Linchpin Conversations

What's the next homemade ice cream flavor? Linchpin sub-group for nutrition. Women specific issues. Why no ads for Linchpin? Static overhead holds. Data points & consistency. Assessing your overall fitness. Accessory work. My current version of Paleo. Using dumbbells for Heavy Days. Modulating Intensity. Coming back from an injury.

Erica is a mother of two kids, a wife & a 3rd grade school teacher. She has experimented with a large number of online programs. She has also gained & then lost 100 pounds. In this episode she shares her weight loss journey as well as lead her back to Linchpin.

It seems unpopular these days to tell people the truth about the health risks associated with being overweight. Lying to people and/or avoiding uncomfortable conversations is not going to help anyone. People need to hear the truth. Tell them the truth. Tell them with empathy & compassion, but tell them the truth or their health is in serious jeopardy.

Travis first joined Linchpin in 2019 after being a part of several different gyms. In 2023 he left Linchpin & tried a different program for 5 months. That program left his body feeling beat up, so he decided to rejoin Linchpin. He's happy to be back & shares his fitness journey during this episode.

Buy-in's & cash-out's. C2 rower vs Assault Rower. Programming considerations. When is doing "extra" warranted? Monitoring data. Pre-workout stretching. Machines for bodybuilding. When to add a vest to Linchpin Test 13. Training for other sports. Strict Press vs strict hspu. Alternatives to squatting. When do you need to "suck it up"? Which movements to program? Sports massage.

Chris is a husband, a father, a physical therapist, & a former program hopper. He has been active his entire life & played multiple sport. He tried CrossFit, bodybuilding workouts, Wendler 5/3/1, other strength programs & even created workouts for himself. We discuss his fitness journey, lessons learned & what lead him to Linchpin.

Assigning loads vs letting athletes choose. Frequency of bike vs row workouts. How to approach accessory work. Wallballs vs Thrusters.

Artur lives in Portugal. Nikos lives in Greece. Both are married with kids & have busy jobs. Through Linchpin, they started commenting on each other's workout scores. Then they started to motivate one another & a freindly competition developed. As time went by they became true friends & talk almost every day. This is their story.

Box Jumps vs Step-ups Linchpin for Adaptive Athletes & kids. Choosing only 3 workouts a week. Improving Pull-ups. Improving Oly lifts. Do you need an Abmat for sit-ups? When you miss a day...skip it or make it up?

Josh R. is a husband, a father & a self-admitted program hopper. During a 2 year period he was a part of 12-16 different online programs. Josh walks us through his fitness journey, what lead him to try so many different programs & why he chose to return to Linchpin.

Do I ever get bored programming? What would I change about Linchpin? Body says YES, head says NO to working out. How to break through plateaus. Podcast recommendations. Thoughts on the "electrolyte craze" happening. How to workout with your kids. One arm stronger than the other. Do I look at the clock during "for time" workouts?

Chelsae is a wife, a mother to 6 children & a Linchpin member. She is also currently pregnant with another baby. This will be her 4th postpartum jounrey with Linchpin & her 3rd pregnancy with Linchpin since day one. She shares her journey & lessons learned for other moms who are pregnant & active.

Did Adrian Bozman quit? | How to get more strict pull-ups. | Echo bike & upper body fatigue. | Craziest thing I've seen in a gym. | Proper height for box step-ups. | Redefining CrossFit? | Linchpin & competition. | What is the ideal rest day. | Sustainable nutrition. | What's being tested in "Helen"?

Ruan is a husband, a new father to a little baby girl & a Linchpin member. He was born & raised in South Africa, but recently moved to Germany for a new job. He is adapting to a new country, a new culture & his new role as a dad. His free time is limited, & he only has a pair of dumbbells for working out. This is his story.

Choosing the right dumbbell loading. | How to use a sandbag. | What skill challenged me the most? | When to do the Monster Mash? | Selecting rest periods for intervals. | How deep should you squat? | Programming for a hypothetical athlete.

Scott F. is a husband, a father & a Linchpin member. For 15 years he worked as a National Park Ranger in Yosemite & the Grand Canyon. He did law enforcement, search & rescue, as well as emergency medical work. He first got into CrossFit in 2006 & has been hooked ever since. This is his story.

