Today we're talking to Spenser Mestel, a journalist who has written for publications like the New York Times, Buzzfeed, and of course, BarBend.com. Spenser has an insanely interesting athletic background, from competitive diving to parkour, a journey that includes ups like competing on American Ninja Warrior and downs that include breaking his neck in Egypt. Spenser has also established himself as one of the CrossFit community’s most impactful writers on a number of important issues in and ar...

From a Broken Neck to CrossFit Journalism (w/ Spenser Mestel)

Learn from the top athletes, coaches, and influencers in strength! Each week, the BarBend Podcast brings together some of the world's biggest strength names across weightlifting, powerlifting, CrossFit, strongman, and more. BarBend Editor and Co-Founder David Thomas Tao sits down with the strength community's smartest and strongest minds to with a focus on their learnings through training, competition, and coaching. We dive deep on their journeys and where strength training has taken them. World record holders share their competition secrets. Coaches give their most underrated tips. And top thinkers and researchers from the realm of strength science go deep on their most promising findings. This podcast is the perfect companion for experts and beginners alike, covering a wide range of topics to keep listeners up to date on the world of strength.

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Today I'm speaking with Joe Daniels, better known as Swing This Kettlebell on social media. Joe has a varied athletic background, but in recent years he's focused on kettlebell training across a variety of methods. We dive into his experience and bust some myths are kettlebells, hypertrophy, and functional training.

How to Build Muscle with Kettlebells (w/Joe Daniels)

Today I'm talking to weightlifter and coach Zachary Huse. Zack is in an interesting position: he's an active weightlifter in the superheavyweight category, and he's also a coach with an increasingly accomplished roster of athletes. Is it possible to excel at both points in your weightlifting career? How does he balance coaching at competitions while often competing on the same platform (albeit after most of his athletes)? And what are the most exciting developments in USA Weightlifting compet...

Balancing Life As an Athlete and Coach (w/Zachary Huse)

Here's one from the archives (we're back with new episodes next week!). Today we're wrapping up our mini-series with elite strongwoman athletes. Hanna Coldiron is the 2021 world's 7th strongest woman under 64kg, and she's looking to better that result later in 2022. Hanna wears a lot of hats: athlete and contest promoter, in addition to working a full time job outside of strength athletics. She also got her start in CrossFit (a bit like multi-time World's Strongest Man competitor Rob Kearney)...

BarBend Classic: Should CrossFitters Switch to Strongman? (w/Hanna Coldiron)

Today we have a first of its kind episode in BarBend Podcast history, because it's the first time we've ever had both members of a married couple on the show! We're talking to weightlifter, kettlebell specialist, and trainer Rebecca Rouse. Her husband — Joel Del Rosario — appeared on the podcast about two years ago! I sat down with Rebecca to talk about training in kettlebells and building a following there, making the transition to weightlifting, and tips for finding new coaches and training...

From Gymnastics to Kettlebells to Weightlifting (with Rebecca Rouse)

Today I'm talking to author Alyssa Ages, who recently released a book called Secrets of Giants: A Journey to Uncover the True Meaning of Strength. She's also a strength athlete herself, and in this book, she spoke with dozens of people around the strength community: lifters, writers, journalists, even organizers, etc. It's a look into how strength impacts our lives and how it can push us past our barriers in all aspects of society. And here's the fun part: I'm actually quoted a coup...

From a Broken Neck to CrossFit Journalism (w/ Spenser Mestel)

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