Juxtaposed in my mind were two vivid images. One was remembering seeing Lindsey Valenzuela burst into tears as she ran through the tunnel at the Stub Hub Center into her husband's arms at last year's CrossFit Games. The other image was my client beaming, high fiving anyone she could. While she avoided tears, her excitement over 8 tabata squats was the same feeling Lindsey felt when she earned a podium finish at the CrossFit Games.

I’ve never met a person who did the Open who didn’t say she was so glad she did it. Never heard anyone regret to compete, not even my client who couldn’t do a toes-to-bar. The only feedback I’ve ever received are either stories of people exceeding their own expectations of themselves, or stories of athletes learning valuable life lessons.

Here's why your should do the CrossFit Games Open!

If you’ve ever seen Parker compete live, he is as cool as a cucumber, and he manages to maintain his poise and stick to his game plan even when he’s competing in front of thousands of viewers at the CrossFit's biggest event The CrossFit Games. It’s actually the craziest thing to watch Parker compete as he looks completely un-phased, utterly unruffled by the chaos around him. I can’t even imagine how calm he looks when he’s performing the Open workouts in the comforts of his home box CrossFit Zone in Victoria.

Here’s a sneak preview of the subjects Parker will discuss at “Open Prep with Parker”

A while ago, I wrote “Don’t be that Guy,” and “Don’t be that Girl” from a coach’s perspective. I know, however, that there are very annoying, counterproductive things, that coaches do, as well. Nobody is getting off the hook here!

I surveyed my own clients to find out what they feel are the coaching Faux Pas – the things that annoy them most.

A while ago, I wrote “Don’t be that Guy,” and “Don’t be that Girl” from a coach’s perspective. I know, however, that there are very annoying, counterproductive things, that coaches do, as well. Nobody is getting off the hook here!

Without further ado, Introducing the 7 Deadly Coaching Sins...

Like any other society, small community, tribe, secret society, or cult, being a member of a CrossFit box involves learning the CrossFit language and understanding the social norms of your environment.

It takes time, of course, but the sooner you learn, the easier it will be to avoid being “That Guy” (“That Guy” is the guy coaches talk about after a personal training session or a group class. FYI - He’s the guy you don’t want to be).

Introducing the Magnificent Seven "Don't be That Guys"

I never understood why there’s so much fighting in the NHL. It always made me laugh when I watched spontaneous on-ice brawls. I simply didn’t understand how a person’s instinct in the middle of a game was to latch out and punch someone else.

I do now.

If you've never competed in a CrossFit competition, let me tell you there's always a new lesson to learn with each workout, each day of each competition.

I confess, at the last competition I was at, I almost fought my judge. Luckily, I avoided an altercation and learned a huge lesson in the process, a lesson I can use to turn into a positive in the future, a lesson I'd never learn in training.

Last weekend I went to a personal development course called Choices (http://www.choicesseminars.com/). While I can’t talk about the absolutely out-of-the-box specifics of the course (it would ruin it if you ever took the course), I will explain the emotions I felt: There were a whole lot of unknowns throughout the weekend that I had to face, and as we know from CrossFit, the unknown is daunting. It challenged me in ways I didn’t know exist, in ways I had no idea would challenge me. It scared me to death, it ripped me apart, it inspired me, it motivated me – the list goes on. At the end of the weekend, I was absolutely done. Physically, emotionally, mentally, my body just...

If you ever have to do a half marathon row in competition, or if you’re looking to challenge yourself and put yourself through the pain the individual athletes did last summer at the CrossFit Games, here’s some advice from Nathalie Maurer, former Canadian National Team rower, to help you mitigate the pain and maximize your performance. Maurer competed for Canada at both the 2006 and 2008 World Rowing Championships, and she won two medals – one gold and one silver - at the 2007 Pan American Games.   Nathalie Maurer (far right) with the Canadian National Team   5-Steps to Preparation: 1). UNISUIT: Rowers wear unisuits, a tight one-pieces spandex suit, to avoid any pieces of clothing getting caught anywhere...

I speak from experience when I say, if you’re ever crazy enough to try a half marathon row, like the one Dave Castro programmed for the fittest athletes in the world at the 2013 CrossFit Games this summer, don’t do what I did.

What did I do?