Iron Culture
305 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 days ago - ★★★★★ - 666 ratingsIron Culture was started by Eric Helms and Omar Isuf as a means of exploring the world of physical culture and attempting to distill a unified philosophy of lifting and to help listeners find greater meaning from the iron. The lifting community has become fractured over the last ~70 years and this Podcast will attempt to explore the fundamental threads that unite these different tribes. The Podcast focuses on dispensing practical, useful information to the listener, bouncing from history, to philosophy, to contemporary lifting culture issues, to science. This can range from teaching the audience about lifting, programming, nutrition, supplements/PEDs and the history of lifting culture. The format includes casual conversations between the two hosts on a variety of topics, discussions with a panel of experts and interviews with authoritative figures in the lifting community.
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Episodes
Ep. 177 - Jessica Buettner: 2x IPF World Champion Powerlifter
June 27, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 181 MBWe are joined by the reigning 76kg world champion and now the strongest deadlifter on the women's side of the IPF, fresh after returning from the 2022 IPF worlds in South Africa. Jessica came away with a squat and deadlift world record, the latter of which she had to pull in order to win, tying the equipped IPF champion Agata Sitko, beating her on bodyweight, who had thrown her hat into the ring at classic worlds. What did Jess’s build-up look like? How was the cut? How did nearly two days o...
Ep. 176 - Turkesterone Controversy, Powerlifting World Records & The Ivory Tower
June 20, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 151 MBSometimes you just gotta shoot the s**t and talk some s**t. In this episode of Iron Culture, we discuss some of the recent insane competitions in the world of powerlifting. If you live under a bridge, you might not be aware that a ton of ridiculous numbers were put up across almost every weight class at IPF classic worlds as well as USAPL mega nationals. In addition to this, we both had some things to get off our chests. Omar shares that some of the snake oil, aka turkesterone, being sold on...
Ep. 175 - Training Burnout & Rekindling Motivation
June 13, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 166 MBMotivation is for the weak, commitment is for the REAL lifers! Right! Right? Well maybe not so much. Join us on an existential journey into what motivation really means. What are our motives to train, how does this relate to our identity, and self determination? In this episode we comment on our observations of long-time lifters’ motivation to train in the public eye, and how that intersects with the research on motivation, identity and meaning. You might just come away with a better underst...
Ep. 174 - Periodization for Hypertrophy: An Overview
June 06, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 152 MBIn this Q&A episode, we address a few great questions, the first of which, on how does periodization for hypertrophy works, resulted in a deep dive by Mr. Dr. Eric Helms on the topic. You’ll learn about the definition of periodization, how it applies to hypertrophy goals, the rationale for periodizing specific variables, and what gaps we have on this topic. Finally, we discuss what we do know, and logically what’s reasonable to periodize and how. To wrap up, we answered questions on what gym...
Ep. 173 - What Is The Best Training Environment?
May 30, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 158 MBYour training environment, it’s a variable we all acknowledge as being relevant and important, but it’s rarely discussed in depth. In this episode, we give this topic the attention it deserves. What are the pros and cons of commercial gyms of various types? What are the pros and cons of home gyms? Collectively, we’ve both been personal trainers in multiple gym and studio environments, and personally, we ourselves have trained in a wide array of commercial, boutique, hardcore, specialty, mili...
Ep. 172 - All About Saturated Fat & Cholesterol
May 23, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 141 MBSaturated fat, it gets a lot of attention, but there’s not much consensus in this attention…at least in influencer conversations. However, the research on the health impacts of saturated fat are reasonably consistent in terms of scientific consensus. Beyond the impact of saturated fat on health, often in bodybuilding circles discussions on the effects of saturated fat focus on testosterone. However, does saturated fat have a meaningful effect on testosterone? In this episode we’re joined by ...
Ep. 171 - Jesus Olivares: a New Era in Powerlifting
May 16, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 177 MBThis week we are joined by new IPF super heavyweight 2021 world champion and 2x US national champion Jesus Olivares. We’re all familiar with Ray Williams, one of the most impressive lifters of all time, who holds the highest IPF total currently at 1112.5kg, which he put up in 2019 at the age of 32. Amazingly, Jesus put up an 1110kg total just recently at Powerlifting America nationals at the tender age of 23. He’s only a few weeks out from Worlds and we were fortunate enough to sit down and l...
Ep. 170 - Training Twice A Day
May 09, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 144 MBTraining, it’s the most fun thing we all do in our mundane lives, and we’re ok with that! But unfortunately, it’s only about 4-8 hours of the week and typically not every day. So, what’s an easy way to improve our quality of life? Train twice a day! In this episode, we actually discuss the intriguing research on two a day training for lifting. While it’s not something that makes sense in most cases, that isn’t to say it’s a universally bad idea, depending on your goal and your situation. In ...
