Linchpin Conversations

Honest growth vs click bait. The VNR cycles Strong clean but weak jerk. Zone 2 with a bad knee. Training with a weight vest. CrossFit for longevity. More back squats please. The biggest change in CrossFit I've seen. Lifts from the hang. Training after the military. 

Bruce has been doing CrossFit for a very long time. He first started doing it in 2008 when he was 41 years old. Now he is 59 with lots of lessons & experience under his belt. In 2022 he sustained a major injury & the doctors told him he would never train again. Bruce chose his own path. This is his story. 

 Intro Warm-ups & Stretching. Linchpin Test 13. Fixing an early arm pull. Barbell complexes. A good pump session. Deviating from the programming. Working out Monday thru Friday. Linchpin meet-ups. Big Glutes & Handstand Walking. Measuring Fitness across your lifetime. Why do L-sits hate me? Is flexibility programmed? How did I do on the 45 minute bike ride? 

Brandon is a husband & a father of an 11 month old baby boy. Over the last year he has dealt with the major life changes that happen when you become a parent. Free time disappears & priorities shift. Through all of this he has found a way not to lose himself or his fitness. This is his story.

Repeat workouts vs new workouts. How to improve your pull-ups the right way. Double-under vs Single-unders. Do Hobbies exist? Squatober, Deadcember, Benchuary Burpees & Linchpin Test 13 Workout Variations & Equipment. Do I follow the program with everyone else? Pelvic floor concerns. Zone 2 training. Box Step-up Heights.

This is my second interview with Phil & a lot has happened since the last time we spoke a couple of years ago. During that time he spent about 18 months on a GLP-1 & also did a bit of program hopping. In this conversation he speaks candidly about his personal experience on the weight loss drug as well as what lead him back to Linchpin.

Do I consult my wife about programming? Do I use AI when programming? Should people improve at a specific rate? Getting Comfortable being Uncomfortable. Tips for Consistency. Does Linchpin have a training bias? Do I program the VNR track? Which movement was toughest for me to learn? Training for Form vs Function. Suffering during Rest Periods. Why do I program in 4-week blocks? Strict vs Kipping Pull-ups

Gustav is a busy husband & father living on a island off the coast of Sweden. His fitness journey has included Youtube workout videos, globo gyms, CrossFit affiliates & Linchpin. He has stopped & started Linchpin several times over the last few years until he finally realized that Linchpin delivers all the fitness he will ever need while still allowing him to have time for family, friends & life. This is his story.

Warming up properly Home Gym Gear List Strength Blocks Men's vs Women's barbells Back on the Wagon Defining Interval Training Two Strategies for Intensity Touch-n-Go Reps vs Dropping from the Top Wall Timer vs Wrist Watch Pure Strength vs Barbell Cycling Interval Day Strategy Data Driven Programming Attacking Individual Deficiencies Sustainable Nutrition 

Scotty is a busy husband & father of two girls. For years he pursued high volume competition training that included "heavy lift + metcon" style workouts. After two years in Linchpin he had his best placement in the CrossFit Open. He later decided to leave Linchpin & try a "masters athlete" specific program. Scotty eventually decided to stop that program & come back to Linchpin. This is his story. 

Fitness & wildfire smoke. Questions about the CrossFit Games. What's the point of box jumps? Preventing butt rash during sit-ups Trap bar deadlifts vs conventional Did I ever train with Greg Glassman? The best shoes for training. Getting your first Ring Muscle-up Training when you weigh over 300 lbs. How to enjoy "Side Quests" without overtraining.

Keba is a hard working woman. She grew up on a farm, getting up early, doing chores & tending to animals. Needless to say, she developed a serious work ethic. She has done a variety of things in her life from teaching Spanish, to owning several side businesses. She spent over a decade as the primary caregiver to her ailing mother. This eventually wore down Keba to the point she suffered from clinical depression. Medication & fitness helped turn her life around. This is her story.

Intro Should we only share perfect form on social media? How would I scale a roll to support? What if someone never snatches again? Kickstand Squats How does Linchpin programming work? Pros & Cons of only doing Strict Pull-ups.

Lukas is a professional Firefighter in Germany. He is also a husband with two children. He recently completed a very demanding diver training program for his fire department. He was one of the oldest participants but easily kept up with the younger guys. This is his story.

Intro. Scaling for a separated shoulder. Fitness for Life vs Chasing the Leaderboard Who Sticks with CrossFit & Who Quits? Fond memories from the CrossFit Games. Landmine Options for Bad Shoulders. What if Eggs did NOT exist? Forwards & Backwards Rolls to Support Is there a Right & Wrong way to log results? Max Reps on Heavy Lifts Help! I have Old, Broken Shoulders!

