Barbell Shrugged

Rob Wilson (@preparetoperform) is a coach with Power Speed Endurance which is a programming, coaching and educational platform for developing sports performance, fitness and health—and it's not only for high level endurance athletes but anyone looking to improve their health and fitness through increased movement efficiency and better mechanics. Rob travels the country teaching the Art of Breath c...

Inaugural CrossFit Games Champion and industry-leading educator, James FitzGerald, has dedicated his life to bringing honor to the coaching profession. As Founder of OPEX Fitness his Coaching Education and Gyms Licensing Programs have provided thousands of coaches with the tools needed to professionalize their passion. James' flagship program, The OPEX Coaching Certificate Program reflects his 20...

Social media is more than just a place to post photos and videos. You can utilize it to grow a brand, business, platform and expand your market to insane levels.   If you do it the right way, the potential is endless.   In this podcast we touch on some of the most important parts of creating an authentic brand on social media. We go in depth on how to stand out, and show the F up for your brand an...

Empowering the body-mind connection is an absolute must in Mike's (@mike_bledsoe) world. A lifetime of athletics and training, along with being a coach and entrepreneur for the last decade, he has tapped into parts of himself that were once unknown. Simultaneously competing in the sport of weightlifting, coaching national caliber athletes, running a 7 figure business with 20+ employees, and hostin...

Brian Muka (@brian_muka) helps people turn fear into a superpower. Brian believes that this overlooked powerful source of energy is the key to getting more done, saying yes to the right things and no to the wrong, and when harnessed can result in more impact and income. Brian teaches the tools of masters to keep fear small and manageable and helps people get to know fear to turn into fuel, focus a...

Will Lanier (@truebluewill) has worked for the past decade as a CrossFit Coach and general manager for Brick New York, and has spent time working for other fitness organizations like Barry's Bootcamp and 24 Hour Fitness. He's now the founder of The Out Foundation, a non-profit organization that works to remove the barriers that block LGBTQ+ individuals access and participation in health, wellness...

Jen Widerstrom (@jenwiderstrom) is a personal trainer and fitness model. She is well known for her role of a trainer in the NBC's long-running and hit series The Biggest Loser, replacing Jillian Michaels where she worked as a body coach and guided the participants through a well-planned exercise regime and also provided the required emotional support to them during their journey to a fitter body....

This week's episode is all about programming.   Picking the right goal, manipulating frequency, volume, intensity, planning for adaptation, choosing mass or strength, making your exercises match your goals, how many days per week, sets and reps, tempo movements, rest breaks, gym programming, and much more...   This is probably one of my most passionate subjects and it's what I'm known for around t...

Mark England (@markengland2020) has professionally coached thousands of clients worldwide using the power of words and stories for over a decade. He holds an BA in business and a Master's in Education. Mark is the co-founder of Procabulary and is a lifelong personal development enthusiast.   In this episode of The Strong Coach we discuss Mark's start in coaching, what's held Mark's attention throu...

This week on The Bledsoe Show Mike talks with old-school Barbell Business podcast host and two-time world-record-setting powerlifter AJ Roberts. He's one of the few people in the industry with a very solid perspective on both business and training, and he's one of our favorite speakers of all time. He gets it, and he's great at helping other people get it, too.   In this episode we talk about the...

Koreena King (aka Koko) has been in the bodybuilding world for less than a decade, but has made a name for herself in her native Ontario with her in-depth knowledge of the bodybuilding world, as well as her posing coaching and competition makeup skills. She's worked as a posing coach and makeup artist in the industry for years.     We're all a part of the social media community, consuming and obse...

Chris Hinshaw specializes in aerobic capacity coaching and programming for CrossFit athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and sports specialists.   Hinshaw has successfully coached 28 CrossFit Games champions and his athletes have filled more than 38 podium spots since 2013.   A former All American swimmer and an experienced professional triathlete with 10 Ironman finishes with 7 Ironman's in Kona, Hawai...

In this week's episode I sit down with a fan boy named Herky Garcia (@herkygarcia). Herky emailed me back in 2015 to work and train at my gym. I said no. He continued to stay persistent and even came down for a visit one weekend and asked me again in person. I said no again. Eventually he decided to just move to Orange County and gamble on this dream of working out at CHALK and hanging out with on...

