This week on Barbell Shrugged we are joined by the incomparable Travis Mash, high level strength coach, world champion powerlifter, and to be honest, one of our absolute favorite human beings in the entire world.    If Travis’ name sounds familiar it’s for a good reason. This is his second appearance on the show. The first time around on episode 97 we got the chance to talk about the barbell and all of the life lessons it has taught us. As good as that show was, I think that round two is even better. Really, this might be our best strength discussion to date.   For me it’s easy to see what makes Travis such an incredible coach. First, he is incredibly kind and empathetic. Right when you meet him you feel like you’ve known him all along. And when you see his work you realize just how important it is for a coach to build strong relationships with their athletes. That connection makes extraordinary strength possible.   He’s kind, but he’s also been around for a really long-time (it’s OK, we’re all getting older together). He’s performed at a very high level in both weightlifting and powerlifting for many years, has even made a run at national level bobsledding. More impressive still, he’s been coaching athletes and directly applying that hard-earned wisdom for over fifteen years. So, when Travis makes a recommendation on how you can get stronger, you listen.    This show was running over with but nuggets and pearls, but a few super useful lessons jump right out at me. First, competitive fitness athletes still have a lot they could learn from powerlifters and bodybuilders. One of the best examples is the row. Above any other assistance movement, this is what the average Crossfitter needs most of all. Barbell rows, chest supported rows, one-arm pulls with a super-duper heavy kettlebell, any kind will do. It hardly matters, as long as they are done often. Forget what you’ve heard, there’s nothing more functional than adding pulling power.   Lessons, lessons, how about the importance of patience? If there’s one key mistake that’s keeping a lot of people weak it’s this - They don’t give the adaptations time to set in! They start out on a mission to get strong, because that’s what they need most of all. But they freak out when results don’t come immediately, or when their WOD times fall off a little bit.    This is all by design.    Real strength takes time. As Travis will tell you it’s a lot like working a blue collar job, like a construction gig. At first the work is just too much. You’ll hate it, no doubt. Recovery will be a struggle. You will feel like shit while everyone around you runs around like the work is no big deal. That’s when you need to hold on and be patient.    The secret to getting really, super-duper strong is allowing that adaptation to take hold. You have to fight for it. The training should be really hard, but just like a bulletproof and sun-hardened construction worker, you need time to get used to it.    Be patient! Find great programming and stick with it, don’t jump around. You will get faster, more efficient, and strong as hell as soon as you earn it. You just can’t be afraid of walking through hell first. Take your ass-beatings first, that’s the only way this critical and enduring adaptation can take hold.   The final lesson for those looking to get really strong is this - you have to conquer the fear of lifting really heavy weights. You have to have the courage to put weight on that barbell. That’s why having a great coach like Travis is so important. You need someone, as he would say, “…To call you out when you’re being pussy.” You also need to surround yourself with great training partners who are much stronger than you, just to change your standards.   If there’s a secret to training at a place like Westside Barbell it’s just that. Programming matters. You need certain tools and ideas. But never underestimate the power of a brutal training environment. These place are less like gym and more like iron forges. The whole point is to raise the expectations under pressure.    That’s also the whole idea behind Travis’ top secret chain squatting program. There’s actually no secret to it. It works because it breaks down the fear. You start to get used to the way really heavy weight feels, and in time you start to believe that you can actually lift it. Once that belief starts you begin to train harder and without artificial limitations. And once that happens, watch out. There’s no telling what you might be able to lift.   For more from Travis Mash and the coaching services he offers make sure to check out his website atMashElite.com,  You can also find him on YouTube, Twitter and Instagram for some awesome strength videos and training tips.   Travis, we’re lucky to know you, dude. When can we go for round 3?    Cheers,    Chris Moore

