Varied Not Random

-An athlete has been doing CrossFit for 12 years & struggled with many Rx'd loadings.-They are 40 years old & noticed a difficulty in improving strength.-They want to know if they should apply a progressive overload approach to daily Crossfit workouts, pursue a dedicated strength program or simply struggle through the Rx'd loadings each day.-Pat & Boz answer this question & more.

-What is the major difference between CrossFit & traditional strength training?-Which person would be fitter?-Pat & Boz answer these questions & more.

-Dr. Allison Brager is an active duty neurobiologist and Major in the U.S.Army supporting Special Forces and NATO partners. -At present, she has reapplied as a NASA astronaut candidate, having been a semifinalist for the Class of 2020. -Her research examines genetic and neurobiological factors of resiliency to extreme stress in extreme environments to include Antarctica and the Central American rainforest and she has done research with Special Forces, ultra-marathon athletes, and other elite professional and Olympic athletes. -She has over 45 publications in flagship biomedical journals.-Pat, Boz & Allison discuss sleep, NASA, the central nervous system, fitness & more.

-Jamie Shepperson originally submitted a question about squatting that was answered on VNR episode 181. In his question he revealed his occupation as a window cleaner.-Pat & Boz thought it would be fascinating & fun to speak with someone about the physical demands of that rather unusual occupation. -Jamie reached out saying he would be open to discussing the demands of his job & this episode was born.-Pat, Boz & Jamie talk about window cleaning, fitness & more.

-Ryan Hudson is the owner of Level 5.-He owns a CrossFit gym as well as a more traditional body building style gym.-Over the years he has built his business up to 1,200 members.-Ryan's gyms offer key card access & are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.-Ryan explains his journey as a business owner, the lessons he has learned & shares how others can replicate what he has accomplished.-Pat & Boz discuss running a successful gym with Ryan.

-Samantha Briggs is a legend in the world of CrossFit.-She was 2013 CrossFit Games Champion & was crowned “Fittest on Earth”.-She competed at the CrossFit Games 11 times.-Currently, she is a firefighter & just finished paramedic school.-She discusses how her training has evolved over the years at this phase of her life.-Pat & Boz & Samantha discuss training, life & more.

-A VNR listener wants to know if Pat & Boz hope the CrossFit methodology & Sport will look the same in 10 years or evolve?-If we want it to evolve, how will it look?-What factors could impede change?-Pat & Boz discuss this topic & offer their perspective.

-Two VNR listeners wrote in with questions regarding injuries.-One woman is in her mid 40's with a herniated disk she got when “ego lifting”. She's 18 months into rehab & struggling with the emotional side of the injury.-The gentleman is in his 50's & he has had 4 orthopedic shoulder surgeries in the span of 8 years. He is not sure if he will ever be able to go overhead again & is looking for advice.-Pat & Boz discuss these topics & offer their perspective

-The average One Mile Run time is presented for men & women at 30, 40 & 50 years old.  -The average number of Strict Pull-ups is also presented for men & women at 30, 40 & 50 years old. -Pat & Boz discuss these numbers & provide context.

-A VNR listener wants to know which movement she should focus on developing first, ring muscle-ups or bar muscle-ups?-She also wants to know if she should learn the movement strict or is it ok to kip? -Pat & Boz answer these questions.

-A VNR listener has two questions. -First, what is the best substitute for pull-ups if you don't have a pull-up bar?-Second, what is the best fitness regime to maintain muscle mass at 50 years old?-Pat & Boz discuss these topics.

-A VNR listener wants to know what trends in fitness today would be considered “fringe”?-Pat & Boz discuss fitness trends that used to be fringe, currently still are, and ones they wish would go away.

-A VNR listener wants to know if using heavier loads in workouts will increase his fitness?-Pat & Boz discuss this topic & offer some points to consider.

-Pat asked Artificial Intelligence what the top 3 Pros & Cons of CrossFit training are.-Pat & Boz discuss the Pros & Cons to decide whether or not Artificial Intelligence provided a fair & accurate assessment.

-Establishing a 1 Rep Max is an important part of your fitness journey.-Warm-ups, rest periods & loading choices all play a critical part.-There is no one correct way to establish a 1 Rep Max, but Pat & Boz explain what they like to do.

-Chris Rawlins is a jump rope expert.-He is a Buddy Lee Jump Ropes Level 3 Master Trainer.-He was the original Lead Instructor and Program Manager for the former CrossFit Jump Rope/Buddy Lee Masterclass.-Chris discusses all aspects of the jump rope that can be utilized & maximized.-Most people are only unlocking a fraction of the capacity available through proper jump rope training.-Pat & Boz & Chris discuss this topic.

