Drew Manning is The NY Times Best Selling Author of the book, Fit2Fat2Fit, and creator of the hit TV show, Fit To Fat To Fit on A&E. He’s been featured on many TV shows such as Dr. Oz, The Tonight Show, CNN, The View, GMA and many more. With over 1 million social media followers, Drew continues on his mission to reshape the fitness industry with an empathy first approach helping people with not only their physical health, but also their mental health. Drew is also a certified breath work practitioner and resides in Hawai’i with his two teenage daughters and is currently enrolled in a Master’s program in psychology. Work With Us: Arétē by RAPID Health Optimization

Links:

Anders Varner on Instagram

Doug Larson on Instagram

Coach Travis Mash on Instagram

In today’s episode of Barbell Shrugged:

1. The Thyroid’s impact on weight gain
2. What is the function of the thyroid
3. What causes thyroid dysfunction
4. The relationship between hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and thyroid
5. Thyroids role in autoimmune diseases like Hashimoto’s and Grave’s disease
6. How gut health affects the thyroid
7. How Vitamin A regulates the thyroid
8. Parathyroid and thyroid connection
9. How birth control can affect thyroid function
10. Thyroid’s role in impacting brain chemistry
11. The thyroid’s role in your menstrual cycle

To learn more, please go to https://rapidhealthoptimization.com

Connect with our guests:

Anders Varner on Instagram

Doug Larson on Instagram

Coach Travis Mash on Instagram

Dan Garner on Instagram

Chris Hoppe has spent nearly two decades immersed in the world of coaching — from CrossFit and personal training to recovery support, breathwork, and behavioral health. His approach blends performance and presence, helping clients not just optimize their bodies, but reconnect to their lives in a deeper, more meaningful way.

Chris has guided people at every stage of transformation — from their first day sober to the CrossFit Games floor. Whether he's working with entrepreneurs, athletes, or those navigating major life transitions, his work centers on building nervous system resilience, emotional awareness, and personal agency.

More than a coach, Chris lives his practice. He brings curiosity, groundedness, and heart into every conversation — and creates space for people to be fully human.

Work With Us: Arétē by RAPID Health Optimization

Links:

Work with Chris Hoppe

Anders Varner on Instagram

Doug Larson on Instagram

Coach Travis Mash on Instagram

In today’s episode of Barbell Shrugged you will learn:

1. The internal mechanisms that create your sex drive.
2. How psychological, hormonal, and functional dysfunction impacts sex drive.
3. The biochemistry of boners
4. The nervous system’s response to sexual arousal
5. The psychology of porn addiction
6. Supplementation that can improve your sex drive
7. Impacts of chronic fatigue on sex drive
8. How estrogen and testosterone influence sex drive
9. Hormonal changes during pregnancy that heighten sex drive
10. How aging affects your libido
11. They affect of marijuana and alcohol on sex drive
12. Hair loss medication and erectile dysfunction symptoms

To learn more, please go to https://rapidhealthoptimization.com

Connect with our guests:

Anders Varner on Instagram

Doug Larson on Instagram

Coach Travis Mash on Instagram

Dan Garner on Instagram

Garrett Butler, MD. Husband, father, son, friend, and family doc in rural WV. Undergraduate in Physics from Johns Hopkins University. Undergraduate in Molecular and Cell Biology from Towson University. MD from West Virginia University School of Medicine. Family Medicine residency at WVU SOM. Hospitalist at Vandalia Health Davis Medical Center. Outpatient family physician at Vandalia Health Broaddus Family Care. Hospitalist at Vandalia Health Broaddus Hospital. Medical director of Mansfield Place nursing home.

