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.

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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…

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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

Swanwick has worked as a print, TV and radio journalist. He began his career in 1993 as a reporter at The Courier-Mail in Brisbane, Australia. In 1996, Swanwick won the Queensland Media Award for his interview and exposé on Pauline Hanson, one of Australia’s most publicized and controversial political figures. Swanwick moved to London in 1999 where he reported for Sky Sports.

In 2003, he moved to Los Angeles where he became a Hollywood entertainment correspondent, writing for newspapers and magazines throughout Australia and Britain. In 2010, he began working as a host for ESPN SportsCenter.

Swanwick hosts podcast Alcohol Free Lifestyle, focused on "health, wealth, love and happiness.”

He co-founded international media agency, Sports Entertainment Network, which he started with Craig Hutchison in Melbourne, Australia.

In 2015, Swanwick co-founded Swanwick Sleep, with brother Tristan, and founded the Alcohol Freedom Formula, which produces programs including 30 Day No Alcohol Challenge and Project 90 to help people reduce or quit drinking.

Also in 2015, Forbes listed Swanwick as one of 25 Professional Networking Experts to Watch.

Swanwick has been interviewed on podcasts Bulletproof Radio and Ben Greenfield Fitness, been featured in Psychology Today and Yahoo Health.[4] and spoken at health conferences including Paleo f(x).

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Links:

Join 90 Day Alcohol Free Lifestyle

James Swanwick on X

Anders Varner on Instagram

Doug Larson on Instagram

Coach Travis Mash on Instagram

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

1. What are lipids
2. What is cholesterol
3. The difference between HDL and LDL cholesterol
4. Why there is no such thing as “good” or “bad” cholesterol
5. What are the bloodwork numbers for optimal cholesterol
6. What is the perfect ratio of HDL and LDL
7. Ratios for Triglycerides to HDL for optimal health
8. Mechanisms for regulating cholesterol in the liver
9. Why saturated fats are not bad and how your body uses them
10. Cholesterols role in testosterone production

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

Javier Pineda, endurance coach at RAPID Health Optimization and founder of Endurance Cartel, empowers athletes and professionals to master strength and stamina. With ten Ironman triathlons and two Ironman 70.3 races under his belt, he’s a CHEK Practitioner with top-tier certifications and insights from various mentors across his career. At DBC Fitness in Miami, he’s trained pros, executives, and competitors to hit peak performance. His focused coaching targets endurance-strength integration, precision movement, optimization, recovery, and custom training—driving sustainable, high-impact results.

Work With Us: Arétē by RAPID Health Optimization

Links:

Javier Pineda on Instagram

Anders Varner on Instagram

Doug Larson on Instagram

Coach Travis Mash on Instagram

Mike Lane is a professor at eastern Kentucky university teaching in the parks, recreation, exercise, and sports science on the graduate and undergraduate level. His phd is in exercise physiology with an emphasis in muscle physiology. Currently he works with a variety of sports and tactical athletes and performs research tracking those athletes and their performance over time.

Work with RAPID Health Optimization

Links:

Dr. Mike Lane on LinkedIn

Anders Varner on Instagram

Doug Larson on Instagram

Coach Travis Mash on Instagram

Joel Jamieson is widely considered one of the world’s foremost authorities on strength and conditioning for combat sports, having trained many of the sports best athletes since 2004. He is the author of the bestselling book Ultimate MMA Conditioning and is a contributing writer to several top magazines and a frequent guest speaker at conferences and seminars all over the world.

Joel has worked with and consulted extensively for teams and organizations ranging from Navy SEALS to Life Time Fitness and his BioForce HRV system is used by teams in the NFL, NBA, MLS, NCAA, and more. He is best known for an individualized approach that is both based on solid science and yet practical to apply.

Joel created 8WeeksOut in 2009 to help clear up the misinformation and confusion surrounding energy systems. Since then, the site has become one of the authorities on strength, conditioning, and performance.

Work With Us: Arétē by RAPID Health Optimization

Links:

Joel Jamieson - 8weeksout.com

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 define resilience
2. Understanding psychology vs physiological resilience
3. What are the biomarkers of resilience
4. Cortisol wakening response and how it relates to stress response
5. Is balance possible between stress and recovery
6. How much stress can you body handle before physiology begins to break down
7. How resilience builds confidence in getting through hard times
8. How purpose can be the driver of resilience
9. Where resilience will show up in your labs
10. How to differentiate between recovery and resilience

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

Connect with our guests:

Anders Varner on Instagram

Doug Larson on Instagram

Coach Travis Mash on Instagram

Dan Garner on Instagram