THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK!

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James welcomes Shaaf Syed (@taco.shaaf) back to the show! Shaaf discusses taking days for himself for mental health and to reset, a breakdown of his mental approach to lifting and how it translates to life outside the gym, changing his physical approach to big lifts and adapting it in the moment, the role music plays in his training, being drive...

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James discusses one of his first CrossFit competitions: the 2012 Albany CrossFit Tri-State Throwdown. This event was held at Albany CrossFit in Albany, NY on February, 11th 2012. On the show James reads from a blog he wrote years ago recapping his experience, fills in some details that were left out of the article, and offers some lessons that c...

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James welcomes Emely Banguero-Hurtado (@emelybanguero) back to the show! First, the two talk about Emely's experience at her first weightlifting meet. Then, Emely practices being an interviewer by asking James questions on CrossFit methodology. The topics include the 10 General Physical Skills, the relationship between health and fitness, traini...

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James welcomes Frank Ford (@frank_ford_) to the show! The two recap the weightlifting meet hosted by the Albany CrossFit Barbell Club on Saturday, March 27th 2021. They give shout outs to the gyms, guest athletes, and all the volunteers who helped make it an awesome event. Frank and James also discuss lessons the they learned from fellow ACBC te...

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James welcomes Emely Banguero-Hurtado (@emelybanguero) to the show! Emely discusses pursuing a degree in business management with a concentration in sports management, mistakes gyms make with their marketing, owning her dream gym and the services she would offer, interning at Albany CrossFit, her experiences with CrossFit, training for her first...

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James welcomes Chris Smith (@longislandweightlifting) to the show! Chris discusses how he entered the sport of weightlifting 30 years ago, training at Lost Battalion Hall Weightlifting, historical figures in NY weightlifting such as Rudy Sablo, Larry Mintz, and Nick Curry, the history of the Metropolitan LWC (@metropolitan_weightlifting), coachi...

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James welcomes Jesse Miner (@ironandfaithfitness) to the show! Jesse discusses his experiences in being a trainer in the fitness industry for 15 years and a co-pastor for 10 years, his mission with Iron and Faith Fitness, the meaning behind "Stronger in Christ, Stronger in Strength", how a person can improve their relationship with their faith a...

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James welcomes Dr. Joshua Brown (@sciencebasedchiro) to the show! Dr. Josh discusses his time as a student at SUNY Cortland, his science based approach to chiropractic care and weightlifting training, starting a private practice, competing in weightlifting, his best career lifts to date, coaching at the 2016 University World Championships for Te...

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James welcomes Joanna Toman (@lilyv81) to the show! Joanna discusses what it's like living with someone obsessed with weightlifting, training considerations for introverts, working as a registered nurse in a psychiatric hospital, memorable experiences at Albany CrossFit and weightlifting meets throughout the years, her experience doing her first...

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James welcomes Albany CrossFit Barbell Club team members Renée Mihail (@rmmihail) and Haley Hahn (@haleyth12) to discuss their experiences competing in the 2021 North American Open Series 1. The AO1 was the first of its kind by featuring both in person and online competition via ZOOM. James, Renée, and Haley discuss their individual thoughts on...

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James welcomes Lester Ho (@lesterhokw) back to the show! Lester discusses giving athletes hope to keep training during multiple shutdowns in Melbourne Australia, whether or not press outs count as PRs in training, basing training off theoretical maxes, the athlete and coach relationship, how coaches can improve their communication skills, how pr...

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James welcomes Frank Ford (@frank_ford_) back to the show! James and Frank discuss Mat Fraser's recent retirement from CrossFit and whether or not he should be in the same conversation as athletes who are almost universally considered the greatest of all time such as Jordan, Gretzky, Pelé, Ali, and Brady. Throughout the discussion many questions...

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James hands the reigns of the podcast over to his better half, Joanna Toman (@lilyv81). Joanna flips the script and interviews James asking a series of hard hitting questions on topics such as: who he most admires and how they have impacted his life, what accomplishments his younger self would be proud of, what his goals were when he first start...

