Today we're talking to Logan Aldridge, training director of Adaptive Training Academy and the fittest one arm man on earth. After a wakeboarding accident that resulted in the loss of his arm at a young age, Logan dedicated his life to making fitness and sports more accessible for people around the globe. His work with Adaptive Training Academy is one of the most impressive projects we’ve ever encountered in the fitness world. In this podcast, we discuss how Logan and his colleagues teach coaches...
Nov 16, 2020•35 min
Today we're talking to Albert Matheny, co-founder of Soho Strength Lab in New York City and the COO of Arena, a fitness technology startup that’s launching in late 2020. Albert joins us to talk about the harsh realities of the gym business during COVID, including the factors that go into whether owners and operators are able to keep their facilities open. We also talk about why he’s steered his gym away from being a, quote, “Instagram gym,” and then the conversation focuses in on Arena, which is...
Nov 12, 2020•32 min
Today we're talking to Samuel Kwant, a multi-time CrossFit Games competitor who finished second at the 2020 CrossFit Games. Originally a high school cross country runner, Sam found CrossFit as a teenager and qualified for his first games at just 20 years old, making him the youngest male competitor in that year’s field. Since then, Sam has risen up the leaderboard on repeat visits, which culminated in his being crowned 2020’s Second Fittest Man on Earth — his first podium appearance. Sam joins u...
Nov 09, 2020•28 min
Today we're talking to Taylor Atwood, a 6-time United States Champion and 2-time IPF World Champion in powerlifting. Most recently, Taylor totaled an astonishing 812kg at 74 kilograms bodyweight, becoming the first lifter in his category to hit that mark in drug-tested competition. In the process, Taylor set new American Records on all three lifts. Taylor joins us today to talk about making powerlifting history, how to avoid burnout in strength sports, and the mental approach to training that gi...
Nov 05, 2020•31 min
Today we're talking to Ali Jawad, a British Paralympic powerlifter and silver medalist from the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. Ali was born a double above the knee amputee, and he competed in judo at a high level before finding powerlifting. Ali is one of Britain’s most accomplished strength athletes, and he’s also an outspoken advocate for clean sport and doping controls in Paralympic sport. In our conversation, we talk about how Ali is blending academia and strength sports, why doping controls are...
Nov 02, 2020•30 min
Today we're talking to Dr. Karyn Marshall, a legend in the sport of weightlifting. Karyn began her lifting career in the 70s, and in 1985 she became the first woman in history to clean and jerk over 300 pounds. She competed in — and won gold at — the first women’s weightlifting world championship in 1987, becoming the first-ever American champion, and the only American champion from that competition. As a Masters athlete, she also competed in the 2011 CrossFit Games. Karyn joins us to discuss he...
Oct 29, 2020•28 min
Today we're talking to powerlifting legend David Ricks. David has been in the sport for nearly 40 years, with a competition history dating all the way back to 1981. Throughout that time, he’s won numerous national, world, and invitational championships, earning him the nickname “Superman.” After a brief hiatus in the sport in his mid-50s, David came roaring back to compete at a high level in his late 50s. And in 2017, at 58 years old, he broke an OPEN world record in the squat, sinking 325kg at ...
Oct 26, 2020•30 min
Today we're talking to strongman competitor Anthony Fuhrman. He’s the two-time World’s Strongest Man at 105 kilograms and was a competitor on NBC’s Titan Games. Anthony is also an active duty service member, and our discussion today focuses in part on how he balances his training with a full time job in the US Army. Anthony is also a BarBend contributor and one of the most personable people in strength. If you’ve ever been interested in strongman, the military, or anything in between, this is on...
Oct 22, 2020•33 min
Today we're talking to CrossFit athlete Griffin Roelle, who competed as a rookie at the 2020 CrossFit Games. Griffin found the sport after a lengthy football career. He brought an immense base of strength to his CrossFit training, which is reflected in his results: He’s one of the all-out strongest athletes in the sport, and he won the max front squat event at this year’s CrossFit Games with a 490 pound lift. We discuss the limits of programming for strength and endurance, along with what Griffi...
Oct 19, 2020•33 min
In this episode of the BarBend Podcast, we're talking to CrossFit Games athlete, Kristine Best. While fans may know her as an elite athlete, most of the people she works with every day know her as something else: a teacher. Unlike other Games-level athletes — who build lives around training full time — Kristine is a full time special education teacher. This means balancing training with a highly-demanding day job, and because of that the sacrifices she makes are bit unlike what most other high l...