This week on Barbell Shrugged we chat with Ben Greenfield, former tennis player, water polo athlete, and bodybuilder turned biohacking ironman, endurance coach, author, blogger, and podcaster. That’s quite the resume, right?  Ben’s got plenty of interesting things to say, which is no surprise given his experience and wide-ranging creative pursuits. He can certainly talk training and human performance with the very best, but it was his perspective on general health that grabbed my attention initially.  Ben is the author of the excellent book Beyond Training: Mastering Endurance, Health, & Life, which is amusing, because as he will tell you devoting huge chunks of time to sitting in front of a keyboard and writing extensively about health is one of the absolute unhealthiest things you can do. Extended promotional book tours and frequent promotional travel are certainly no better.  That’s bad, but did you know that intense exercise can be worse in many ways? As Ben will tell you, competitive athlete’s and WOD junkies don’t typically worry about metabolic dysfunction or obesity risk, but they are often chronically inflamed, their hormonal levels are usually disturbed, and their markers of immune system strength and circulatory function are typically far more out of whack than those of the “out-of-shape” general population.  This is not meant to discourage anyone. It’s just a warning. If you’re willing to do the work that it takes to be an amazing athlete, then do it! There’s no question that it’s worth it. Just take the lesson from an awesome coach who’s seen it all. More is not better.  If you want to both perform better and enjoy a high quality of life and health, then be willing to go above and beyond. Get your data. Monitor all key biomarkers very closely so that you can keep that high performance, meat powered hot-rod of yours tuned-up and running on all cylinders. Get as much information as you can, find your problems early, then act long-before your body begins to show those inevitable signs of wear and tear.  As cool as performance might be we don’t want to sacrifice out health and well being for it. We don’t want the wear and tear. But luckily there are some pretty quick and easy fixes, starting with making your living conditions as natural as possible.   Work and writing are great, but you really should be standing as often as possible. Move more. Stop what you’re doing for just a few minutes and go find something heavy to lift. Even a quick break for a few fast repetitions can work wonders.  When it’s time to train, train very hard, but do not beat yourself up with exercise. Go for the minimum effective dose that’s required for you to make progress. Afterward, get the rest and recovery you require, and for crissakes, eat plenty of real, nutrient dense food. If you’re into supplements, Ben’s list is a pretty damn good one. For those pushing the endurance limits, d-ribose can be great for supporting ATP production. An essential amino acids supplement, MCT and caffeine right from a proper cup of coffee also go a long way towards supporting optimal performance.  If you’re feeling sore and knotted up after you put the barbell down, then invest in some soft-tissue massage, or at the very least, make time to roll around on a foam roller hard a few times per week. Your beat-up and agitated muscle fascia and on edge nervous system will reward you generously with improved function and recovery. You might also consider monitoring your Heart Rate Variability (HRV), which as we learned withJoel Jamison on episode 120 of the podcast, is a tremendous way to keep tabs on your accumulating stress levels and choose the optimal time to train.  Yeah, training can be tough. But we can still push the limits and live awesome, pain free, healthy lives. It just takes some additional work, that’s all. A bit thanks to Ben for sharing his perspective.  For more great information from Ben Greenfield, make sure you check out his website atBenGreenfieldFitness.com. You can also find more great content and training tips on his YouTube channel, as well as on Twitter and Facebook.  Cheers,Chris Moore

This week on Barbell Shrugged we have the pleasure of welcoming Lindsey Valenzuela to the show, professional fitness athlete and current member of the Los Angeles Reign.    Lindsey is in an incredible position. First, she’s one of the very first women ever to sign onto a professional fitness team. Better yet, the Reign, and all other founding members of the National Professional Grid League, are actually coed.    That’s right. For the first time there is a mainstream professional sports league featuring women and men competing together on the very same field, or in this case, the very same “Grid.”   In competitive fitness, right from the start, men and women have both received equal spotlight and attention. The same can’t said for any other professional sports league, or quite frankly, our culture as a whole. Despite our progress, most playing fields are anything but level.    The truth is that women and men are equally capable when it comes to moving heavy barbells, crushing races, and entertaining an arena full of cheering fitness fans. Also, as Lindsey herself pointed out, those incredibly fit, powerful and beautiful ladies - the coed angle - might just be the NPGL’s secret weapon when it comes to breaking into brand new markets.    