Does 1RM relate to as "Rx'd" loading? | 10k run program. | Programming mistakes. | Relative Intensity explained. | Is sitting all day bad? | How do you test your fitness in real life? | What is a total hip replacement? | Why is Strength + Metcon so popular? | Training for Hyrox & engine building. | How sore is too sore? | How important is handstand walking? | Training 3x per week.

Nick B. is a husband, a father, military officer & member of the Linchpin community. He spent many years as a dedicated runner doing everything from 5k runs to 100 miles races & everything in between. In 2018 he joined Linchpin & has been a member for over 6 years. This is his story.

Minimum fitness equipment. | Deload weeks. | Programming themes. | Fitness Test at the Olympics. | Taking time off from working out. | Strict before kipping for T2B? | 1st, 2nd, 3rd wave adaption in CrossFit | The kickstand squat.

Patrick S. is one of the many amazing people we have in the Linchpin community. He has a profoundly physically demanding job. Every day he moves heavy boxes for hours & hours. In a previous phase of life he was also a power lifter who experimented with performance enhancing drugs. Patrick is an open book & shares all aspects of his fitness jounrey during this interview.

My favorite movement/workout. | How to be ok scaling workouts. | Lazar & the 2024 CF Games. | Upcoming challenges - Linchpin Test 13 | Turkish Get-ups | My Paleo journey | Supplementation | Motivation | Fasting

Adrian is a gym owner & member of the Linchpin community. He grew up playing soccer & loves to dance. He first tried CrossFit while in college & has been hooked ever since. This is his story.

VO2 Max vs Lactate Threshold. | Using btwb data to improve Linchpin. | Are some weeks of Linchpin harder than others? | Pull-ups vs Chin-ups. | Olympic events I love.

Scott M started doing CrossFit in 2010. He was the heaviest he had ever been in his life at 250 pounds. He found a gym & got his diet under control. Over the last 14 years he has owned a gym, but now works out in his garage as a member of the Linchpin community. This is his story.

My favorite "on the go" snack & drink. | What did CF teach me that the SEALs did not? | Plank holds. | Does Rest = Strength? | The hardest workout I ever programmed. | How long will I keep programming? | How to lift without dying. | Fitness & kids. | How to rearrange workouts. | Proper grip for Deadlifts.

Anthony is a husband, a father, a civil enginner & a member of Linchpin. He was a 3 sport athlete in highschool who went on to attend West Point. He walks us through his time in the military as well as his fitness regimen now that he is a civilian.

Common run distances. | The love of Oly lifting. | Improving mobility & warming up. | Do workouts surprises me? | Are butterfly pull-ups worth the risk? | At what stage should we reset our PR's? | Heavy Days vs Sprint Days. | Echo Bike vs Assault Bike. | Dealing with DOMS. | When is it ok to struggle? | Real bike vs rower or Air Bikes.

Scott is a husband, a father, a clinical laboratory scientist & a Linchpin member. Originally a runner, he first tried CrossFit back in 2013 & got hooked. In 2016 he built a garage gym & started following Linchpin. He & his wife have two children & have fostered many kids over the years. This is his story.

Evan W. is a husband, a father, a fulltime farmer & a Linchpin member. He has an extremely physically demanding job which often forces his to work long days outside, regardless of the weather. Even though Evan's job is so tough, he chooses to workout. As a matter of fact, he says it helps him be a better farmer. This is his story.

How to know if a workout is original. | Meters vs Calories on the Air Bike. | Why are Thursdays & Sundays "rest days"? | Mental toughness. | Putting "notes" in btwb. | Using "Crash pads" for barbells. | Balancing Linchpin & a sport. | Improving Handstands. | Do we need to do HSPU's? | Fitness on a vacation.

Levi is a husband, a father & a Linchpin member. He has been doing CrossFit since 2014 & joined Linchpin in 2020. Over the last 10 years life has presented several challenges to his family, including serious health issues one of his daughters faced. This caused many starts & stops during his fitness journey. Levi discusses these things & much more.

Buck is a husband, a father, a school teacher & a coach. He also loves barbells & has 15 different ones in his garage gym. He has been a powerlifter, a football player & gym rat over the course of his life. He tried several online programs & found a home with Linchpin. This is his story.

Evolution of Linchpin programming. | Coming back from an injury. | Building grip strength. | The story behind "Broken Frog". | Tips for new parents trying to stay fit. | Are you "cheating" on workouts? | Linchpin's origin story. | Who programs the VNR workouts? | btwb fitness level. | What gains can you expect from Linchpin?

