James McDermott

THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK!

Health EN ↓ 234 episodes

Hosted by James McDermott, THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! is a podcast of interviews and solo shows on coaching and training. James (@jamesamcdermott) holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology from SUNY Cortland. He is a multi-book author, L3 CrossFit Trainer, USA Weightlifting Level 2 Coach, and long-time Head Coach at Albany CrossFit. James's goals are to share the knowledge gained from the last 15 years of his career, learn from amazing guest, and motivate others to be better. Feedback = growth. Please send any comments or questions to James. If you like what you hear share the show!

Author

James McDermott

Episodes

Ep. 111 | Things Change 28.06.2026 2:20:54

In this episode, Miguel and James discuss how things once thought correct can change over time along with a bunch of random topics.

Ep. 110 | 2026 CrossFit Semifinals 21.06.2026 2:05:10

In this episode, Miguel and James discuss the 2026 CrossFit Semifinals.

Ep. 109 | CNY Regional Open Recap 15.06.2026 1:54:50

In this episode, Miguel and James recap the 2026 CNY Regional Weightlifting Open.

Ep. 108 | It's Won't Always Be perfect 07.06.2026 1:26:18

In this episode, Miguel and James discuss evaluating your progress, building new routines around your weak points, coaching thoughts, and more!

Ep. 107 | The Enhanced Podcast 31.05.2026 2:06:23

In this episode, Miguel and James discuss the recent Enhanced Games, Memorial Day Murph, setting standards in classes, and more!

Ep. 106 | Memorial Day Prep 17.05.2026 1:31:03

In this episode, Miguel and James discuss the upcoming Memorial Day Holiday and the tradition of doing the Hero WOD Murph on that day.

Ep. 105 | Words of Wisdom 11.05.2026 1:30:38

In this episode, Miguel and James discuss recent big events on the barbell club and some words of wisdom from Louie Simmons.

Ep. 104 | 2026 ADK Regional Open Recap 04.05.2026 1:19:33

On this episode, Miguel and James discuss the recent ADK Regional Open and ACBC athlete results.

Ep. 103 | What's New In Weightlifting? 17.04.2026 2:10:43

In this episode, Miguel and James discuss all the things going on in the world of weightlifting.

Ep. 102 | Investigating Quarterfinals 29.03.2026 2:00:26

In this episode, Miguel and James take a look at the programming from the CrossFit Quarterfinals and discuss coaching some of the workouts.

Ep. 101 | Stronger, Smarter Athletes 22.03.2026 1:53:52

In this episode, Miguel and James discuss the CrossFit article titled: Stronger, Smarter Athletes: Why Building CrossFit Athlete IQ Should Be Every Coach’s Priority By Morgan Mann Grant, CF-L3.https://www.crossfit.com/pro-coach/crossfit-stronger-smarter-athlete-iq

Ep. 100 | Recovering from Open WOD 26.3 15.03.2026 1:20:42

In this episode, Miguel and James discuss CrossFit Open WOD 26.3 with special guest Mike!

Ep. 99 | The Horrors of Open WOD 26.2 08.03.2026 2:16:19

In this episode, Miguel and James discuss CrossFit Open WOD 26.2!

Ep. 98 | Open WOD 26.1 Aftermath 01.03.2026 1:31:27

In this episode, Miguel and James discuss the first workout from the 2026 CrossFit Open. They dive deep into their thoughts on the WOD, experiences from completing it, and thoughts on coaching. With special guests Shaaf & Mike.

Ep. 97 | Programming Our Own CrossFit Open 22.02.2026 2:01:31

In this episode, Miguel and James take a shot at programming their own CrossFit Open. They'll each program three workouts that would span three weeks of competition for the event.

Ep. 96 | Top 3 CrossFit Open Moments 15.02.2026 1:30:24

In this episode, Miguel and James discuss their top 3 moments that have come from the CrossFit Open. They answer the questions of how these moments inspired, motivated, or were just cool for them to see as athletes and coaches.

Ep. 95 | Why Fitness 08.02.2026 1:42:29

In this episode, Miguel and James discuss the CrossFit Journal article titled "Why Fitness" by Greg Glassman. Article: https://media.crossfit.com/library/free/pdf/23_04_why_fitness.pdf

Ep. 94 | Does Core Work Transfer to Skills? 01.02.2026 2:06:53

In this episode, Miguel and James discuss an weightlifting philosophy and an article from Power Monkey titled "Why Core Work Doesn’t Always Transfer to Skills".

Ep. 93 | Finding the Sweet Spot 25.01.2026 2:18:32

In this episode, Miguel and James discuss the CrossFit article titled: "Finding the Sweet Spot: Mastering CrossFit's Mechanics-Consistency-Intensity Hierarchy."

Ep. 92 | What About Recovery? 18.01.2026 2:20:42

In this episode, Miguel and James discuss the CrossFit Journal article titled "What About Recovery?" along with more on coaching and training.https://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/29_05_What_About_Recovery.pdf

Ep. 91 | Order of Operations 11.01.2026 1:51:15

In this episode, Miguel and James discuss CrossFit's Theoretical Hierarchy of Development, lesson planning for classes, and more!https://www.crossfit.com/essentials/theoretical-hierarchy-of-development

Ep. 90 | Roll of the Dice 04.01.2026 1:55:51

In this episode, Miguel and James discuss the CrossFit Journal article | "Interval Generator" by Greg Glassman, the calm before the storm of the new ACBC training cycle, and more on coaching.

Ep. 89 | We Start On Monday 28.12.2025 1:37:37

In this episode, Miguel and James discuss what they're grateful to take away from 2025, goals and what they're looking forward to in 2026, getting a head start on the New Year, the aftermath of the 12 Days of ACBC workout, and more.

Ep. 88 | Leveling Up 21.12.2025 2:00:29

In this episode, James discusses Miguel's experiences in taking the CrossFit Level 2 Trainer's Course.

Ep. 87 | Lucky Number 7 07.12.2025 1:35:05

In this episode, Miguel and James discuss James's experiment with the One Punch Man workout, Miguel coaching barbell club and multiple CrossFit classes in a week, and the upcoming CF Level 2.