That’s really the most exciting part of this entire movement. Consider the classic sports fan with their weekend fantasy leagues and pick-up games, or maybe the aspiring young athlete who might not fit in or dig traditional sports like Football, Baseball or Basketball. Think of the influence an athlete like Lindsey could have on the average young girl who’s seeing a strong, successful woman slam barbells in front of a packed arena for the very first time.    That’s a damn incredible thing, indeed.    In all fairness it’s too early to know. There are no guarantees that the Grid thing will catch on. But it just might, and that could mean an incredible future where Eleiko barbells start arriving under Christmas trees during the holidays, right alongside shiny new bicycles and video game consoles (one can hope!). It could also mean waves of brand new, inspired clients pouring into local gyms and boxes, which is great for absolutely everyone.    That’s really the main point now. There’s no room in this movement for a scarcity point of view. It’s time that we stop trying to compare Crossfit and the NPGL, because really, they  are fundamentally different things.    As Lindsey points out, “Crossfit is about finding the fittest men and women in the world, period. The NPGL is all about putting on a show. It’s spectator friendly. It’s fast moving. It’s entertainment, like the NBA or NHL.”   She nails the point, concluding, “The Crossfit Games are basically like the Olympics. There are players who play in both - The NBA and the Olympics, for example - But nothing can replace the Olympics.”    We agree. In our point of view the emergence of professional fitness can only create more great opportunities for athletes, coaches and business owners. That’s really all that matters.    To learn more about the NPGL make sure to check out our interview with league founder and CEO, Tony Budding. We also had a great chat with NPGL President Jim Kean, where we talk all about the technology and future of this brand new sport.    For more Lyndsey, make sure to check out her website at B3LV.com. You can also follow her on Instagram,Twitter, and Facebook at @LiftLikeLindsey.    Lindsey, please keep inspiring folks and kicking ass! We look forward to seeing it all unfold.    Cheers,    Chris Moore

Aubrey Marcus might have the most interesting title of any Barbell Shrugged guest to date. You can call him a spiritual experimentalist, human optimizer, unconventional fitness junkie, and warrior poet. He’s also CEO of Onnit, a unique human performance company which sells performance and health supplements, as well as some novel training tools. They also make some pretty righteous YouTube videos, including this jewel with Joe Rogan. Watch that video right now if you’re in need of a motivational kick in the ass! Aubrey’s interest in human optimization began during his basketball career. With the help of his step-mother, a naturopathic doctor, he was able to experiment with all manner of supplements and develop a regimen to aide his performance on the court. That’s really a huge advantage, especially when you consider that most young athletes are 100% uninformed on the topic. They are completely subject to marketing spin and are left to experiment on themselves, which is obviously less than ideal. First things first, before you invest and consume any supplements, make sure you do your research. Read all you can on the topic. Visit websites such as examine.com, which can help you quickly sort through the available scientific evidence (Do that!). And sure, if you happen to have a qualified Naturopath in the family, please ask them what’s what before you go snorting bee pollen or powdered deer antler during your next heavy deadlift session. As you understand more and more, please do experiment with supplements and pay close attention to how they affect your performance. Read the available research. Add them in one at a time. Take careful notes. Track your training numbers. Hey, you might be surprised. The addition of nootropics or some cordyceps sinensis mushroom’smight make a real difference. There’s only one way to find out. All of these unique supplements are really interesting and potentially beneficial, but the coolest thing Aubrey has to share is the importance of unconventional fitness tools. You probably know all about barbells, dumbbells, and even kettlebells, but I would bet that you’re much more unfamiliar with things like steel clubs, maces, and maybe even battle ropes. It would be easy to label this stuff as little more than functional training gimmicks, but before you make any conclusions consider the history. Tools like heavy clubs have been around for the better part of a millennia, making people strong, and preparing them for the dangers and rigors of war. That’s really the foundation of human performance training. It’s not sport, really. We began training to become bigger, stronger, faster, and more mobile or stable in key joints because we wanted to decrease our odds of getting chopped up into ground beef on the battlefield. Imagine, how much harder would you train if that was your reality? If that was the training goal? We don’t face