Linchpin Conversations

Do functional movements at LOW intensity have value? We answer a question from Ed, a member of the Linchpin community. He is 59 and has hurt his back, achilles and shoulder through mountain biking accidents. He has also put on 30 pounds of bad weight. Ed wants to know if doing the workouts with very minimal weight is still beneficial. We answer Ed's questions and we discuss scaling, injuries and h...

Is it okay to quit during a workout? The word "quit" has a negative connotation in our society, however, not all quitting is the same. We discuss "quitting" versus making an informed decision about what you do or don't want to pursue. Real life examples are provided from kid's sports, high school, Division 1 gymnastics, CrossFit and my time in the SEALs. Also covered is how "taking a break" from a...

If you can jump 2 inches off of the ground and move you hands...then why can't you do double-unders? We answer this through discussion of the 10 General Physical Skills from the October 2020 CF Journal article, "What is Fitness?". We talk about how some of the skills are organic, how others are neurological, and what that means. Training vs practice is covered, as well as why functional movements...

Questions from a gym owner are answered: A gym owner's members want to learn the technique for kipping pull-ups, chest-to-bar pull-ups, snatching, clean & jerk, etc. With only an hour to use for class each day what is the best way to accomplish this? His members feel it is not enough time. The owner wants to know how to approach this moving forward and would having additional workshops and/or clin...

How to be amazing at your job. We discuss basic recommendations to be professional and competent, regardless of your chosen profession. The topics are simple, easy to do and profoundly impactful. The good news is you can start implementing them immediately!

Special Operations Selection & Ranger School...your olympic lifts will not save you. I answer a question from someone preparing for Special Forces selection. He asked if he should be spending more time in the gym. This question is answered and the discussion evolves into what actually matters & leads to success when the going gets tough.

SEAL training, Masters athletes & scaling. A shout out to the "Committed Club!", these are people who log at least 3 workouts a week. Scaling / modifying workouts for Masters athletes. Understanding scaling is a critical part of your long term fitness journey. I also share some stories from SEAL training and how those lessons apply to every day life.

"Relative Intensity"...discussed & explained. What is the definition of intensity & how is it measured? What is the difference between mathematical intensity & relative intensity? Contrary to popular belief, high intensity does not mean maximal intensity.

The Monday Monster Mash. What is it? Where did it come from? How to use it?

How to assess the "believability" of someone or something. Sometimes it is difficult to know who to listen to because of all the wanna-be, self-reported "experts" and useless noise on social media. We discuss now to "Believability weight your decision making", as stated by the billionaire investor, Ray Dalio in his book, "Principles". Also, the CF Journal article written by Jeff Glassman entitled...

Real life, real talk. 3 days of poor sleep & how if affected my workouts. Deadlifts were far less than I wanted, running was slower than usual and I significantly scaled the Hero workout "Nate". However, life goes on and fitness was still achieved. 

Tips to improve your public speaking. We all engage in public speaking every day, whether we earn our living from it or not. In this episode I share some lessons I have learned over the years from my experience as a professional lecturer at roughly 200 CrossFit seminars as well as the live television broadcasts I've been a part of for ESPN and CBS.

The 3 types of questions. After lecturing at about 200 CrossFit seminars around the world and interacting with roughly 10,000 people in the audience, I noticed a pattern of questions. Not always, but often, it seemed questions could be lumped into 1 of 3 categories. We discuss this topic.

With the arrival of 2020 we discuss goal setting. I lay out 4 areas to focus on: Physical goals, Intellectual goals, Spiritual goals and Social goals. Tips are given to help achieve them, keep you on track and get you back on track if/when you slip. I did not create these 4 categories of goals, they just happen to serve me well so I wanted to share them.

The decisions you make in sports, the military or the gym to "not complain & just suck it up" may catch up with you later in life. Every time you walk into the gym or open the fridge you have a decision to make. Remove ego and make beneficial long term decisions.

We answer a question from the community. Mike G. is a member of the Linchpin private track and asked if there was value in attending a CrossFit Level 1 Seminar even if he does not have an interest in being a trainer or opening a gym.

A discussion on how to program workouts. We talk about movements, rep ranges, loadings, time domains and much more. Questions from the community are also answered.

Extra lifting is not what most people need to improve their fitness. We discuss the "Theoretical Hierarchy of the Development of an Athlete" from the 2002 article, "What is Fitness?". What people want and what they need are often not the same thing. Assess your strengths and weaknesses honestly so you can make informed decisions on how to improve.

Just because you can do something does not mean you should. The definition of Fitness compared to the definition of Health.

Why it is okay not to time every workout you do. Tips for maintaining a solid pace in workouts. When and how to experiment with pacing.

I completely discuss all the benefits of the Linchpin private track for individuals and gym owners. A look into the nutrition track also takes place. 

Part 2 of a 12 part series dissecting the CF Linchpin 12 Tests. In this episode we dive into Linchpin Test 2. The Linchpin 12 Tests, aka, the Dirty Dozen are 12 benchmark workouts we created to help athletes and coaches assess their fitness across a broad range of movements, loadings, rep ranges and time domains. All 12 Tests can be found on our website at www. CrossFitLinchpin.com I also answer a...

I revisit an article I wrote in 2015 entitled "A Reflection on 10 years of CrossFit". The article lists 10 lessons learned. I review the article to see if I would change anything now that another 5 years have passed.

Questions from the community are answered: 1. What is the best way to get back into working out after traveling, specifically international travel? 2. What is the best way to get back into working out after being sick? -Tips for staying on track while traveling, staying in hotels and recovering from illness are provided.

We answer questions submitted from the internet: "How do you recognize the difference between your training helping you vs hurting you?" and "If a lack of strength is holding an athlete back, should they keep the rx'd loading & scale the reps, or is it better to scale the loading & keep the rx'd reps to maintain intensity?". And of course, we also went down a couple of wonderful rabbit holes.