Marcus M. is a firefighter in Norway. He has been a member of Linchpin since 2018. This year for "Murph" he decided to do a 42.2 km run, 1000 pull-ups, 2000 push-ups, 3000 air squats & another 42.2 km run. (42.2 km is a full marathon) This took him 27 hours & 50 minutes. This is his story.

Sport Specific Training. | Foot position & lock for rope climbs. | Pain with pull-ups. | Off-season training for Games athletes. | What do I do on Rest Days? | Wearables, Heart Rate, Gadgets & Gizmos. | Running conversions for men & women. | VNR skill cycles & Linchpin. | What if CF did not exist? | Optional Accessory Work. | Internal vs External Shoulder Rotation.

Jeanne & Dawn are sisters living in Minnesota. Both have been married 30 years. Dawn has 2 kids & Jeanne has 3. They work out together each day, help each other make good decisions & keep each other motivated. This is their fitness journey.

Training around an injury | Bench Press | Modifying interval workouts. | Linchpin Camp/Open. | The ideal CF bodyweight. | Is Linchpin enough for Competitors? | Working out in extreme conditions.

Melanie is a single mom with 2 kids & a Linchpin member. She was born & raised in Guyana & moved to the US when she was 11 years old. She has an amazing career as a Thoracic Surgery PA & stays very busy raising her 2 kids & getting them to their sports practices/games. This is her story.

Sprinting over 40 years old. | Sleds & odd objects | Listening to your body. | 70% effort forever? | Zone 2 training | Progressive overload.

Terri G is a wife, a mother, a business owner & a Linchpin member. She & her husband get up at 5am every day to make sure they get in their workout. She talks about her fitness journey & what lead her to Linchpin.

Why don't I watch the CF Games? | Carb Backloading. | Linchpin in 5 years. | No-equipment option. | A Superpower I want. | "Nobody Cares. Train Harder." | Is "Murph" too much? | Upcoming physical challenges? | Single-arm training.

Jeff D is a husband, a father, & a Linchpin member. He & his wife decided to quit their jobs, sell all of their possessions & go on the adventure of a lifetime. The explored 25 countries in 15 months. Jeff talks about life, adventure, coffee & fitness.

Tall athletes vs Short athletes, pros & cons. | 3 Songs for the rest of my life. | Woking out during & after sickness. | Fitness for kids. | C2B pull-ups with a low ceiling. | How much intensity is needed at 40+ years old? | Dumbbells = fitness.

Scott is a husband, a father & has a job which has him sitting most of the day. He has been a member of Linchpin for over 2 years. Life got hectic, as it does for many of us & he let his health & fitness deteriorate to an unacceptable level around the time his second child was born. He made a decision to change his life & has not looked back. This is his story.

No bike or Rower...what can I do? | "Not For time" vs "For Quality" | Barbell Squats vs Dumbbell Squats. | Is a "Hilly" running course good or bad? | Controlling heart rate. | Are Double-unders important? | Stay fit when life is hectic. | Origins of the name "Linchpin". | Supplements.

Blake is a husband, a father & a member of the Linchpin community. He had a terrible accident in the Army when his parachute malfunctioned. This accident, along with other major life changes lead to him gaining nearly 100 pounds. In this conversation he talks about is journey back to a healthy weight & lifestyle.

A goal I'm working on. | Book recommendations. | You only have 30 minutes to train. | Swapping training days & rest days. | DIY rope climb set-ups. | Oly lifting in a wetsuit. | How to get fitter. | My dream vacation.

It is common for athletes to repeat workouts. It is also common to scale workouts & then slowly increase their difficulty over time as you progress. Should you compare times on the "same" workout if you increase the weight, for example?

Habit I would like to add or delete. | Improving high skill movements. | What movements are not worth the risk? | Advice for opening an affiliate? | Shoulder health. | Fit a long workout into a short time. | How long does it take to get strong? | Linchpin Monthly Fitness Tests. | "Open Prep" & "Murph Prep". | Lifting for 1RMs. | Mental fortitude. | How to NOT race the clock. | "For Quality" & "Not for time" workouts. | Shoes for working out. | American Ninja Warrior.

Small, daily amounts of fitness can lead to big changes in your life. You don't need a lot of time or fancy equipment to be fit & healthy. All you need is knowledge, discipline & support.