CrossFit’s Linda Pays A Visit To Rich Man’s Gym

Posted onAuthorDavid Bradley

CrossFit’s Linda Pays A Visit To Rich Man’s Gym

What is CrossFit’s “Linda”?
Linda has 3 movements in a circuit with a descending rep scheme.  It has a

  • Deadlift
  • Horizontal Press and
  • Clean
  • The Reps descend as follows: 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1

For the purest out there the weight requirements are 1.5 x bodyweight on the deadlift, 1x bodyweight on the horizontal press and .75 x bodyweight on the clean.

CrossFit considers this a Benchmark workout.  Benchmark workouts are designed to push and test your fitness levels on all fronts: strength, endurance, and skill.

So if you, like me are “not there yet” how do work up to this?  OR better yet, can you create a similar, same-only-different workout that would allow you to push and test your current fitness level while moving towards “the real deal”?

You can obviously scale back the weight and the reps and start working your way up for sure.  However, keep in mind, you’re doing this for time and if you happen to be a garage gym enthusiast like me and don’t have the space or equipment to run 3 bars of death…  now what?

QUESTION:  Can we tweak something like Linda to be used as a standalone strength and conditioning workout or as even a finisher / met-con style workout with minimal equipment and space?

THE ANSWER:  Hell yes!

Here’s what I’m doing with Linda in the garage.  And it’s basically going down every Monday night.

MONDAY NIGHT’S AT RICH MAN’S GYM

Warm Up with 100 Jumping Jacks and 3 rounds of the Sun Salutation.

STRENGTH PRACTICE:  Heavy Deadlift Ladders superset with Pull Ups 3 rounds of 1,2,3

STRENGHT & CONDITIONING [Insert RMGs Linda variation]

  • Double Kettlebell Suitcase Deadlifts @ 32kgs
  • Atomic Push Ups
  • Double Kettlebell Cleans @ 24kgs
  • In a circuit, reps descend as follows: 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 for time.

Finish with BoSu Ball Deck Squats and Ring Rows descending reps 16,14,12,10,8 for time.

This Monday night session is a great start to the week and does a great job at prepping me and my posterior chain for Grace, another CrossFit benchmark workout that I practice on Thursdays.

Tuesday’s are about active recovery with a short AM run and longer PM Ruck.  Wednesday’s we sauna blanket and then, as mentioned, Thursdays are for Grace.

Have you tried Linda before and how did it go?

What kind of times are you seeing?  For myself, the RMG version is taking me around 15 minutes to complete.  When I’m done I’m pretty well smoked with just enough gas in the tank to do my finisher.

Elite CrossFitters can do Linda in the 11-13 minute range, so if you’re working with weights that allow you to finish in 11 minutes, that’s probably your indication to add some iron.

So definitely let me know if / when you’re going to try a version of Linda.  Do you have your own version?  What can you do with it?  Leave me a comment.

And last but not least, keep in mind, benchmark style workouts are designed to push and test your fitness level on all fronts: strength, endurance, and skill.  These are the types of workouts that translate perfectly over to the purpose of Rich Man’s Gym.  Strength and Conditioning for body, mind and spirit.  If you’re training only for esthetics, you’re missing out on so much more.