Y is a husband & a father of a 5 year old boy. He & his wife have a set of twins on the way. Y works as a materials engineer for an aerospace parts company. Life is busy. Free time is minimal. Everyday, he wakes up to train at 4am in the gym in his apartment building. This is his story.

Get Better at Burpees. Healthy or Fit? Choose One. Undulating Topography. Torture vs Training. Garage Flooring. Training 3x Per Week. Choosing the Right Load. Does my Ego Still Get in The Way? Work Schedule From Hell! Single Leg Dumbbell Deadlifts Getting Bigger

Mike has been a member of Linchpin for 7 years. He is an L3 trainer who believes that CF is not just a training methodology, but rather a way of life. He has been instrumental in bringing CrossFit into the Italian military. This is his story.

Checkpoint Golf modifications Books I'm reading Should Warm-ups be scaled too? Kettlebells vs Dumbbells Discomfort vs Pain/Injury Do I workout with my wife? Nutritional Resources What if the workout takes me longer than the goal time?

Brian is a UCLA grad who joined the Marine Corps. He flew F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets. Currently, he is a Captain flying for United Airlines. He has been active his entire life & has tried all different style of programming & training. He has been with Linchpin for years & shares his lessons learned & much more.

Can anything replace sleep? Tips & Tricks for working out in the heat. Programming doubts. Mobility for Barbells. Tales from the military. Pull-up Rep Schemes for Strict vs Kipping. Movements I don't program. Shuttle Sprints in limited space. How is Linchpin priced so low? Weight Belts, Knee Sleeves, Lifting Shoes, Wraps, etc

Nick is one of the Linchpin O.G.'s. He has been a member of the community for just over 8 years. During that time he has learned a lot about himself, what works & what doesn't. He is also a new grandfather at 53 years old. This is his story.

Intro - check out VNR 275 Should you buy a Bike or Rower? "The Seven" & a bachelor party. Mastering Gymnastics. A workout I would like. Landmine Twists. Calories vs Meters for Men & Women. Accessory work & dumbbells. The Medball Side Toss. Accessing the free VNR cycles. Actually using your fitness outside the gym. Creating a CrossFit Games event.

Mike is a husband, as well as a father of two children. He is a full time fire fighter that has learned how to manage fitness while having a demanding job that requires him to work 24 hours on & 48 hours off. He also enjoyed doing Jiu-jitsu twice a week. We discussed all of these topics & much more.

Checkpoint Golf Checkpoint Hotel Checkpoint India Checkpoint Juliet Checkpoint Kilo Checkpoint Lima

Jesse is a husband, as well as being a father of 4 kids. During his life he has dealt with difficult times, for example, he attended Grad School while working full time & have a 2 month old baby at home. He has weighed as little as 135 pounds to as much as 220 pounds & everything in between. No matter that sort of chaos life has dealt him, he has put his family first & still found a way to take care of himself. This is his story.

Skipping the warm-up. New Linchpin Monthly Tests Why do Bulgarian Split Squats wreck me? What do people ask me to add or remove from programming? Humidity, sweat & nastiness. The VNR Back Squat Capacity program. Sandbags are fun. What Supplements do I take?

Skipping the warm-up. New Linchpin Monthly Tests Why do Bulgarian Split Squats wreck me? What do people ask me to add or remove from programming? Humidity, sweat & nastiness. The VNR Back Squat Capacity program. Sandbags are fun. What Supplements do I take?

Amy has been serving in the Austrian police force for 15 years. She is married & has a 10-month old baby boy. She did the "heavy lift + metcon" style of CrossFit for several years before leaving that behind & choosing Linchpin. This is her story.

Is "Fasting" hype or real? Becoming a better runner. Power Snatching your Bodyweight 18 times. Linchpin & Jiu Jitsu Workouts I like. Shift work makes fitness tough. Why is the Air Runner so tough? Clean & Jerk vs Shoulder-to-Overhead Building out your garage gym. Using Accessory work as a 2nd session.

Emily lives in the U.K. & trains in an old barn that is hundreds of years old. She has been into sports her entire life & her true passion is Rugby. She has experimented with classic strength training, long distance running & CrossFit. She is a self-proclaimed program hopper that keeps making her way back into the Linchpin community. This is her story.

The mental game of fitness. Muscle-up substitutions. Raising Chickens. Returning to training after illness. Caloric demands of training. Considerations for Rowing. Who needs extra strength work? Uncommon equipment that I enjoy.

Rob is a husband & a father of 3 girls. He entered the Army after college & traveled the world a bit. After the military he got a membership to 24 Hour Fitness & would do whatever workout routine caught his eye. Once he learned about CrossFit he got hooked & never looked back. This is his story.

