The Crackin' Backs Podcast

What if one of the biggest beliefs in fitness is completely wrong? For decades, athletes, coaches, and gym-goers have been told that building serious muscle requires meat, animal protein, and mountains of chicken breasts. But today's guest has spent nearly 30 years challenging that belief—and backing it up with results. In this episode of Crackin' Backs, we sit down with IFBB Pro Bodybuilder, fitness coach, and lifelong vegan Torre Washington for a conversation that goes far beyond nutrition....

Today’s episode may completely change the way you look at one of the most misunderstood foods on the planet… sardines. Joining us is Dr. Andria Klioze, a physician who spent decades inside the VA healthcare system treating some of the sickest chronic disease patients in America before stepping away from the traditional “pill-for-every-problem” model to build a more root-cause driven approach to health through Shield of Life. Her work focuses on disease prevention, metabolic health, inflammati...

Tapping your face to reduce anxiety? It sounds strange… until you understand what’s actually happening in the body. In this episode of the Crackin’ Backs Podcast, we sit down with Gwenn Bonnell, an expert in EFT tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique) and energy medicine, to explore one of the most talked-about—and debated—tools for stress relief, anxiety, trauma, chronic pain, and nervous system regulation. This is not about blind belief. It’s about asking a better question: What if your...

Most people say they want change. But very few are willing to do what change actually requires. In this episode of the Crackin’ Backs Podcast, we sit down with Terrance Ogden, founder of Project G.R.I.T., whose life is a real-world example of what it means to go from rock bottom to purpose-driven living. This isn’t just another comeback story. Terrance went from homelessness, drug addiction, and jail… to completing 1,000+ mile rucks across Texas—and now leads others through physically and men...

Most people think healing gives you your life back. But what if it costs you the life you knew? In this episode of the Crackin’ Backs Podcast, we sit down with Scott Roessler, an 11-tour Special Operations veteran who stepped into one of the most controversial and rapidly emerging treatments in mental health—ibogaine therapy. After years of invisible battles with PTSD, trauma, and nervous system overload, Scott became part of a Stanford-led ibogaine study exploring whether this powerful psych...

Why are so many high performers quietly falling apart? They’re disciplined. They’re successful. They’re doing everything “right.” And yet… anxiety, burnout, and emotional instability are rising—especially among high-achieving professionals. In this episode of the Crackin’ Backs Podcast, we sit down with Ashley Alderette, PsyD, to explore a powerful shift in how we understand mental health: It’s not a mindset problem. It’s a nervous system regulation problem. This conversation dives deep into ...

If you’ve ever felt confused by nutrition… you’re not alone. Calories matter. Calories don’t matter. Carbs are the problem. Carbs are essential. In today’s world, nutrition advice is louder than ever—but rarely grounded in real science. In this episode of the Crackin’ Backs Podcast, we sit down with Douglas Kalman PhD to break down what decades of research actually say about calories, metabolism, diet trends, and supplements. This is not another diet conversation. This...

Your brain doesn’t just run on chemistry. It runs on time. Every day your body broadcasts signals through sleep timing, light exposure, body temperature, hormones, and circadian rhythms—yet most people ignore these patterns while chasing pills, supplements, and productivity hacks. In this episode of the Crackin’ Backs Podcast, we sit down with Benjamin Smarr to explore a new frontier of human biology: how time-series biology and wearable data may unlock powerful, non-drug ways to improv...

What if chronic pain isn’t a tissue problem—but a brain map problem? If you’ve ever thought, “My pain must be structural,” today’s episode flips that script. On the Crackin’ Backs Podcast we dive into why pain persists, how the nervous system and brain maps shape sensation, and how skilled manual therapy can update the body’s map instead of masking symptoms. We’re joined by Dr. Steven Capobianco, co-founder of RockTape and one of the sharpest minds redefining pain, movement, and human perform...

What if spine surgery isn’t the breakthrough—it's the backup plan? In a world where millions are told “scalpel first” for back pain, joint degeneration, and nerve issues, a quiet revolution is happening in regenerative medicine, non-surgical spine care, stem cells, exosomes, and peptides. On this episode of the Crackin’ Backs Podcast, we sit down with one of the true pioneers in the field—Dr. Jeff Gross, a spine-fellowship trained, board-certified neurosurgeon who’s pushing healing beyond the...

In a world where women follow the same training, nutrition, and recovery advice as men—and still feel off, overtrained, or under-recovered—this episode changes everything you thought you knew. Today we’re joined by Dr. Stacy T. Sims, PhD, a world-renowned exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist who has spent over two decades challenging the idea that “women are small men.” Instead, she’s helped pioneer a female-focused science of performance, health, longevity, and hormones. In this con...

Your feet hit the ground thousands of times a day—yet most people treat them like fashion accessories instead of foundations. Toe spacers. Barefoot shoes. Miracle insoles. Bunion fixes. Social media has turned foot health into a trend—but pain, plantar fasciitis, bunions, and heel issues keep rising. In this episode, we cut through the noise with Dr. Courtney Conley, one of the most trusted voices in foot health and human movement. We break down what’s actually supported by biomechanics and e...

She Survived a 113-MPH Crash — Kali Parkinson’s Story of Trauma, Healing, and Becoming Someone New | Crackin’ Backs Podcast One moment, you’re a college student planning your future. The next, you’re in a car going 113 miles per hour, rolling 15 times down a 300-foot canyon in rural Utah. On this powerful episode of the Crackin’ Backs Podcast, we sit down with Kali Parkinson, a college student whose life changed in a single, violent moment—and whose story of survival, recovery, and identity w...