Barbell Shrugged - Talking Training W/ Crossfit Games Athletes, Strength Coaches & More

Armen Hammer is a content creator and host and founder of The WODcast Podcast, Scale As Needed Podcast, 4Ears Podcast, and Armen Hammer TV vlog. Armen is a former Senior Editor at FloElite, who covers the CrossFit Games, weightlifting, strongman, and fitness. In this episode, we talk about the 2019 CrossFit Games season, new regionals events, how do you qualify for the 2019 Games, Greg Glassman’s view of CrossFit health vs. the sport of fitness, what is Dave Castro’s role in the new changes, and more. Enjoy- Doug and Anders ---------------------------------------------------------- Show notes at: http://www.shruggedcollective.com/bbs_hammer ---------------------------------------------------------- Please support our partners! @organifi - www.organifi.com/shrugged to save 20% @thrivemarket - www.thrivemarket.com/shrugged for a free 30 days trial and $60 in free groceries @OMAX - www.tryomax.com/shrugged and get a box FREE with your first purchase @Onnit - www.onnit.com/shrugged for a free 14 pill bottle of th

This podcast is compilation of questions that were asked via my social media and email platforms. Some are personal opinions, some are valuable business questions, and some are just down right random hilarity. Regardless of the questions asked, I promised to answer as many of them as I could in a 1 hour window.   This podcast is something I have always wanted to do for my following as it feel it brings us closer together. It shines light on my unique sense of humor, work ethic, and opinions that I’ve put together over the past 10 years or so in the fitness industry.   If you’ve been a fan of me for a while and you want to hang out with and have great time... Learn a few things... And laugh a whole bunch... This is the best podcast you’ll listen to all week ;)   To all my fans and supporters, this one's for you! Love you guys/gals :) - Ryan ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Show notes: http://www.shruggedcollective.com/rc_qa -----------------------------------------

Paul Edge is DJ, visionary, and creator of Code Zero, a prosperity program which shows you how to activate your thrive cycle and override your survive cycle. Paul is also creator of The Frequency Tribe, a collective of DJs, musicians, artists, holistic healers, and innovators based in Encinitas, California.   In this episode, we talk about what's freedom and what does it look like in your life, kahunas and ho’oponopono, age reversal, living in a culture where people support you and see the future you, how to manage mistakes, the making of a DJ in the 90's, finding what’s truly possible through music, The Frequency Tribe, Code Zero, and more.   Enjoy! - Mike ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Show notes: https://shruggedcollective.com/tbs_edge ------------------------------------------------------------------------   Please support our partners!   Onnit's is a Total Human Optimization company with a mission to inspire peak performance through a combination of unique produc

In the second episode of Building A Badass, I tell a story about how a tragic car accident, where I watched my sister almost die, spun a major downward shift in my life, which included a long run with drugs and running wild.   I started victimizing myself to release responsibility of how I was feeling or what I did. I hid behind bad behavior and that “I don’t care” attitude,  which can only take you so far before you’re in some serious trouble. I became a victim to my circumstances.   Years later, I had a moment where I saw who I was destined to become if I stayed on the path I was currently on. It was shocking and discouraging. I had to make a change, but I didn’t have any idea what that looked like or even if I actually wanted to change at this point, I enjoyed the chaos.   Stay Relentless, - Christmas Abbott ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Show notes: http://www.shruggedcollective.com/bab_theditch ----------------------------------------------------------------

This week on Feed Me Fuel Me  we redefine masculinity with the Alpha Hippie, Angelo Sisco . Angelo is a celebrated business coach, and owner of O'Hare CrossFit in Chicago.   Angelo had it rough growing up, in home raised by his mother after his father went to prison. Angelo grew up in a neighborhood, where street fights and settling beefs with your fists were normal everyday activities. However, when you become a man in an environment where hustling was the preferred means to make ends meet, you pick up a thing or two: Like starting your own business so you never have to answer to anyone else, ever.   Angelo has been a self-starter and entrepreneur since his adolescence. However, because he was left to his own devices, with no shortage of adversity in his upbringing, his vulnerability was left behind and looked down upon. In recent years, Angelo has rediscovered his essence, who he is at his core, and has chosen to bring that essence to light via the Alpha Hippie movement in which strength is discovered in vu

