BarBend Podcast

Jason Khalipa is one of the fitness world's most recognizable faces: 2008 CrossFit Games Champion, multi-time Games podium finisher, and fitness entrepreneur with a truly international business. Jason talks about which gyms have the best shot of surviving the pandemic, the future of strength sports, and his own experiences as the father of an immunocompromised child.

Angela Gargano has a lengthy career in fitness, going from college gymnast to Miss Fitness USA and most recently a standout athlete on "American Ninja Warrior." Angela joins us in the BarBend studio to talk about her approach to training explosiveness, overcoming injury on national TV, and why she's on a quest to get everyone better at pull-ups.

Kyle Traynor is head of Business Strategy & Mind Performance at Elite Vitality. At Elite Vitality, handfuls of top coaches help new business owners in the fitness industry tackle and prepare for the tough road ahead of them. Kyle is also the host of the Pivotal Conversations podcast, a podcast that explores the keys and tools needed for success. In today’s episode, Jake Boly chats with Kyle about a variety of topics including the development of mental fortitude to build a dynamic business, how Kyle has found personal zen, and much more.

David Meltzer is the co-founder of Sports 1 Marketing, and he was formerly CEO of the sports agency that was the inspiration for the movie Jerry Maguire. Today, he's an international best-selling author and motivational speaker who consults with some of the world's biggest pro sports leagues, teams, and athletes. David joins the BarBend Podcast to talk about which high-tech recovery techniques will become mainstream, what teams like the Los Angeles Lakers are doing on the cutting edge of strength performance, and how pro athletes handle aging and performance decline.

Meg Reardon is a multi-time CrossFit Games athlete living and training out of New York City. One of America's fittest women, Meg gives insight into the life of an elite CrossFitter training at the top levels and working to make a living in the sport. She also discusses a recent Open-related injury and her current training game plan. What's it like to train for the CrossFit Games when you can only do upper body movements?

Adee Cazayoux is a former elite weightlifter and founder of Working Against Gravity, which is one of the strength industry's most visible nutrition coaching companies. Adee joins us to talk about myths and misconceptions in nutrition for strength, including why bulking is often times much more difficult than cutting and how to stay smart about training within a certain bodyweight range.

Starting Strongman founder and coach Kalle Beck joins us to talk about training for strongman (and for strength and fitness in general) when you have minimal formal equipment. Kalle has a ton of experience helping clients stay strong under a lot of circumstances, and he also shares his insights into making your own weighted implements and the do-it-yourself lessons from years in the strongman community.

Justin Bergh is the General Manager of the CrossFit Games and has been a driving force behind the event for over a decade. Justin joins the podcast to talk about what the CrossFit Games will look like in future years. That includes how the event interacts with sponsors (and the types of brands they won't work with), the organization's on-again/off-again relationship with social media, an increasingly international athlete and fan base, and how the Games broadcast may continue to evolve over time.

Kevin Oak has held multiple all-time powerlifting world records throughout his career. Currently, he holds the raw 242 lb raw all-time world record for the squat with his recent 860 lb lift. Outside of powerlifting, Kevin also owns his own apparel business, Barbell Commission. In today’s episode we chat with Kevin about a variety of topics including his pre world record mindset, what his next epics feats of strength will be, and much more.

Matt O'Keefe is President of Loud & Live Sports, the event organizers behind major CrossFit Sanctionals including Wodapalooza and The Granite Games. He's also agent to CrossFit superstars including Mat Fraser, Tia-Clair Toomey, Brent Fikowski, Patrick Vellner, Katrin Davidsdottir, and more. We sit down to talk about his unlikely origins in the space, the challenges of moving the fitness events space forward, and why so much of what he does is built on close personal friendships. Learn more about the work Matt is doing to help the CrossFit community during COVID-19 at United in Movement.

