Architect of Resilience

We have a lot of incredible guests on this podcast, but today's conversation with Rachel Balkovec is truly a testimony of passion by an incredible woman with deep, raw introspection into her own life experiences and a hunger to live out her vision. Rachel is a powerhouse in the strength & conditioning world; and now in professional baseball as she just signed with the Yankees to become the first f...

Mike Robertson is one of the strength & conditioning industry's most respected coaches, working with athletes from all walks of life all the way up to the collegiate and professional levels. He is the founder and owner of i-FAST, named as one of the America's Top 10 Gyms by Men's Health magazine. He is the host of the Physical Preparation Podcast and writes numerous books and articles through his...

Today's episode is a fascinating discussion with sleep expert Nick Lambe - The Online Sleep Coach. Sleep is a topic that is equally important to all humans, particularly performance and strength athletes. We all have different relationships with sleep, some positive and some negative.  Listen in as Nick discusses the physiological and psychological processes behind healthy sleep, how supplementati...

Today's guest is none other than Dave Freakin' Lipson! For those who don't know, Dave is a CrossFit HQ Staff Member, coach, athlete, writer, and co-owner of Thundrbro , an up-and-coming training, lifestyle, and supplement company focused on the intersection between hypertrophy training and functional/skill training.  Dave's background is as a strength & conditioning coach for professional MLB and...

Today's guest on Strength Chat is Ben Esgro, founder of DeNovo Nutrition and an expert in all things supplementation, nutrition, and the science behind it all. He is a Registered Dietitian and did his graduate studies in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Sports Nutrition.  In today's show we discuss Ben's philosophy behind supplementation and his approach to starting a different type of supplement comp...

You may have noticed that we have a minor obsession with feet and the human-to-ground interface here at Kabuki Strength, and today's guest is an expert in the field! Dr. Ray McClanahan is a Podiatric Physician and Surgeon, who today runs his own practice - NW Foot and Ankle - right here in our hometown Portland, Oregon. For those not familiar, podiatry is the branch of medicine devoted to the stud...

Today's guest is a well-known figure in the strength world, having been a writer, coach, and educator for a number of years and was voted Powerlifting Coach of the Year in 2016.  Swede is the creator of the popular 5th Set methodology and owns Keyhole Barbell. He has published numerous popular articles on various topics and is a man of many talents and depth of expression.  On today's episode Swed...

Today's host may be familiar to many of you - Dr. Craig Liebenson has been a long-time friend of Kabuki Strength and has previously been a guest on the show - all the way back on Ep. 34. We're glad to have him on again today and this is one of those episodes that you don't want to miss.  In today's discussion you'll hear our hosts and Dr. Liebenson discuss: How to manage your passions with your re...

Mike McCastle is a living legend - having performed feats of strength and endurance that will have you saying "...he did WHAT?". Like doing 5,804 pull-ups in 24 hours while wearing a 30lb pack. The first time he tried that, he ended up in the hospital for 4 days with torn biceps, forearms, and rhabdo. Mike has flipped a 250lb truck tire for 13 miles, he even spent 10 hours climbing a 20 foot rope...

Today's guests share an incredible story of tragedy, trauma, survival, perseverance, and ultimate victory. We are honored to have Ben Toderico and his wife Denise Gorondy-Toderico on the show today! Three years ago Denise - a veterinarian from Virginia - was on her usual run on the same route she had run 3-4 times a week for over a decade. After about a mile, she was hit from behind by an SUV trav...

Today's guest is PNW-native and an industry leader/pioneer in the Strength & Conditioning field. Joel Jamieson is the man who introduced HRV [Heart Rate Variability] training to the masses and continues to break new ground with his recovery platform Morpheus  and online education platform 8WeeksOut .  Joel is known for his work as a coach in the combat sports arena, having trained world champions...

We are honored to have a legend in the fitness world joining us today! Jeff is an educator, coach, and the man behind the world-renowned and wildly-popular Athlean-X fitness program. Athlean-X has over 7 million subscribers on YouTube and millions more on other social media platforms!  He has previously worked as the Head Physical Therapist and Assistant Strength Coach for the New York Mets, a rol...

