The Barbell Spin: Recent Episodes
The Barbell Spin
On tonight’s Spin Rundown, John, Tyler & Spin discuss the Roman vs. Adler battle, Rogue Invitational updates, Madrid Championship preview, teens graduating to the elite division, Ellie & Medeiros’ new puppy & more! Presented by VNDK8: Head over to https://www.vndk8.com/ for top apparel. Use code ‘SPIN’ to save 15% on your next order.
Did Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr get Bethany Flores’ invite? We discuss that and much more about the Rogue Invitational, Dubai Fitness Championship and whether the amount of requirements for an online competition has gotten out of hand.
The workouts for the 2023 Rogue Invitational Online Qualifier have been released and John, Tyler and Spin take a look at them and share who we think will do well this weekend.
This episode was a wild one covering so many topics. We started out looking at some stats from the 2023 CrossFit Games that Tyler was able to collect from Heat 1. Then we shifted to the Top 25 Media & Fan Polls from this month as it was the first poll of the 2024 CrossFit […]
Tyler, John and Spin are back after a whirlwind time covering the 2023 CrossFit Games. After several days to reflect back on the week that was, the guys share some takeaways from this year’s Games. Which training camps walk away from the CrossFit Games happy and which ones do not? Did the Rookie of the […]
We are just six days away from the start of the 2023 CrossFit Games and we walk through what we know, what we don’t know so far.
John, Tyler and Spin are back this week to talk about Heat 1, the new premier Fantasy Gaming App for the CrossFit Games. Then while live on air, we break the news about the Cross-Country 5K event at the Games and that Ant Haynes will be backfilling the invite for Morteza Sedaghat. Morteza, from Iran, […]
Yesterday we shared the news that TYR Wodapalooza is adding a second competition in 2024. In addition to TYR Wodapalooza Miami in January, next year will also feature TYR WZA SoCal in September. Located in Huntington Beach, California, TYR WZA SoCal will have similar vibes and 1,000 athletes throwing down on the Pacific Coast.Dylan Malitsky, […]
In this episode we cover everything from #GripGate, to the CrossFit Retroactive Documentary, our thoughts on the best athletes to have never qualified for the Games and what events we would like to see programmed at the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games Dallin Pepper joins the show to share his journey of how he got into […]
This week CrossFit Games veteran Arielle Loewen joins the podcast. Arielle shares how she programs for herself, recaps a little bit from Semifinals and what Games training will look like for the next five weeks. Then, we reveal the Top 25 Fan Poll where our Patreon subscribers submitted their ballot on who they think will […]
Jake Douglas qualified for his first CrossFit Games after finishing 3rd at Torian Pro, host of the Oceania Semifinal. At Semifinals, Douglas snatched 310 pounds during Event 4, the most of any athlete who qualified for the Games this year. [note: Tudor Magda hit 325 pounds at the North America West Semifinal, but failed to […]
Ben Bergeron & Cole Sager join the show to chat about the changes at CompTrain. Ben Bergeron is stepping down from his coaching role to focus his time and effort on the launch of the new CompTrain 3.0 app. Stepping into his shoes is Cole Sager. Cole will take over as the Elite Athlete Head […]
In this week’s show, Christine Kolenbrander joins the show to recap Semifinals, give an update on her recent back procedure and shares what training will look like leading up to the CrossFit Games. Then John Young, Tyler Watkins and Brian Spin dig into the updated Worldwide Rankings, what makes a training camp “successful” and what […]
The Semifinals are over and 40 men and 40 women have qualified for the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games. John Young, Tyler Watkins and Brian Spin recap our picks from the European and Asian Semifinals. And then, we share our WAY TOO EARLY predictions for the CrossFit Games. Who do we have on the podium? Tune […]
If you watched the Sevan Podcast’s Europe Semifinal recap show on Sunday (I was on it), Mike Halpin mentioned that he did some work for John Singleton on Saturday night to see if one of the Assault AirRunner’s was slower than the others. What that analysis showed was that the average heat finish for the […]
John Young, Mike Halpin and Peter from Coffee Pods & Wods join to recap Saturday’s action. Then, Justin Cotler joined from Berlin. Cotler, owner of Underdogs Athletics, broke the news that he has been coaching Sara Sigmundsdottir for the past two months. He is also there for Bronislaw Olenkowicz, another athlete who joined Cotler earlier this year.
