Barbell Shrugged
Phil Heath is a renowned American bodybuilder. He gained widespread recognition in the world of professional bodybuilding, particularly for his impressive physique and numerous accolades. Heath's journey into bodybuilding began during his college years at the University of Denver, where he initially pursued basketball. However, he soon redirected his focus towards bodybuilding and started competing in NPC (National Physique Committee) competitions. In 2005, Heath won the NPC USA Championships, earning his IFBB (International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness) Pro Card, which allowed him...
info_outline [Nervous System] Methods for Understanding and Improving Physiological Stress w/ Dr. Chris Perry, Anders Varner, Doug Larson, and Travis Mash #739Barbell Shrugged
Dr. Christopher A. Perry, an Assistant Professor at Eastern Kentucky University, began his fitness journey at Penn State University, where he developed a robust background in Strength & Conditioning leading to 17 years in the industry to date. His academic path, leading through a PhD at Arizona State University, deepened his expertise in Exercise Science & Sports, Sleep & Circadian Rhythms, and Nutrition. Chris's current research focuses on sleep, movement analysis, and CO2 tolerance, particularly in tactical populations and collegiate athletes. His work aims to enhance...
info_outline [Heart Rate Recovery] How to Measure Recovery During Your Workout w/Bryan Boorstein, Anders Varner, Doug Larson, and Travis Mash #738Barbell Shrugged
In today’s episode of Barbell Shrugged, Bryan Boorstein is back to discuss Heart Rate Recovery. Heart rate recovery refers to the rate at which a person's heart rate decreases after a period of exercise. It is a crucial indicator of cardiovascular fitness and overall health. After intense physical activity, a healthy individual's heart rate should gradually return to its resting rate within a certain timeframe. Slower heart rate recovery may signify poor cardiovascular conditioning and an increased risk of heart-related issues. Monitoring heart rate recovery provides valuable insights into...
info_outline Getting Fast and Strong: Weightlifting, Sprinting, and Improving Athleticism w/Anders Varner, Doug Larson, and Travis Mash #737Barbell Shrugged
In this episode, Doug Larson, Travis Mash and Anders Varner catch up on the Olympic trials, international weightlifting meets, and Anders’ pursuit of a 6-minute mile. Coach Travis Mash has been out for a couple weeks as he has traveled the world for international weightlifting meets leading up to the USA Olympic Qualifiers for weightlifting. We initially discuss Anders' pursuit of the 6-minute mile, with training insights, and move into weight cuts, jet lag, performance and recovery, for athletes. We also dig into the latest research on Olympic weightlifting that offers new insights into...
info_outline [DEXA Scans] How to Test, Analyze, and Optimize Body Composition w/ Alan Kenny, Anders Varner, Doug Larson, and Travis Mash #736Barbell Shrugged
Alan Kenny is a performance nutritionist with over 10 years experience supporting teams, athletes and executives to optimize their health. Holding a degree in Exercise Science and a Masters in Sports Nutrition, Alan has also lectured at University level in Ireland and currently heads a performance lab in an executive medical clinic in Vancouver, Canada. His work here is focused on optimizing health over a person’s lifespan using modern tools such as blood-work analysis, VO2 and DEXA scans. He also runs his own virtual nutrition consultancy and acts as a nutrition consultant for the...
info_outline [Stress Resilience] Navigating Injury and Anxiety w/ Emily Hightower, Anders Varner, Doug Larson, and Travis Mash #735Barbell Shrugged
As an Educator and Coach at SH/FT, Emily Hightower leverages her expertise in the neurophysiology of trauma and resilience to help clients master their stress response and improve their quality of life. By combining over 25 years of experience as a breathing expert, yoga teacher, river guide, and wilderness EMT, Emily empowers high performers to disrupt limits, align with nature, and heal their bodies and minds. Emily developed SH/FT’s Skill of Stress course and teaches the N=1 Exposure Experience and Mentorship program with Brian MacKenzie. Her experiential teaching approach enables clients...
