Barbell Shrugged

In chapter 1, Kenny and Andy dive deep into the science and applications of physiological adaptation. Research has shown that people can significantly change the composition of their muscle fibers and the magnitude of such changes can be shockingly high. Human beings can alter their physiology with exercise and nutrition far more than previously believed. Enjoy! - Kenny and Andy ------------------...

In the prologue, we introduce Kenny, Andy, and Josh who each tell their side of the show's origin story. They individually explain their motivation for launching the project and provide context for what's to come in volume 1.  The first volume focuses on how human beings can change their minds and bodies to improve overall quality of life. Enjoy! - Kenny and Andy ----------------------------------...

Rachel Balkovec is the first female strength and conditioning coach in the history of professional baseball. She has spent the past seven years as a strength and conditioning coach for organizations such as Arizona State University, Louisiana State University, Los Tigres Del Licey Beisbol and the St. Louis Cardinals.   Most recently, Rachel has joined the Houston Astros as their Latin American Str...

Jen Esquer, DPT, PT, has been on a ruthless ongoing journey to learn about the body and movement since she was a child. She was a professional gymnast until age 16, studied yoga and pilates, studied physiotherapy, and is continuously exploring and learning more . is creator of and The Optimal Body Preventing Pain & Injury Optimizing Lives. Dr. Jen is also the creator of The Mobility Method , which...

Kevin Lawrence is a fitness and nutrition expert, and the founder and CEO of Power Crunch , a line of "smart" protein products. Kevin is a former college football player, former IFBB World Bodybuilding Champion, and renowned speaker and writer who is knowledgeable in exercise physiology and applied nutrition. Kevin was raised in a low-income family with five children, where nutrition was not prior...

Mycal Anders, MS, CSCS, is owner of Crossfit PHX and CryoPHX. Men's Fitness magazine ranked Crossfit PHX as #1 CrossFit Box in the US in 2017!  Mycal Anders is also co-host together with Jeff Thronton of Feed Me Fuel Me podcast, which is about how to use the 3-pillars of success everyday in your life: Manifestation, Business, Fitness & Nutrition.  We're happy to announce Feed Me Fuel Me podcast ha...

John Cena is an American professional wrestler, philanthropist, movie star, and most importantly he loves to lift weights 😉 He is currently signed to WWE, where he is a free agent who appears for both the Raw and SmackDown brands. He also stars in the new comedy movie, Blockers , and has trained under Anders Varner as a member at his gym. Cena has been lifting weights since he was 12, was a footb...

Say 'Hi' to Anders Varner, the new host of Barbell Shrugged! Anders crushed it co-hosting a bunch of shows with Mike and Doug in the past few months and will be taking over as the main Barbell Shrugged host. Doug will remain as co-host and Mike will focus on his new show, The Bledsoe Show, which is part of the Shrugged Collective. In this episode, Mike passes the torch to Anders, and we dive into...

Ashley Boeckle (@ashleyboeckle) is owner and co-founder of @buffbake — The Better For You Snacks. A company that sells all-natural protein nut butters and protein cookies. Boeckle is an entrepreneurial go-getter who always knew she'd create her own path. Growing up, Boeckle hated school, so right after college she started her first food company. A couple of years later, she sold her company to a l...

Aubrey Marcus is the founder and CEO of @Onnit, a lifestyle brand based on a holistic health philosophy he calls Total Human Optimization. Onnit is an Inc. 500 company and an industry leader with products touching millions of lives, including many top professional athletes around the world. Aubrey hosts his own podcast, The Aubrey Marcus Podcast, a motivational destination for conversations with t...

Big updates for Shrugged Empire, be sure to listen to this one!

Dr. Eddie Jo, PhD, CSCS*D, CISSN is Professor of Sport and Exercise Physiology Director of the Human Performance Research Lab at Cal Poly Pomona University in Southern California. Dr. Jo's expertise is in neuromuscular physiology, energy metabolism, and endocrinology, and he has dedicated much of his research to innovating the science and application of training methodologies, nutritional programm...