much in the way of real danger outside of the gym today, but it’s fair to say that almost none of us train as hard as we could, or should. That’s the first consideration, before programming, before supplements, before judging your tools. What is it that you are training for, and be honest, how hard are you prepared to work? If you want to see just what unconventional fitness looks like, pop over to the 19:00 minute mark in the episode and see Aubrey rough up the entire Barbell Shrugged crew in the Onnit gym. Laugh all you want, but those clubs and maces are no joke! For more human optimization info make sure to check out the Onnit podcast, especially Aubrey’s chat with Chris and Mike on episode #28. You’re sure to enjoy it. Also, if you want to learn more about those unconventional fitness moves, go visit the Onnit Academy on YouTube. Just be careful with those clubs, they are much harder to handle then you think. Cheers,Chris Moore

This week on the Barbell Shrugged podcast we are joined by Andrea Ager, former collegiate track & field athlete turned high-level Crossfit competitor. If that name rings a bell it’s for a very good reason. Andrea is one of the most well-known and recognizable athletes on the scene, which is actually a very interesting topic of discussion all in itself.    “You may know Andrea from her Instagram feed, where she can’t stop smiling.” I figured this topic would come up at some point during the podcast, I just didn’t realize it would be the very first thing out of Mike’s mouth. “In fact, Chris Moore has described you as, ‘Smiling too much.’”    The obvious downside of being well-known is that there will always be haters and trolls, that’s for sure. They are going to comment about you, your style, your choices, your beliefs, your mistakes and short-comings, and yes, even your smile. I was ready to take all that on at the start, I just didn’t expect being called one myself!    Mike was smiling just as wide as Andrea ever has, so it was obvious he had this move planned. I was left squirming with nothing to slide underneath or behind, so I tried to back away slowly to higher ground, without much success I might add. “Now, hold on, I was simply saying that, Wow, Andrea smiles a lot. Let me say, having met you, I get it. I think I’m smiling more often now myself.” Even a bit of kind editing leaves me sounding guilty. Mike easily blocked the shot. “That’s not how I remember the conversation.”    He was right to pin me down. I had done a bit of hating, at least in his view. In truth I think I was just envious, maybe a little aggravated. I might have even been more motivated by Andrea than I would have liked to admit. That’s because, if nothing else, she is a reminder that the clock is ticking. If there’s something you really love in this life, like training and sharing your fitness story for example, then you should probably spend more of your precious time doing it. Sure, why not smile more often and just as wildly?    After chatting with Andrea it became clear that she was more than just a really happy Crossfit chick with a popular social media feed. She’s an experienced, high level regional competitor who has been part of some really tough competitions. She’s learned some valuable lessons the hard way, like the importance of setting better, more intrinsically focused goals and spending far less time comparing yourself to others.    That last bit might be the most important lesson of the show. You just cannot make the most out of your training, your situation, and your uniqueness if you’re worried about what others are doing, what they are capable of.    Andrea’s also surprisingly open minded and receptive to new training ideas and styles, which is something aspiring athletes should really pay close attention to. She waste’s no time, surrounding herself with the very best training partners and coaches she can find. That might mean flying into San Francisco to drill weightlifting with the magnificent Diane Fu, or maybe it’s committing to a wild and novel three-month training sabbatical with THE powerlifting master, Louie Simmons.    It’s clear to us now why Andrea is so well known. It’s not luck. It’s not the smile and looks alone, although this certainly does help, who are we kidding. But no, the bulk of Andrea’s success still comes from where you would expect. She has devoted her life to becoming a better athlete and coach. She works incredibly hard, takes on the risks, makes all the necessary sacrifices, and delay’s gratification today in exchange for better performancetomorrow. Let me say, I’m glad I got the change to know her better. She’s the real deal.    To learn more about Andrea, or to book her for a seminar, make sure to visit TheAndreaAger.com. You can also check out her YouTube page for some cool training videos. Who know’s, you too might find yourself looking past the smile.    Cheers,    Chris Moore     P.S. Make sure you to check out this weeks TechniqueWOD during the break. Doug will teach you all you need to know about the front squat. Who know’s, maybe you’ll learn how to grow a killer pair of Ager Bomb style quadriceps! 

