JamaRR Royster is an elite powerlifter, strength coach, and per his Instagram page, the Pancake Gawd. Outside of squatting north of 700 lbs and coaching handfuls of athletes, JamaRR spends his time educating and inspiring others to be their best selves and building some of the most intricate desserts you'll ever see.
Meg Gallagher, also known as Meg Squats, is a weathered strength coach, powerlifter, and YouTube personality. Currently, Meg has her hands in multiple projects that are all designed to help lifters everywhere improve their strength and knowledge in the world of fitness. Her popular program “Stronger By the Day” helps countless lifters improve on a weekly basis, and her apparel brand, Strong Strong Supply has some of the best lifting-focused apparel and gear in the game. Meg and Jake Boly chat on...
Today we're talking to Kristin Hedstrom, a personal trainer who is also an Olympian in the sport of rowing. Kristin isn’t the first Olympian we’ve had on the BarBend podcast, but she is the first elite rower to give us insight into what it’s like to train in that sport at the highest level. We discuss the importance of strength training to rowing performance, how Kristin and other top rowers train throughout the year. We also discuss Kristin’s career after rowing, where she specializes in helpin...
Today we're talking to Jonathan Goodman, a trainer and author who founded the Personal Trainer Development Center (PTDC) in 2011. The goal of the site was to bring fitness professionals the information, support, and business guidance they needed but couldn’t find anywhere else. I’ve known Jonathan since right around that time, and he’s quietly — and sometimes not so quietly — built what I think is an immensely valuable resource for the fitness industry as a whole. We discuss the past, present, a...
Today we're talking to para powerlifter and motivational speaker Garrison Redd. As a high school football player, Garrison had aspirations of going pro. But when he lost the use of his legs after being shot by a stray bullet in his neighborhood at the age of 17, his life took a different course. The 31-year-old Brooklyn native is one of the country’s strongest para powerlifters in the -56kg weight class. We got the chance to talk with Garrison to talk about his origins in the sport, his weekly t...
Today we're talking to weightlifter, powerlifter, and gamer Ashley Svendbye. After discovering strength training, Ashley trained as a powerlifter for a number of years before making the switch to weightlifting. What she learned about the two strength communities - especially as a cross sport athlete — provides some interesting context on the similarities and differences between the two. Are strength athletes more or less accepting of iron athletes across different sports? We chat on the group dy...
Today we're talking to Dr. Teddy Willsey, a sports rehab and performance specialist who works with athletes of all levels in building strong, resilient movement patterns. Dr. Willsey is one of the go-to specialists for helping people exercise smarter, and we touch on many of the misconceptions around optimal training and rehab today (including the types of thinking that can actually do the most harm to athletes in the longer term.) We want to give a big shout out to this episode’s sponsor, BSN. ...
Today we're talking to professional golfer Scott Stallings, who has three PGA Tour wins. Stallings may be one of the golf world’s elite, but he’s also been making waves in the fitness community for his physical transformation. About two years ago, Stallings made a commitment to lean out in order to boost his longevity in professional golf. Since then, he’s trained with some of the fitness and CrossFit world’s best, including 4-time CrossFit Games champion Rich Froning. (They’re both Tennessee re...
Today we're talking to Bethany Shadburne, a multi-time CrossFit Games athlete who finished in the Games Top 10 in 2019. While many top Games athletes seem to only highlight their biggest lifts and fastest times, Bethany is better known on social media for the minutia; hundreds of thousands of people tune into her posts for creative prehab and warm-up exercises, a routine Bethany prioritizes because of a history of injuries and back pain. Bethany joins the podcast to talk about Games training dur...
Today I’m talking to Scott Herman, a trainer, BSN athlete, influencer, and founder of MuscularStrength.com. Scott was one of the first mainstream fitness influencers on YouTube and built out one of the internet’s first real video instructional libraries. Scott and I catch up on his background as a reality TV star, how fitness on the internet has evolved, and what he thinks is most misleading in the fitness industry. I want to give a big shout out to this episode’s sponsor, BSN. BSN has been arou...
Armen Hammer has worn a lot of hats around the CrossFit community: Athlete, affiliate owner, writer, vlogger, you name it. And his relationship with CrossFit HQ has been colorful, to say the least. Years ago, Armen, who was attending as a blogger and spectator, was removed from the CrossFit Games by event staff. More recently, he’s built close friendships with people inside CrossFit’s leadership, and his videos and social media posts about goings-on inside the CrossFit community are some of the ...
Today I’m talking to Syn Martinez, who owns and operates the fitness and lifestyle clothing brand Afro Brutality. Syn also owned and coached at CrossFit Harlem from 2009 to 2014. I’ve known Syn for around seven years, and he’s always been very transparent and outspoken in his views. In this conversation — recorded just a day before it was announced Glassman would be stepping down as CrossFit CEO — we cover some topics and perspectives that may be controversial in the fitness space. It’s also wor...
Ebenezer Samuel is a trainer and the Fitness Director for Men's Health Magazine. He joins the BarBend Podcast to talk about how his fascination with superheroes guided his career, the fittest professional athletes, giving pole dancing a try, and much more.
On June 4th, Professor Richard McLaren released his team's report investigating allegations of financial corruption, election fraud, and doping cover ups at the International Weightlifting Federation's (IWF) highest levels. According to McLaren's report, former IWF President Dr. Tamas Aján was involved in deep financial corruption (with over $10 million unaccounted for) as well as coordinated election fraud. However, allegations made against the Hungarian National Anti-Doping Agency (HUNADO) reg...
Bill Esch is best known online as the Kettlebell Warrior. Starting with a background in Olympic weightlifting, Bill discovered kettlebell sport in his late 20s. After five years of training, he became the first American male to achieve the rank of master of sport international class in kettlebell sport. In today’s episode, we talk about the origins and history of kettlebell sport, what exactly it is that Bill competes in, and give some context on the extreme marks of endurance, strength, and men...
Jay Maryniak is a trainer and athlete who's been innovating in the functional wellness space for over a decade. Jay joins us to talk about the impact of COVID-19 on boutique fitness and fitness classes. He also talks about minimalist home gyms and his personal experiences training as a Type 1 diabetic.
Charlie Dickson is the 2018 International Powerlifting Federations' 83kg Junior World Champion. He's also a Doctor of Physical Therapy with an educational and professional background that gives him unique insight into training at an elite level. Charlie joins the BarBend Podcast to talk about training frequency and intensity misconceptions, his surprising approach to warm-ups, and the active powerlifters he most admires in the sport.
Justin LoFranco is the founder and CEO of Morning Chalk Up, a daily newsletter and media company dedicated to all things CrossFit. He joins the BarBend Podcast to talk about his roots on Capitol Hill and schisms within the CrossFit community. He also shares reactions from his friends and family when he decided to leave behind a promising career in politics to focus on such a niche sport.
Jen Widerstrom rose to the national spotlight as a star on "American Gladiators," but after the show was canceled, a career in the fitness industry didn't happen overnight. We talk with Jen about behind-the-scenes stories from "Gladiators," finding footing as a coach and trainer, and eventually becoming one of Hollywood's got-to trainers for TV and shows like "The Biggest Loser." What's it like to coach Kevin Hart and Conan O'Brien? Jen gives us the details, along with the incredibly fit celebri...
Dan John is one of the most respected coaches in strength & conditioning. Over the course of his 40+ year career, he's become well known for straightforward, effective protocols and programs that strip away the fluff to proven principles. He joins the podcast to talk about the popularity of his 10,000 kettlebell swing program, the simplest path to recovery and performance, and what to focus on when you have limited time to train.
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, h...
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 streng...
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.
