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

Category

Health

Podcast website

podcasters.spotify.com

Latest episode

Jun 28, 2026

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Episodes

Ep. 011 | L3 Study: Simple Nutrition - Part 2 22.02.2023

On this episode James welcomes Josh Heller back to the show to continue their studying to prepare Josh for the CrossFit Level 3 examination. This time they continue their discussion on the "Simple Nutrition" five-part video series presented by Coach E.C. Synkowski featured in the CrossFit Journal. Topics include vegetables, nuts and seeds, fruits and starch, sugar, oils, dairy, and alcohol. Watch...

Ep. 010 | L3 Study: Simple Nutrition - Part 1 18.02.2023

On this episode James welcomes Josh Heller back to the show to continue their studying to prepare Josh for the CrossFit Level 3 examination. This time they start with an A&P quiz to review topics from the last study and then begin to cover the topic of nutrition by discussing the "Simple Nutrition" five-part video series featured in the CrossFit Journal. The presentation is given by Coach E.C....

Ep. 009 | Lester Ho - The Training Geek 13.02.2023

On this episode James welcomes Lester Ho back to the show! James and Lester discuss the providing opportunities for athletes to be successful, the mechanics of the foot, how the foot impacts movement on the weightlifting movements, ways to warm-up prior to lifting, programming and evolving as a coach, biomechanics of the lifts, lessons learned from athletes, and much more involving the science of...

Ep. 008 | L3 Study: A & P for Jocks 08.02.2023

On this episode James welcomes Josh Heller back to the show! James and Josh continue their study to prepare Josh for the CrossFit Level 3 examination. This time they take on the often daunting topic of anatomy and physiology with a discussion on the original article written by Greg Glassman titled "Anatomy and Physiology for Jocks." On the episode James and Josh also discuss many other topics such...

Ep. 007 | Will Castillo - Para Bobsled 01.02.2023

On this episode James welcomes Will Castillo to the show! Will is an Army combat veteran, an accomplished Para Bobsled athlete, and a member of Team USA. During the episode Will discusses his recent gold medal win at the World Cup in Austria, being ranked the #1 Bobsled Pilot in the world, his military service background, how God and faith guides him through life, being introduced to Para Bobsled,...

Ep. 006 | Justin Curry: The Weightlifting Mathematician 25.01.2023

On this episode James welcomes Justin Curry to the show! Justin a member of the Albany CrossFit Barbell Club, a professor at SUNY Albany, a mathematician, and a student of the barbell. James and Justin discuss how mathematics influence our daily lives, Justin's work as a mathematician, his introduction to strength training, lessons learned from weightlifting training and competition, and Justin's...

Ep. 005 | Level 3 Study: Benchmark Workouts 18.01.2023

On this episode James welcomes Josh Heller back to the show! Josh, a current CrossFit Level 2 Trainer, is embarking on a journey of study to someday sit for the Level 3 Certified CrossFit Trainer examination. As a L3 Hopeful, Josh needs to hit the books and study CrossFit Methodology in addition continuing to spending time coaching athletes in the gym. To kick off the study James and Josh read "Be...

Ep. 004 | Qualifications of a World Class CrossFit Coach 11.01.2023

On this episode James welcomes Josh Heller back to the show! James and Josh discuss bringing in the New Year with athletic and coaching goals, putting in the time to practice movement skills, and then they tackled the question of "What qualifications signify a world-class CrossFit coach?". This question originated from an online survey and came with 5 qualifications that a person would rank t...

Ep. 003 | Leveling Up 07.12.2022

James  welcomes Josh Heller back to the show. Josh is a coach at Albany CrossFit and was previously on the show all the way back on Episode XXVIII (28). Recently Josh took the CrossFit Level 2 Trainer course and passed the exam to earn the "Level 2" credential. On the show James and Josh talk about coaching and big takeaways from Josh's experience taking the L2 course. Click here to listen to...

Ep. 002 | Enjoying the Off-Season 17.10.2022

James welcomes Frank Ford back to the show. The two discuss a recent CrossFit "World Record", enjoying their current off-season break from weightlifting, dealing with missing training sessions, weightlifting meets, and more! Thank you for listening! Song: The Mandalorian Theme (Metal Version) | Music provided by Mat Graham of Artificial Fear | Listen to Artificial Fear on Spotify & iTunes | Su...

Ep. 001 | Return of the Weightlifters 26.09.2022

James welcomes Frank Ford back to the show. It's been a while, but the two discuss many new events in life and weightlifting. Thank you for listening! Song: The Mandalorian Theme (Metal Version) | Music provided by Mat Graham of Artificial Fear | Listen to Artificial Fear on Spotify & iTunes | Subscribe & Watch: https://youtu.be/Wa6j9QqkaQE

Episode CXXII: George Nagy | A Weightlifting History Lesson 26.07.2022

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James welcomes George Nagy to the show. George is a member of the Albany CrossFit & Court Club gym in Albany, New York. During the interview George discusses his weightlifting training in Hungary during the 1960's, defecting to the United States to escape communism, interactions with many weightlifting legends like Tommy Kono, and much more!...

