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 encountered in the fitness world. In this podcast, we discuss how Logan and his colleagues teach coaches to work with athletes of all ability levels, along with WHY their methodology proves so adaptable. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg here. 

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 his gym away from being a, quote, “Instagram gym,” and then the conversation focuses in on Arena, which is attempting to bring full-body strength training to a device that could fit in your suitcase. How do you perform 200 pound front squats with something that weighs under 40 pounds? All that and more coming up. 

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 culminated in his being crowned 2020’s Second Fittest Man on Earth — his first podium appearance. Sam joins us to talk about this year’s games, training his weaknesses, making CrossFit a family affair, and balancing training with the realities of being a new father.

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 powerlifting history, how to avoid burnout in strength sports, and the mental approach to training that gives him an edge in the sport and life. 

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 our conversation, we talk about how Ali is blending academia and strength sports, why doping controls are more difficult in Paralympic sports, as well as the the challenges Ali faces training with Crohn's disease. 

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 competition. As a Masters athlete, she also competed in the 2011 CrossFit Games. Karyn joins us to discuss her career in weightlifting, as well as how women’s weightlifting has evolved and grown over the past few decades.

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 his late 50s. And in 2017, at 58 years old, he broke an OPEN world record in the squat, sinking 325kg at the Arnold Sports Festival. Now 61 years old, Ricks is still competing — and often winning — against lifters of all ages. We discuss his training mindset and some serious wisdom after an unparalleled career in the sport. 

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 in strength. If you’ve ever been interested in strongman, the military, or anything in between, this is one episode you won’t want to miss. We want to take a second to give a special shoutout to our episode sponsor, Transparent Labs. If you want clean, clearly labeled supplements with ingredients backed by science, Transparent Labs has you covered. (Seriously, no hidden ingredients, no proprietary blends, and nothing artificial.) That includes their uber-popular BULK pre-workout, with ingredients we love to see for focus and energy PLUS vitamin D3, boron, and zinc. All the good stuff, absolutely no fillers. Use code "BARBEND" at checkout for an extra 10% off your order.

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 a 490 pound lift. We discuss the limits of programming for strength and endurance, along with what Griffin thinks athletes should prioritize to excel at heavy workouts.

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 highly-demanding day job, and because of that the sacrifices she makes are bit unlike what most other high level athletes shoulder at the top of their game. We talk about how the demands of both teaching and training help motivate her to keep pushing and much more.