Bethany Shadburne, technically Bethany Flores now, joins the podcast to share her weekend at the North America West Semifinal where she finished 5th and will be heading back to the CrossFit Games this year.
Then, John Young and Brian Spin give their predictions of who will be qualifying for the Games (Tyler Watkins sat this one out as he felt like the north side of a southbound pig). Who will the guys pick at the top of the men’s and women’s podium? Will it be Lazar Djukic or Bjorgvin Karl Gudmundsson on the men’s side? On the women’s side, can anyone beat Laura Horvath?
And who do we think will fall short this weekend? Both the men’s and women’s field are stacked and it is guaranteed that some Games veterans will not be returning to Madison. But who?
Make sure to subscribe to our channel so you don’t miss any future episodes!
Brute Strength’s Matt Torres joins to discuss his athletes’ success this past weekend at the CrossFit North America East Semifinal. Torres is coach to Emma Cary, Danielle Brandon, Fee Saghafi, Dallin Pepper and James Sprague…all of which qualified for the CrossFit Games.
Then Tyler Watkins, John Young and Brian Spin look back at their picks from Week 1 to see who did the best followed by their picks for Week 2.
There are definitely some shock picks this week. If you’re a fan of Colten Mertens, Brent Fikowski or Justin Rhodes, you’re going to want to watch on YouTube or listen to this podcast.
With Week 1 of the 2023 CrossFit Semifinals quickly approaching, John Young and Tyler Watkins join the show to discuss the workouts and give their predictions of who will advance to the CrossFit Games out of the North America East and Africa regions.
In this episode of The Barbell Spin’s Week in Review, Tyler Watkins, John Young and Brian Spin discuss the recent Age Group Semifinals, Zack George leaving his team to be on the UK-based show Gladiators, whether or not online programming by training camps and others are hurting the in-person CrossFit affiliate model and if the Teenage divisions in CrossFit are good for the sport.
We go live on YouTube every Wednesday night at 7:30 pm Eastern Time.
Earlier this week I shared that the REBEL Renegade Games, or the African Semifinal, was charging athletes to enter the spectator area. While the tickets were discounted and only about $25 for the weekend, it is the only Semifinal that is doing this to my knowledge.
Following this, the organizers of the REBEL Renegade Games reached out and shared why they were doing so and their reasoning was crazy to me.
Did you know that the $300 athlete registration fee ($600 for teams) goes directly to CrossFit, Inc. and the Semifinals run independently (Africa, Asia, Latin America & Oceania) see none of that money? I didn’t.
So I reached out to a couple people who ran Semifinals the past couple years to get a better sense of how these Semifinals can make money. What I found out is crazy…
It’s time for another Week in Review episode with Tyler Watkins and John Young. This week the crew goes in-depth on the recent Crash Crescendo competition at CrossFit Crash, whether Joe Scali should have been penalized, the PFAA and Brent Fikowski‘s focus for the association and the upcoming Age Group Semifinals.
Watch on YouTube or where you listen to your podcasts.
It’s been an interesting week in the world of CrossFit. From Ricky Garard’s shoulder injury to the NOPEN, there’s been quite a bit to talk about.
Tyler Watkins and John Young join the podcast to give their take on the team competition, video review penalties, the NOPEN, Ricky Garard’s injury and whether or not CrossFit has an identity crisis.
Watch on YouTube or listen on iTunes or Spotify.
Tyler Watkins and John Young join the podcast to look back at the 2023 CrossFit Open. From standout performances to the overall programming, Tyler, John and Brian share their opinions on this year’s Open.
Dave Eubanks is the Sr. Manager of Competition for CrossFit. You might not have heard of Dave until recently as he has led the communication, along with Adrian Bozman, of the CrossFit Games’ new worldwide rankings, strength of field calculation and competition region exemption process.
