BarBend Podcast

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. 

Today we're talking to powerlifter Rich Yun. Rich is best known online as The Korean Hulk, and it’s a nickname that stuck after one of his first powerlifting competitions. This conversation has a lot of parts: We talk beefing with other “Korean Hulks” online, the eating habits of powerlifters, and the biggest movers and shakers in strength sports today. It’s a fun conversation you won’t want to miss out on.

Today we're talking to Doctor of Physical Therapy and trainer Dr. Bo Babenko. Bo has worn many hats in fitness over the past decade: physical therapist, triathlete, CrossFit regionals competitor, and more. Our conversation focuses heavily on what’s changed about physical therapy and recovery during Bo’s career so far, along with the most common myths and misconceptions when it comes to injury recovery. We’ll get right to it, because this is one episode that can be useful to just about anyone who strength trains. 

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 an advocate for prison reform and former inmates looking to build new lives. We talk about Coss’ inspiration for CONBODY while in solitary confinement, what to expect from their high-intensity workouts, and much, much more.

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 Sebastian Oreb, better known online as Australian Strength Coach. Sebastian has trained athletes from professional rugby players to elite powerlifters, and he’s also the strength coach of 2018 World’s Strongest Man Hafthor Bjornsson. Sebastian joins us to talk about his unconventional path in strength, the ways in which personal strength goals impact how you coach, and why building personal relationships with athletes is so important in establishing trust. We also talk about how a single day and a bench press cue was what convinced Hafthor to hire Sebastian as his coach. 

Today we're talking to hybrid athlete Fergus Crawley, one of the UK’s most inspirational fitness figures. After a series of concussions ended his hopes at a professional rugby career, Fergus pursued powerlifting and today is also an ultra endurance athlete. Earlier in 2020, he became just the second person in history to run a verified sub-5 minute mile and back squat 500 pounds on the same day. But Fergus is lifting and running for a cause much bigger than personal glory, and the work he’s doing to raise awareness for mental health issues is the true highlight of our conversation.

This episode can get pretty heavy in places, and we're thankful Fergus opened up to us about his own journey. If you or anyone you know are struggling with depression or thoughts of suicide, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is available 24 hours a day at 1-800-273-8255.

Today we're talking to CrossFit athlete, James Newbury, who finished 5th in the 2019 Reebok CrossFit Games. Due to a shortened qualifying season, James isn't competing in the 2020 Games this year, along with many other top athletes in the sport. But that hasn't stopped James from honing his craft as an elite athlete, training more for power and strength, while also exploring other sports like surfing and weightlifting.

As one of the world's fittest men, James offers his thoughts on competing virtually vs in-person, the mind games that happen behind the scenes at these events, and of course, a few of his top picks to win the Games this year.

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 British strongwoman Andrea Thompson. After beginning her strength career in CrossFit, Andrea found she had a gift for many of the disciplines in the sport of strongman. Early competition success led to what is now one of the sport’s most stacked resumes. She’s a 4-time Britain’s Strongest Woman, the 2018 World’s Strongest Woman, and a multi-time record holder in lifts like the log press and deadlift. Andrea joins us to talk about training for the log press and deadlift world records earlier this year, one of which she did on a virtual live stream, as well as the growth of the sport and what’s next for her.

Today we're talking to three-time Olympian in weightlifting Cheryl Haworth. Cheryl is one of America’s most accomplished lifters, and she competed in her first Olympic Games — Sydney, where she earned bronze — when she was just 17 years old. That Olympic Games also marked the first time women could compete in weightlifting at the Olympic level. In this special episode of the BarBend Podcast, Cheryl joins us to look back on her experiences in Sydney 20 years ago, and what it was like to be among the first group of women Olympians to represent the USA in weightlifting.