-A VNR listener has been working out since 2012, typically in the afternoon.-For the last 6 months they have had to train at 5am.-They find lifting weights & being explosive at that hour to be very difficult.-They want to know why training in the morning is different from training later in the day.-Pat & Boz dive into this topic.

-Should you program your own workouts or follow other programming?-There are pros & cons to creating your own workouts.-There are pros & cons to following programming created by someone else.-Pat & Boz dive into this topic.

-Competitions, regardless of whether they are local comps or large scale events have potential pros & cons.-They can be fun community events & provide people with a goal to train for.-However, not all comps are created equal.-Pat & Boz have an unfiltered discussion on this topic.

- Many people define whether or not they “PR” on a given workout using rather simple metrics.- If they do the workout faster, it is a “PR”. If they lift more weight, it is a “PR”.- While these are useful metrics, they are not the only factors athletes should take into consideration.- Pat & Boz discuss this topic.

- Over the last 4 years Pat & Adrian have recorded 200 episodes of Varied Not Random.- Pat & Boz reflect on lessons learned & key takeaways from all of the guests they have interviews & the topics they have discussed.

- Dr. Carolynn Francavilla is Board Certified in Family Medicine and a Diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine. She is a nationally recognized obesity expert, lecturing to clinicians on the topic obesity. Dr. Francavilla serves on the Obesity Medicine Association Board of Trustees.- She discusses obesity's causes, treatments & much more with Pat & Adrian.

- Nick Lima is a professional soccer player. - Nick has played for various MLS team & was a member of the US Men's National Team.- He discusses life, training & more with Pat & Adrian.

- A VNR listener wants to know how Pat & Adrian found out about CrossFit many years ago.- What was their introduction to CrossFit like & what was it like back in the early days?- Pat & Adrian discuss this topic & more.

- A VNR listener wants to know how to incorporate learning gymnastics skills into a program.- Weightlifting gets its own dedicated day…should gymnastics?- Pat & Adrian discuss this topic & more.

- John Clark has been Britain's Natural Strongest Man 2X, Midlands Strongest Man 2x, England's Strongest Man competitor 3x, deadlifted 880 lbs drug free & also squatted 836 lbs.- Pat & John discuss his view on training, nutrition & more.

- Denis Vasilev is an 11 time World Champion in kettlebells.- Pat, Adiran & Denis discussed his journey into this sport, how he trains, technique, how & why people can benefit from kettlebells & much more.

- Ozempic is one of the most popular pharmaceutical productions currently on the market being used for weight loss.- Millions of Americans have either tired this product and/or are currently taking it.- Who should use this product?- Is it necessary?- What are the pros & cons?- Special guest EC Synowski from OptimizeMe Nutrition provides her perspective.- Pat & EC Synkowski discuss this topic.

- Jerry Pritchett is regarded as one of the best deadlifters in the world.- He competed multiple times at the World's Strongest Man.- He earned the title of “America's Strongest Man” in 2017.- His best deadlift was 465 kg (1,025 lbs) & his best “raw” deadlift was 415 kg (915 lbs)- He is also a father & a professional metal fabricator. - Pat, Adrian & Jerry discuss what it takes to get strong & many other topics.

- A VNR listener wants to know if he should lift before or after his CrossFit class.- Currently, he takes a CrossFit class & then immediately after attends a weightlifting class.- He wants to know if this order is ok or if he should change his schedule to lift first.- Pat & Adrian discuss this topic.

- As a trainer/coach it is your responsibility to tell the truth to your clients.- It is impossible to truly improve someone's health & fitness if certain subjects are not allowed to be addressed.- Telling the truth may make for some uncomfortable conversations, but they are necessary.- Telling the truth can be done with empathy & compassion without sugarcoating the message. - Pat & Adrian discuss this topic.

- Jonathan, a VNR listener, wants to know if it is necessary to be a member of a CrossFit gym in order to learn about intensity?- Can someone training alone truly workout at a level of relative intensity that is high enough to produce results? - Pat & Adrian discuss this topic.

- Katie, a VNR listener, wants to know if training for multiple competitions at once is ok.- She wants to train & compete in a Strongman event & then compete in a CrossFit competition a week later.- Pat & Adrian discuss this topic.

- A trainer wants to know if allowing a little bit of bad technique is ok to make athletes feel good?- Pat & Adrian discuss this topic.

- A husband & wife want to workout together, but they only have 1 barbell & one set of dumbbells.- They want to know how to make any workout into a partner workout.- Pat & Adrian discuss the various types of partner workouts & the many aspects to consider when programming them.

- Are Rebounding box jumps dangerous?- Is there a real or just a perceived risk involved?- What are the pros & cons of rebounding box jumps?- Who should do them & who should avoid them?- Pat & Boz discuss these topics.

- What is the definition of Intensity?- How do we measure it?- Why is intensity important for fitness?- Pat & Adrian answer these questions are answered & many more topics related to intensity are covered.

