BarBend Podcast

With a nickname like "The Godfather," Dave Spitz is clearly doing something right. The founder and mastermind behind much of California Strength's growth, he's a massive figure in American weightlifting. His team (not to mention his direct coaching) has produced some of the top U.S. lifters in the last decade and helped popularize the sport with an early and huge online followi...

Powerlifter. Coach. Vlogger. Movie star? Bryce Krawczyk's journey in strength started with his desire to bulk up, and it's led him down a pretty incredible path. In this episode, Bryce Krawczyk shares his evolution from complete beginner to world record holding powerlifter and documentary subject in a groundbreaking film. Now a renowned coach and the face behind Calgary Barbell, Bryce is...

Tom Sroka has done it all — literally. A former standout thrower in track & field, Tom has competed in weightlifting, powerlifting, GRID, and Highland Games competition. He's excelled in each to an impressive degree, making him one of the world's most well-rounded strength athletes, period. Tom's also built a reputation for coaching all levels of strength athletics, particularly...

Athletes dedicate their lives to achieving their full potential, or as close to it as possible. So why do so many of us — strength athletes especially — take shortcuts when it comes to recovery? That's the question Will Ahmed, CEO and Founder of WHOOP , set out to address when he was still an undergraduate. WHOOP makes hardware and software to track recovery, performance, and sleep for athlet...

Strongman is one of the most physically demanding — and visually impressive — strength sports on the planet. And perhaps no one has done more to grow the sport's presence online than Kalle Beck. Kalle is the founder of StartingStrongman.com, a fantastic resource covering training in the sport, as well as event results and coverage. And what started as a personal blog — born out of a frustrati...

Chad Vaughn is many things: weightlifter, Olympian, father, husband, coach, broadcaster, and mentor. He’s one of the most decorated athletes in American weightlifting history, with more national titles and international team appearances than we can count (seriously). And while Chad is best known for his two Olympic Games appearances — 2004 and 2008 — his career continues to this day in both Senior...

Olympic medalist and snatch world record holder Cheryl Haworth talks about finding weightlifting and making the Olympics at age 17. Find out how she's leveraged her time as an athlete to build a career in coaching.

Active Life Rx Founder Sean Pastuch joins David to discuss what it takes to build a brand in the fitness space. Is working with Instagram influencers good or bad for growing companies? And what's going on behind the scenes of athletes on social media?

World record holding powerlifter Emily Hu joins the podcast to talk about training, recovery, and her stint on NBC's "The Titan Games." David and Emily examine the factors that helped her excel so quickly in the sport, along with what's it means for strength sports to go more mainstream.

Multi-time CrossFit Games competitor Tim Paulson sits down with David to talk about the huge changes for qualification in 2019. Based out of Ithaca, New York, Tim has been in the CrossFit world since 2012 and at the sport's highest levels since 2017, when he first qualified for the Games. Now a three-time CrossFit Games athlete, Tim is in some very rare and elite company. Tim joins The BarBen...