Caffeine and Kilos | Fitness and Coaching Culture w/ Danny Lehr
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Not In My Box is a fitness podcast covering CrossFit, weightlifting, and the culture of coaching — where real coaches talk trash, swap stories, and debate what actually happens inside (and outside) the box. Hosted by Danny Lehr, with coaches like Seth Page, athletes like Olympian Wes Kitts, and gym owners like Wes Piatt, each episode mixes expert insight with unfiltered laughs, training debates, affiliate life, programming philosophy, and fitness culture. Formerly Gas Station Cappuccino — same caffeine, stronger opinions, more chalk dust.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Coaching debates become practical lessons about programming, movement, gym culture, and the messy judgment required to run a useful class.
Not In My Box | The Fitness and Coaching Podcast turns coaching questions into loose, funny panel arguments with practical consequences. Danny Lehr keeps the discussion moving through quick games and pointed prompts, then gives Wes Piatt, Blair, and other voices room to…
Danny Lehr puts gym-lobby donuts on trial; you'll want a vote on the verdict.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
Movement basics come first, with theory left for later.
This episode asks a simple but useful coaching question: what should new people in fitness learn first? Wes Pyatt and Blair move through air squats, deadlifts, running form, and rowing, then settle on a more practical point about whether beginners need the movement pattern or…
Specialty classes are treated as real retention and marketing tools, not just extra programming.
Specialty classes come across here as more than filler; they are treated as both a retention path and a marketing lever. The discussion stays grounded in the real work of running a gym: kids' classes in six-week blocks, summer one-week camps, adults, and the firefighter program…
A messy, useful look at the unwritten rules that keep a gym culture moving.
This episode treats gym life as a set of small, telling negotiations: donuts in the lobby, dogs underfoot, AirPods in class, shoes off, shirts off, and the larger question of what counts as normal when adults train together.
A direct, practical look at where CrossFit ends and HYROX begins.
It frames the CrossFit vs HYROX debate as a practical sorting problem rather than a slogan fight. From thrusters and pull-ups to sprints, a marathon, and class structure, it keeps returning to a plain question: how a gym can make room for competitive members without shutting out…
A playful CrossFit debate that turns into a practical programming conversation.
The episode opens as a light CrossFit dispute and settles into a plainspoken talk about programming, warmups, and getting athletes ready for the next day.
Friday Night Lights week two keeps the focus on scaling, Cindy pacing, and the kind of benchmark work that exposes bad assumptions.
Friday Night Lights week two lands on a familiar coaching problem: how to scale the work without pretending every movement fits every space. It opens with bar muscle-ups that do not belong in a garage, then settles into substitutions that do, like burpee chest-to-bar pull-ups.
Gym AITA drama turns into a lively mix of short-shorts jokes, CrossFit shade, and gym etiquette debate.
This episode moves quickly, using a gym AITA setup to get at the messier stuff: short shorts, CrossFit jealousy, and who actually crosses the line at the gym.
Reddit gym stories, etiquette debates, and a loose pace that keeps the conversation moving.
Episode 164 follows a Reddit-driven gym story roundtable with Caitlin in the mix and Dean weighing in on who is in the wrong. It leans into hygiene talk, flexing etiquette, leggings mishaps, and the small social rules people in gyms seem to debate forever.
Yoga, grief, breath, and brave self-compassion.
Western bowhunting lessons from the field.
Not In My Box | The Fitness and Coaching Podcast episode 170 opens with Rogaine, Kirkland minoxidil on Amazon, and a nearby Kirkland store that leaves the hosts confused about the brand.
Danny Lear, Seth Page, and Blair Morrison spend much of the episode on local CrossFit competitions, including whether ring handstand pushups, butterfly muscle-ups, and baby crawls count as legit tests.
Episode 162 centers on the CrossFit Games move to Fort Worth, Texas, and the choice of Dickies Arena inside the larger Will Rogers Memorial Center.
Caitlin gets dropped into the show on almost no notice and starts the hour visibly sweating.
