Barbell Shrugged

Devon Larratt (@devlarratt) is a world champion arm wrestler (in both arms) and received mainstream fame with his YouTube video defeating The Mountain Thor Bjornsson in an armwrestling match. He's also a twenty-year veteran of the Canadian military, with time spent in an elite special forces unit, and one of the most dedicated athletes on the planet–with a healthy dose of humor, stoicism, and just...

Dr. Jordan Shallow (@the_muscle_doc) is a chiropractor and a competitive powerlifter who champions getting movement right, from the outset. Jordan's patients range from world-class athletes to 9-5 weekend warriors. Understanding the needs of each individual and subsequent demand of each of their lifestyles is the cornerstone on which his clinical practice is built. In this episode of Barbell Shrug...

Chandler Smith (@blacksmifff) is making a name for himself in the fitness world while holding it down in the Army—except for one time he got his finger chopped off. (You bet that story is included in this episode!) But he's fine, and crushing it on the Misfit team at Wodapalooza.   What does it take to be an athlete with a brand? We talk about the way the game has changed, being competitive while...

Max Shank (@maxshank) has written 3 books and taught over a hundred courses in countries around the world. These experiences have allowed Max to help 10's of Thousands of people across the globe improve their lives through physical fitness. Max has also had the pleasure to operate one of the best gyms in Encinitas, CA called Ambition Athletics, where hundreds of people get better every day. Max li...

Conner Moore (@connerwanders) has spent years working with individuals and groups. The experience of reaching so many people led Conner to notice that everyone has an undeniable urge to connect to others with purpose and confidence in their contribution. Conner started to seek an understanding of what keeps us from accessing the fundamental human desire to be seen and understood. He became obsesse...

Dr. Sean Pastuch (@drseanpastuch) is a doctor, coach, educator, coach to athletes, and founder of Active Life Rx, which he founded with a belief that the world deserves better solutions than the current modern medical model. Active Life Rx is the only company in the world helping thousands of people to get out of pain without going to the doctor or missing the gym. They also educate health care pr...

Armen Hammer and I go way back to the early days of throwing barbells around. We've both been through some major transitions and seen a ton of changes happen in the CrossFit space. It's been a couple years, so we had a lot of catching up to do when we met up in Florida during Wodapalooza weekend.   After leaving the Wodcast Podcast, Armen worked for FloElite until they downsized. He saw an opportu...

Matt Walrath (@groceryninja) blazed the long and difficult trail from a short and skinny kid who rode the bench in every sport to a 2x CrossFit Games Regionals Athlete and All-American Lacrosse player with opportunities to play professionally. CrossFit, nutrition, and personal development were all key pieces to Matt's transformation. Matt discovered CrossFit back in 2006 and earned his CrossFit Le...

C.J. Murphy (@tpsmethod) is the owner of Total Performance Sports and the creator of the Total Performance Method and the Total Performance Method for Powerlifting (tpsmethod.com). His gym was featured as one of America's 20 Best Gyms – twice. Murphy is on the Advisory Board for Men's Fitness magazine and Muscle and Fitness magazine. C.J. has almost 30 years' experience as a coach, athlete, and ce...

Jöhg Ananda has been described as a "Cultural Revolutionary" by Dr. Chris Ryan. Jöhg is a serial entrepreneur ( Healthy Surprise , The Dirt Paleo Personal Care , Jambo Superfoods ) and founder of Union Yoga. Jöhg has invented over 50 consumer products, including the subscription snack box category, several guided yoga kriyas and designed a factory.   In this episode, we talk with Jöhg about the mo...

Dr. Theresa Larson (@drtheresalarson) has become one of the healthcare and fitness world's most sought after experts on movement health. Dr. Larson earned her doctorate in physical therapy from the University of Saint Augustine in San Diego, CA. A former Marine Corps Engineer Officer and Combat Veteran, Theresa also played professional softball in Italy as well as semi-professional softball in the...

Are you ready for this?! It's a crossover episode—with Mike Bledsoe, the OG host of Barbell Shrugged and the creator of Strong Coach. He's got a lot to say about, well, just about everything—from entrepreneurship strategies to open relationships and what the future of information looks like (spoiler alert: it features brain implants and the ability to communicate feelings). 🧠   Throughout the yea...