Dr. Mike T. Nelson has spent 18 years of his life learning how the human body works, specifically focusing on how to properly condition it to burn fat and become stronger, more flexible, and healthier. He’s has a PhD in Exercise Physiology, a BA in Natural Science, and an MS in Biomechanics. He’s an adjunct professor and a member of the American College of Sports Medicine.   Dr. Nelson has been called in to share his techniques with top government agencies. The techniques he’s developed, and the results he gets for his clients have been featured in international magazines, in scientific publications, and on websites across the globe.   In this episode, we talk about heart rate variability, metabolic flexibility, mastering micronutrients, holistic approaches to vitamins and minerals, supplementation needs for health and performance, and more.   Enjoy! - Doug and Anders ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Show notes at: http://www.shruggedcollective.com/bbs_nelson ---

This weeks episode is with Dave Driskell Owner of CrossFit Wanderlust in Bali, international man of mystery, male model, fittest old man in asia, and a laundry list of other unique traits and talents that have gained almost 80k followers on the GRAM.   Dave and I go way back to when CrossFit was originally booming, and Instagram had just started. It was an incredible time for both the sport and social media. Although Dave and I walked 2 very different paths over the years (He was the social media guy and I was the young competitor), we still wound up doing the same thing later on in life. We opened gyms! Super successful ones! On completely different ends of the world!   In this episode, we talk about every single step that we took to get our gyms to where they are. We talk about the contracts we signed, the problems we encountered, things we would have changed if we could do it all over, and so much more. Did I mention it’s super funny? Well, it wouldn’t be a Real Chalk episode if it wasn’t funny ;)   If you

Courtney Allen-Gentry MSN RN PHN AHN-BC HWNC-BC, a.k.a Nurse Courtney, is an Advanced Holistic and Integrative Public Health Nurse Coach, Independent Cannabinoid Nurse Scholar, Thought Leader, Educator, Advocate and Author.   With more than 30 years of experience as a trauma operating room nurse, Nurse Courtney provides a unique approach to care and healing by blending a broad foundation of nursing knowledge, evidenced based science and direct patient care experience with a vibrational practice which includes multidimensional holistic assessments, plant therapy integration, spiritual support, chakra based healing, energy healing and diet therapy.   Affectionately dubbed Nurse Courtney while working one of many summers as a camp nurse at Cazadero Music Camp, she is the only African-American nurse with dual certifications as a Health and Wellness Nurse Coach (HWNC-BC) and Advanced Holistic Nurse (AHN-BC). Both certifications combined with over 17 years of Registered Nurse (RN) experience in a variety of setting

Underwater training is growing in the mainstream through the work of Laird Hamilton, Gabby Reece, and PJ Nestler. XPT (@xptlife), is a training methodology that is revolutionizing strength and conditioning. It combines the practices of breath work, underwater training, ice baths, and saunas into one program that is scalable and easily accessible to the public. This combination allows participants to connect with their nervous system, the down regulatory properties of breath training, as well as the performance metrics needed to push people to their genetic potential. XPT is the wave of the future. Underwater training is growing in popularity and the benefits are being felt worldwide.   XPT Certifications and Experiences: www.XPTLIFE.com.   Laird Hamilton (@lairdhamiltonsurf), big wave surfer, inventor, and pioneer of tow surfing and foil boards has been using underwater training to prepare himself for the rigors of big wave surfing for decades. His path to learning about underwater training started by combini

Building A Badass is a show where I tell my story through the greatest eight events of my life through eight podcasts. Building A Badass is about my personal experiences that shaped my mindset, personal growth, success and failures, and how I became the badass that I am known for to this day.   Through these intimate stories of my personal struggles or celebrations I share my take away lessons and even emotional baggage, how that shaped me for good or bad, and how I came out of all of it at the end. Most of you know some of the highlights but this will dig a bit deeper into more of me, who I am, and how I became that.   I hope you enjoy it or at least take away your own lesson from my experience. That’s exactly WHY I share so much of my past both good and bad, so that people can see it’s possible to become what you believe no matter what cards you’re dealt. This is why I have the mantra: Everyday you wake up with the opportunity to change your life.   In the first episode, I tell the story of how I wanted to

