BarBend Podcast

Today I’m talking to my friend Chad Schroeder, the CrossFit Games Lead of Sport Statistics. Chad has been working on the stats side of fitness for nearly a decade, from unlikely beginnings as a volunteer to a driving force behind how top athletes in CrossFit are measured and compared from one year to the next (and even from one event to the next). Chad has helped CrossFit as a sport develop year in and year out, and his story is a fascinating look behind the sport’s growth from grassroots phenomenon to a staple of strength sports programming. 

Today I’m talking to strongman athlete Evan Singleton. Also known by his nickname T-Rex, Evan is relatively new to strongman, having discovered the sport around three years ago. But in the short time since, he’s rocketed to the top of the sport’s rankings and is now among the best men’s open competitors in the world. We chat about his background in pro wrestling, bodybuilding, and more. But the most fun part of the conversation for me was an in-depth discussion on his Jurassic Park fandom. Strength sports and dinosaur nerds unite, because this is the episode for you.

Today I’m talking to powerlifter, record holder, and Kabuki Strength CEO Rudy Kadlub. Rudy has, admittedly, been stronger than average his whole life, but it wasn’t until his 50s that he really began training in strength sports. Now in his early 70s, Rudy is a massive figure in strength sports for his accomplishments both on and off the powerlifting platform. We discuss his background, strength training for more mature athletes, co-founding Kabuki Strength, and much, much more.

Today I’m talking to performance coach and athlete Mike Aidala, who is perhaps best known online for helping resurrect some strongman lifts from a bygone era. Mike’s done immensely impressive things like a one-arm overhead squat at 315 pounds, a two-hands anyhow lift with 430 pounds, and the list goes on. In addition, he’s an accomplished endurance athlete. We talk about following your heart in strength and balancing so many different training methodologies and goals to keep things exciting. 

Today I’m talking to weightlifter, coach, and photographer Steve Galvan. Steve is a multi-talented force in weightlifting, and for both the Rio and Tokyo Olympic Games, he was the official International Weightlifting Federation photographer. He’s also known in the community as the photographer behind Sick Angles, which makes sense; he gets the sickest angles for some of the world’s biggest lifts. We catch up about Steve’s unlikely path from photography volunteer to an exclusive seat on the world’s biggest stage.

This will shock many athletes: What you do in training likely has little to no impact on your next-day recovery. The common wisdom about recovery, especially sleep, needs a major update. So we sat down wit Kristen Holmes, WHOOP's VP of Performance, to separate fact from fiction on deep sleep, caffeine consumption, foods that help and hurt sleep, muscle repair, and what tracking HRV can tell us about how rested you really are. 

Today I’m talking to Alec Zirkenbach, Executive Director of Adaptive Training Academy. Alec is a military veteran, trainer, athlete, and entrepreneur who has played a key role in growing the adaptive athletic community in and around CrossFit. Through his work at Adaptive Training Academy, he’s also helped develop numerous training courses and modules to help coaches improve their understanding of and ability to train both able bodied and disabled athletes. This conversation with Alec is a great look into how far the community has come, along with what work can still be done to improve access in fitness. Before we get into that, I want to give a quick shoutout to today’s episode sponsor, AIRWAAV. The AIRWAAV™ Performance Mouthpiece represents 15 years of research and development conducted with elite athletes perfect the most efficient way of opening the airway and optimizing performance. The AIRWAAV mouthpiece may improve the width of your airway by up to 9%, which may reduce respiratory rate and increase endurance. Learn more at airwaav.com.

Today I’m talking to Dr. Ben Bikman, PhD, a professor, researcher, entrepreneur, and author in bioenergetics. In his own words, Ben’s research drives at exploring the “contrasting roles of insulin and ketones as key drivers of metabolic function.” Ben is also passionate about fitness, and he’s become a go-to resource and expert for many athletes and institutions hoping to better understand how what we eat drives our body’s responses and adaptations to training. In our conversation, we dive into Ben’s research, along with what data suggests regarding some key functions of these hormones for our bodies as far as hypertrophy, muscle retention, and more.Editor’s note: The content on BarBend, including the BarBend Podcast, is meant to be informative in nature, but it should not be taken as medical advice. The opinions and articles on this site and podcast are not intended for the diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment of health problems. It’s always a good idea to talk to your doctor before beginning a new fitness, nutritional, and/or supplement routine. If you feel like you're suffering from an injury or illness, please seek out a medical professional.

Dan John is one of the most respected coaches in strength & conditioning. Over the course of his 40+ year career, he's become well known for straightforward, effective protocols and programs that strip away the fluff to proven principles. He joins the podcast to talk about the popularity of his 10,000 kettlebell swing program, the simplest path to recovery and performance, and what to focus on when you have limited time to train.

Today I’m talking to powerlifter Jimmy Kolb, the all-time record holder in the equipped bench press. In June 2021, he benched an astonishing 508 kilograms (or 1,120 pounds) in a single-ply bench shirt. It’s the heaviest bench press ever performed by a human. Jimmy joins us to talk about training as a bench specialist, his transition from raw to equipped lifting, misconceptions about equipped lifting, and pushing human performance past boundaries of what was once thought possible. It’s an interesting look at one of the most focused strength approaches we’ve ever seen.