Episode CXXI: Discussing the New York State Championships with Jamie Swagler 04.10.2021

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James welcomes Jamie Swagler back to the show to discuss the upcoming New York State Championships. Jamie is the meet director for this weightlifting competition coming up on Saturday, October 23rd and Sunday, October 24th in Auburn, NY. James and Jamie discuss many topics about the meet including... General: COVID procedures and expectations. S...

Episode CXX: Building Self-Reliant Weightlifters with Glenn Pendlay 20.09.2021

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James shares more audio from his time working with Coach Glenn Pendlay on the upcoming book: American Weightlifting. The main topic involves a small piece of Coach Pendlay's coaching philosophy pertaining to the athlete and coach relationship, why athletes need to take responsibility for their own lifting, when a coach should offer advice on mis...

Episode CXIX: Jerk Step to Success with Glenn Pendlay 13.09.2021

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James shares more audio from his time working with Coach Glenn Pendlay on the upcoming book: American Weightlifting. Some of the topics include motor learning and its application to the snatch-clean-and jerk, learning the lifts with light weight vs. maximal weights, training under fatigue, jerk steps and how the exercise helps a lifter train jer...

Episode CXVIII: Discussing Snatch Technique with Glenn Pendlay 06.09.2021

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! Coach Glenn Pendlay passed away on September 5th, 2019 and it's hard to believe that we have gone by another anniversary of his passing. That's why today's episode will be in tribute to Coach Pendlay. The audio you hear is not an interview, but instead a recording from a conversation James and Coach Pendlay had on the snatch while working on the forthcoming boo...

Episode CXVII: Joe Rodriguez | Cuppa Joe Weightlifting 12.07.2021

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James welcomes Joe Rodriguez (@cuppajoeweightlifting) to the show! Joe discusses his preferred morning brew, the origins of the Cuppa Joe logo, his background in the sport as an athlete and coach, PEDs in weightlifting, how to have tough conversations with athletes, lessons that can be learned from different eras of the sport, the Bruce Lee appr...

Episode CXVI: Adventures in Reffing 23.06.2021

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James discusses his recent experiences while sitting in the refs chair at local weightlifting competitions. Some topics include: learning more about the sport by experiencing it from different perspectives, differences in lifting styles between athletes, no bar body contact snatches, the grip it and rip it technique, what you think the lifts sho...

Episode CXV: Sona Weightlifting 09.06.2021

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James welcomes Frank Ford (@frank_ford_) back to the show! The two discuss in detail the newest barbell club on the block: Sona Weightlifting (@sonaweightlifting). Topics include: answering the question of "what is Sona Weightlifting?," coaching a team while lifting for another one, the need for more teams and coaches in NY, taking the initiativ...

Episode CXIV: 2021 Virtual World Masters Championship Recap 07.06.2021

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James welcomes Catherine Toniatti-Yanulavich (@strongcatty) back to the show! The two recap how Cat did at the 2021 Virtual World Masters Championships on Saturday, May 29th. Some topics discussed include: "dirty doubles" during team training, Cat's journey to the world championships, a breakdown of her attempts, a competitors mindset when thing...

Episode CXIII: Capital District Open Recap 28.05.2021

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James welcomes Frank Ford (@frank_ford_) back to the show! The two discuss how Team ACBC did at the Capital District Open weightlifting meet held on Saturday, May 15th at CrossFit Schenectady (@crossfit_schenectady) which is the home of Capital District Weightlifting (@capitalweightlifting). Additional Topics include: documenting meets and train...

Episode CXII: Happy Anniversary, Albany CrossFit. 24.05.2021

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James celebrates his 10 year anniversary at Albany CrossFit! On the show he ponders where the time has gone and how small events shaped his future. He expresses immense gratitude for ACF and all of the athletes both past and present that he's had the privileged to coach across the last decade. He also shares the story of how he joined the ACF co...

Episode CXI: Dyke Naughton | Cutting Edge Sports Sciences 05.05.2021

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James welcomes Dyke Naughton (@cuttingedgesportssciences) to the show! Dyke is the owner and head coach of Cutting Edge Sports Sciences located in the Capital District / Albany, New York area. Dyke is a fellow SUNY Cortland alumni who has been training athletes for over 25 years. During his studies he interned at the Australian OTC (the Australi...

Episode CX: Training Chat with Haley and Miguel 29.04.2021

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James welcomes Haley Hahn (@haleyth12) and Miguel Porter (@couldntbemiguel) back to the show! The trip discuss the current training mindsets, why they want to take the USAW Level 1 course, educating yourself as an athlete, thoughts on where "3 attempts" on competition lifts came from, accessory exercises that might pop up in the team's next trai...

Episode CIX: Sona Weightlifting Seminar Recap 26.04.2021

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James welcomes Frank Ford (@frank_ford_) back to the show! The two discuss the weightlifting seminar James coached at CrossFit Sona (@crossfitsona) on Saturday, April 24th. Topics include: the importance of taking notes at seminars if you're a coach, the definitions of "ugly" and "beautiful" snatches, why you shouldn't be hard on yourself as a b...

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