Ep. 169 - Lagging Body Parts, Body Recomp & Minimalist Training (Q&A)
May 02, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 148 MBWe’re back with another Q&A episode, with just one trendy commercial break. That’s right, we had to shill the 5-year MASS anniversary sale going on until May 3rd because let’s face it, no corporation except one we’re a partial owner of would sponsor us. But we do cover a range of questions in this episode, the first being how to address lagging body parts and setup muscle group specialization cycles…oh and 3DMJ has a new course for this…OK, so just one commercial break AND one integrated ad,...
Ep. 168 - Movement Screens & Modalities Roundtable (feat Nick Licameli, Jared Maynard & John Flagg)
April 25, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 188 MBThe world of rehab is full of assessments and treatments. Some are legitimate, others less so, but the confusing part is that some of these assessments have a logical basis, connecting movement to function, can be improved with an treatment, and this coincides with the natural time course of healing. But was the assessment actually measuring the dysfunction or injury in some way, and did the treatment actually positively impact recovery beyond the placebo effect? To answer these hard questio...
Ep. 167 - The Resurrection of A Powerlifter (ft. Mike Tuchscherer)
April 18, 2022 16:05 - 1 hour - 169 MBMike Tuchscherer has been on Iron Culture multiple times to speak as a thinker and coach, but this time we brought him on as an athlete. For those who don’t know, Mike has been competing since 2003 and has competed at the highest level. He is a two-time single-ply junior national champion, a single-ply collegiate national champion, a two-time single-ply open national champion, a four-time open raw national champion, a single-ply junior world champion, and to top it off, he’s a world games go...
Ep. 166 - The Death of Powerlifting
April 11, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 162 MBPowerlifting has exploded in popularity over the last decade within the lifting community. From deadlifts being frowned upon at commercial gyms to your favourite fitness influencer now entering a local powerlifting meet for clout, the rise of powerlifting has been well documented. However, beneath this meteoric rise has been some signs that this rapid expansion within the community might be coming to a halt. Why did powerlifting become popular in the first place? If powerlifting IS regress...
Ep. 165 - Volume While Cutting: Why the Confusion
April 04, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 146 MBCombine enough truisms that lack precision and nuance and people get confused. This is exactly what happens in typical discussions of hypertrophy training while dieting. When a deficit is framed as a “state” rather than the cumulative effects of long term (body comp) and short term (acute energy balance) energy availability, and tropes like “volume is the primary driver of hypertrophy”, “intensity is more important than volume” and “dieting is catabolic” are stated without nuance, logic disc...
Ep. 164 - A Scientific Examination of the Carnivore Diet
April 01, 2022 10:00 - 2 hours - 237 MBThe Carnivore Diet has exploded in popularity over the last several years thanks in large part to some very bold claims made by leading advocates. From the harmfulness of plants to the uselessness of fiber, these assertions are certainly bold. In this sizzling episode, Iron Culture hosts Omar Isuf and Eric Trexler investigate the validity of these claims, thoroughly examining and dispelling many incorrect beliefs commonly parroted by some aspects of the community. Surely this will be the lea...
Ep. 163 - All About EMG and Hypertrophy (feat Andrew Vigotsky)
March 21, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 157 MBEMG studies, they’re the classic “evidence-based” tool to “Um actually” all the bros about what the perfect exercises they should have chosen for every muscle group. Or are they? Today we’re joined by returning guest, Ph.D. candidate Andrew Vigotsky, who’s published some of the most influential papers on the limitations and the best practice guidance for EMG research. In this episode, we learn what EMG data can and can’t tell us, what types of evidence we should rely on to inform exercise sel...
Ep. 162 - Training To Failure, Advanced Lifters and Breaking Through Plateaus
March 14, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 213 MBAs you all know, we at Iron Culture have succeeded in becoming lifting cult leaders, which basically means we’ve failed at our previous attempts at having respectable jobs (sorry mom). However, the good news is that we are experts on failure because of this. In this episode we do a deep dive on failure in resistance training, building on prior episodes to help you understand why this seemingly straightforward concept is so murky, and why there is so much disagreement in the literature on pro...
Ep. 161- Are Evidence Based Influencers Selling Out? (Q&A)
March 07, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 173 MBWe’re back with another completely legit Q&A episode from 100% real listeners. Once again, thank you, Tommy, Tanya, and Tyrone. Omar was the highlight of this one, as the second question was specifically about using “questionable” marketing tactics, but in the name of good, to distribute evidence-based information, and whether doing so was ultimately helping people, or discouraging critical thinking. Sandwiching Omar’s fantastic answer, Eric addressed two science-based questions in this epis...
Ep. 160 - Autoregulation & Individualization: Everything You Wanted To Know
February 28, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 169 MBRecently, the first systematic review and meta-analysis on the effect of autoregulation on strength and hypertrophy was published. In this episode we explore why this publication almost sent Eric into a proverbial dark cave without a pen light, never to return, and what realizations helped him find his way out. In this episode, we discuss that the promise of autoregulation is really Individualization. With that discovery, we explore how it succeeds, and fails, at least in its current limited...
