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

It has been said, "the journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step." Our guest this week, Beau Ash, has taken many first steps as his life has unfolded into the chapters of his story. Beau went through a journey of acceptance and self-love. One of the hardest concepts to grasp as we move through life, is the idea that with loss, comes growth. For a great deal of Beau's life, so many of the negative interactions he has experienced were the result of the projections he was putting out into the universe. However, in the wake of loss, he would discover that he indeed stood to grow the most. Beau took a 4,100 mile road trip that manifested in deep reflection. He has gone to work on himself, answered a lot of hard questions, and faced a lot of conflicting truths. Once Beau began his deep dive into self, he discovered that his capacity to serve the world was extremely limited, and the self-work is never-ending. However, Beau has come to a place where he values his time alone. He understands that in order to pro

Kyle Kingsbury is Director of Human Optimization at @Onnit and host of The Onnit Podcast. He is also a retired professional mixed martial artist, who fought at @UFC six years, and a former football player (Arizona State). While fighting at the highest level, Kyle became fascinated with nutrition, performance, and recovery. Since his MMA retirement, his focus has shifted to learning more about longevity, plant medicines, and inner peace. In this episode, we learn about his life in the octagon, the process of stepping outside the ring, his focus on human optimization, research and development at Onnit, the future of performance training, and much more.   Enjoy! - Doug and Anders Show notes at: http://www.shruggedcollective.com/bbs_kingsbury ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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

Jim Crowell is the CEO of OPEX Fitness.  Above all, he loves building businesses and mentoring coaches and business owners to enjoy inspiring, fulfilling, and successful careers. Prior to becoming the CEO of OPEX Fitness, Jim started, grew, and sold multiple successful gyms in Pittsburgh, PA.   Prior to his fitness career, Jim successfully traded commodities for a hedge fund in Austin, TX. He also holds an MBA from the University of North Carolina, two Bachelor’s Degrees from Penn State University, and the Core Course Designation from Harvard University.   In this episode, we learn about Jim’s journey, including how he entered the hedge fund world where he learned the importance of continuous learning, and how he came into OPEX as a coach, but wanted to tweak out the business side. We also talk about how he educates new OPEX gym owners (over 65 gyms), how to handle gym’s two biggest problems – acquisition and retention, how to get people in the door and keep them there, and more.   Enjoy!   – Ryan and Yaya  

Liz Germain NSCA-CPT, Pn1, is the co-founder of Super Sister Fitness, a master trainer, and a YouTube marketing expert. She teaches entrepreneurs how to use YouTube and video marketing to generate highly targeted, organic leads for their business. Before she started helping other businesses with YouTube marketing, Liz was expertly trained as part of UCLA’s Fitness Leadership Program, and worked for several years as a Physical Therapy Aide in Santa Monica, California. Liz has an extensive background training special populations and elite athletes, and she is a pro at putting together programs for women of all fitness levels. In this episode, we dive into marketing in the fitness industry: Why a lot of great coaches are broke, common mistakes made by coaches trying to make money online, who you should listen to and who to tune out, how to engage with the average person, how to spot snake oil salesmen on the internet, what companies can track on the internet, how to get paid by YouTube, and much more. Enjoy! -Mi

Exclusive interview with Athlete Emily Abbott.  She talks about her recent 4 year ban from Crossfit. 

Zach Even-Esh is a leading figure in the strength & conditioning industry, who has trained over 1,000 athletes ranging from the youth level to the Olympic level. Zach is the founder of The Underground Strength Gym, creator of The Underground Strength Coach Certification, author of The Encyclopedia of Underground Strength and Conditioning, and creator and host of STRONG Life Podcast. Since creating The Underground Strength Gym, Zach has consulted Division 1 athletic teams, Olympic Level athletic clubs, Spartan Race, pro teams, and independent coaches and athletes from around the world. The Underground Strength Gym began at Zach’s parents garage while he was a Health and Physical Education teacher in 2002. What started as a summer experiment training a few athletes grew into a full time obsession, and now Zach and his Underground Strength methods have grown into a world wide movement, inspiring athletes and coaches all around the world in training and life. In this episode, we dive into what it takes to get

