is the Friday Night Throwdown just for Performance level athletes?
A: No. This is for everyone — essentials, fitness, performance. New CrossFitters to veteran CrossFitters. From kids to masters, this is for everyone!
Q: Should I do the Rx, scaled, or Open division for Friday Night Throwdown?
A: If you are able to do all of the following movements you should do Rx. If you are unable to do any of the following movements, you should have the expectation to do scaled at least one week. Another option is to do scaled one week and Rx another week. New this year is the Open division. This will be a version of the workout anyone can do. An example is Rx is doing C2B, Scaled is doing pull ups, and Open would be doing jumping pull ups.
Rx movements include: Muscle ups, handstand push ups, double unders, toes to bar, chest to bar pull ups, box jumps, wall balls, thrusters, snatch, deadlift, clean, overhead squat, rowing, burpees.
Q: What are the divisions for Friday Night Throwdown?
A: There will be two divisions used for Friday Night Throwdown — Men and Women. How you complete the workout will determine your overall ranking. For example, 1 rep of Rx would rank higher than 50 reps of scaled. 1 rep of scaled would rank higher than 50 reps of Open.
Q: How are points scored for the team concept of Friday Night Throwdown?
You can earn points by performing the following tasks. Do the Friday Night Throwdown workout, donate to the North Gwinnett Co-Op, be a judge during Friday Night Throwdown, take the CrossFit Judges Course and pass the exam, leave a gym 5-star review on one of the following Facebook/Google/Yelp, post a photo on social media and check-in at No Excuses CrossFit.
Q: If there’s scoring involved, does that mean there’s awards for the winning team?
A: Yes, each member of the winning team will receive a Friday Night Throwdown award.
Q: When’s the deadline to sign-up for Friday Night Throwdown?
A: You need to sign-up for Friday Night Throwdown by going to this link by Thursday, Feb. 7. The captains will select their teams on Sunday, Feb. 9.
Q: This sounds really cool! Will there be a Friday Night Throwdown T-shirt?
A: Yes! T-shirts are $25 and you need to give your size by Thursday, Feb. 7.
Q: I have a friend from another gym that wants to come to Friday Night Throwdown. Can they WOD with us?
A: Yes, they are welcome to WOD with us, just like another other visitor and pay the $25 drop-in fee.
Q: Can I bring friends and family to come watch me?
A: Yes, of course! You can bring as many people as you like to come cheer you on.
Q: This sounds awesome! What do I do next?
A: Sign-up for the Friday Night Throwdown by going to this link to register.