Oct 15, 2020•30 min
Today we're talking to powerlifter Rich Yun. Rich is best known online as The Korean Hulk, and it’s a nickname that stuck after one of his first powerlifting competitions. This conversation has a lot of parts: We talk beefing with other “Korean Hulks” online, the eating habits of powerlifters, and the biggest movers and shakers in strength sports today. It’s a fun conversation you won’t want to miss out on.
Oct 08, 2020•29 min
Today we're talking to Doctor of Physical Therapy and trainer Dr. Bo Babenko. Bo has worn many hats in fitness over the past decade: physical therapist, triathlete, CrossFit regionals competitor, and more. Our conversation focuses heavily on what’s changed about physical therapy and recovery during Bo’s career so far, along with the most common myths and misconceptions when it comes to injury recovery. We’ll get right to it, because this is one episode that can be useful to just about anyone who...
Oct 05, 2020•31 min
Today we're talking to Coss Marte, the founder and CEO of CONBODY, a prison fitness-style boot camp offering in-person and virtual classes based out of NYC. Coss developed the idea of CONBODY based on his own experiences in prison, where he turned to fitness after becoming overweight and at a high risk for cardiac problems. Since founding CONBODY, Coss has hired over 40 formerly incarcerated individuals as trainers, and he’s also become an advocate for prison reform and former inmates looking to...
Oct 01, 2020•30 min
Today we're talking to Sebastian Oreb, better known online as Australian Strength Coach. Sebastian has trained athletes from professional rugby players to elite powerlifters, and he’s also the strength coach of 2018 World’s Strongest Man Hafthor Bjornsson. Sebastian joins us to talk about his unconventional path in strength, the ways in which personal strength goals impact how you coach, and why building personal relationships with athletes is so important in establishing trust. We also talk abo...
Sep 29, 2020•35 min
Today we're talking to hybrid athlete Fergus Crawley, one of the UK’s most inspirational fitness figures. After a series of concussions ended his hopes at a professional rugby career, Fergus pursued powerlifting and today is also an ultra endurance athlete. Earlier in 2020, he became just the second person in history to run a verified sub-5 minute mile and back squat 500 pounds on the same day. But Fergus is lifting and running for a cause much bigger than personal glory, and the work he’s doing...
Sep 24, 2020•33 min
Today we're talking to CrossFit athlete, James Newbury, who finished 5th in the 2019 Reebok CrossFit Games. Due to a shortened qualifying season, James isn't competing in the 2020 Games this year, along with many other top athletes in the sport. But that hasn't stopped James from honing his craft as an elite athlete, training more for power and strength, while also exploring other sports like surfing and weightlifting. As one of the world's fittest men, James offers his thoughts on competing vir...
Sep 17, 2020•39 min
Today we're talking to British strongwoman Andrea Thompson. After beginning her strength career in CrossFit, Andrea found she had a gift for many of the disciplines in the sport of strongman. Early competition success led to what is now one of the sport’s most stacked resumes. She’s a 4-time Britain’s Strongest Woman, the 2018 World’s Strongest Woman, and a multi-time record holder in lifts like the log press and deadlift. Andrea joins us to talk about training for the log press and deadlift wor...
Sep 14, 2020•32 min
Today we're talking to three-time Olympian in weightlifting Cheryl Haworth. Cheryl is one of America’s most accomplished lifters, and she competed in her first Olympic Games — Sydney, where she earned bronze — when she was just 17 years old. That Olympic Games also marked the first time women could compete in weightlifting at the Olympic level. In this special episode of the BarBend Podcast, Cheryl joins us to look back on her experiences in Sydney 20 years ago, and what it was like to be among ...
Sep 10, 2020•29 min
On this episode, we sit down with a rising star in the international weightlifting community, 22-year old Jourdan Delacruz. While the roster for the Tokyo Olympic Games hasn't been finalized, Jourdan is in a great position to qualify. She's the 2019 Pan-American Champion in the 55kg category and the 2020 IWF World Cup Champion in the 49kg category. In our discussion, we talk about training, changing bodyweight categories and how weightlifters can encourage newer athletes in the sport to get more...
Sep 03, 2020•27 min
In today's episode, we sit down with Conor Heffernan, BarBend contributor and Assistant Professor of Physical Culture and Sports Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Our discussion spans thousands of years of strength, strength training and strength competition. From ancient weightlifting to the 1960s, where strength sports like Weightlifting and Powerlifting begin to split off into their own disciplines. It's an exciting ride through the history of strong people....