Scott Keppel is the owner of Scott’s Training Systems, a world class fitness studio located in Chandler, AZ that offers both in-person and online coaching. He specializes in post breast cancer recovery, pre/post- natal, pageantry training (he’s the official trainer for several states), weight loss and business owners/executives. Scott is also a motivational speaker and nationally certified fitness and nutrition coach. He believes it is important to help clients achieve their optimal levels mentally, physically and emotionally. Scott’s mantra is to lead with “Why?”. When he starts training clients, his mission is to figure out what the significance of experience is supposed to be. He makes it a point to be tactfully honest with his clients, not only keep their expectations realistic, but to ensure that they understand that the victory lies in the process, not the outcome! When he worked predominantly with fitness and figure competitors, coming to grips with the subjectivity of the sport when it came to judging

Tero Isokauppila is a a Finnish nomad turned into a fungi lovin’ foodpreneur. He is the president and founder of Four Sigmatic— A mushroom and superfoods company that creates products to help you live a better and healthier life. Tero’s dream is to bring back the ancient mushroom wisdom to modern lifestyle. In his native Finland, Isokauppila grew up on his family’s centuries-old farm regularly foraging for mushrooms. He holds a degree in both chemistry and plant-based nutrition from Cornell University, and was awarded a Finnish innovation award for discovering that the Japanese matsutake mushroom also grows in Finland. Tero was chosen as one of the world’s Top 50 Food Activists by the Academy of Culinary Nutrition, and has been featured in Vogue, Time, Forbes, Harper’s Bazaar, and more. He’s also the author of Healing Mushrooms: A Practical and Culinary Guide to Using Mushrooms for Whole Body Health. In this episode, we dive into the healing powers of medicinal mushrooms, mushrooms role in nature and human ev

James Fitzgerald is founder and CEO of OPEX Fitness. His 20+ years of experience and service as a strength coach/technician, tireless practice on refining energy system work, nourishment and lifestyle balancing techniques, and training of other coaches, has made OPEX a sought after method of bringing fitness to a Higher Order.   James has found a desire and passion to understanding fitness through assessment, testing, research, programming and more. He has had many years of experience as an athlete from early childhood into adulthood, from playing top-level soccer, to short and long distance running, to CrossFit where he was crowned “The Fittest on Earth,” winner of the 2007 CrossFit Games.   In this episode, James shares how he found himself again after injury as a young athlete, how he always knew he wanted to deliver the gift of fitness to other people, how the current system of fitness is flawed and how to change it, why marketing is stronger than education – why people follow the next best thing every si

Adee Zukier Cazayoux is founder and CEO of Working Against Gravity, who is also known as the “Barbell Gypsy”. You can find Adee weightlifting, bobsledding, powerlifting, or competing in the NPGL or the CrossFit open. In 2016, she took a Bronze Medal at the Canadian National Weightlifting Championships. Adee was recently featured on The Strong Coach — Coaching Culture w/ Adee Cazayoux — 3. Michael Cazayoux, Adee's husband, is co-founder of Brute Strength, and host of Brute Strength Podcast.  At the age of 17, Michael moved from a small town in Louisiana to Utah for drug rehabilitation. It was that experience that led him to fall in love with CrossFit and helping others through coaching and mentoring. Prior to coaching multiple CrossFit Game athletes, Michael competed and became a back-to-back Affiliate World Cup Champion in 2012 and 2013 with his team "Hackspack." In this episode, Adee and Michael Cazayoux open up about their relationship and share their keys to a strong and healthy relationship. We dive into