Ajit Nawalkha came from humble beginnings. Born to a middle-income family in Jaipur, Ajit grew up in an extended family of 23 other people under one roof. Space and money were scarce, and so as a little boy he dreamt of abundance.   Ajit made a decision to plant himself where he could grow. From starting as a trainee in a non-profit, Ajit has since held various roles including CEO of Mindvalley, C...

Ryan Fischer's (@ryanfisch) 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 at just about every distance, played lacrosse, and football at the varsity level since his freshman year. As Ryan grew up he got into skeleton and boblsed and qualified for the US Olympic Team Trials for both sports. Ryan has finished top 5 in the Cro...

Sakura Kokumai  is training to become a karate World Champion and to represent USA in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.   Sakura started karate in Honolulu, Hawaii when she was 8 years old. She started competing internationally at 14, and represented the Jr. USA Karate Team for four years, winning the Jr. Pan American Championships 4 years in a row.   Sakura is currently ranked number 5 in the world! Most...

Mike Boyle is one of the foremost experts in the fields of Strength and Conditioning, Functional Training and general fitness. He currently spends his time lecturing, teaching, training and writing. In 1996 Mikel co founded Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning, one of the first for-profit strength and conditioning companies in the world. Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning exists for one reason:...

Wade and Matt started their company after enzymes radically changed their lives. They knew the knowledge they were paying $1500 a month to obtain was too great to keep to themselves, so they found a way to spread it to the masses. The result is BiOptimizers: scientifically-backed enzyme supplements that flip the conventional understanding of "health" upside down.   We sit down to talk about our ea...

Julien Pineau  is a Humanist & Movement Specialist and founder of StrongFit  . Sports have been a part of Julien's life since he was young and he's been a state and national champion in a number of sports including soccer, swimming, and wrestling. As an adult, he really found something he liked with MMA and Jiu-Jitsu and spent time traveling the world to learn from the best in the industry.   The...

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....

Ashley Bledsoe is not only Mike's wife, she's a relationships coach, who guides couples to create a powerful partnership.   Ashley also has a master's degree in Sports and Recreation Management, and has been supporting, coaching and facilitating groups in the fitness industry for the past 10 years. However, over the past three years, she's been delving into deeper healing work. She's passionate ab...

This is a special episode, where Doug Larson (@douglaselarson) and Anders Varner (@andersvarner) talk about the best books on business, why communication is a skill you should constantly be developing, how mindset training is a skill that plays into all of life's skills, why learning meditation will make you better at everything, and much more.   Enjoy! - Doug and Anders --------------------------...

It's hard to remember a time before Instagram, but Dennis (@denheen) and Kelsey (@thedailykelsey) built their online training business the old-fashioned way (through Facebook and email). They took a chance, came up with a catchy name, HIIT Burn (@hiitburn), and the rest is laid out in detail for you in this episode. In their case, big risks and some smart marketing led to big rewards—it's a classi...

The Strong Coach: "Guiding Coaches to Their Greatness" Season 2 Epilogue The Strong Coach Season 2 kicks off with an epilogue with head Coach Danny Rios, a recent Strong Coach Graduate April Flaten, and the co-host Doug Larson. April is one of the very first clients to graduate the program and has created a position in the fitness industry that fits her lifestyle and business goals. The core princ...

Matt Gallant is the CEO of BiOptimzers and has a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology. He's been a strength and conditioning coach for multiple pro-athletes, a self-defense instructor, and has over 10 years experience formulating supplements. Fun fact: Matt's been playing guitar and keyboards for over 19 years… and recorded a hard rock CD when he was young and angry.   Wade Lightheart is the president...

Dr. Gabrielle Lyon is a functional medicine physician specializing in Muscle-Centric Medicine . She leverages evidence-based medicine with emerging cutting-edge science to restore metabolism, balance hormones and optimize body composition.   Dr. Lyon attended the Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine and is board-certified in Family Practice. She also completed her research fellowship in Nutriti...