Work With Us: Arétē by RAPID Health Optimization

Links:

Dr. Garrett Butler - Old Fellow Manor

Anders Varner on Instagram

Doug Larson on Instagram

Coach Travis Mash on Instagram

In today’s episode of Barbell Shrugged you will learn:

1. How to determine total calories for your goals
2. Why maintenance calories are important for body composition and health
3. Why calories determine the size of your body
4. Understanding energy balance and finding your activity multiplier
5. How to properly increase and decrease your caloric intake to reach your goals
6. Macronutrient breakdown for aesthetics and performance goals
7. Why macros determine body composition
8. How to find the right amount of protein for your goals
9. Why micronutrients are so easily overlooked and what you are missing
10. How to get all your vitamins and minerals even if you hate vegetables

To learn more, please go to https://rapidhealthoptimization.com

Connect with our guests:

Anders Varner on Instagram

Doug Larson on Instagram

Coach Travis Mash on Instagram

Dan Garner on Instagram

Dr. Mike T. Nelson has spent 18 years of his life learning how the human body works, specifically focusing on how to properly condition it to burn fat and become stronger, more flexible, and healthier.

He’s been called in to share his techniques with top government agencies, universities and colleges, fitness organizations and fanatics. The techniques he’s developed, and the results Mike gets for his clients have been featured in international magazines, in scientific publications, and on websites across the globe.

Work With Us: Arétē by RAPID Health Optimization

Links:

Cardio for Meatheads Course

Dr. Nelson Website

Anders Varner on Instagram

Doug Larson on Instagram

Coach Travis Mash on Instagram

Mark Sisson, widely regarded as the forefather of the Primal/Paleo lifestyle movement, is an innovator and trendsetter in the health and fitness world. He has written several best-selling books and a number-one-ranked blog promoting ancestral living.

Mark founded Primal Kitchen foods to introduce healthful options for condiments and sauces to the marketplace for the first time. The brand grew quickly, was acquired by the Kraft-Heinz corporation in 2018, and today is a dominant player in the "better for you" food revolution.

As a lifelong athlete and former elite level marathoner and ironman triathlete, Mark has long been obsessed with optimizing foot functionality and minimizing the chronic pain, injury, and dysfunction caused by traditional athletic and active lifestyle footwear.

Mark was one of the earliest proponents of barefoot-inspired living and the minimalist shoe movement. Alas, despite owning dozens of pairs of minimalist shoes, his frustration grew at the industry’s inability to produce a functional, comfortable, good-looking minimalist shoe…

Work With Us: Arétē by RAPID Health Optimization

Links:

Peluva Shoe Company

Mark Sisson on Instagram

Anders Varner on Instagram

Doug Larson on Instagram

Coach Travis Mash on Instagram

Founder, Altitude Performance & Measured Motion

Former two‑sport collegiate athlete turned board‑certified orthopedic specialist, Dr. Goldstein blends lab‑grade muscle science with hands‑on care.

After earning his DPT from the University of Colorado and completing both an orthopedic residency and fellowship, he launched Altitude Performance, a concierge practice devoted to sport‑specific rehab and performance optimization.

His newest venture, Measured Motion, pushes the field forward by studying muscle architecture, pennation angles, fascicle length, and refining intramuscular dry‑needling techniques.

As Senior Advisor for Performance & Development at Springbok Analytics, Doug converts 3‑D muscle‑health data into actionable plans for clients across all ages and abilities.

He also shapes the next generation of clinicians as affiliate faculty at the University of Colorado School of Medicine’s PT program and mentor to orthopedic fellows.

Trusted by athletes across the PGA, LPGA, USWNT, NBA, NFL, NHL, MLS, and MLB, Doug turns research into real‑world results.

Work With Us: Arétē by RAPID Health Optimization

Links:

Doug Goldstein on Instagram

Anders Varner on Instagram

Doug Larson on Instagram

Coach Travis Mash on Instagram

In this Episode of Barbell Shrugged:

1. What is inflammation why does your body have it
2. How inflammation can improve performance
3. The difference between Good and Bad inflammation
4. Proper ways to reduce inflammation
5. What is Chronic vs. Acute Inflammation

Work with RAPID Health Optimization

Connect with our guests:

Anders Varner on Instagram

Doug Larson on Instagram

Coach Travis Mash on Instagram

Dan Garner on Instagram