Ben Pakulski a.k.a. Pak-Man, is an IFBB professional bodybuilder and winner of the 2008 Mr. Canada competition. In the IFBB, he finished 2nd twice in 2008. He also placed 2nd in the 2013 Arnold Classic competition, and 11th in the 2012 Mr. Olympia contest, which was his first-ever. Ben began his interest in nutrition at 12 years old, when he read about vegetarianism and experimented with it for two years. At 15, he started lifting weights in Macks Gym in Toronto. Today, he is an accoladed athlete, competitor, coach, creator of #1 Muscle Building program MI40, and creator and host of the Muscle Expert Podcast. In this episode, we dive into many ideas and philosophies Ben has adopted, avoided, and learned from. They include, punishing oneself through training, escaping pain through exercise, chasing something outside of yourself, placing self worth on the person you become through the process - not the outcome, how to win at life through discipline, the power of “Thank You”, why your program and nutrition isn’t

David brings a unique perspective of old marketing information to the dynamics of multiple business ownership, and modern trends in marketing for small businesses. Having mastered the process of managing multi-businesses and teams with a dynamic customer focused culture which drives sales and profitability. David has three advanced degrees in human development and Educational psychology, which shows in his passion for people and self-development. In this episode, David shares with us the joys he's experienced along his journey, and why his passion has shifted from developing businesses in the fitness and wellness space, to the recovery end of the spectrum. The shift is result of a refined thought process in which David has acknowledged the way of the market from preventing overtraining to preventing under-recovering as a means to create longevity and increased performance. David has had his own epiphanies over the years, but none more profound than the concept which he wraps his message in today: "If you plan

This is a special show of the crew visiting the San Diego Naval base, including Dr. Andy Galpin, Adam Von Rothfelder, Doug, and Anders. The crew talks to the navy about nutrition for tactical athletes, stress management, elimination diets, breath work and down regulation, the Unplugged book, and much more. Enjoy! - Doug and Anders Show notes at: http://www.shruggedcollective.com/bbs_navy ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ► Subscribe to Barbell Shrugged's Channel Here ► Subscribe to Shrugged Collective's Channel Here http://bit.ly/BarbellShruggedSubscribe

Mike Lee (@mikeleeopex) is Director of Coaching at OPEX (@opexfitness). He has worked for 5 years as an engineer and Project Manager for Rudolph and Sletten, Inc, until a few life coaching calls with James Fitzgerald, founder of OPEX, highlighted his true values. Then his vision became clear. It was helping others fulfill their lives through fitness. Mike found his true passion in health and fitness becoming an OPEX certified coach. In 2013, he transitioned from his engineering role and started coaching athletes all over the world with various levels of fitness. Most notably, co-coaching Valerie Voboril who won third place winner at the 2013 CrossFit Games. Growing up a water polo player and swimmer, fitness has always been an enormous part of Mike’s life. With his engineering background, he utilizes a scientific approach to fitness for proven results. He enjoys being a guinea pig, testing performance variables, pushing health to new extremes and coming up with innovative ways to sustain performance, wellness

Leo Urquides a.k.a. Leo “Savage” is the creator of MaceMovement and founder of Steel Mace Flow. Leo is a Steel Mace Flow coach based in Austin, TX that travels across America teaching his Steel Mace Flow system. His unconventional approach to training is based on his belief in function over muscle. This philosophy has lead him to the use of tools such as kettle bells, battle ropes, sandbags, body weight, and his favorite- steel mace. Leo is also a certified trainer through the ONNIT Academy in multiple disciplines: ONNIT Academy Foundations, Durability, Unconventional barbell, Battle ropes ,Kettle Bells, and Steel Mace. In this episode, we dive into the mace - the value of training with a single tool, how a 10 lb. tool can make you stronger, using the mace as a feedback tool, finding creative expression through movement with the mace, and more. We also talk about martial arts and strength & conditioning, self-expression as a practice, psychedelics and cannabis and training, Joovv light training in the dar