Thane Marcus has spent the past four years deep diving into personal development. Although the object of that development was the arena of professional golf, the subject of that development was himself. During Thane's golf career, he left no stone unturned in regards to maximizing his human potential. This ceaseless striving has given him a strong grasp of the process involved in producing his bes...

Mansal Denton (@mansaldenton) is the founder of Nootropedia, an unbiased and accessible online nootropics resource to help you improve your cognitive abilities. Nootropics are substances that enhance mental functions, such as memory. He previously co-founded and grew Pure Nootropics into one of the 3 largest nootropics commodity ecommerce sites and exited after 15 months with buyout. In his spare...

Dr. Ralph Esposito (@dr.ralphesposito) is a New York based naturopathic physician, acupuncturist and functional medicine practitioner specializing in integrative urology, men's health and nutrigenomics. He has designed education modules for health professionals specifically on urological conditions, male and female hormone dysfunction, hypogonadism, exercise, men's health and sexual dysfunction. H...

Guido Trinidad (@guidotrinidad) is the owner and Founder of Peak 360 CrossFit. Guido began CrossFitting in 2008 and hasn't stopped since. Along the way, he has earned himself a trip to the CrossFit Games, 6 South East Regional appearances, and a Peak family that he could not be more proud of.   Guido is a family man, owner and founder of Peak 360, and the creator of Wodapalooza. Guido helps teach...

We're flipping the script this week: I've just met Lauren (@laurentickner), and she's going to interview me on my own podcast. It gets deep, it gets weird, it gets a little spiritual—this chick is not afraid of asking probing questions. We dive into how I found my passion, what makes me relentless, and the things that scare me (spoiler alert: one of them is Everest). Lauren shares what being a men...

Ryan Fischer's entire life has always been about fitness. At the age of 12 he was a world ranked BMX racer. In high-school he ran track, played lacrosse, and football. Then, he got into skeleton and bobsled, and even qualified for the US Olympic Team Trials for both sports. Fischer is also a big time crossfitter, who finished top 5 in the CrossFit Regionals for multiple years. He went from being h...

In 2004, Jeff and Mikki Martin (@thebrandxmethod) imagined a better future for youth and began working toward that future by developing the original strength-and-conditioning program specifically designed for kids. Almost 15 years later, they continue to do what's best for kids on a daily basis with The Brand X Method™, the world leader in youth fitness.   The Martins teach and speak all over the...

Canadian-born Valentine Thomas (@valentinethomas) is a trained lawyer who worked in finance in London for six  years before leaving it all to travel the world and spread the word about eating and fishing responsibly. She's a Freediving Instructor with PADI, professional traveller, accomplished chef, TEDx speaker, entrepreneur and soon-to-be cookbook author.   Learn why a trained lawyer left her cu...

Mathew Fraser (@mathewfras) is an American professional CrossFit Athlete. With a coined mantra of "Hard Work Pays Off" (HWPO), he has been a dominant force on the CrossFit Games stage since the beginning of his career defining a legacy in the sport. In 2014, his debut year at the CrossFit Games, he claimed 2nd place atop the podium and was awarded Rookie of the Year. In 2015, as the favorite to wi...

I'm teaming up with two CrossFit OGs for this episode, comin' atcha from Wodapalooza weekend! As veterans of Regionals, the Games, podcasting in the fitness community, gym-owning, and everything in between, Blair (@morrison_blair) and Ben (@ironmile_ben) need no introduction—which is why they don't get one. We get right down to airing our unfiltered opinions on Sectionals, Ben Smith's post about e...

  Dr. Matt Kreinheder is a transformational healer, speaker, and coach. He has a doctorate in chiropractic, a master's degree in acupuncture and has professionally written for publications all over the globe. Dr. Matt has been trained at the highest level of Network Spinal Analysis and mentored under Donny Epstein, a world renowned healer. Dr. Matt helps entrepreneurs and high performers step into...

Jesse Elder's (@jesseelderlive) own journey to self-mastery unfolded as he grew up in a family of 7. Being homeschooled, Jesse was given the gift by his parents of being largely self-directed in his education and spent hours exploring ideas that interested him. At the age of 9 Jesse was introduced to martial arts. Hitting the mats every week became a passion that would play a powerful role through...