Paul B. Weber

10/17/2026

10/16/2026

10/14/2026

One weekend to assess CrossFit athletes, and I think this is the most targeted group of tests yet.

In years past I had completely overdone it. 3 sessions in one day, one year we did a 500m swim into a 5k run…everyone was cooked for the rest of the weekend. Can’t do that if you want to compare the results to other athletes who did the tests fresh.

That means the workload has to be manageable. Everyone has to go into each test relatively fresh. No workout longer than 10 minutes here for that reason.

Swipe for some of the thinking behind why each test earned its place, and what it tells you about how you need to train.

CrossFit is an endurance sport for very strong people. If you can’t lift the weights there’s nothing to endure.

The numbers you need in these lifts go up with each competitive level.

The Snatch:Back Squat ratio gives you a clue as to whether you need to focus on speed and oly technique or absolute strength in squats and pulls. A balanced athlete will be 60-65%.

The 85% set gives you insight into how you express strength and how to target your strength training. A very high score indicates you might want to focus on top-end strength. A low score indicates you might need more strength-endurance work. Male target is 6+ reps, female target is 9+.

The ring muscle up. Tested every year. Uniquely funky CrossFit skill that takes years to refine. Tests pulling and pushing.

30 is the volume we need to master, and the higher the competitive level, the bigger your opening set and the faster you get the 30 done.

In training, I start accumulating volume in gymnastics movements with ~25% of an athlete’s max unbroken set, then gradually challenge them with bigger sets, usually all before introducing heavy breathing around the movement.

Movement efficiency. Over and over again CrossFit asks how easy it is for you to hold your arm over your head. This tests that concisely. Adding the hip and knee flexion challenges how much mastery you have with the overhead position even more. Double unders - purely a test of how much one rep costs you - this test is all about efficiency.

Best time from last weekend was ~7 minutes.

🤌

Simple. Work.

Adjust

10/13/2026

Training Camp 2026 - Dallas

Thank you guys for making it one to remember. Your effort and desire to learn made this weekend such a highlight. Thank you CrossFit Luna for hosting and Michael Kamargo for helping lead. Until next time.

colecaldwell
Sean Wilkinson
Sophia Chavez
Rene Brechtel
Lindsay Ladd
Sydney Wesberry
Jake Lewis
Chen Du
Colton Schriver
Alex Kamargo
Michael Kamargo
Anton Samoilik

10/07/2026

Demanding prep for a demanding comp. Jumping right into this amount of work for most people would lead right to disaster-town. But Jeremy has built a ton of work capacity (a lot of it through low intensity training, not by training like this every week of the year) so he was ready for it.

Some cool movement selection at this comp every year and the workload is always high. Wanted him to get exposures to lots of possible movements (especially odd things like axle bar, pegboard, legless, HSW obstacles, get overs, zercher yoke, GHDSU) and that amount of potential variety means you have to decide whether to go all in on a few movements or touch more of them). We touched a lot of them. On top of that, notice how much work he’s doing on ergs. More cardiorespiratory fitness = faster recovery and that applies to our sport as well. Get it with machines to preserve the body, even in prep.

Excited to see him throw down and enjoy the peak performance this weekend.

Jeremy Gwizdala

10/07/2026

If your progress has stalled despite training hard, I’ve been there.

You’re grinding heavy lifts, you’re busting it in your conditioning, but nothing seems to be moving.

This is usually because you’re training like you’re peaking in everything, all at once.

This works for the first 4 years or so, then stops working.

Once you’ve been training for a while, it’s time for some priorities and periodization.

Peak performance is not something that can be sustained forever.

It’s a moment in time, so plan when you want that moment to be, and then structure your training to prepare you for that moment.

This will mean accepting a dip in performance from your peak, and that’s ok.

If your progress has stalled despite training hard, it’s probably time for priorities and periodization.

10/06/2026

If your deadlift is way above your sn**ch and clean, you’re not alone. One study of Olympic weightlifters found no significant correlation between the conventional deadlift and the sn**ch and clean and jerk.

That’s not to say you should never train your deadlift, but that the positions in the Olympic lifts are unique.

If your Olympic lifts are the priority, consider emphasizing sn**ch and clean deadlift and pull variants.

If pulling mechanics are at issue, then I like to emphasize
each position with pauses. One of my personal favorites is floating halting deadlifts for 3-5 reps, with or without a riser. Segment deads and pulls are also great.

If “just get stronger” isn’t working, look at the positions you actually want to get stronger in. And find ways to challenge yourself in them.

10/06/2026

If you can back squat heavy, but your front squat collapses forward, and you’ve tried just adding more front squat volume, wrist mobility drills, and “elbows-up”, but the gap hasn’t closed — it might be your upper back strength.

Specifically upper back strength in thoracic flexion and scapular protraction. Here are my favorite exercises for training that position:

• Jefferson curl
• Prone DB Row
• Weighted Inverted Rows
• Barbell Bent Rows

On ex*****on, allow your shoulders to round forward, to replicate the position you get into in a front squat.

Pick 2 of these exercises, do each once a week for 3-5 sets in the 3-8RM range, and run them for at least 6 weeks before changing exercises.

Get really strong in these, combined with emphasizing the front squat in your program, to build a strong front squat.

10/05/2026

If you notice your lower back getting pumped in CrossFit workouts, here’s how to fix it.

A lot of CrossFit competitors have a massive front squat relative to their deadlift. While that often has to due to with limb lengths, it’s also often due to an undeveloped posterior chain.

The fix is picking a couple of these exercises:

RDL
SLDL
Jefferson Curl
Good Morning
Glute Ham Raise

…and getting really strong in them.

Treat them like lifts you want to progress. They’re not extra, if this is your limiter in workouts they may be some of the most important sets you do in the week.

Getting strong in the 3-8RM range with these tends to clear that lower back pump issue right up.