Dr. Cara Miller, MDiv, PhD is a developmental psychologist and performance coach. This week we dive deep into the psychology of the space between where you are, and where you actually want to be. Dr. Miller goes for it in this episode, taking Mycal Anders through an exercise that exposes a very deep subconscious negative feedback loop that has been inhibiting his ability to grow for quite some time.   Dr. Miller specializes in adaptive leadership and is an organizational designer for complexity, growth and performance. She has been quite influential in the world of organizational leadership. She spends the majority of her time helping the leaders of small start ups and multi-million dollar enterprises alike identify the holes in their systems, cultural inefficiencies, and mechanisms that can be put in place to create not only a culture of growth, but empowerment from the top down. For someone who has worked with and around the brightest minds in academia as a professor at the University of San Diego and Harva

Aaron Alexander CR, LMT, CPT is an accomplished manual therapist and movement coach with over 13 years of professional experience. He is the founder of the Align Movement™, an integrated approach to functional movement and self-care that has helped thousands of people out of pain and into health. Aaron also hosts the top-rated Align Podcast featuring the biggest names in movement and wellness. His clients include Hollywood celebrities, Olympic/professional athletes and everyone in between. He teaches workshops and speaks at events all over the world. In this episode, we talk about how to implement breathwork into a daily practice, postural alignment, functional movement and self-care, developing a floor culture, how to add flow to your training, and more.   Enjoy! - Doug and Anders Show notes at: http://www.shruggedcollective.com/bbs_alexander ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Please support our partners! @organifi - www.organifi.com/shrugged to save 20% @thrivema

Erin Monson is one of my in-house coaches at CHALK in Orange County California. She is an amazing athlete and a true specimen to look at it. In fact, I don’t think I have ever seen a single person in my life walk by her and not either stare or take a double take. She’s a beautiful woman no doubt and her body is one of a kind. However, beneath the surface is an addiction. Since I have met Erin, she has continually become more and more strict on her eating consumption, workout schedule, sleep schedule, and her availability of free time. To the point where several people have reached out in concern including her family.   Although she admits that this is something that has gone on for years, this is the first time in her life where she willingly admits it and is starting to take the necessary steps to become, “normal.”   In this episode, I have the pleasure of being able to talk to her about her problems for the first time and actually hear her side of everything. The effect it has had on her social life, relati

Brittney Bergen (@brittneybergen) started doing CrossFit 5 years ago in the basement of her house as a science teacher in a northern First Nations community. CrossFit lead her to taking her nutrition seriously and introduced her to powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting. Since then, Brittney had two podium finishes in powerlifting Nationals, a first place finish at the North American Powerlifting Championships, and has competed in two Olympic Weightlifting nationals.   Recently, Brittney has migrated her movement practice into the yoga world. She still picks up a barbell here and there, but she is more fascinated by the true meaning of the word “yoga”: bringing her body, mind, and spirit into union. Brittney is passionate about uplifting the world by helping individuals become fully-expressed.   In this episode, we talk about why seeing people's transformations is important, identity and how it can hold you back, the unconscious programs and beliefs that run our lives, how trauma shapes behavior, using weight

    Christmas Abbott (@christmasabbott) is a professional athlete, a CrossFit Games competitor, an olympic weightlifter, and NASCAR Pit Crew. She is also a branding advisor, working with individuals and teams to craft their own unique brand, helping them to put their best foot forward and share their passion with others.   Christmas is also a transformational guru, creator of Christmas Abbott Nutrition, Oxygen Magazine Trainer Challenge Head Trainer, Badass Body Diet Creator, online fitness coach, motivational speaker, keynote speaker and national bestselling author.   Flash news! Christmas is launching her very own podcast, Building a Badass, on the Shrugged Collective next week! Look out for the first episode on Friday!   In this episode, we talk to Christmas about coming to the Shrugged Collective, training for Nascar, competing in CrossFit, rebuilding through life’s struggles, Big Brother fame and injury, and more.   Enjoy! - Doug and Anders   Show notes at: http://www.shruggedcollective.com/bbs_buildinga

