Today on the BarBend Podcast, we welcome two of the BarBend Team's finest: Managing Editor Andrew Gutman and Senior Writer Phil Blechman. We dive into our favorite strength stories, feats, records, and competitions of 2021, then look ahead at the big stories to come in 2022. Did we include any of your favorite moments?
Hey folks, we have a short and sweet one for you. Today I’m talking to American weightlifter Hampton Morris. Just 17 years old, Hampton has an athletic resume that is nothing short of jaw-dropping. He was 2 World, 10 Pan American, and 16 American weightlifting records, and he’s the 2021 Pan American Senior Champion and 2021 Youth World Champion. We chat about Hampton’s meteoric rise in the sport, the unorthodox accessory movements in his training, and 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...
Today I’m talking to weightlifter, CrossFitter, pro strongman, financial advisor, and coach Graciano Rubio, best known online as the Wall Street Weightlifter. He’s also the owner of CrossFit Valley View. In today’s episode, we discuss his strength background and why you should treat training like an investment portfolio — especially when it comes to something called stop loss. Along the way, I also get on a high horse about competing. You’ll just have to listen to find out more....
Today I’m talking to powerlifter Andy Huang, perhaps better known online as That Huge Asian Guy. Andy has put up some of the world’s all-time great totals at 275 lbs bodyweight, and after battling several injuries, he recently came back to top competition form. Andy talks about finding powerlifting a bit later in life, and how his training approach has grown over the years. Andy also discusses the benefits of training with and around other world-class powerlifters, and how their mentality helps ...
Today I’m talking to Donna Moore, a British legend in the sport of strongman and a three-time World’s Strongest Woman. Donna has been competing in strongman since 2012, and in today’s episode, she shares her unlikely origins in the sport — including a seemingly random competition through Facebook — as well as her future aspirations, which include competing in a completely different bodyweight category. Along the way, Donna shares some of her favorite and funniest competition stories and provides...
Today we have a rare repeat podcast guest, James Fitzgerald. James was the first-ever men’s champion at the CrossFit Games – back in 2007 — and since then he’s built a reputation as one of the fitness industry’s most thoughtful and prolific coaches. His company OPEX offers a variety of online coaching and education resources, which gives James nearly-unparalleled insight into macro trends in fitness. But our conversation here goes deeper than the latest and greatest in working out. James gets ca...
From the BarBend Podcast archives: 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, al...
Today I’m talking to legendary strongman competitor Laurence Shahlaei, better known in the strength community as Big Loz. Loz has a storied strongman career, having competed in more than 10 World’s Strongest Man competitions, winning Britain’s Strongest Man twice, winning Europe’s strongest man, and racking up more podium finishes in the sport than we can list in this intro. He’s since made a successful transition over to sports commentary and is building one of the strength sports world’s faste...
Today I’m talking to strongman Adam Bishop, the reigning Britain’s Strongest Man (as of this podcast’s publication). After playing rugby at a high level, Adam became a strength and conditioning coach for professional rugby players. It was only in the past couple of years that he was able to focus full-time on training for strongman, and his results have skyrocketed. Now a three-time World’s Strongest Man finalist, Adam talks about his evolution in the sport, along with the athletes he sees as hi...
Today I’m talking to my friend Chad Schroeder, the CrossFit Games Lead of Sport Statistics. Chad has been working on the stats side of fitness for nearly a decade, from unlikely beginnings as a volunteer to a driving force behind how top athletes in CrossFit are measured and compared from one year to the next (and even from one event to the next). Chad has helped CrossFit as a sport develop year in and year out, and his story is a fascinating look behind the sport’s growth from grassroots phenom...
Today I’m talking to strongman athlete Evan Singleton. Also known by his nickname T-Rex, Evan is relatively new to strongman, having discovered the sport around three years ago. But in the short time since, he’s rocketed to the top of the sport’s rankings and is now among the best men’s open competitors in the world. We chat about his background in pro wrestling, bodybuilding, and more. But the most fun part of the conversation for me was an in-depth discussion on his Jurassic Park fandom. Stren...
Today I’m talking to powerlifter, record holder, and Kabuki Strength CEO Rudy Kadlub. Rudy has, admittedly, been stronger than average his whole life, but it wasn’t until his 50s that he really began training in strength sports. Now in his early 70s, Rudy is a massive figure in strength sports for his accomplishments both on and off the powerlifting platform. We discuss his background, strength training for more mature athletes, co-founding Kabuki Strength, and much, much more....
Today I’m talking to performance coach and athlete Mike Aidala, who is perhaps best known online for helping resurrect some strongman lifts from a bygone era. Mike’s done immensely impressive things like a one-arm overhead squat at 315 pounds, a two-hands anyhow lift with 430 pounds, and the list goes on. In addition, he’s an accomplished endurance athlete. We talk about following your heart in strength and balancing so many different training methodologies and goals to keep things exciting....
Today I’m talking to weightlifter, coach, and photographer Steve Galvan. Steve is a multi-talented force in weightlifting, and for both the Rio and Tokyo Olympic Games, he was the official International Weightlifting Federation photographer. He’s also known in the community as the photographer behind Sick Angles, which makes sense; he gets the sickest angles for some of the world’s biggest lifts. We catch up about Steve’s unlikely path from photography volunteer to an exclusive seat on the world...
