Barbell Shrugged

Living Alcohol Free w/ James Swanwick, Anders Varner, Doug Larson, and Travis Mash #794 Apr 16, 2025

Show notes

Swanwick has worked as a print, TV and radio journalist. He began his career in 1993 as a reporter at The Courier-Mail in Brisbane, Australia. In 1996, Swanwick won the Queensland Media Award for his interview and exposé on Pauline Hanson, one of Australia's most publicized and controversial political figures. Swanwick moved to London in 1999 where he reported for Sky Sports.

In 2003, he moved to Los Angeles where he became a Hollywood entertainment correspondent, writing for newspapers and magazines throughout Australia and Britain. In 2010, he began working as a host for ESPN SportsCenter.

Swanwick hosts podcast Alcohol Free Lifestyle, focused on "health, wealth, love and happiness."

He co-founded international media agency, Sports Entertainment Network, which he started with Craig Hutchison in Melbourne, Australia.

In 2015, Swanwick co-founded Swanwick Sleep, with brother Tristan, and founded the Alcohol Freedom Formula, which produces programs including 30 Day No Alcohol Challenge and Project 90 to help people reduce or quit drinking.

Also in 2015, Forbes listed Swanwick as one of 25 Professional Networking Experts to Watch.

Swanwick has been interviewed on podcasts Bulletproof Radio and Ben Greenfield Fitness, been featured in Psychology Today and Yahoo Health.[4] and spoken at health conferences including Paleo f(x).

Join 90 Day Alcohol Free Lifestyle

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James Swanwick on X

Physiology Friday: [Cholesterol] How to Read Bloodwork for Lipids, Triglycerides, and Fatty Acids w/ Anders Varner, Doug Larson, and Dan Garner Barbell Shrugged Apr 11, 2025

Show notes

In today's episode of Barbell Shrugged you will learn:

What are lipids
What is cholesterol
The difference between HDL and LDL cholesterol
Why there is no such thing as "good" or "bad" cholesterol
What are the bloodwork numbers for optimal cholesterol
What is the perfect ratio of HDL and LDL
Ratios for Triglycerides to HDL for optimal health
Mechanisms for regulating cholesterol in the liver
Why saturated fats are not bad and how your body uses them
Cholesterols role in testosterone production

To learn more, please go to https://rapidhealthoptimization.com

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Building the Endurance Athlete w/ Javier Pineda, Anders Varner, Doug Larson, and Travis Mash #793 Apr 09, 2025

Show notes

Javier Pineda, endurance coach at RAPID Health Optimization and founder of Endurance Cartel, empowers athletes and professionals to master strength and stamina. With ten Ironman triathlons and two Ironman 70.3 races under his belt, he's a CHEK Practitioner with top-tier certifications and insights from various mentors across his career. At DBC Fitness in Miami, he's trained pros, executives, and competitors to hit peak performance. His focused coaching targets endurance-strength integration, precision movement, optimization, recovery, and custom training—driving sustainable, high-impact results.

Javier Pineda on Instagram

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Work with RAPID Health Optimization

Physiology Friday: Managing Stress and Performance for Tactical Populations w/ Dr. Mike Lane, Anders Varner, Doug Larson, and Travis Mash Apr 04, 2025

Show notes

Mike Lane is a professor at eastern Kentucky university teaching in the parks, recreation, exercise, and sports science on the graduate and undergraduate level. His phd is in exercise physiology with an emphasis in muscle physiology. Currently he works with a variety of sports and tactical athletes and performs research tracking those athletes and their performance over time.

Links:

Dr. Mike Lane on LinkedIn

Heart Attack Awareness for Fit People w/ Joel Jamieson, Anders Varner, Doug Larson, and Travis Mash #792 Apr 02, 2025

Show notes

Joel Jamieson is widely considered one of the world's foremost authorities on strength and conditioning for combat sports, having trained many of the sports best athletes since 2004. He is the author of the bestselling book Ultimate MMA Conditioning and is a contributing writer to several top magazines and a frequent guest speaker at conferences and seminars all over the world.

Joel has worked with and consulted extensively for teams and organizations ranging from Navy SEALS to Life Time Fitness and his BioForce HRV system is used by teams in the NFL, NBA, MLS, NCAA, and more. He is best known for an individualized approach that is both based on solid science and yet practical to apply.

Joel created 8WeeksOut in 2009 to help clear up the misinformation and confusion surrounding energy systems. Since then, the site has become one of the authorities on strength, conditioning, and performance.

Joel Jamieson - 8weeksout.com

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Physiology Friday: [Recovery] How to Build a Resilient Physiology w/ Anders Varner Doug Larson, and Dan Garner Barbell Shrugged Mar 28, 2025

Show notes

In today's episode of Barbell Shrugged you will learn:

How to define resilience
Understanding psychology vs physiological resilience
What are the biomarkers of resilience
Cortisol wakening response and how it relates to stress response
Is balance possible between stress and recovery
How much stress can you body handle before physiology begins to break down
How resilience builds confidence in getting through hard times
How purpose can be the driver of resilience
Where resilience will show up in your labs
How to differentiate between recovery and resilience

To learn more, please go to https://rapidhealthperformance.com

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Rowing for Fitness, Strength, and Sport w/ Shane Farmer, Anders Varner, Doug Larson, and Travis Mash #791 Mar 26, 2025

Show notes

Shane Farmer is the founder of Dark Horse Rowing. He's a rower, a 4X CrossFit Games athlete, former gym owner, Concept2 Master Instructor and has made his career de-mystifying rowing for non-rowers. He's married with two kids and has 13 chickens and an orchard. He loves soil regeneration, permaculture, and testing himself regularly at new and interesting forms of fitness.

Links:

Dark Horse Rowing

Shane Farmer on Youtube

Physiology Friday: [Body Transformation] Simple Strategies to Getting Shredded w/ Anders Varner, Doug Larson, and Dan Garner Mar 21, 2025

Show notes

In today's episode of Barbell Shrugged you will learn:

Setting goals for physique transformation
How long should you plan for a bulk and cut
Strategies for building muscle on a bulk
How to handle lagging body parts
Time frame for cutting weight and getting shredded
Being realistic on the amount of fat you truly need to lose
Prep cycles for peak week
How to maintain muscle mass when depleted

To learn more, please go to https://rapidhealthoptimization.com

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Pain Free Performance at All Ages w/ Dr. Melissa Capurro, Anders Varner, Doug Larson, and Travis Mash #790 Mar 19, 2025

Show notes

Melissa is a performance physical therapist and is heavily involved in the CrossFit space as a healthcare provider, as well as an athlete. Melissa grew up in the Metropolitan New York area, but now resides in the Tampa Bay area.

Upon graduating from PT school, Melissa started working in an outpatient orthopedic physical therapy practice, but was unsatisfied with what she was able to achieve there and the level of care provided for patients.

At the time, she was coaching remotely and decided to break away form the clinic altogether, and opened up her own practice. Melissa is now a remote rehab and performance coach, as well as a physical therapist with her clinic out of her affiliate, CrossFit Westchase in Largo, FL.

In addition, she is a proud member of the Rapid Health Optimization team as a movement specialist. When she's not working or training, she enjoys getting outdoors in the beautiful Florida weather with her boyfriend, Darren

Dr. Melissa Capurro on Instagram

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