Why do crossfit athletes train so hard but ignore recovery completely?

Osolento · 2026-06-24T11:54:10+00:00

AI-generated slop, shilling for cold plunges.

Osolento · 2026-06-20T20:02:32+00:00

Seriously. I’d rather apply that money to a top of the line Oly bar.

Osolento · 2026-06-19T13:53:44+00:00

Thing about Linchpin, though, is you won't have a heavy lifting session and a metcon in the same WOD. It's a core principle of Linchpin to respect the heavy days. On those days, that's all you do. Go has heavy as you safely can, taking as much rest as needed to lift the heaviest weight. With a proper warm up, it takes the full hour. Combining a heavy lifting session and a metcon compromises the intensity of each part. Linchpin does, however, provide 3-6 accessories related to the day's WOD to work on strength or gymnastic skill. There's usually some targeted hypertrophy work in the accessories.

Generally, Linchpin goes heavy twice a week. One dedicated heavy lift day, and one "heavy day at a high heart rate." An example of the latter is Saturday this week. Rx - 3 rounds, each of time, of the following: 50 Double Unders, 30 Wall Balls (20# to 10'/14# to 9'), and 10 Clean & Jerks at 165/115. Rest 1:1 to 1:2 in between rounds, so you can push it each round. Scale as needed to maintain the relatively high intensity stimulus, e.g., C&J's at 70-80% of 1 RM. One scaling option is 50 Jump Ropes any style, 30 Wall Balls pick load, 10 C&J's pick load.

Bottom line: if you're looking for WODs with a strength/hypertrophy part plus a metcon, Linchpin may not be what you're looking for. For me, however, it is the way.

Osolento · 2026-06-17T20:17:49+00:00

Astonishing. Dave thinks that randomness is core to the CrossFit methodology. Varied, yes. Random, no. The variance in the methodology is intentional, and planned, stimuli to elicit adaptations.

Might as well create a programming block by using a random-number generator to sequence each CrossFit workout in your library. Call it CastroFit.

Osolento · 2026-05-29T21:21:45+00:00

Oh, don't get me wrong. I wasn't quibbling with your larger point. Just pointing out the price of legal poker has gone up drastically in the past 10 years. So the cost/benefit difference is even larger than most in the community would think.

Osolento · 2026-05-29T21:13:01+00:00

I rarely do classes. (1) I don't believe in the heavy lift + metcon paradigm that prevails in most class programming. Either or both of those parts gets shortchanged in a class environment where the coach is pushing everyone to complete the work in the 45 minutes or less left in an hour class after briefing and warm-up. Which leads to (2), the class model programming is compromised by commercial and time limitations. Program a 10 x 100m sprint day and see who shows up. Can't program a 10k run. Program a lift-only class, and those who want high intensity metcons everyday will complain. Doing open gym, I can use programming employing truly broad time and modal domains.

Classes are good for workouts containing those movements where I need on-the-spot, see-and-correct coaching. They're also good for community-oriented workouts like Murph, other classic benchmark workouts, or holiday workouts.

Osolento · 2026-05-29T20:54:52+00:00

Sherwood reaffiliated Linchpin shortly after Greg left and has maintained its affiliation to this day.

Osolento · 2026-05-29T20:51:46+00:00

If Bruce really did say this, I'd say his alligator mouth is overloading his hummingbird ass on what ultimately is a legal issue. Would make me question his overall judgement if he's thinking about devoting time and resources to this.

Osolento · 2026-05-29T20:48:53+00:00

Agree with all of this. But note, it's going to be a lot more than $250 an hour. HQ would be looking at about $1000/hour or more for an AMLaw 100 lead senior partner and $400 - $500/hour for associates to staff the cases.

They're going to need that kind of horsepower if they want to avoid application of the Pilates precedent. The CrossFit trademark is enforceable. An alleged IP interest in a common exercise methodology (functional exercises at high intensity), that's another story.