Dave joined the podcast to share more insights into how the system was created, what went into creating a new system and why the current format was decided upon.
Tia-Clair Toomey, the six-time CrossFit Games champion, and her husband, Shane Orr, join the podcast to discuss Tia’s pregnancy, PRVN’s growth throughout the years and how the PRVN team and athletes are looking ahead to the 2023 CrossFit Games season.
If you don’t already, make sure you subscribe to our YouTube Channel.
Tonya has been doing CrossFit via Street Parking for years and has earned the 1,000 workout banner. Last year her mother, Sassy, joined Tonya for a workout and now the mother/daughter duo have been doing Street Parking workouts ever since.
Tonya and Sassy join the podcast to discuss their fitness journey, why they started doing CrossFit via Street Parking and the ‘why’ behind doing CrossFit in your 70s.
The CrossFit Oslo Navy Blue team might be the least recognized or talked about team that has finished on the CrossFit Games podium two consecutive years. Only finishing behind CrossFit Mayhem Freedom, CrossFit Oslo Navy Blue has taken 2nd place at the 2021 and 2022 CrossFit Games, yet they seem to be overlooked when looking towards the 2023 CrossFit Games.
Team members Ingrid Hodnemyr and Eivind Dahl Ringard join the podcast to discuss the past two years, how they have gotten to where they are and why they think they have what it takes to stand atop the podium this year in Madison.
When you think of HWPO Training, you think of Mat Fraser and CrossFit. But with the launch of HWPO Golf, that will change a little. While the foundation of CrossFit-based movements are still there, HWPO Golf is intended to help improve the performance of golfers around the world through fitness.
HWPO Training CEO, Matt O’Keefe, joins the podcast to share his vision for the program, how it came about, and why PGA Tour pro Scott Stallings has joined the team.
Jim Ski, or you might know him as @jimbobroksi on Instagram, is currently a little more than halfway on his goal of doing 365 consecutive days of Hero WODs. This is after he did 366 straight days of Murph.
Jim joined the podcast to talk about his journey and what it’s been like to push himself day in and day out.
With FitWars 1 just two days away, CrossFit analysts Mike Halpin and Tyler Watkins join the podcast to discuss the match-up between Colten Mertens and Scott Tetlow.
Find out what Mike and Tyler think the workout will be, who they are picking to win on Sunday and much more about the FitWars concept.
Yesterday, we shared the video of James Sprague finishing a 2,000-meter row in 6:06! Today, we caught up with James on Instagram Live to discuss why he did a 2k time trial, his background in rowing and his strategy for trying to break the 6:00 mark.
Check out our interview…
Troy Alston is the ranked 10th in the world by the TowerRunning World Association. We chatted with him to get his insight into what the athletes might face when they climb the 160-story Burj Khalifa at the 2022 Dubai Fitness Championship.
Event 1 of the 2022 Dubai Fitness Championship was the Burj Khalifa Challenge. Athletes trekked up 160 flights of stairs to the top of the tallest manmade building the world. It was also the first time an official stair climbing race has taken place at the Burj Khalifa!
We caught up with Emily Rolfe after her 3rd place finish in the event.
There’s been a lot of talk about changes to the 2023 CrossFit Games rulebook. One of those rules people are talking about is the “Anikha Greer” rule. But is that rule fact or fiction?
We take a look at the 2023 rulebook and compare it to last year’s rulebook…take a watch!
Jared Graybeal is the founder of the Zelos Games. In its second year, Jared added a live showcase event in addition to the online competition format. The live showcase featured 12 men and 12 women who did all four workouts over two days at Camp Rhino CrossFit.
In this podcast, Jared talks about what went into creating a live event that was livestreamed this past weekend and gives a glimpse behind the curtain on how he and his team pulled off such a feat.
But while the live showcase event is over, the online competition is still running. Check out the live leaderboard on Competition Corner.
Danielle Brandon and her coach, Matt Torres, join The Barbell Spin podcast to discuss their goals for and the takeaways from the Rogue Invitational, how they are going to prepare for the 2023 CrossFit Games season and they give a glimpse of what it is to train with the rest of their camp.
