Today I’m talking to strongwoman Victoria Long. She’s a pro strongwoman, the current America’s Strongest Woman, and a 2-time Arnold Pro Champion. She’s also a world record holder in the deadlift, having pulled 651 pounds earlier this year at the Arnold in strongman style. We talk about her background in strength — she really only started competing seriously in 2019 — and mental tips for turning back days into small (or in her case, sometimes big) wins. It could be argued Victoria is the...

Today I'm talking to Dr. Kelly Starrett, someone I've known for approaching a decade. He's a New York Times Bestselling author and the mastermind behind The Ready State. Kelly works with pro athletes, world record holders, and championship sports teams, but what he's REALLY focused on these days is getting the general population moving better and living richer lives. Our conversation covers a range of topics, all relating back to how we as humans can move better for longer.  Kelly's new...

Don Saladino is one of the fitness world's most in-demand trainers. A specialist in strength and physique for over 20 years, Don is perhaps best known for getting some of Hollywood's biggest stars ready for massive on-screen roles: Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Ryan Gosling, and more. Don is also the founder and owner of Drive 495 gym in Manhattan. In today's episode, Don joins host David Thomas Tao to discuss building a list of Hollywood clientele, setting realistic expectations...

Today I’m talking to CrossFit Games athlete Nick Mathew, who finished 14th at the 2022 CrossFit Games. Along the way, he also earned the prestigious Rookie of the Year award and won two events in the fittest field of athletes on earth. But Nick was no overnight success in the sport of fitness. He talks about his seven-year journey to the top rungs of CrossFit, including his roots in bodybuilding, overcoming injury, and several near-misses that provided both frustration and motivation. Nick is...

Today I’m talking to Seb Ostrowicz, founder and mastermind behind Weightlifting House. They’re a media company and equipment supplier dedicated to the sport of Olympic weightlifting. What started as a passion project became a full-time career for Seb, and he’s traveled to all corners of the globe to bring weightlifting to more people than ever. We talk about how the sport has changed in the past five years, from all-time world records to blockbuster-level organizational corruption, and where...

Today I’m talking to stic, perhaps better known as stic.man, one half of the celebrated hip hop duo Dead Prez. Stic has been a defining voice in hip hop over the last few decades, and he’s also an accomplished author, producer, and mentor to a generation of musicians. Today, he’s talking about his health and wellness journey. From an event in his early 20s that set him on a lifelong exploration of wellness, to journeys into various martial arts disciplines, to his current passion for distance...

Today I'm talking to Clay Cooper, better known online as @discoverydeadlift. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Clay took his weight plates and barbell outside and began doing his deadlift workouts in the great outdoors. Since then, he's rucked barbells and plates to mountains, riverbeds, beaches, and deep into the woods. He's deadlifted across the United States, had interesting encounters with wildlife (and people), and is planning to take his project international in the near future.

Today I’m talking to Matt B. Davis, the founder and driving force behind Obstacle Racing Media, the web’s number one source for all things OCR, Hyrox, and more. Matt and I have a lot in common: We’re both passionate about fitness, we both started sport-specific media companies, and we both started those media journeys at a time when a lot of folks said it was a bad idea. Like BarBend, Obstacle Racing Media has stood the test of time and grown from a one-man blog into a true source and home...

Today I’m talking to Eoin Everard, an Irish physiotherapist and elite runner who has represented his country on the international athletics stage — he’s run the mile in under 4 minutes and is the 2-time Irish National Champion at 1500 meters. And if that’s not enough, he’s got a PhD in biomechanics. Eoin and I talk about his athletic background and how overcoming injury led him down a path to better understand sports performance for all athletes. Where does athletic movement start breaking...

Today I'm talking to IFBB Bikini competitor Clare Morrow. What does it mean to be a bodybuilding pro? And what happens when you find that sport a little later in life like Clare? Clare and I talk a lot about her journey in that sport as well as practice with clients hoping to life healthier lifestyles. And we also discuss why Clare DOESN'T coach bodybuilding competitors to get stage ready. I will say a lot of topics in this conversation border on medical. The content on BarBend is meant to...

Here's one from the archives with a man who needs little introduction. Mat Fraser is a 5-time CrossFit Games Champion. He has a lengthy background in strength sports as a youth weightlifter, all the way through to the fittest man in history. I've known Mat for years, before he was a CrossFit Games Champion, and it's awesome to finally get him on this podcast. We talk about everything from nutrition to his eating habits as a weightlifter and goals in the sport, transitioning to CrossFit,...

Today I’m talking to Grammy-nominated composer, producer, and songwriter Kitt Wakeley. Kitt has a decades-long career in music, and he’s also a lifelong fitness fanatic. He joins us to talk about finding a path to wellness in the demanding and temptation-filled music industry, including tips for how he stays on track while on the road. Kitt also talks about his bucket-list collaborators, rock & roll stereotypes, and much, much more.

Today I'm talking Swolverine co-founder Alix Best. She has a varied and deep background in fitness, and we cover a lot of topics in this podcast, including what it's like to infiltrate what basically amounts to a "fitness cult" — you know, the EARLY days of CrossFit. (I'm joking, just sort of.) We also talk about what it's like to be a woman founder in the male-dominated supplement industry and broader fitness industry. Alix is a straight shooter, and she doesn't hold much back. Some of her...