This week on a very special bonus episode of the Barbell Shrugged podcast we are joined by Jackie Perez, competitive Crossfit athlete and one of the lead trainers at Crossfit CSA in Dublin, California.    If you haven’t heard about Jackie then you’re in for a treat. She’s one of the most entertaining and unfiltered guests we’ve ever had on the show. If you do know her, well, you can guess what happens next. Let’s just say you’re in for a treat.    I’ll be honest, we spent the first half of the show talking about partying, the sensual pleasures of almond champagne, and how she really doesn’t take her training all that seriously. You won’t find too many pearls and nuggets at the start, but you’re very likely to laugh out loud a few times. Enjoy the banter, but understand that this party side of Jackie is really just a ploy, a facade, a clever bit of misdirection. As we learned during the second half of the show, there’s actually way more to Jackie than first meets the eye.    Here’s what you need to understand - When it comes to performance there are no exceptions, short-cuts, or free lunches. Physical gifts will only get you so far. If you want to be an extraordinary coach or athlete, then you’re going to have to work very hard, just about all the time. You also have to make tough choices and sacrifices in your personal life. There needs to be plenty of room made for all that effort and output.   “Coach or athlete”, that’s really the choice. Jackie fills her days from dawn to dusk by working with clients. She cares, she grinds away at the craft, and she’s just as animated and salty in her classes as she is on this particular podcast. In short, she’s made her choice and understands that it comes with a cost. There’s just not much room or energy left over for pushing her body to the limit.    Jackie gets results in her training because she accepts her personal limits. She prioritizes, doing more with less. Most importantly, she understands that making a serious run at winning the Crossfit Games as an individual athlete is just not a realistic expectation. That would mean spending a lot less time coaching. It would mean passing on that second glass of champagne, which is something that she would rather not do. For her, the balance is more important.     That’s a lesson worth keeping. If you want to be the absolute best at what you do then go all in. Make the full commitment. Be willing to cut and make room for the effort. If not, fine, just do not pretend. Don’t make excuses. Don’t beat yourself up when things don’t go as planned. Instead, pop a fresh bottle of bubbly and learn to enjoy yourself.    For more Jackie check out her YouTube channel. See for yourself that she’s no barbell lightweight. You can also find her on Instagram, just in case you’re curious about that almond champagne lifestyle.   Cheers, Chris Moore

This week on Barbell Shrugged we are honored to chat with Mark Divine, retired Navy SEAL Commander and founder of SEALFIT and U.S. Crossfit. Surprise, surprise, this show will leave you reconsidering your training, the true effort you’re applying in the gym, and the direction you’re heading. In short, its just what you need to hear.  For those who don’t know, SEALFIT is somewhat like Crossfit, only it’s more…Way more. Quite literally, this is what your whiteboard should say if the goal of the day is to prepare Navy SEALS for the rigors and chaos of military conflict. It’s also the sort of thing we should all experience from time to time if we want to be fully prepared for the rigors of civilian life. These lessons, to one degree or another, are for special forces bad asses and civilian warriors alike.  Mark’s training philosophy centers around the so-called “5 Mountains” of personal development. First, there’s the stuff any crossfitter, strength athlete or serious fitness enthusiast would recognize. The mountain of physical preparation includes strength, stamina, endurance, work capacity and durability. For the most part this is exactly what most expect out of a good strength and conditioning program. On the flip-side, this is usually all most would expect. Four mountains remain largely unchartered.  Full personal development and the realization of one’s true potential is impossible, until there’s awareness and an acknowledgment of what remains to be explored and cultivated. Incidentally, this act of discovery is also the first of the remaining mountains. The others are emotional control, intuition, and last but most important, Kokoro, which is the warrior’s unconquerable spirit.  