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.
Today I’m talking to Alec Zirkenbach, Executive Director of Adaptive Training Academy. Alec is a military veteran, trainer, athlete, and entrepreneur who has played a key role in growing the adaptive athletic community in and around CrossFit. Through his work at Adaptive Training Academy, he’s also helped develop numerous training courses and modules to help coaches improve their understanding of and ability to train both able bodied and disabled athletes. This conversation with Alec is a great ...
Today I’m talking to Dr. Ben Bikman, PhD, a professor, researcher, entrepreneur, and author in bioenergetics. In his own words, Ben’s research drives at exploring the “contrasting roles of insulin and ketones as key drivers of metabolic function.” Ben is also passionate about fitness, and he’s become a go-to resource and expert for many athletes and institutions hoping to better understand how what we eat drives our body’s responses and adaptations to training. In our conversation, we dive into ...
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.
Today I’m talking to powerlifter Jimmy Kolb, the all-time record holder in the equipped bench press. In June 2021, he benched an astonishing 508 kilograms (or 1,120 pounds) in a single-ply bench shirt. It’s the heaviest bench press ever performed by a human. Jimmy joins us to talk about training as a bench specialist, his transition from raw to equipped lifting, misconceptions about equipped lifting, and pushing human performance past boundaries of what was once thought possible. It’s an interes...
Today I’m talking to strength icon Odd Haugen, who’s decades-long career in strength is the stuff of legend. Originally from Norway, he’s an accomplished champion powerlifter and fitness entrepreneur who’s owned and operated some of the most storied gyms in America. He also has a long history in strongman, winning the 1999 Strongest Man in America contest and competing at several World’s Strongest Man contests well into his 50s. Haugen has also been instrumental in bringing Mas Wrestling to west...
We’re bringing the podcast in house today, and for good reason. We're talking to BarBend’s Managing Editor, Andrew Gutman, who’s covered some of the biggest events in strength sports history. But it’s an especially interesting time for the strength community. Late July 2021 includes both the Tokyo Olympic Games AND the CrossFit Games, making it one of the busiest periods ever for BarBend’s newsroom. We discuss the upcoming challenges and thrills with covering multiple international sporting even...
Today we're talking to Spenser Mestel, a journalist who has written for publications like the New York Times, Buzzfeed, and of course, BarBend.com. Spenser has an insanely interesting athletic background, from competitive diving to parkour, a journey that includes ups like competing on American Ninja Warrior and downs that include breaking his neck in Egypt. Spenser has also established himself as one of the CrossFit community’s most impactful writers on a number of important issues in and aroun...
Today we're talking to Joel Del Rosario, an active duty Marine and fitness coach who has 17 years of experience with fitness in the military. We discuss fitness standards in today’s military, along with how Joel’s approach to training and combat readiness has evolved over the past decade and a half. If you’ve ever been interested in learning how service members prepare their bodies and minds for the rigors of military duty, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.
Today I’m talking to Kelsey Kiel, a longtime elite CrossFitter who recently made the switch to bobsledding. As she trains toward qualification for Team USA, Kelsey joins us to talk about how her training has shifted, decisions that changed the course of her athletic career, and how bobsledders train most of the year off the ice. It’s a good look at managing performance and explosiveness, and why we can never underestimate technique in any sport. We hope you enjoy.
Today we're talking to Nicolas Cambi, one of the world’s top strongman athletes in the 105kg weight category. We talk about his strongman origins — including training at a famous gym I used to frequent — and how the sport has grown over the past decade. What’s the future of strongman look like? And what are those weird looking, floppy bars Nicolas is famous for training with? All that and more in this episode of The BarBend Podcast.
In this special (and rare) repost, The BarBend Podcast is going in-depth with a topic and guest that launched to a huge audience reaction. Layne Norton, PhD is one of the strength world's most respected minds when it comes to the science behind building muscle and strength. He's also competed in both bodybuilding and powerlifting at elite levels. Layne joins us to talk about what the bodybuilding and powerlifting worlds can learn from each other, along with sifting through the "bro science" to d...
Today we're talking to Tommy from Massenomics, a lifting, apparel, and social media brand — and also a functioning strength sports gym — based out of Western North East South Dakota. If that sounds strange, then you haven’t gone headfirst into the Massenomics world. They’re curators of some of strength’s funniest memes and content, and they’ve built a dedicated following among lifting nerds that needs to be experienced firsthand. Tommy joins us to talk about Massenomics origins, inside jokes tha...
Today we're talking to Hunter Henderson, a record setting powerlifter. A heads up that we recorded this podcast before the Kern US Open, where Hunter won her weight class with a commanding performance — and took home a few records as well. Hunter has an interesting focus on cardio for recovery, which is something we think a lot of strength athletes can learn from. We hope you enjoy!
Today we're talking to American weightlifter Meredith Alwine, the current Pan American champion in the women’s 71kg category. I first met Meredith back in 2016 - in the early days of BarBend - while doing color commentary for the RVA Open in Richmond, Virginia. Back then, she was an up-and-coming collegiate lifter, and let’s just say her progress since has been nothing short of astounding. She’s risen through the ranks from the local, collegiate, and national levels to now be a contending force ...