Adee Zukier Cazayoux is founder and CEO of Working Against Gravity, who is also known as the "Barbell Gypsy". You can find Adee weightlifting, bobsledding, powerlifting, or competing in the NPGL or the CrossFit open. In 2016, she took a Bronze Medal at the Canadian National Weightlifting Championships. Adee has a BAH Psychology, and Masters in Teaching. She is also a Precision Nutrition Level 1 coach, and is currently completing her Masters in Nutrition and Human Performance. As an athlete Adee has studied/trained under many renowned coaches, most notably Aimee Everett, national champion, Travis Mash, world champion powerlifter, and Steve Sandor, Hungarian national champion. Adee is married to Michael Cazayoux, co-founder of Brute Strength, and host of Brute Strength Podcast. It was at Adee and Michael’s house that I began developing The Strong Coach program. Talking to both her and Michael helped get clarity on what is needed in the industry and how we can best serve that role. There is no one way to be a co

Over the last 7 years Ketan has started, scaled a sold multiple businesses. He has also served as a Special Advisor to the former UK Prime Minster (David Cameron) on Youth & Business Policy; other work includes being part of the European Parliament & Commission working on the 2020 strategy for enterprise and employment.   When we asked Ketan where the momentum to continually pivot, reinvent, and repurpose comes from, his answer was simple, yet profound, "I was just ignorant enough to leap and my curiosity was bigger than my knowledge."   Through his years of consulting on both large and small scales, he has come to find commonality amongst those that fail to launch or plateau in success. Chief among these is the fear of success rather than failure. Ketan has become aware that what terrifies people the idea of actually accomplishing immense achievement.   In this episode, we dive into the three things that everyone must figure out, regardless of their station in life are: Who you are, what you're good

Zach Rocheleau is founder at the Flexible Dieting Lifestyle, and owner and head coach at Genetic Potential Academy. He is a also Precision Nutrition Sports and Exercise Nutrition Certified Coach and a Certified USA Weightlifting Sports Performance Coach. At his gym, Genetic Potential Academy, Zach has helped many people transform their nutrition, which led to hundred of pounds lost, no more medication for diabetes/high blood pressure/cholesterol, and created lifestyles that people have always desired. The great results his clients achieved urged Zach to crate the Flexible Dieting Lifestyle, where he helps and educates people how to create the perfect diet for them. Enjoy! - Doug and Anders Show notes at: http://www.shruggedcollective.com/bbs_rocheleau ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 -

Marcus Filly is owner and head coach at Revival Strength. He started his athletic journey as a child, playing multiple sports including soccer, baseball and golf, which eventually led to a collegiate career in soccer at the University of California, Berkeley. There he earned his degree in Molecular and Cell Biology with an emphasis in Nutrition and Physiology. His interest in both athletics and human health and performance eventually led him to CrossFit in 2007. Marcus has gone on to compete at the CrossFit Games 6 times, three times as an individual (2016 12th fittest) and three times as a team member (2012 6th fittest team). Marcus was also the captain and member of the Phoenix Rise in the NPGL. For two years he has been voted to the all GRID league team, in 2016 earning 1st team honors, and in 2015 earning the award for leadership excellence. Marcus has been a health and fitness coach for 8 years since leaving Medical School in 2009. He was formerly a CrossFit facility owner for 5 years, has completed all

Paul Chek is an internationally-renowned expert in the fields of corrective and high-performance exercise kinesiology. For over 20 years, Chek’s unique, holistic health approach to treatment and education has transformed the lives of countless men and women through programs like the P~P~S Success Mastery Coaching Program. Paul is considered to be the grandfather of the fitness industry, and he is a huge inspiration source to the Shrugged crew’s, as well as one of their favorite people in the world. Earlier this year, in February 2018, Paul was featured on an extensive interview on Barbell Shrugged — Holistic Lifestyle Coaching w/ Legendary Strength Coach Paul Chek  —  301. In this episode, Paul and Mike delve deep into relationships. Paul explains many concepts, including how a good partner allows you to be more and strengthens who you are, cultural programing vs. biological needs, the definition of real happiness, why people cheat, relationship as codependency, honoring your relationship, what is love, how a