Today I’m talking to pro strongman and multi-time World’s Strongest Man competitor Travis Ortmayer. Travis rocketed to early stardom after turning pro and was on top circuits for years. But then a series of personal setbacks — including addiction — sent him tumbling toward rock bottom. I’m going to give an important warning here: This episode is raw in places and deals with issues surrounding addiction, recovery, drug use, and suicidal thoughts. If you or anyone you know is dealing with...

Here's my absolute favorite episode from 2022 (and one of our most downloaded ever!): Today I’m talking to legendary fitness researcher and bodybuilding Dr. Jim Stoppani. When it comes to influencers in the space, Dr. Stoppani’s resume is almost unparalleled. He’s an active research scientist who has also spent decades in fitness publishing. And he’s a straight shooter, not afraid to separate fact from fiction and to admit when the research is still coming up short on topics in strength....

Today I'm talking to Jedidiah Snelson, a former Pro Motocross racer and trainer to action sports athletes. When it comes to sports like motocross and CrossFit, Jedidiah says the training can be very similar between the two; enduring a 35 race is a bit like a long Hero WOD. After an accident left him paralyzed, Jedidiah turned to CrossFit for an athletic and competitive outlet. Quickly, he became a top Adaptive Athlete in the Seated division and is still elite as he nears his mid-40s. We cover...

What's a "sumo clean"? Today I'm talking to South African weightlifter Nathan Morris, an international level lifter who has competed at the African Championships and Commonwealth Championships. Originally a rugby player, Nathan switched his focus to weightlifting. After several years in the sport, he stumbled upon an innovative and unconventional clean technique that's brought him success: a sumo or frog style clean. We learn how Nathan arrived at this unique (but competition legal!)...

Today I'm talking to one of the fitness world's prolific writers, Roger Lockridge. Roger is a longtime contributor to all sorts of outlets, including BarBend and Breaking Muscle. He's also one of the world's best-known writers on bodybuilding, and he'll be covering the Olympia Weekend live and in person this year (as he did last year as well). Roger joins the podcast to talk about building an unlikely career — even from his home in rural West Virginia — as well as how to talk about...

Here's one of my favorite recordings from our archives: Today we're talking to Coss Marte, the founder and CEO of CONBODY, a prison fitness-style boot camp offering in-person and virtual classes based out of NYC. Coss developed the idea of CONBODY based on his own experiences in prison, where he turned to fitness after becoming overweight and at a high risk for cardiac problems. Since founding CONBODY, Coss has hired over 40 formerly incarcerated individuals as trainers, and he’s also become...

Here's a popular one from the archives perfect for a time of year when people are getting active in the cold. Kris Gethin is a bodybuilder, fitness model, and supplement entrepreneur who has been the face of some of fitness' biggest physique campaigns. He's also a passionate endurance athlete who has a ton of knowledge on balancing muscle growth and strength gain with long-duration training for triathlons and distance events. We talk to Kris, the founder of Kaged Muscle, about these...

Today I’m talking to — and I don’t use this term lightly — fitness LEGEND Tony Horton. Tony is the creator of P90X, which became popular among millions of users. (Yes, I remember those infomercials too). Tony leveraged an acting background to become the fitness industry’s most visible personality for years. He’s also a straight shooter and isn’t afraid to look back on his career to say what he could have improved — and how he continues to learn. Which movement would he have removed from P90X?...

Today I'm talking a buddy of mine — and occasional training partner — Paul Rabic. Like a lot of folks in the strength space, Paul has a multi-sport background. He discovered CrossFit some time after, and now, literally in the past year, he's qualified to become a member of the USA Bobsled Team. He's now prepping to compete in his first-ever international meet. We chat switching sports, what it means to build yourself into a powerful athlete, and why bobsled is looking for those athletes...

Today I’m talking to 2022 Pan Am Medalist, 2022 National Champion, and 2020 American Open Champion in weightlifting Alejandro Medina. Alejandro is a former college football player who found weightlifting and has a wide experience across weight classes, and he currently competes as a superheavyweight. We talk about Alejandro’s unconventional first few years of training, along with what it’s really like to train in weightlifting’s heaviest bodyweight category. Spoiler alert: supers have to...

Today I’m talking to trainer, writer, and speaker Andrew Coates. I met Andrew in person about a month ago at Strong New York, but he’s been on my radar for years. Andrew has built a following online and also contributes to some of the biggest publications in fitness, including — you guessed it — BarBend. In this episode, Andrew gives his playbook for building an online fitness following and talks about how to separate influencer hype from real, valuable fitness knowledge. I hope you...

Here's a super-popular (and super-relevant) one from our archives. Today we’re talking to 11-time IPF World Champion and Hall of Fame powerlifter Jen Thompson. Summarizing ALL of Jen’s accomplishments in strength in a quick intro is frankly impossible. She’s one of powerlifting’s all-time greats and still very much a dominant force in the sport, both when competing on the platform and through her contributions as an organizer and advocate. We talk about Jen’s current training and programming...