Consider what your training might be lacking. Right now, be honest. When was the last time you ventured outside of the gym and trained in an intentionally hostile and challenging environment? Something like isolated woods, or perhaps rocky and bone chilling surf? Do you practice spiritually renewing activities like Yoga on a regular basis? Do you put the same amount of effort and intent into into breathing and meditation exercises as you do your snatch or back squat? If not, you should. After all, what good is a strong body if the seat of emotional and physical control is undisciplined and prone to failure? What exactly are you capable of if quitting is simply not an option? If there’s really nothing out there to fear?  We all need the barbell. We need to train with proven methods in order to develop ourselves physically. But those remaining mountains must be explored. These methods – as new and foreign and painful as they might be – must be included in the DAILY training plan. The warrior is strong, spiritually healthy, and as we also learned duringepisode 116 with Joe De Sena, has experienced, embraced, and disarmed suffering.  Indeed, that’s what turns the common athlete into a true warrior.  To learn more about Mark Divine and his methods, make sure to check out 8 Weeks to SEALFIT, Unbeatable Mind and The Way of the Seal. They are simply amazing books. Also, if you are interested in becoming fully aware and experiencing the SEALFIT experience for yourself, you should definitely check out some of Mark’s live training events. Just know ahead of time that this will most likely be the most difficult challenge of your life, but hell, you’re after the profound personal transformation and empowerment, right? …Right, so you know there’s a cost.  You’re capable of paying that price. Go ahead, do it, just start with the 20X Challenge, which is a one-day course designed to take your training and leadership skills to the next level. From there you can consider the SEALFIT Kokoro Camp, which is an intense fifty-hour experience modeled after US Navy SEAL Hell Week. And if you’re still hungry for more, there’s always the SEALFIT Immersion Academy, a highly formidable and extremely comprehensive 3-week course designed to install the core skills and traits of elite Navy SEALS.  Go on, what are you waiting for? Get up the mountain. Go find out just what you’re really capable of.  Cheers,Chris Moore P.S. During the break make sure to check out the latest episode of TechniqueWOD on squat fundamentals. After all, we want to be tough as SEAL warriors, but we still want huge squats, right? 

This week on Barbell Shrugged we chat with Joel Jamieson, leading expert on combat sport training and founder of 8WeeksOut.com.    If Joel’s name rings a bell that’s because he’s the author of Ultimate MMA Conditioning, which made ourtop 10 list of books that every Crossfitter should read. He’s also the creator of the BioForce HRV Training Management System, an awesome tool that uses heart rate variability as a measure of fatigue and training readiness.    If you’re interested in performance then you really should be considering HRV. Why not?   Great programming is all about balance. You have to know when to push forward, and when to back down so you can live to fight another day. Keeping the balance that makes extraordinary results and sustained progress possible. But that’s easier said than done. Without a clear measure of readiness it’s really easy to push too hard, too soon.    Any coach or athlete worth their weight in chalk expects to see great results. They are driven to succeed, they are quickly drawn towards high intensity and fancy tools because that’s what the best use, right? Right, but rushing towards that result is the easiest mistake to make. The only thing it gets you is a weak and unsound foundation, poor mechanics, probably injury, and inevitably, a quick and messy exit from the sport you enjoy.  We can do better than that.  The coach and athlete have to communicate and understand all the gaps in the game up front. They have to take the time and cultivate the base before things get intense and the fancy toys come out. From there the push can build and build, but not without careful monitoring.  Every stress has to be considered, every addition to the training program must be accounted for. That’s what makes measures such as heart rate variability so damn useful. It’s an early warning to correct course before the rush takes hold, before the wear, tear and bad habits really start to set in.  Without that data programming is only educated guesses and serial assumptions. Be honest, assess status, progress slowly, get all the data you can, then regulate the plan. Be honest, quantify it. That’s the quickest path to improved performance.  Cheers,Chris Moore