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James welcomes Renée Mihail (@rmmihail) back to the show! Renée discusses hiking with the goal of becoming an Adirondack 46er, managing being both a CrossFit athlete and a weightlifter, her experiences before-during-and after her first weightlifting meet, being bit by the competition bug, accomplishing a big end of 2020 strength goal, taking on...

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James welcomes Haley Hahn (@haleyth12) to the show! Haley discusses competing in her second weightlifting meet after the NY lockdown, experiencing and managing anxiety in competitions, an upcoming shakeup in the Team ACBC training room, her experience with COVID-19, setting new PRs after returning to the gym, managing a busy schedule and weightl...

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James welcomes Catherine Toniatti-Yanulavich (@strongcatty) to the show! Cat discusses her undefeated streak on Barbell Jeopardy, whether or not Brock Lesnar could beat her in trivia, WWE wrestlers and matches, managing injury while pursuing weightlifting, thoughts on her first weightlifting meet, powerlifting meet horror stories, the highland g...

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James welcomes Frank Ford (@frank_ford_) to the show! The two discuss being on the struggle bus during a tough training cycle, comparing musicians who lip sync live performances to weightlifters who are caught taking PEDs, the upcoming Godzilla vs. King Kong movie along with which monster would be better at snatching and which at clean and jerki...

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James discusses random thoughts he had on a Thursday including making changes when something isn’t working out, how the barbell is always trying to win, and why it’s important to write rough drafts and revise programming. Thank you for listening. Enjoy! ------------- If you enjoyed the show please consider leaving a review and 5-star rating. @th...

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! This episode features audio from April 23rd, 2019 when James was interviewed by Jason Ackerman on The Best Hour of Their Day podcast. During the interview James discusses the 8 week coaching internship program he ran during the spring of 2019, preparing new coaches to take the CrossFit Level 1 course, and the process he uses to bring new coaches onto the Albany...

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James offers some tips on being meticulous as an athlete or coach, admitting when you're wrong and correcting mistakes as a coach, and as a bonus tip: writing things down and keeping records. Thank you for listening. Enjoy! ------------- If you enjoyed the show please consider leaving a review and 5-star rating. @thebarbellstrikesback | @jamesam...

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James welcomes back Jason Murphy, Frank Ford (@frank_ford_), and reigning champion Catherine Toniatti-Yanulavich (@strongcatty) to test their knowledge in the second Barbell Jeopardy competition!  Joanna Toman (@lilyv81) returns as the official score keeper. James is not a real game show host (he just plays one on the podcast) and this was...

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James discusses his first time competing in strength sports: The Monster Bench Press competition. This event was held at The Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown, NY on April 7th, 2011. On the show James reads from a blog he wrote years ago recapping his experience, fills in some details that were left out of the article, and offers some lessons t...

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! On this episode James discusses how he finds motivation and inspiration from Team ACBC and members of Albany CrossFit when he’s training alone or thinking about his long term goals. Thank you for listening. Enjoy! ------------- If you enjoyed the show please consider leaving a review and 5-star rating. @thebarbellstrikesback | @jamesamcdermott | @albanycrossfit...

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK! This episode features audio from April 15th, 2019 when James was interviewed by Jason Ackerman on The Best Hour of Their Day podcast. During the interview James discusses joining the Albany CrossFit coaching staff, the benefits of following CrossFit.com programming, implementing the a program with one WOD per day, strategies for coaching CrossFit classes, and p...

Welcome to THE BARBELL STRIKES BACK!  On this episode James offers some tips on recovery through taking naps, shoulder mobility with an exercise from Dr. Kelly Starrett’s book “Becoming A Supple Leopard, and practicing re-racking the barbell when working from behind the neck.  Barbell Shoulder Smash: https://youtu.be/luXSAErp_n0 Thank you for listening. Enjoy! ------------- If you enjoye...