Dr. Andy Galpin is a tenured Professor in the Center for Sport Performance at CSU Fullerton. In 2011, he earned his PhD in Human Bioenergetics and has done incredible work in regard to muscle fibers and how we understand them. On top of being a tenured professor, Dr. Galpin co-authored the book Unplugged and works hand in hand with a variety of elite athletes. In today’s episode, guest host Jake Boly sits down with Dr. Galpin to chat about muscle fibers. They talk about what we know, what we don’t know, and everything in-between.

Joe Yoon, probably better known as "Joe Therapy" through his massive social media following, is a trainer and massage therapist who's one of the fitness industry's most visible personalities when it comes to mobility. Joe joins us to talk about limitations and misconceptions in mobility, how much time we should really be dedicating to flexibility and prehab work, and lessons from his new bestselling book, Better Stretching.

Chad Vaughn is a multi-time Olympian and one of the most accomplished weightlifters in American history. He joins the BarBend Podcast to discuss how weightlifters can stay strong, mobile, and fast when training from home with limited or even no equipment.

Chad Wesley Smith is a record-breaking powerlifter, coach, and the founder of Juggernaut Training Systems. He joins the BarBend podcast to talk about the four main areas powerlifters and strength athletes of all types can focus on when working from home with limited or no equipment. Chad also highlights specific movements to focus on to keep neural force production high while away from heavy weights.

If you're training in powerlifting or weightlifting, nothing can perfectly replicate the stimulus of a barbell. But smart at-home training with minimal or no equipment CAN make an impact. And in an extended period away from the gym, many athletes can actually add muscle mass and improve their mobility. BarBend Fitness Editor Jake Boly joins the show to talk about strategies to preserve gains and even improve your lifting patterns while at home, using common household items and or just a few pieces of exercise equipment.

Athletes and sports governing bodies across the world have been racing to adapt to postponements, cancellations, and the challenges of training while maintaining social distance. In this special episode, USA Weightlifting CEO Phil Andrews joins us to talk about his organization's first responses to the pandemic, including rapid changes and the lack of spectators at this year's Arnold Sports Festival.We also talk about potential ramifications for Olympic qualification, Phil's thoughts on Tokyo 2020, and what USA Weightlifting is doing to help athletes find places to train when gyms across the country are closed for an extended period. Editor's Note: This podcast was recorded on Tuesday, March 17th, 2020.

Eugen Loki is personal trainer based in Rome, Italy. More than likely you’ve seen his Instagram page Pheasyque on multiple occasions that has more than 600 thousand followers. On his page, he creates in-depth drawings to explain a variety of training topics that are otherwise difficult to explain through only text.In today’s episode we chat with Eugen about differences in the fitness industry between the US And Italy, how he creates his drawings and if they’re all original, and so much more.

Heather Connor is a 2-time IPF World Champion and the first female IPF powerlifter to deadlift 4 times her bodyweight raw. Heather joins us to talk about the injury that sidelined her for nearly a year, along with why it's so easy for lifters to ignore the signs of significant underlying injuries and issues. We also chat about Heather's goals in the sport, what big money competitions could mean for powerlifting's future, and an unorthodox weight gaining strategy. Editor's Note: This podcast was recorded before it was announced the SBD Sheffield 2020 Powerlifting Championships would be canceled due to concerns surrounding COVID-19.

Brian Alsruhe is a champion strongman athlete who has overcome an astounding list of setbacks: two back breaks, a brain tumor, parasites, and a bone marrow infection, to name just a few. After finding help through the strength community, Brian is building a brand and gym around putting intensity and focus back into training to help more people lift through adversity. Brian's story is unlike any we've heard before; this is one you won't want to miss. Our conversation gets heavy in some sections. Brian discusses his experiences with illness and injury, including thoughts regarding self-harm. If you or anyone you know are struggling with depression or thoughts of suicide, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is available 24 hours a day at 1-800-273-8255 as well as online.

This will shock many athletes: What you do in training likely has little to no impact on your next-day recovery. The common wisdom about recovery, especially sleep, needs a major update. So we sat down wit Kristen Holmes, WHOOP's VP of Performance, to separate fact from fiction on deep sleep, caffeine consumption, foods that help and hurt sleep, muscle repair, and what tracking HRV can tell us about how rested you really are. A special thanks to WHOOP for sponsoring this episode!