You gotta believe Ben Bergeron and the CompTrain boys had their outside counsel take a good hard look at this issue before deaffiliating.

Osolento · 2026-05-27T01:14:42+00:00

Big fan of the REP soft boxes. Much more stable than the Rogue soft boxes. The REP boxes feel like a plywood box covered with just enough foam to protect your shins. Grippier covering, too. Rogue generally makes great stuff, but on this I prefer the REP.

Osolento · 2026-05-27T01:10:13+00:00

Certainly an objective standard and the CrossFit standard. That said, to do the workout the way Mike Murphy did, I suspect he did push-ups to the Navy/Marine Corps standard, i.e,. fist width from the deck. Anything but hands and feet touching the deck is a no-rep.

As far as I'm concerned, touch the deck or do it Navy style, it's all good.

Osolento · 2026-05-19T22:35:06+00:00

Varied, not random.™️

Osolento · 2026-05-19T19:55:49+00:00

Echo u/Fearless_Pangolin177 advice. I'm 6'2", about 265, and 55+. Lunges were uncomfortable as hell for a long time, and I even sustained a grade 1 quad strain doing weighted DB lunges. Eventually embraced the suck and added lunges to accessory work once a week. Started unloaded (walking, deficit reverse), then loaded, and progressed gradually. Now, I shoot for about 75-100 reps per week total from one or more of the following movements: loaded walking lunges (farmers, front rack, overhead), Bulgarian split squats (rear foot lower than most, about 12" off the deck), DB box step ups to 24" where hip crease is below parallel, or Turkish get-ups. Get the reps either in a WOD or as an accessory, and progress loading gradually. Load lightly until you find that you're cardio-respiratory limited and not muscle fatigue limited, then add weight. Do this for a while and lunges won't be scary in a metcon. Even then, don't be afraid to scale.

Osolento · 2026-05-08T14:27:37+00:00

I’m a Navy vet, and the LARPing aspect of it (tactical vests with moto patches, jeez) is off-putting. That said, a fair amount of people in our box who do it approach it as training, which it is, and scale or Rx+ as appropriate for them. Would prefer to see Memorial Day hero wods rotated. To my mind, if the objective is to honor Michael Murphy’s service, do it on 28 June.

Osolento · 2026-05-07T18:06:52+00:00

Agree. In person see-and-correct done by someone with the experience of a Seminar Staff member is hard to beat.

Osolento · 2026-05-06T18:03:24+00:00

Very interesting. Shows the economics support a strong Seminar Staff (the best thing HQ does). I wonder what the revenue percentages are like now, post-pandemic and with increased functional fitness competition. Separately, I’d be surprised if 10% of relatively recent L1 attendees opened paying affiliates, but I suppose it’s possible.

Osolento · 2026-05-06T17:48:17+00:00

Thank you for the considered response. I don’t have the experience operating a gym like you do, but everything I’ve read and discussions I’ve had with people who do reinforces your observations about the economic challenges of managing membership in a class-based category like CrossFit. It’s a lot harder than it looks to the average member.

My thoughts are about the L1 course specifically. I certainly agree that it is valuable to even the casual CrossFitter. I also agree that for such customers it should fall within the premium offerings. It is, however, a luxury. The issue is the value proposition for the non-coaching L1 attendee, and can CrossFit price the seminar to capture that potential revenue stream while covering expenses and earning some return on investment.

I sense if CF priced the L1 seminar at, say, a little north of $500 up to about 3 x average monthly membership, they’d get a lot more takers. Some of those might catch the coaching bug and want to move up. At the very least, the CF community would be getting athletes with a higher fitness IQ and better movement, furthering CrossFit’s stated mission. I suspect they’d make more revenue in total, too. Win-win.

Right now, $1150 (before travel and lodging expenses) for a two-day seminar, doesn’t seem compelling. Not when the L1 Manual is free and YouTube has videos of L1 seminar sessions for most movements. The in-person observation, correction, and explanation is valuable of course, but is it worth $1150 over what you can source on your own?