What does it mean to be an adaptive leader? Logan Gelbrich didn't open a gym. He opened a school - Deuce Gym. He doesn't have coaches. He has teachers. At his school, they don't simply coach classes. They teach a curriculum.   From very humble beginnings, Logan has built a foundation on which his goals will stand upon. We caught up with Logan in the wake of his "Hold The Standard" Summit. To say that those in attendance had a few awakenings during the experience is an understatement.   We were fortunate enough to witness Logan go through the exact exercise that forced us to have that hard conversation with the person in the mirror and brings to the surface "blind spots" that hide in our subconscious. He walked us through the negative feedback loop that manifests in self-limiting dialogue, actions, and ultimately behavior. These conversations that we have with ourselves inhibit growth and progression by manifesting in our organizations and our relationships.   Logan shares with us how he has learned to be kind

Mike Salemi (@mike.salemi) is a Kettlebell World Champion, Kettlebell Master of Sport, Bulgarian Bag Pro Trainer, and a CHEK Practitioner Level I & Holistic Lifestyle Coach II. Mike's journey in strength & conditioning started at the age of 15 as a competitive Powerlifter. At 19, Mike became a WABDL World Champion in the Bench Press and Deadlift. While working as a D1 collegiate strength & conditioning coach, Mike was introduced to the power of the kettlebell, and the work of respected Holistic Health Practitioner Paul Chek. Both have had large influences on Mike's development as a more well-rounded athlete and person in the years that followed. Currently, as an avid Kettlebell Sport competitor, Mike has achieved the ranking of Master of Sport (Long Cycle & Biathlon), and became the 2017 WAKSC World Champion in Long Cycle. Through his unique approach, Mike has been able to integrate a high performance form of athletic training using a holistic model. His dream is to continue creating education

Chris Manderino is founder of, a whole-foods plant-based company that helps people achieve optimal health. LYFE FUEL produces simple, functional products from trustworthy and sustainable sources.   Chris is a former NCAA and NFL player, who pursued an opportunity to live abroad while playing football in Italy post his NFL career. While in Italy, he was struck by the vast cultural chasm between the Italian approach to food and the American approach. Italians, even with all the pizza, pasta, downtime and copious desserts, seemed a much healthier population than the US.   Chris boiled it down to this striking difference: in Italy, food was simpler. The Italians used higher quality, mostly plant-based ingredients and had smaller portion sizes. His revelation inspired a career change, and ended up taking a job in the nutraceutical industry.   Later on, Chris decided to study dietary and training theories, and while most nutritionists and food experts disagreed on just about everything else, there was one thing eve

Mike Sherbakov is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and adventurer on a mission to create a better world. He spends his days growing his global community, digital agency (Greatness Media), and impact accelerator (Greatness Ventures).   Mike is grateful for the opportunity to work closely with purpose-driven individuals and organizations while exploring the world and learning everything I can along the way.   In this episode, we talk about the 3 questions to identify your purpose, what does it feel like when you’re not in your purpose, the sustainable way to be of service (are you being a martyr?), meeting your own needs first, what does it take to run a successful fitness business, how to join The Greatness Foundation to build homes for the homeless, and more.   Enjoy! -Mike ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Show notes: https://shruggedcollective.com/tbs_sherbakov ------------------------------------------------------------------------   Please support our partners! Onnit

This is a special episode, where Anders Varner (@andersvarner) and Doug Larson (@douglaselarson) talk about their combined experience of 40 years in strength & conditioning. They talk about where it all began, how their training plans have progressed over 20 years respectively, the beginnings of a career in strength, how to create training programs for life, what it means to create a whole body approach to training, and much more.   Enjoy!   - Doug and Anders   Show notes at: http://www.shruggedcollective.com/bbs_40years ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Please support our partners! @organifi - www.organifi.com/shrugged to save 20% @thrivemarket - www.thrivemarket.com/shrugged for a free 30 days trial and $60 in free groceries @OMAX - www.tryomax.com/shrugged and receive a free box of Omega 3 Fish Oils @Onnit - www.onnit.com/shrugged for a free 14 pill bottle of the leading nootropic Alpha Brain and 10% savings on all purchases. @foursigmatic - www.foursigmatic