Margaux Alvarez is a 7-time CrossFit Games athlete, long drive competitor, coach, and wine entrepreneur. She's one of the most multi-talented personalities in fitness, and her future in CrossFit — and beyond — is something we had to learn more about. We sit down with Margaux to talk about training across multiple sports, strength training for golf long drive competitions, her future in athletics, balancing wine with recovery, and more.

Alex Uslar wears a lot of different hats with Hybrid Performance Method. At Hybrid, Alex serves as the General Manager, Director of Operations, run Hybrid Apparel, and per Instagram is also Stefi Cohen’s official 24/7 hype-man. Over the course of his career, Alex has coached thousands of athletes and competes and judges in the sport of powerlifting.In today’s episode, Jake Boly sits down with Alex to discuss his road from addiction to now playing so many critical roles at Hybrid. We also talk about hyping, and what it really takes to do it right.

Building ANY community is tough. So building a space and community for people obsessed with strength brings its own special challenges. And no one knows more about that than Joey Szatmary.Joey is a multi-sport strength athlete (powerlifting and strongman) and coach who owns The Lions Den Elite Training gym. Throughout his career, Szatmary has worked with a huge variety of athletes and constantly shares his knowledge and experiences on his quickly-growing YouTube channel. In today’s episode, we talk to Szatmary about opening his own gym, training requirements across different strength sports, and much, much more.

Chris Duffin is an inventor, record-setting powerlifter, author, and founder of Kabuki Strength Labs. He's also one of the strongest humans on the planet, becoming the first person to deadlift 1,000 pounds for reps back in 2016. We caught up with Chris while he was training for his next feat, which he'll attempt in March 2020: Back squatting 1,000 pounds for a triple. In this episode, Chris explains the unique training approach for these records, recovery techniques, lifting for charity, and the one strength feat he regrets not completing.

Rowan Minnion is an athlete and researcher best known as the founder and force behind Blonyx. He's especially passionate about improving athletic recovery and explains actionable — and some honestly surprising — tips about the science behind performance. (How do you optimize sleep? What's the "right" way to take a rest day, and why aren't more athletes doing it?) Rowan also shares his own ups and downs working with fitness influencers online, from successful promo to "pay to play" negotiations and getting ghosted by digital ambassadors.

Ian Kaplan is the current Chief Officer of Operations at Hybrid Performance Method. With a background in training and research, when it comes to synthesizing research and understanding how to apply advanced topics into the context of our day-to-day lives, Ian is one of the best personalities we've ever spoken to.In today’s episode, we talk to Ian about a variety of topics including what it means to be “evidence based,” how to interpret the latest research on pain, and much more.

Eric Leija is a master Onnit trainer who's better known online as the Primal Swoledier. Every day, Eric posts innovative kettlebell and bodyweight flows that have helped him build a massive following; his workouts are a bit unlike anything else you'll find in the space. We catch up with Eric to talk about how he creates and programs workouts, the most overrated kettlebell movement, and lessons learned from an intense bulk-and-cut transformation he underwent just a couple years ago.

Hayden Bowe is one of the founders and owners of Hybrid Performance Method. Throughout his career, Hayden has worked with thousands of individuals and is accomplished in both the sports of weightlifting and powerlifting. In today’s episode, we chat with Hayden about a variety of training topics, but one in particular that we really enjoyed was training youth athletes and how to do it correctly.

Don Saladino is one of the fitness world's most in-demand trainers. A specialist in strength and physique for over 20 years, Don is perhaps best known for getting some of Hollywood's biggest stars ready for massive on-screen roles: Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Ryan Gosling, and more. Don is also the founder and owner of Drive 495 gym in Manhattan.In today's episode, Don joins host David Thomas Tao to discuss building a list of Hollywood clientele, setting realistic expectations for physique and performance, and why some of the most celebrated trends in wellness can be downright harmful.