Today's guest on Strength Chat is natural bodybuilder and coach Julian Smith! Julian is also known as "the Quad Guy" and has one of the most aesthetic physiques in the sport! His unique, extremely-effective, and detailed training style is wildly popular and he has amassed a very engaged following of over 1 million people on social media: @smith.julian Julian is a PNW-native and trains out of his p...

Today's guest on Strength Chat is the Bryce Lewis, an elite-level drug-free powerlifter and world-renowned strength coach. Bryce is the founder of The Strength Athlete, more commonly known as TSA, whose team of coaches works with and educates beginner-to-elite level powerlifters all across the world.  Bryce holds records in the USAPL and IPF, and works to promote the sport of powerlifting globally...

Introducing today's guest in one or two paragraphs would hardly break the surface of her incredible career and accomplishments. She was the first female Head Trainer in US professional sports history - working with the LA Dodgers for 6 years. She has also served as Head of Athletic Training/Performance for the US Men's National Soccer Team, and has presented at state, national and international le...

Bud Jeffries is an incredible human being, and one of the strongest men in the world. Bud is a minister, massage therapist, professional performing strongman, motivational speaker, author and business owner. You may know him from his many videos and pictures of feats of other-worldly strength he regularly performs. Among them: 1000lb Raw Anderson Squat (start at the bottom) Backlift a 15,000lb tra...

Today's guest is Chris Peil, a veteran of the fitness industry who has been a trainer, coach, and educator for over 15 years. Chris started The Move Well Project - helping athletes improve their movement, then programme appropriately within their limitations and manage risk levels and rehabilitate injuries. Chris has worked with some of the strongest men in the world - including Zydrunas Savickas ...

We are honored to have Victoria Felkar as today's guest on Strength Chat. She is an explorer, a renegade, and an advocate pushing the boundaries of performance and health through research, coaching, and teaching.  Victoria is currently completing her doctoral studies at University of British Columbia, specializing in physical culture, medical and criminological knowledge, performance enhancement,...

Today's Strength Chat guest is John Fawkes, an up-and-coming evidence based trainer and coach out of San Francisco. John works with athletes and lifters in all populations to help them develop the systems, psychology and game plan they need to get their minds and bodies into peak condition.  In this podcast our hosts discuss the importance of properly reading and interpreting research and its appl...

Those of you professionals in the clinical and strength words are sure to know about SWIS, shorthand for the "Society of Weight-Training Injury Specialists". Our guest today is the man behind SWIS and the annual SWIS Symposium, Dr. Ken Kinakin. Kabuki Strength is no stranger to SWIS, with host Chris Duffin having spoken multiple times at SWIS and will again be presenting this year along with our D...

Today's guest is a true pioneer and legend in the strength and fitness worlds, and we are honored to have her on Strength Chat. She is the co-founder and leader of a movement that has empowered hundreds of thousands of women around the world reach their health and fitness goals. Molly Galbraith is an extraordinary person, full of compassion and contagious willpower that touches and inspires those...

Welcome to another episode of Strength Chat! Today's guest is longtime Kabuki Strength friend and coaching client Chris Karmin! As the co-owner of Mt. Vernon Barbell Club in New York City and an elite-level strength athlete, Chris lives and breathes powerlifting when he's not building skyscrapers in Manhattan! Cool fact: Chris was one of the steelworkers who built the Freedom Tower!  Chris, Brando...

Today our hosts sit down with Joe Szymanek, an accomplished coach, athlete, and most recently author! Although he has many credentials to his name, and has competed in a high-level in both CrossFit and weightlifting - it's clear immediately that Joe is just as passionate about introducing little ones to movement, strength, and health from an early age. Joe recently authored the book "Luci Meets a...

Stan "The Rhino" Efferding, AKA The World's Strongest Bodybuilder - is one of the most respected and well known names and faces in the strength and fitness world. Stan is no stranger to us, he is a local Portland native and even trained at Kabuki Strength before it was called Kabuki Strength! In today's episode our hosts talk to Stan about his latest ventures and dig deep into some nutritional and...

Ryan Lockard and his team at Specialty Athletic Training work with a population of individuals who have been mostly forgotten and overlooked by the fitness world - those with special needs. Perhaps nobody we've had on the show thus far better embodies our mission and vision of "making the world a better place through strength" than Ryan and his team.  As one parent put it... "There is a special pl...