BarBend Podcast

Today we're talking to Logan Aldridge, training director of Adaptive Training Academy and the fittest one arm man on earth. After a wakeboarding accident that resulted in the loss of his arm at a young age, Logan dedicated his life to making fitness and sports more accessible for people around the globe. His work with Adaptive Training Academy is one of the most impressive projects we’ve ever...

Today we're talking to Albert Matheny, co-founder of Soho Strength Lab in New York City and the COO of Arena, a fitness technology startup that’s launching in late 2020. Albert joins us to talk about the harsh realities of the gym business during COVID, including the factors that go into whether owners and operators are able to keep their facilities open. We also talk about why he’s steered h...

Today we're talking to Samuel Kwant, a multi-time CrossFit Games competitor who finished second at the 2020 CrossFit Games. Originally a high school cross country runner, Sam found CrossFit as a teenager and qualified for his first games at just 20 years old, making him the youngest male competitor in that year’s field. Since then, Sam has risen up the leaderboard on repeat visits, which culm...

Today we're talking to Taylor Atwood, a 6-time United States Champion and 2-time IPF World Champion in powerlifting. Most recently, Taylor totaled an astonishing 812kg at 74 kilograms bodyweight, becoming the first lifter in his category to hit that mark in drug-tested competition. In the process, Taylor set new American Records on all three lifts. Taylor joins us today to talk about making p...

Today we're talking to Ali Jawad, a British Paralympic powerlifter and silver medalist from the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. Ali was born a double above the knee amputee, and he competed in judo at a high level before finding powerlifting. Ali is one of Britain’s most accomplished strength athletes, and he’s also an outspoken advocate for clean sport and doping controls in Paralympic sport. In...

Today we're talking to Dr. Karyn Marshall, a legend in the sport of weightlifting. Karyn began her lifting career in the 70s, and in 1985 she became the first woman in history to clean and jerk over 300 pounds. She competed in — and won gold at — the first women’s weightlifting world championship in 1987, becoming the first-ever American champion, and the only American champion from that comp...

Today we're talking to powerlifting legend David Ricks. David has been in the sport for nearly 40 years, with a competition history dating all the way back to 1981. Throughout that time, he’s won numerous national, world, and invitational championships, earning him the nickname “Superman.” After a brief hiatus in the sport in his mid-50s, David came roaring back to compete at a high level in...

Today we're talking to strongman competitor Anthony Fuhrman. He’s the two-time World’s Strongest Man at 105 kilograms and was a competitor on NBC’s Titan Games. Anthony is also an active duty service member, and our discussion today focuses in part on how he balances his training with a full time job in the US Army. Anthony is also a BarBend contributor and one of the most personable people i...

Today we're talking to CrossFit athlete Griffin Roelle, who competed as a rookie at the 2020 CrossFit Games. Griffin found the sport after a lengthy football career. He brought an immense base of strength to his CrossFit training, which is reflected in his results: He’s one of the all-out strongest athletes in the sport, and he won the max front squat event at this year’s CrossFit Games with...

In this episode of the BarBend Podcast, we're talking to CrossFit Games athlete, Kristine Best. While fans may know her as an elite athlete, most of the people she works with every day know her as something else: a teacher.  Unlike other Games-level athletes — who build lives around training full time — Kristine is a full time special education teacher. This means balancing training with a hi...

Today we're talking to powerlifter Rich Yun. Rich is best known online as The Korean Hulk, and it’s a nickname that stuck after one of his first powerlifting competitions. This conversation has a lot of parts: We talk beefing with other “Korean Hulks” online, the eating habits of powerlifters, and the biggest movers and shakers in strength sports today. It’s a fun conversation you won’t want...

Today we're talking to Doctor of Physical Therapy and trainer Dr. Bo Babenko. Bo has worn many hats in fitness over the past decade: physical therapist, triathlete, CrossFit regionals competitor, and more. Our conversation focuses heavily on what’s changed about physical therapy and recovery during Bo’s career so far, along with the most common myths and misconceptions when it comes to injury...

Today we're talking to Coss Marte, the founder and CEO of CONBODY, a prison fitness-style boot camp offering in-person and virtual classes based out of NYC. Coss developed the idea of CONBODY based on his own experiences in prison, where he turned to fitness after becoming overweight and at a high risk for cardiac problems. Since founding CONBODY, Coss has hired over 40 formerly incarcerated...