Alan Thrall is an accomplished strength coach and the owner of Untamed Strength. Alan has coached thousands of athletes over the course of his career, and his YouTube channels has amassed more than 85 million views, helping countless athletes get stronger in and out of the gym.In today’s episode, guest host Jake Boly talks to Alan about his growth in strength coaching, how he accidentally built a massive YouTube channel, and much much more.

Kari Pearce is a 5-time CrossFit Games athlete and earned the title of "America's Fittest Woman" in 2016, 2018, and 2019. She's a former Division 1 gymnast who's well known for her incredible capacity on bodyweight movements. We talk to Kari about training around injury, attacking weaknesses, and what most CrossFitters get wrong about core strength.

In the world of fitness, Rich Froning needs almost no introduction. He is a 4-time Individual and 4-time Team CrossFit Games Champion, as well as the owner of CrossFit Mayhem in Cookeville, Tennessee. Rich joins the BarBend Podcast to talk about hosting a Sanctional qualifier (the CrossFit Mayhem Classic), his honest reactions to CrossFit Games changes, and his future as a competitive athlete.

Dr. Pat Davidson and Jordan Shallow are both at the front of the pack leading the fitness industry and building better standards. Dr. Davidson has a PhD in exercise physiology and is an accomplished strength & conditioning coach and author, while Dr. Shallow is a chiropractor, strength coach, and traveling presenter. Both of these individuals have brilliant minds when looking at and assessing basic and advanced training concepts and programs. In today’s episode, Jake Boly takes commonly asked questions that we receive on BarBend Instagram posts, articles, and YouTube videos, and then has Dr. Davidson and Shallow answer them with free control.

Stefi Cohen is one of the owners of Hybrid Performance Method. She holds a Doctorate in Physical Therapy, a CSCS, and has broken a total of 11 all-time powerlifting world records throughout her career. Additionally, Stefi is currently ranked #2 in the world for holding the all-time highest Wilks score with a remarkable 698.11, and continues to push the boundaries of what's physically possible for the human body. In today’s episode, Jake Boly sits down with Stefi to chat on her upbringing in the sport of powerlifting and her mindset — but more importantly, how she has helped Hybrid Performance Method scale, along with tips for other business owners to do so. It can be scary to scale a business at times, however, Stefi explains if you equip yourself with the right tools and mindset, then it's manageable if it's a goal you possess.If you’re trying to grow your business — whether it be in the fitness industry or not — then we hope you love this chat!

Weightlifter, coach, and YouTuber Zack Telander joins us to talk about transitioning back and forth between CrossFit and weightlifting. Zack also talks about setting realistic goals for weightlifting athletes, along with changing the paradigm of which sports are "worth it" in American culture. Zack also gives his thoughts on dealing with weightlifting data and the most underrated coach in American weightlifting.

Joe Sullivan is a champion raw powerlifter who speaks his mind on everything from online trolls to bad gym etiquette. Joe joins us to talk training, his favorite powerlifters to watch this year, and an incredibly close (and internet famous) brush with disaster due to equipment failure.

Kris Gethin is a bodybuilder, fitness model, and supplement entrepreneur who has been the face of some of fitness' biggest physique campaigns. He's also a passionate endurance athlete who has a ton of knowledge on balancing muscle growth and strength gain with long-duration training for triathlons and distance events. We talk to Kris, the founder of Kaged Muscle, about these strategies and more.

JC Deen was one of the first online fitness writers and trainers to build his name for a no-BS approach. He joins us to talk about beating fitness frustration, turning to "Doggcrapp Training," and how machine learning & AI might change the industry moving forward.

Zack Bartell is a powerlifter and gym owner based in Southern California. Bartell opened SoCal Powerlifting to the public at a very young age, and with strategy, a dream, and a business mindset, he has expanded the gym twice and has created a hub for multiple powerlifters and coaches in a few short years. In this episode, we discuss the logistics of opening your own gym and what it truly takes to build a successful coaching business.