Adam Von Rothfelder is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin Native and a former professional MMA fighter currently living in Venice, California. He developed himself through family tragedy, learned primal movement from Ido Portal, sparred with Brock Lesnar, and was featured on NBC's show Strong as one of America's top 10 trainers. Von Rothfelder currently coaches some of America's top CEOs and corporate executi...

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 the past 3 years. He went from being...

Dr. Mike Israetel is co-founder and Head Science Consultant at Renaissance Periodization, a company dedicated to providing competitive and non-competitive athletes with scientifically backed methods of improving performance and altering body composition. Dr. Israetel has a PhD in Sport Physiology and has taught Exercise and Sport Science. He has also coached numerous powerlifters, weightlifters, b...

Shane Farmer is a rowing specialist, a coach, an entrepreneur, a 4-time CrossFit Games athlete, and the founder of Dark Horse Rowing and Dark Horse Academy.   Farmer is known in the CrossFit community as a rowing specialist who has worked with elite CrossFit Games athletes, including 2017 CrossFit Games champion Clair Toomey, Kari Pearce, Lauren Fisher, Garrett Fisher, Sam Dancer, and others.   In...

Paul Chek is an internationally-renowned expert in the fields of corrective and high-performance exercise kinesiology.   For over 20 years, Chek's unique, holistic health approach to treatment and education has transformed the lives of countless men and women through programs like the P~P~S Success Mastery Coaching Program. Not surprisingly, Chek is sought after as an international presenter and c...

Dr. Roop Sihota is a PT, a coach, and a movement enthusiast. He has been a long time team member and coach at MobilityWOD and San Francisco Crossfit, and recently launched a new movement project called ORIGINS. Dr. Sihota is inspired by movement and is focused on the exploration of movement. He started ORIGINS because of his passion to give back and provide educational content to help people make...

Dr. Theresa Larson, DPT and Anders Varner are co-creators of of The Low Back Fix, The Knee Fix, and The Shoulder Fix. They are back on the show after talking about the low back (Episode 240) and the knee (episode 292) to talk about fixing your shoulder.   Dr. Larson and Varner have taught movement principles to thousands of trainers and health practitioners on 4 continents, and have coached and tr...

Gunnar Lovelace is founder and Co-CEO at Thrive Market, an online wholesale-buying club committed to sustainability and social justice. Lovelace is a is a lifelong health advocate and serial entrepreneur. He grew up as a child of a single mother, and experienced first hand how hard it was for families on fixed budgets to make healthy choices. At Thrive Market, he and his partners are on a mission...

Bret Contreras has become known in the strength and conditioning industry as "The Glute Guy" because of his expertise in helping clients develop strong, shapely glutes. He has earned his PhD in Sports Science from the Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand, and invented a glute-strengthening machine called the Hip Thruster. Contreras is also cofounder of Strength & Conditioning Research...

Dr. Jordan Jiunta and Dr. Jordan Shallow are co-founders of Pre-Script, co-hosts of RX'D RADIO, chiropractors, and competitive athletes. Jiunta competes in CrossFit and Olympic Weightlifting, and is a CrossFit Level 1 trainer. Shallow competes in Powerlifting and also coaches strength and conditioning at Stanford University Rugby Team. Jiunta understands the importance of learning and training our...

Harrison Maurus is a 17 year old weightlifting prodigy and world champion. Last year, Maurus not only won the 2017 Youth World Championships in Bangkok, Thailand, but also set a new Clean & Jerk Youth World Record of 192kg at the men's 77kg group! Maurus squatted 200kg at age 13, over 3x bodyweight, and just a month ago, earned a bronze medal in both the men's 77 kg total and clean & jerk at the 2...

Drew Canole is nutrition specialist, transformation specialist and national spokesperson for the benefits of juicing vegetables for health and vitality. He is the founder and CEO of Fitlife. TV, a best selling author, and the founder of Organifi. Drew Canole went from being an overweight guy, who liked to consume a bunch of food and energy drinks regularly, including alcohol every weekend, to a ro...