Today we're talking to Sebastian Oreb, better known online as Australian Strength Coach. Sebastian has trained athletes from professional rugby players to elite powerlifters, and he’s also the strength coach of 2018 World’s Strongest Man Hafthor Bjornsson. Sebastian joins us to talk about his unconventional path in strength, the ways in which personal strength goals impact how you coach, and...

Today we're talking to hybrid athlete Fergus Crawley, one of the UK’s most inspirational fitness figures. After a series of concussions ended his hopes at a professional rugby career, Fergus pursued powerlifting and today is also an ultra endurance athlete. Earlier in 2020, he became just the second person in history to run a verified sub-5 minute mile and back squat 500 pounds on the same da...

Today we're talking to CrossFit athlete, James Newbury, who finished 5th in the 2019 Reebok CrossFit Games. Due to a shortened qualifying season, James isn't competing in the 2020 Games this year, along with many other top athletes in the sport. But that hasn't stopped James from honing his craft as an elite athlete, training more for power and strength, while also exploring other s...

Today we're talking to British strongwoman Andrea Thompson. After beginning her strength career in CrossFit, Andrea found she had a gift for many of the disciplines in the sport of strongman. Early competition success led to what is now one of the sport’s most stacked resumes. She’s a 4-time Britain’s Strongest Woman, the 2018 World’s Strongest Woman, and a multi-time record holder in lifts l...

Today we're talking to three-time Olympian in weightlifting Cheryl Haworth. Cheryl is one of America’s most accomplished lifters, and she competed in her first Olympic Games — Sydney, where she earned bronze — when she was just 17 years old. That Olympic Games also marked the first time women could compete in weightlifting at the Olympic level. In this special episode of the BarBend Podcast,...

On this episode, we sit down with a rising star in the international weightlifting community,  22-year old Jourdan Delacruz. While the roster for the Tokyo Olympic Games hasn't been finalized, Jourdan is in a great position to qualify. She's the 2019 Pan-American Champion in the 55kg category and the 2020 IWF World Cup Champion in the 49kg category. In our discussion, we talk about train...

In today's episode, we sit down with Conor Heffernan, BarBend contributor and Assistant Professor of Physical Culture and Sports Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Our discussion spans thousands of years of strength, strength training and strength competition. From ancient weightlifting to the 1960s, where strength sports like Weightlifting and Powerlifting begin to split off into...

Today we're talking to Pedro Meloni, Events & Sponsorships Director at USA Weightlifting. Prior to his role with USA Weightlifting, Pedro was the Weightlifting and Powerlifting Sport Manager for the 2016 Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games. In our conversation, we cover Pedro’s most memorable moments from the 2016 Games, including barely-in-time equipment deliveries and a weightlifting sessi...

Today we're talking to Steph Chung, an elite CrossFit athlete who’s also on the executive committee of the professional fitness athlete’s association. After a lengthy gymnastics career in the US, Steph discovered CrossFit, which quickly became her primary social outlet while living abroad in the Middle East. It’s where she found friends, developed her athleticism, and even where she first met...

Today we're talking to Caffeine & Kilos Co-Founder and CEO Danny Lehr. Danny is also an accomplished weightlifter and won gold at the 2019 Masters World Cup for Weightlifting. Danny joins the podcast to talk about the unlikely origins of Caffeine and Kilos — including the accidental revelations that led them on the path to selling both athletic lifestyle apparel and high-end coffee blends...

Today we're talking to Marcus Martinez, better known online as Kettlebell Exercises on Instagram. Marcus is a master kettlebell instructor on a mission to help people build better bodies with kettlebells, and that means tackling a lot of misconceptions people have about kettlebell training. In our conversation, we discuss what kettlebell training can and can't do for you, big (and someti...

Today we’re talking to 11-time IPF World Champion and Hall of Fame powerlifter Jen Thompson. Summarizing ALL of Jen’s accomplishments in strength in a quick intro is frankly impossible. She’s one of powerlifting’s all-time greats and still very much a dominant force in the sport, both when competing on the platform and through her contributions as an organizer and advocate. We talk about Jen’s cur...