Aug 31, 2020•42 min
Today we're talking to Pedro Meloni, Events & Sponsorships Director at USA Weightlifting. Prior to his role with USA Weightlifting, Pedro was the Weightlifting and Powerlifting Sport Manager for the 2016 Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games. In our conversation, we cover Pedro’s most memorable moments from the 2016 Games, including barely-in-time equipment deliveries and a weightlifting session that triggered international uproar. We also talk about the challenges facing organizations like USA W...
Aug 27, 2020•33 min
Today we're talking to Steph Chung, an elite CrossFit athlete who’s also on the executive committee of the professional fitness athlete’s association. After a lengthy gymnastics career in the US, Steph discovered CrossFit, which quickly became her primary social outlet while living abroad in the Middle East. It’s where she found friends, developed her athleticism, and even where she first met with her now-husband. Now back in the United States, Steph lives and trains in Massachusetts. She joined...
Aug 24, 2020•36 min
Today we're talking to Caffeine & Kilos Co-Founder and CEO Danny Lehr. Danny is also an accomplished weightlifter and won gold at the 2019 Masters World Cup for Weightlifting. Danny joins the podcast to talk about the unlikely origins of Caffeine and Kilos — including the accidental revelations that led them on the path to selling both athletic lifestyle apparel and high-end coffee blends. We talk about training in weightlifting while balancing a full time job and family, how to grow a busin...
Aug 20, 2020•36 min
Today we're talking to Marcus Martinez, better known online as Kettlebell Exercises on Instagram. Marcus is a master kettlebell instructor on a mission to help people build better bodies with kettlebells, and that means tackling a lot of misconceptions people have about kettlebell training. In our conversation, we discuss what kettlebell training can and can't do for you, big (and sometimes controversial) differences in training methodology, and the most impressive strength feats Marcus has ever...
Aug 17, 2020•27 min
Today we’re talking to 11-time IPF World Champion and Hall of Fame powerlifter Jen Thompson. Summarizing ALL of Jen’s accomplishments in strength in a quick intro is frankly impossible. She’s one of powerlifting’s all-time greats and still very much a dominant force in the sport, both when competing on the platform and through her contributions as an organizer and advocate. We talk about Jen’s current training and programming split, her favorite accessory movements for a legendary bench press, a...
Aug 13, 2020•32 min
Today we're talking to Jake Boly, BarBend’s outgoing fitness editor. In nearly four years with BarBend, Jake has covered hundreds of strength sports events and written or edited thousands of articles on training and strength research. We look back on Jake’s time in and contributions toward strength journalism, including the athletes and feats that impressed him the most!
Aug 10, 2020•35 min
Today we're talking to Ryan Dorris, accomplished bodybuilder, powerlifter, strength coach and owner of Fortis EQ. Strength sports — particularly CrossFit, but it's not alone — have witnessed lots of changes in the last few months. In this episode, Ryan reflects on how and why strength sports have lacked inclusivity in the past. He's optimistic though, offering a positive and insightful outlook on the culture of strength sports and how we can create more inclusivity together in a time of uncertai...
Aug 06, 2020•1 hr
Today we're talking to Zack George, who finished the 2020 CrossFit Open in first among males in the United Kingdom. Zack’s journey is an inspirational one: From overweight kid to the UK’s fittest man, we talk about the challenges and humbling moments along his path. Zack also joins us to discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the CrossFit season, as well as his response to CrossFit HQ’s organizational shakeup and outgoing CEO Greg Glassman’s controversial comments.
Aug 03, 2020•33 min
Today we're talking to Joe Vennare, co-founder of Fitt (F-I-T-T) and the mind behind Fitt Insider, one of the fitness industries leading platforms for the business of fitness. Joe’s also a former gym owner and passionate writer in the space. Joe lives at a unique intersection of fitness business and practice. That means everything from breaking news on digital health & fitness, connecting investors with startups in the space, and highlighting what his team things are the next big things to i...
Jul 30, 2020•30 min
Today we're talking to Blaine McConnell, currently a member of Team USA’s Bobsled National Team. He’s also arguably the world’s strongest bobsledder Blaine is a former collegiate and Arena football player who found success in CrossFit, competing on a team at the 2016 CrossFit Games. After finding out about Team USA’s bobsled combine through a friend — a story we discuss in this recording — Blaine found his current sport. We talk about the unique strength and explosiveness requirements in bobsled...
Jul 27, 2020•39 min