Watch the interview on YouTube or listen on iTunes or Spotify.
In case you missed it, CrossFit has announced the minimum number of qualifying spots for each Semifinal in 2023. In this episode, Tyler Watkins of Lawn Chair Leaderboarding, and I share our initial reactions to the announcement. Needless to say…we’re a bit skeptical.
HWPO LIFT is officially here. Day 1 of the newest HWPO program began today so we asked Aimee Anaya Everett to join the podcast and share some details around why someone should consider joining the Olympic Weightlifting-based program and what to expect if you do.
Watch the interview on YouTube or listen on iTunes or Spotify.
Craig Howard opened Diablo CrossFit in 2005. Since then he has built something special over the years. One of those things is the Unofficial GORUCK Turkey Trot. After years of doing at his gym, he is working to get other CrossFit Affiliate owners to do the same.
To help, GORUCK has created 2022 Turkey Ruck patches that can be purchased and given to gym members who participate in a Turkey Ruck this year. Craig shares how this evergreen event at his gym has grown over the years and created a culture that values fitness and friendship.
Christian Lucero is back in the mix. After suffering an injury at the 2017 California Regional, Lucero has made a comeback entering the 2020 CrossFit Games season. Lucero competed at the 2016 CrossFit Games where he finished 18th overall. He came into the 2017 California as the favorite, but he injured his pec muscle on […]
ROMWOD MeatSquad won the CrossFit Filthy 150, the first Sanctional of the 2020 CrossFit Games season. ROMWOD MeatSquad held off some really strong teams to take the Sanctional victory and earn an invite to compete at the 2020 CrossFit Games. The team’s roster consists of Dex Hopkins, Christian Harris, Brooke Haas and Kelly Baker. We […]
We caught up with Will Moorad recently to discuss the 2019 CrossFit Games where he finished 10th overall, but was limited by a hamstring injury. We also look forward to the 2020 CrossFit Games season with his plans for the Open and competing in Sanctionals. Watch the video below or listen on iTunes. While you […]
We caught up with Will Moorad recently to discuss the 2019 CrossFit Games where he finished 10th overall, but was limited by a hamstring injury. We also look forward to the 2020 CrossFit Games season with his plans for the Open and competing in Sanctionals. Watch the video below or listen on iTunes. While you […]
CrossFit released four events for the Teens and Masters competition for the 2019 CrossFit Games. We discuss the events with two-time CrossFit Games Teen veteran, Cole Martinez (IG: @chainsaw85kg). Make sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube as we cover the 2019 CrossFit Games live from Madison!
The Fittest on Earth will be crowned in less than three weeks. Augie Christian and I sat down this weekend to give our predictions for the 2019 CrossFit Games. Similar to the Reebok Pick ‘Em Challenge last year, we each list out our top 3 teams and top 10 men and women in order. It’s too bad […]
Michaela North was a member of the CrossFit Wasatch team that won the 2017 CrossFit Games Affiliate Cup. While competing at the Games, North was actually five weeks pregnant! In this episode, we talk about competing while pregnant (and this is actually not her first time doing so), winning the CrossFit Games and becoming the […]
Jason Carroll qualified for this first CrossFit Games appearance in 2017. Carroll finished 29th overall, but more importantly walked away engaged. Yep, if you missed it, Carroll proposed to his girlfriend on the floor of the Coliseum. In this episode, we get the details behind the proposal (he was actually planning to do it at […]
Team Cellucor Athlete Brooke Wells is a 3-time CrossFit Games veteran and just finished 14th at the 2017 CrossFit Games in Madison, Wisconsin. In our interview, Wells talks about working with Ben Bergeron, her Central Regional comeback, training and competing at the Games, her offseason plans and how she balances school with CrossFit. Follow Brooke […]
Tennil (Reed) Beuerlein is a two-time CrossFit Games athlete. She was the top-ranked American female at this year’s Games where she finished 6th. Beuerlein discusses her training leading up to the Games, what she thought about competing this year and what her plans are for this offseason.