info_outline Muscle, Protein, and Aging with Dr. Stuart Phillips, Anders Varner, Doug Larson, and Travis Mash #734Barbell Shrugged
Professor Phillips is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Skeletal Muscle Health in Aging. He is a Professor in Kinesiology, and Graduate Faculty in the School of Medicine at McMaster University. He is a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (FCAHS) and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). His research is focused on the impact of nutrition and exercise on the mechanisms of human skeletal muscle protein turnover. He is also keenly interested in diet- and exercise-induced changes in body composition particularly in older persons. His research is funded by the Canadian...
info_outline [Biometrics] How to Use Data to Build Your Own Nutrition and Supplementation Program w/ Pratik Patel, Anders Varner, Doug Larson, and Travis Mash #733Barbell Shrugged
Pratik Patel is a health and performance coach, speaker, advisor, and consultant to sports teams, startups, and VC groups in the health, wellness, and performance realm. Pratik brings unique perspectives gained from his time in high level elite sport (NFL) to enhance the health and performance of individuals in the real world. Using his internal and external health approach and stress adaptation frameworks along with technology and wearables Pratik helps his clients implement effective health improvement strategies for long-term sustained success. For the past 20 years, he has studied...
info_outline [Chronotype] The One Thing More Important than Getting 8 Hours of Sleep w/ Dr. Chris Perry, Anders Varner, Doug Larson, and Travis Mash #732Barbell Shrugged
Dr. Christopher A. Perry, an Assistant Professor at Eastern Kentucky University, began his fitness journey at Penn State University, where he developed a robust background in Strength & Conditioning leading to 17 years in the industry to date. His academic path, leading through a PhD at Arizona State University, deepened his expertise in Exercise Science & Sports, Sleep & Circadian Rhythms, and Nutrition. Chris's current research focuses on sleep, movement analysis, and CO2 tolerance, particularly in tactical populations and collegiate athletes. His work aims to enhance...
info_outline How to Build a Killer Cardiovascular System w/ Dr. Mike T. Nelson, Anders Varner, Doug Larson, and Travis Mash #731Barbell Shrugged
In today’s episode of Barbell Shrugged, Anders Varner, Doug Larson, and Travis sit down with Anders coach, Dr. Mike T. Nelson. For those that have followed the show, you know Anders has been in pursuit of running a sub-6 minute mile at the age of 40. Dr. Nelson is the coach Anders hired to help with that goal. In this episode the crew walks through program design, initial intake, and execution of how to build cardiovascular fitness. You will learn performance tests used to design Anders training program, how priorities are scheduled into a busy life, understanding higher intensity...
info_outlineThis week on Shrugged, we are talking to one of the strongest, intelligent and most athletic women we have ever interviewed.
At a bodyweight of 123lbs, our guest this week, Stefi Cohen, pulls a 445 pound deadlift, squats 370 pounds, and benches 205 pounds. Stefi is also an accomplished and competitive Olympic-style weightlifter competing as a 53kg lifter, snatching 87 kg and clean and jerking 105 kg. Relative to her bodyweight these numbers, needless to say, are impressive.
In this episode, Stefi shares the specifics of how she uses the hybrid strength training method to chase down a 4X bodyweight deadlift and lift impressive numbers in the squat, bench, deadlift for Powerlifting AND the snatch, clean & jerk for Olympic Weightlifting, all while keeping injuries at bay.
Aside from lifting really heavy weights, Stefi is highly intelligent and is currently pursuing a degree in Physical Therapy. Stefi, Dr. Galpin and Doug discuss how assess scientific literature and research and then explain some of the science behind the difference of hypertrophy (muscle-building) and strength training and why the “lifting weights makes you bulky” myth is entirely false. Hopefully this episode puts the final nail in that coffin. Do your part and be sure to share this episode with the next person you hear say that.
If you want to learn how to get really strong in the 5 major lifts, squat, bench, deadlift, snatch, clean & jerk, listen to this episode. Also for you ladies out there who want to get strong and challenge the status quo about what it means and how it feels to be a strong woman, absolutely listen to this one.
Enjoy the show,
Mike