- A new person has only been doing CrossFit for 3 weeks.- They are hurting & sore all over.- They can barely keep up during the workouts.- Recently, this new person decided to stop before the entire workout was complete.- The other members of the gym tried to motivate him by yelling, “Go! Go! Go!”, but that was the last thing this person wanted to hear & he yelled at them to be quiet.- Was the new member out of line? Were the other members right or wrong?- Pat & Adrian address these issues.

- A member of a CrossFit gym is unsure whether or not he should leave his current gym & find another one.- The owners seem to play favorites with some members, while ignoring others.- Members who are friends with the owner can train twice a day, other members are not allowed to.- Pat & Adrian address these issues.

- A VNR listener named Jamie wrote in with a couple of questions.- He wants to know if taking “seasonal breaks” from fitness is okay?- He also wants to know how much squatting is too much?- Pat & Adrian address these topics.

- This is the ultimate guide to optimizing your experience with btwb.- Jake works for btwb & is a subject matter expert. - Pat asked the community for their top questions about the btwb app.- Jake answers every question in detail, including doing a screen share when needed, to ensure everything is crystal clear.- Topics covered are:- What is Tempus & how to use it.- C2 Rower & Rogue Air Bike integration with Tempus.- What sort of workouts function with Tempus?- Logging/switching from pounds to kilograms.- Workout “notes”.- What happens if you do a workout on a different day than it was prescribed?- Transferring data from other platforms to bwtb.- Explaining “Gym Association” & how to update it.- How to look up PR's for lifts, movements & workouts.- How to find % for lifts & estimate your 1RM.- What happens if a repeat workout does not show up for comparison. - The movement milestone feature.- If a movement uses 2 dumbbells, do you log the weight of 1 dumbbell or both dumbbells?- Lifetime PR vs improvement from last time vs lifetime average data.- How to add a location to a workout.- How to add a photo to the background of a workout & share it.- How to move workout days.- Synchronizing features between the btwb mobile app & browser.- Can you share your btwb account/profile as a public link?

- Kurtis Bowler & his wife Laurie opened Rainer CrossFit in 2004.- Their gym recently celebrated its 20 year anniversary as a CrossFit affiliate.- It is currently the oldest active affiliate.- Kurtis shares the evolution of this gym over the last two decades.- He & Pat also chat about lumberjacks, grip strength & much more.

- A CrossFit enthusiast asked if butterfly pull-ups are worth the risk?- Pat & Adrian discuss this topic.

- A VNR listener does not like the “variance” aspect of the CrossFit methodology. - He wants to know what would be the pros & cons of simply repeating the same 3 weeks worth of workouts over & over forever.- Pat discusses these topics & more.

- Dan Bailey is multiyear CrossFit Games athlete, a husband & a new father to a set of twins.- Dan talks about how his life & training have changed since having kids, as well as the lessons he has learned.- He also has been pursuing the goal of a 600 lb deadlift, a 500 lb back squat & a 400 lb bench press.- Recently Dan completed the hero workout “Murph” with 100 lbs.- Pat discusses these topics & more.

- A VNR listener observed the fact that she can do a strict handstand push-up, but cannot strict press her bodyweight with a barbell.- Would working on both movements at the same time be complementary to increasing her capacity, or is it better to focus on one at a time?- Does this apply to other movements, like bench press & push-ups, etc?- Pat & Boz share their opinions on this topic.

- A VNR listener wants to know if trainers should always coach the same classes or mix it up?- If trainers always coach the same classes each day they have a better chance to deeply know those particular clients.- If trainers vary the classes they coach, they will be exposed to new members, and those members will get to experience a different coaching style.- Each side of this discussion has pros & cons.- Pat & Boz share their opinions on this topic.

- A VNR listener wants to know how he can “listen to his body” while not having FOMO about not training.- He said he feels like he is falling apart lately. He has low back pain, a tweaked knee, & tennis elbow.- He also said he admits to being a bit stubborn & stupid by continuing to train.- Pat & Boz share their opinions on this topic.

- Hampton Morris is an American weightlifter who will be representing the United States at the 2024 Olympics.- He competes in the 61 kg weight class & holds the world record for the clean & jerk.- He started oly lifting at 12 years old and his father has been his coach the entire time.- Hampton shares his most memorable moments and gives us insight into what his training looks like.

- A VNR listener said they are heartbroken because their gym recently stopped doing skill work.- This person's weakness is gymnastics movements.- They feel lost & want to know how to keep making progress.- Pat & Boz share their opinions on this topic.

- Athletes are passionate about their shoes, but is there a best one?- Do you prefer a minimalist shoe? Do you like zero drop?- Do you run in traditional running shoes or in a cross training style shoe?- Pat & Boz share their opinions on this topic.