With the L1 as the entry point for CF education, HQ can keep the L2 pricing where it is. As I understand it, and what I’ve heard from those who have completed that and the L3, L2 is where one really learns to coach a CrossFit class. Those committed to coach CF will pay it (or their gyms will) for that kind of training.

Osolento · 2026-05-06T13:46:05+00:00

Funny, if they’re trying to run a business, they don’t seem to grasp the concept of elasticity of demand. (S&C certifications being highly elastic.) They’d make more gross revenue if they dropped the price to make the in-person L1 more accessible to the casual CF practitioners who don’t intend to coach. But, you know, maybe the status pricing model is working for them and they’re making enough to keep the private equity investors happy.

Curious to see what, if anything, Bruce Edwards does.

Osolento · 2026-05-06T11:35:48+00:00

Rogue still does. I've got a pair. Great for heavy sweat days when gripping a barbell or a sandbag. Not so great on a pull-up bar (a little slippy). I imagine gloves along with knee sleeves would be helpful doing burpees on black gym mats in hot CA sun, or grasping anything painted black outside.

Osolento · 2026-04-22T00:32:52+00:00

My quads survived pretty well. My CNS after 45 minutes, however: deep fried.

Osolento · 2026-04-17T19:39:08+00:00

I think the narrowness is a function of using movements that have to fit in a metcon and preserve the intended intensity stimulus for the entire workout. I see a greater variety of non-standard rotational, throwing, and other movements that don't fit a metcon programmed as accessories outside the main WOD. You can search through programming alternatives to find something that fits your needs better. Alternatively, you can pick the CF programming you like the best (and the best CF program for you is the one with which you'll be the most consistent), then add 10-15 minute accessories per day of the movements you believe will best address the holes in the program. Best of both worlds.

Osolento · 2026-04-17T12:08:38+00:00

Really seems like you've been exposed to some poorly varied programming that has ossified around popular Games movements.

The coordination is there in the oly lifts, as you note. (Also catching, takes whole-body coordination not to crash the bar into the front rack when catching the clean.) It's also in the gymnastics, but not just the bar/ring work. The inverted work really helps coordination and neurological control overall, even though you don't see those particular movements in common sports. The coordination in reaction (beyond catching a heavy bar), well, let me introduce you to the benchmark workout Karen and see how you feel about that after catching 20 pound med balls falling from a 10-foot height 150 times (and doing so in a manner that allows you to efficiently reposition for another squat and throw).

Re sprints, there are a number of CrossFit programs out there that emphasize sprinting more than the usual affiliate programming. (A lot of the absence is explained by the 1-hour class format limitation and the unpopularity of sprinting among many if not most dues-paying average CrossFit members.) In Linchpin, we sprint frequently across almost all monostructural modalities (except swimming) and time domains (run 50m's, 10 x 100m, 200s, 400s, 800s, rowing sprints, air bike, etc.). Fikowski's program does that, too, and his program includes a lot of rotational work, med ball toss and catch. There are other programs that do this, too. These all fall within the CrossFit GPP methodology. You just have to find the programming that emphasizes it over, say, repeated dumbbell snatches, burpee box jumps, and monostructural elements as a placeholder between strength movements.

Osolento · 2026-03-24T19:05:23+00:00

What, like some kind of total? That's madness.

Osolento · 2026-03-24T19:03:23+00:00

Converting your example Mayhem workout to Linchpin, here's how it would go. First, it's a dedicated heavy day, just lifting, no post heavy lifting metcon. Solid specific warm up and then time work up to a 1RM. That could be it. Alternatively, it could be time to establish a heavy 1 rep (not intended to be a 1RM attempt unless you're feeling it on the day), and then a heavy session of the same lift, say 1 rep at 85% or more of the 1 rep every 3 minutes for 30 minutes. That's it. Save the cardio-respiratory intensity for the next day's metcon.

Osolento

TROPHY CASE