Strict before Kipping, is it just for Pull-ups? Proper pacing for interval training. Frequently seen movements. Update on my total hip replacement. Why does Linchpin work so well? What to do when you miss a training day? Heavy Lift + Metcon. Training only 3x per week. 4 Euros & a Yank.

Jim did 10 Strict Unbroken Chin-ups on his 70th birthday. He is setting an example of long term health & fitness that should be a goal for all of us. He has been active his entire life, enjoying a wide variety of physical activities from body building to long distance running. At 60 years old he began powerlifting & competed at the national level. His fitness journey lead him to Linchpin, & he explains why.

CFL1 vs CFL2 vs CFL3 vs CFL4 Mental block with Box Jumps Linchpin in one sentence. Understanding the "No-Equipment Option" Bar Path with a Big Belly Workouts that haunt me. Favorite CrossFit Fads Deload Week vs Modulating Intensity Coming back after a 6 year break.

Ricardo is a physiotherapist living & working just south of Santiago, Chile. When people get injured in sports or daily life, he helps them recover & get back to 100%. He uses classic techniques in his therapy practice as well as incorporating functional movements. This is his story.

Athletes who make smart decisions. Improving Oly lifts. Will Zone 2 improve high intensity efforts? How many Pull-ups & Dips = 1 Muscle-up? No-equipment workout. Active vs Full Rest Days.

Tomasz was born & raised in Poland before moving to the U.K. in hopes of a better life. Working a stressful job with long hours did not leave him with a lot of time to workout. He was unhappy with how he looked & ready for a change. He has bounced around various programs from power lifting to body building to fitness. He now calls Linchpin his home & worked out at a local gym in his town until an arsonist set it on fire! This is his story.

Why do people Quit CrossFit? How to increase your pull-ups. How to approach a 1RM. What's the point of a cool down? How to use a "landmine attachment". How do we program Thursdays & Sundays for gyms? A realistic take on mobility. Is accessory work really optional? Are Running, biking & rowing interchangeable? What is my Rest Day routine?

Garbage, Recycling, Mt. Kilimanjaro & CrossFit. John is a husband, a father & the CEO of a recycling company. He started doing CrossFit 20 years ago. During that time he has tried many different programs, training styles & even climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. All of his travels brought him to Linchpin & he explains why.

Thoughts on "Gwen" Dumbbells & weight loss. What does "Rest as Needed" mean? Linchpin & BJJ Pros & Cons of 5am workouts. Getting a Linchpin tattoo Segmented Lifting & Cardio programs Evening training disrupts sleep. Is the Zone Diet relevant in 2026?

Jo is the president of Gem Air, based in Salmon, Idaho. This is a family business that she had no intention of running, but life has a way at laughing at your plans. She has been athletic all her life & even competed at the Crossfit Games on a team. In addition to all of that she has been a river guide for 25 years. This is her story.

Repeating a year of programming. Back Squat is stuck. Fitness while traveling. Why is Linchpin's logo orange? Optional Accessory work Warming up or Cooling Down, which is more important Building up load vs Holding the same weight across Program Hoppers Avoiding 1RM Tactical Games Jump Rope Box Get Overs Choosing loading.

Jake is a husband & father of two children. He works as a Corrections Officer in a prison. For years he trained & competed as a Strongman. When his daughter was born he took a hard look at the decisons he was making for his long term health & fitness. This lead Jake to Linchpin & he just celebrated his one year anniversary.

Ryan is a husband & father of 2 kids. After many years with Linchpin he decided to try different programming. He emailed me about his experience & how trying the other programming solidified his decision to return to Linchpin asap. This is his story.

Warm-ups Gross Movement Patterns When is too old for a 1RM Deadlift? Balancing Training & Sports My Favorite Meal Fitness for Astronauts Fitness IQ Women over 40 are under attack. Linchpin Tests vs Monthly Fitness Tests How to use the VNR cycles Run/Bike/Row & Pull-ups Axle Bar vs Traditional Barbell Shuttle Runs

Nick is an active duty member of the U.S. Navy. He has been active his entire life. He attended his Level 1 CrossFit seminar in 2008 & then pursued Olympic Weightlifting for several years. An injury forced him to abandon Oly lifting & start exploring various other training programs. This journey lead him to Linchpin. This is his story.

Building grip strength. Should you do something on Rest Days? Hyrox style workouts. Male & female distances & calories. Ways to approach bike sprints. The VNR "Get your 1st Pull-up" cycle. Getting out of your comfort zone. Help! I can only train 3 days a week. Singles vs Doubles on Heavy Days Let's talk watches & hobbies.

Jan's story is interesting. He was a program hopper for many years of his life, bouncing from one to another. However, he has officially been a membr of the Linchpin community for over 7 years! This makes him a true Linchpin O.G. During this interview he explains what drew him to Linchpin so many years ago & why he has stayed.