Dr. Mike T. Nelson is one of the most knowledgeable people in human performance, and he's got the resume to prove it. Dr. Nelson joins us to talk about metabolic flexibility and how to determine whether your body is more tuned to utilize fat or carbohydrates for fuel. He also discusses the most ignored metabolic pathway for top athletes and tells us what many aspiring CrossFit Games competitors are still getting wrong.

Josh Bridges is a multi-time CrossFit Games athlete and podium finisher who's also had a remarkable career as a Navy SEAL. (And before Josh's CrossFit Games days, Dave Castro was actually one of his military instructors.) Josh joins us to talk about his time in the SEALs, comparing mental toughness in the military to CrossFit, his favorite athletes to train with, and the massive changes in the CrossFit Games structure and season. We also discuss Josh's recovery from injuries and his competition future in 2020 and beyond.

Rob Kearney is a multi-time World's Strongest Man competitor and the 2019 Arnold Australia Strongman champion. He's one of the rising stars in the sport, even while weighing up to 150 pounds less than other top competitors in his division. In addition, Rob is one of the most visible openly gay strength athletes in America. Rob joins us to discuss his training, career goals, and the impact he hopes his success can have on breaking stereotypes and increasing acceptance across sports.Our conversation gets pretty heavy in some sections. Rob discusses his experiences facing hate for his sexual orientation. He also shares some stories of others in the LGBTQ+ community struggling with issues of identity and discrimination. For some, that includes thoughts regarding self-harm. If you or anyone you know are struggling with depression or thoughts of suicide, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is available 24 hours a day at 1-800-273-8255 as well as online.

Eric Helms, PhD, double masters holder, CSCS, and the current Chief Science Officer of 3DMJ is an incredible source of knowledge in the world of fitness and training. He’s published multiple peer reviewed studies on exercise and nutrition and plays a role in MASS, a monthly research review for strength and physique athletes. In addition to his impressive research background, Eric has coached hundreds of athletes and has dabbled in nearly every strength sport himself.In today’s episode, we talk to Eric about a variety of topics including best hypertrophy practices, how to use RPE in a variety of ways, and much, much more.

Mike Matthews is the CEO of Legion Athletics and bestselling writer of numerous fitness books. He's also a no-BS kind of guy who isn't afraid to call out what he thinks are shortcomings in the supplement industry. Mike joins us for a candid conversation that touches on beginner gains, marketing falsehoods, and the limits of natural performance.

Kenny Santucci is a coach, actor, and athlete who first gained fame in the world of reality TV. Now, through the Strong New York event series, he's bringing together top minds from around the strength world to present and share knowledge under one roof. The Strong New York founder joins us to talk about building fitness experiences, the athletes who inspire us the most, and how we can turn learning into a lifelong pursuit.

James FitzGerald was the first-ever men's CrossFit Games Champion, winning the inaugural competition in 2007. He's also the founder of OPEX and one of the world's most in-demand experts on coaching mindset and training. We talk about the early days of CrossFit competition, "waking up" the coaching industry, and the origins of James' famous "OPT" moniker.

Jordan Syatt is a record-setting powerlifter and content producer who's best known to many as Gary Vaynerchuk's personal trainer. We sit down to talk about sacrificing everything to reach lifting goals, the psychological components of fitness, and the number one thing everyone in fitness can do to improve their communication skills. Jordan also shares a personal story of how Westside Barbell kept him from dropping out of college.

According to Dr. Jordan Shallow, the way we warm up — and the way most people think about movement — is fundamentally broken. The chiropractor, internationally competitive powerlifter, and presenter joins us to talk about the root cause of injuries, how we can prep our bodies to move better, and why the human body wants to operate "like lightning."

Chad Wesley Smith has squatted over 900 pounds, started one of the world's most respected strength centers, and built an AI-powered system for training programs. Now, the Juggernaut Training Systems founder reflects on a decade of growth and talks about how artificial intelligence is helping his team train more athletes with greater precision.