Dean and James rank their personal top 10 weightlifting shoes and say heel height is the key factor shaping both lists.
Episode 164 of Not In My Box | The Fitness and Coaching Podcast, titled “gas station cappuccino,” turns into a Reddit gym-stories judgment game led by Caitlin, who works in Kevin and Kiel’s marketing department and is described as a weightlifter.
The hosts open with pork rinds, family snack rankings, and the kind of offhand chatter that sets the tone right away.
The Arnold dominates this episode, from what to wear as a spectator to why Columbus feels colder than Everest on the walk from the hotel.
Daniel Lear opens with a rapid-fire test of coaching cues like “push,” “stay tight,” and “chest up,” then turns to the bigger question of whether non-weightlifters actually need full snatches.
Danny Ear, founder of Onyx Weightlifting, explains how he went from buying nylon webbing at REI to building leather wrist wraps and belts for lifters.
The hosts spend much of Not In My Box episode 169 arguing that “high intensity” in CrossFit does not mean maximum effort every day, and they push back on the idea that athletes should always “game” workouts for a better score.
Seth Page, Wes Pyatt, and Danny Lear turn “training as a dad” into a practical discussion about stroller walks, weight vests, and making workouts fit around babies, business calls, and sleepless nights.
Not In My Box frames the Enhanced Games as a challenge to the usual mix of “performance, compliance, and sometimes silence” in elite sport.
CrossFit affiliate ownership and a possible sale drive the episode, with the hosts reading an email that says Berkshire Partners wants 'to seek out a new owner' and that an affiliate town hall is set for Thursday, March 13th at 9 a.m.
Danny Lear and Tom Callis open with a rapid test of strength-training myths, rejecting single-leg work above the main lifts, max singles every Friday, and “missing lifts in training” as useful practice.
Episode 174 of Not In My Box opens as a President's Day Special and quickly moves through coffee jokes about George Washington importing 200 pounds of coffee, Abraham Lincoln's “If this is coffee, bring me tea” line, and Teddy Roosevelt's oversized coffee mug.
Host Danny Lehr and guest Blair Morrison discuss the CrossFit Open's impact on gyms, debating whether it builds community or adds stress.
They open with a game.
Wes Pyatt and Danny Lear argue that specialty classes only make sense when they improve results, fit the coach's skills, and attract enough members to justify the time.
All right, before we start, let's nail some things down. Since we'll be talking progressions today, let's go around the
Caffeine and Kilos panel discussion with hosts Danny Lear and guests Blair Morrison (3x CrossFit Games athlete, NorCal Classic event boss, multi-gym owner) and Wes Pyatt (CrossFit Games athlete, affiliate owner, coach of coaches).
Danny Lear frames CrossFit vs Hyrox by asking whether thrusters, a 100-meter sprint, a marathon, grocery bags, and even too much coffee count as CrossFit.
Danny Lear moderates first episode of 'Not in My Box' podcast with CrossFit coaches Wes Piatt (one workout advocate) and Seth Page (two-workout proponent).
Episode 176 opens on Friday Night Lights week two.
Rogue’s direct comparison video against a Nike barbell becomes the central marketing topic, with the hosts noting that the bars are priced almost the same at about $295 for an Ohio bar and $290 for the Nike bar.
A Morning Chalk Up report says CrossFit Open registration is down 40 percent year over year, and the hosts immediately tie that number to affiliate owners, last year's tragedy, and athlete attention shifting toward Hyrox.
Fitness podcast hosts discuss New Year's resolution effectiveness and introduce process-goal framework.
Dean interviews woodworker Scott Trujillo about his Kitsugi brand—a Japanese-inspired approach to fitness equipment using traditional wood joinery instead of metal fasteners.
Episode 165 features Caitlin and hosts debating five gym-themed 'Am I The Asshole' Reddit posts, including shorts dress code confrontation, machine monopoly conflict, teen gym response, and marriage fitness tension.