Varied Not Random

2026 is finally here & lots of people will make goals around health & fitness. What are some good goals to focus on? What steps can be taken to help make goals more successful? Pat & Adrian discuss these topics. -2026 is finally here & lots of people will make goals around health & fitness. -What are some good goals to focus on? -What steps can be taken to help make goals more...

-A VNR listener fractured their spine a few months ago. -This injury did not happen in the gym. -They want to return to working out, but they are scared. -They realize that scaling will be important, but want to know what else they should consider to be successful. -Pat & Adrian discuss this topic.

-In this episode multiple topics are covered in a “quick fire” format. -Does working out in public bother you?  -Favorite finisher or accessory? -Thumbs wrapped around the pull-up bar…yes or no? -Guilty food pleasure that is total trash. -A “go-to” warm-up when you don’t want to think too hard. -Can you be “Fit & Fluffy”? -Strategy for “Death By” workouts. -What is a “good base of strict pull-...

-A VNR listener wants to know if someone cannot do a week of their scheduled programming because they are traveling for work, etc…when they return should they make up the week they missed? Or, should they jump right back in on the current day’s workout & forget about the week they missed? -Pat & Adrian discuss this topic.

-A VNR listener wants to know if training for HYROX will get someone fit enough to handle the challenges of real life? -Pat & Adrian discuss this topic.

-A VNR listener’s CrossFit gym is closing & he’s not sure what to do next. -There are some gyms close to him, but they are not CrossFit affiliates. -He & his wife have built a nice home gym, which they plan on using. -They are concerned about possibly missing the community aspect & the coaching they received at their previous gym. -They want advice on how to move forward with their fit...

-What is Menopause? What are the various stages? -Should women in menopause avoid training with intensity? -Should nutrition change during this phase of life for women? -Does menopause cause weight gain? -EC Synkowski is the owner of “OptimizeMe Nutrition”. She tackles these questions & discusses this topic with Pat & Adrian.

-Are Goal Times actually necessary to improve your fitness? -Can you still get fit completely disregarding them? -Do they only exist to help maintain order during a structured class that needs to manage the clock? -Pat & Adrian tackle this topic.

-A VNR listener wants to know how to find the proper balance of doing CrossFit while pursuing another sport. -What are the pros & cons of doing another sport? -Do other sports have the ability to improve your CrossFit capacity? -Pat & Adrian tackle this topic.

-A VNR listener wants to know if squatting & deadlift should be avoided. -He recently listened to a podcast which included several well known people in the fitness industry & they generally said they avoid squatting & deadlifting with their clients. -Pat & Adrian tackle this topic.

-HYROX is gaining popularity. -What is it? -What does a HYROX race/event consist of? -Should normal CrossFit programming prepare you or is specialized training required? -Pat & Adrian tackle this topic.

-Some gym members love partner workouts. -Other members hate partner workouts. -Some members find them fun & motivating, while others find the peer pressure an anxiety ridden nightmare. -Do you like posting your results on a public whiteboard in the gym for everyone to see? -Do you consider the whiteboard to be inspirational or a source of public humiliation? -Pat & Adrian take opposite st...

-3 different topics/questions are covered in a “quick fire” style. -Will artificial intelligence dominate workout programming? -Is it better to blow off the warm-up or the cooldown when short on time? -How can you avoid eating fast food when short on time? -Pat & Adrian explore these topics.

-A VNR listener wants to know if the Olympic Lifts are worth all of the effort required to perform them. -Their point is that these lifts are so technical & complicated that many people would be better off pursuing similar athletic benefits (like explosive power) through less challenging exercises like sprinting & box jumps. -Pat & Adrian explore this topic.

-A VNR listener wants to know what “side benefits” there may be to working out, other than the obvious ones like improving your health & fitness. -Pat & Adrian explore this topic.

-In today’s show Pat & Adrian tackle 3 topics. -A gym member wants to add some extra “at home” training & is looking for advice. -A VNR listener wants to know if fancy gizmos & gadgets are necessary to improve your fitness? -The final topic is whether or not strength is overprioritized. -Pat & Adrian discuss these topics.

-A gentleman has been doing CrossFit 5 days a week for 15 years straight.  -Now, at 47 years old, he has lingering injuries, has lost interest in many movements & his motivation is low. -He says he is bored & has no desire to suffer during workouts. -He wants to know if he is alone in feeling this way & what others have done in this situation.  -Pat & Adrian discuss this topic.

-A VNR listener wants to know if fitness would be better measured & tested by using metrics such as watts or joules. -Pat & Adrian discuss this topic.

-Some Gym Owners program their own workouts, others choose to use someone else’s programming. -What are the Pros & Cons of these two different approaches? -Pat & Adrian discuss this topic.

-Pat & his family recently took a 3-day vacation. -During that time he did not miss any training & worked out in the hotel gym. -He discusses what the original workouts were & how he modified them in the hotel gym. -The original workouts were… Monday July 21, 2025 9 Rounds for time, or not: 12 Dumbbell Power Snatch, 50/35 100m Run 8 Box Jumps, 24"/20" 6 Toes-to-bar Tuesday Ju...

-Do you need to understand the CrossFit methodology to do it? -Does the average gym member simply do the workouts without truly understanding CrossFit? -Does this even matter? -Pat & Boz discuss these questions.

-Adrian discusses all of the 2025 CrossFit Games events & Pat reacts to them.

-Is sprinting dangerous for most people? -Is there a reason to ever “sprint” on tired legs? -Pat & Boz discuss these items.

-Have you ever been utterly destroyed by a workout? -Sometimes you can see a tough workout from a mile away. -Sometimes you get completely wrecked by a workout & you never saw it coming. -Pat & Boz chat about workouts that totally smashed them.

-A VNR listener, who is a staunch defender of the CrossFit methodology, asked that Pat & Boz did their best to explore any potential negative aspects of the methodology. -Pat & Boz tackle this topic.