Measuring Muscle Mass Percentage with Dr. Chris Perry, Anders Varner, Travis Mash and Doug Larson #823
Release Date: 11/12/2025
The Performance Pyramid: What Actually Drives Results with Doug Larson, Travis Mash & Dr. Mike Lane #843
Barbell Shrugged
In this episode, Doug Larson, Dr. Mike Lane, and Coach Travis Mash break down the performance pyramid: a simple way to organize the biggest drivers of strength, muscle, and performance. At the base are the non-negotiables: training, nutrition, and sleep. The crew opens by challenging the idea that tiny programming details or trendy methods can outrun poor fundamentals, using the old Colorado Experiment and the modern return of one-set-to-failure arguments as a perfect example. Their main point is clear: almost everyone wants to skip ahead to advanced tactics, but most real progress still comes...
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Benefits of Single Joint Exercises with Doug Larson, Travis Mash & Dr. Mike Lane #842
Barbell Shrugged
In this episode, Doug Larson, Dr. Mike Lane, and Coach Travis Mash flip the usual strength conversation on its head and make the case for single joint training. Instead of focusing only on squats, deadlifts, cleans, and presses, they explain when movements like leg curls, calf raises, lateral raises, curls, triceps work, and hip isolation drills become incredibly valuable. The core idea is simple: compound lifts build the foundation, but single joint work helps fill in weak links, improve symmetry, and keep athletes healthy enough to keep progressing. The conversation digs into where isolation...
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The 20-Rep Squat Method with Scott Charland, Doug Larson, Travis Mash & Dr. Mike Lane #841
Barbell Shrugged
In this episode, Doug Larson, Coach Travis Mash, and Dr. Mike Lane sit down with longtime strength coach Scott Charland to unpack what it really takes to build athletes and build a sustainable career in strength and conditioning. Scott shares his path from collegiate strength coach to leading one of the most unusual and impressive sports performance models in the country at Parkview Sports Medicine, where a team of 24 strength coaches works alongside athletic trainers, physical therapists, nutritionists, and mental performance coaches to serve high schools, colleges, and youth athletes. The...
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Culture, Buy-in and Stronger Athletes with Jeremy Carlson, Doug Larson, Travis Mash & Dr. Mike Lane #840
Barbell Shrugged
In this episode of Barbell Shrugged, Doug Larson, Travis Mash, and Dr. Mike Lane sit down with Center College strength coach Jeremy Carlson to unpack how he built a high-functioning strength and conditioning culture at a small Division III school with limited staff, limited time, and one shared weight room. Jeremy explains how he went from being a former soccer player and CrossFit gym manager to launching Center’s strength program at just 24 years old. What started as a scrappy operation with seven double-sided racks and hundreds of athletes eventually turned into one of the most organized...
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Performance Brain Health Part 2 with Dr. Tommy Wood, Doug Larson, Travis Mash & Dr. Mike Lane #839
Barbell Shrugged
In this episode, Dr. Tommy Wood returns to Barbell Shrugged for part two of a deep conversation on brain health, cognitive decline, and the daily habits that shape long-term mental performance. Joined by Doug Larson, Travis Mash, and Dr. Mike Lane, Tommy unpacks why oral health matters far more than most people realize, explaining how gum disease, oral bacteria, and chronic inflammation may contribute not only to cardiovascular disease but also to dementia risk. The crew also digs into the importance of sensory input, from hearing and vision to social interaction, and how losing those inputs...
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Bodyweight Supplement Dosing: Creatine, Caffeine, Beta-Alanine and More with Doug Larson, Travis Mash & Dr. Mike Lane #838
Barbell Shrugged
In this episode, Doug Larson sits down with Coach Travis Mash and Dr. Mike Lane to challenge the “one-size-fits-all” approach to supplement dosing. They break down why most labels are effectively written for an average-sized person, and why that matters when you’re 100 pounds soaking wet, or a 300-pound lineman. Using real stories (like a 450 mg caffeine pre-workout for a small athlete and the classic “I couldn’t sleep” aftermath), the crew lays out a simple north star: doses should scale with body weight, and you should take an amount specific to your body size. From there,...
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Fat Free Mass Index Explained: A Better Body Comp Metric for Athletes with Dr. Andrew Jagim, Doug Larson, Travis Mash & Dr. Mike Lane #837
Barbell Shrugged
In this episode, Doug Larson, Dr. Mike Lane, and Coach Travis Mash sit down with Dr. Andrew Jagim, Director of Sports Medicine Research for the Mayo Clinic Health System, to talk about what actually works for building stronger, more resilient young athletes. Andrew shares how his applied research feeds directly back into real-world coaching, especially for under-resourced D3 athletes, and why the best youth training is simple, fast, and consistent. The group also trades notes on training their own kids: short sessions, minimal setup, and keeping things engaging so the habit sticks for life....
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The Power of Heavy Carries: Grip, Core, and Conditioning with Doug Larson, Travis Mash & Dr. Mike Lane #836
Barbell Shrugged
In this episode, Doug Larson sits down with Dr. Mike Lane and Coach Travis Mash to break down one of the most effective tools in strength and conditioning: heavy carries. From farmer’s walks and yoke carries to unilateral overhead and bottoms-up kettlebell variations, they explore why these simple movements deliver massive returns. The group discusses programming strategies, including time and load progressions, limiting overhead carries for sport specificity, and using tools like the trap bar for heavy work. They also explain how carries are self-instructive for bracing, build spinal and...
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Root Cause Health: The End of Symptom Chasing with Dr. Stephen Cabral, Doug Larson, Travis Mash & Dr. Mike Lane #835
Barbell Shrugged
In this episode, Dr. Stephen Cabral joins Doug Larson and Dr. Mike Lane to break down how he went from a decade-long “idiopathic illness” in his teens to building one of the biggest health education platforms in the space, including more than 3,600 daily podcast episodes. Cabral shares the turning points in his own recovery: years of heavy antibiotic exposure, chronic stress, gut dysbiosis (candida, H. pylori, SIBO), and even mercury accumulation from frequent tuna intake. That personal case study becomes the foundation for how he now thinks about root-cause medicine versus symptom...
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Deadlifting Through The Decades with Doug Larson Travis Mash & Dr. Mike Lane #834
Barbell Shrugged
In this episode of Barbell Shrugged, Doug Larson, Travis Mash (powerlifting world champion), and Dr. Michael Lane break down how to deadlift across the entire lifespan, from kids learning to hinge to lifters in their 40s, 50s, and beyond chasing strength without paying for it later. They start with youth training principles that actually work: keep it simple, keep it safe, and keep it fun. Kettlebell deadlifts and goblet squats win early because they naturally put kids in solid positions with minimal coaching, while the real focus is learning a neutral spine, good mechanics, and building a...
info_outlineIn this week’s episode of Barbell Shrugged, Anders Varner, Doug Larson, Coach Travis Mash, and Dr. Chris Perry dive deep into the real science of muscle mass, why it’s the single most important tissue in the human body and what happens when you don’t have enough of it. They cover everything from how muscle mass impacts disease risk, hormone balance, metabolism, and injury prevention to why being “under-muscled” may be just as dangerous as being overweight. Dr. Perry explains how strength training and nutrition can reverse age-related muscle loss and why the decade between your mid-30s and mid-40s is the most critical window for building a foundation of health and longevity.
The crew breaks down what healthy muscle mass standards actually look like for men and women across different age groups and introduces a new way to measure it. RAPID Health’s new partnership with Springbok Analytics uses MRI imaging to directly quantify muscle tissue, pinpoint asymmetries, and reveal where strength or mobility imbalances may be putting you at risk. For the first time, anyone, not just pro athletes or research labs, can see their true muscle mass percentage and track real progress over time.
The conversation wraps with practical takeaways for training and nutrition: how often to lift, how hard to push, and how much protein you need per meal as you age. They explain why cardio and resistance training both matter, how to optimize your muscle-to-fat ratio, and why “getting jacked” is one of the best health investments you can make. Learn more about RAPID's new MRI-driven Muscle Health and Performance program launching this week in Austin, TX go to OptimaMuscle.com beginning on Monday Nov 17th to learn more and get started.
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