Ep. 159 - Vitamin D Supplementation: A Deep Dive
February 21, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 195 MBThe hype around Vitamin D supplementation has waxed and waned over the years in the lifting community, but has overall, landed in a place where it’s more or less universally seen as a positive supplement. But what is the state of the data? What can you expect as a lifter out of vitamin D supplementation? How do you measure vitamin D status, how reliable are these measures, and should we even be measuring it? The answer probably differs at the population and individual levels. We’re joined by...
Ep. 158 - Why You Should Be Skeptical of Ecdysteroids (Including Turkesterone)
February 14, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 179 MBTurkesterone and ecdysterone have garnered a lot a of interest as of late, and a number of notable folks in the evidence based community have done a great job pointing out the lack of evidence supporting their efficacy. For newer lifters, you might not be aware, but this isn’t the first time these compounds have been hyped up beyond the evidence. Is this hope and hype founded? In this episode we’re joined by Ben Esgro, who uses his pharmacological knowledge to explain that it probably isn’t....
Ep. 157 -Exercise Selection for Hypertrophy: Roundtable Discussion
February 07, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 151 MBExercise selection, a multi-layered piece of cake that you don’t have to eat all of to benefit from, but really, who eats just part of a slice of cake (weirdo)? For hypertrophy, it can be as simple as having a few compound exercises for each major muscle group, a few isolation exercises to round them, smaller muscle groups out, and training through a full ROM. But, what about the folks who tell you compounds are all you need? And what about all those bodybuilders who swear by (certain types)...
Ep. 157 - Exercise Selection for Hypertrophy: An In-Depth Examination
February 07, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 151 MBExercise selection, a multi-layered piece of cake that you don’t have to eat all of to benefit from, but really, who eats just part of a slice of cake (weirdo)? For hypertrophy, it can be as simple as having a few compound exercises for each major muscle group, a few isolation exercises to round them, smaller muscle groups out, and training through a full ROM. But, what about the folks who tell you compounds are all you need? And what about all those bodybuilders who swear by (certain types)...
Ep. 156 - Deloads: The Science of Overload, Fatigue & Recovery
January 31, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 172 MBWatch the Episode Here: https://youtu.be/99e5iFWZwEQ Deloads, sometimes called unloads, light weeks, or simply incorporated as phases of a periodized plan, are frequently discussed in the evidence-based community, but they actually have very little direct research behind them. If that’s the case, why are these phases universally used? What principles are deloads based on? What sectors of research do we use to indirectly inform their structure? And most importantly, what options do you ha...
Ep. 156 - Deloads: The Science of Overload, Fatigue & Recover
January 31, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 172 MBWatch the Episode Here: https://youtu.be/99e5iFWZwEQ Deloads, sometimes called unloads, light weeks, or simply incorporated as phases of a periodized plan, are frequently discussed in the evidence-based community, but they actually have very little direct research behind them. If that’s the case, why are these phases universally used? What principles are deloads based on? What sectors of research do we use to indirectly inform their structure? And most importantly, what options do you ha...
Ep. 155 - Alex Tilinca: A Self Made Man
January 24, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 147 MBIn this episode of Iron Culture, we’re joined by Alex Tilinca. Alex is a young competitive physique athlete with an already impressive amateur career thus far, seeking to get nationally qualified this year and hopefully compete at the national level in the NPC in the Classic Physique division. He’s also a prep coach at Scooby Prep, the well-known prep coaching company started and led by Jason Theobald. What makes Alex’s journey unique, is that he was born female, and is the first transgender...
Ep. 154 - Intermittent Fasting & Peri-Workout Carbohydrates
January 17, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 149 MBIn this episode of Iron Culture, we do a deep dive on the topic of pre-workout carbohydrate intake. While the data on endurance training is relatively consistent in showing a beneficial effect on performance, it’s more complex for resistance training. For strength and power, what you eat prior to training is probably less important, but when assessing the ability to perform volume, the data indicate that eating prior to training can in some contexts make a difference. This then leads to a di...
Ep. 153 - Were Ancient Warriors Actually Jacked?
January 10, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 168 MBWatch Episode 1 Here: https://youtu.be/VHBTMm94yeM In this episode, we lean heavily into the history and culture side of Iron Culture and discuss ancient history, specifically, ancient warfare and its accompanying physical culture. For those who don’t know, Omar teamed up with the History Channel to host a series that just launched on the History Channel’s YouTube and streaming service titled “Ancient Workouts”. You can catch the first episode which is already out now, and in this episode, w...
Episode 153 - Were Ancient Warriors Actually Jacked?
January 10, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 168 MBWatch Episode 1 Here: https://youtu.be/VHBTMm94yeM In this episode, we lean heavily into the history and culture side of Iron Culture and discuss ancient history, specifically, ancient warfare and its accompanying physical culture. For those who don’t know, Omar teamed up with the History Channel to host a series that just launched on the History Channel’s YouTube and streaming service titled “Ancient Workouts”. You can catch the first episode which is already out now, and in this episod...
Ep. 152 - Effort vs Exertion, Frequency, and Qualitative Research (Q&A)
January 03, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 131 MBWe’re kicking off 2022 by listening to the people. We, your humble cult leaders, are benevolent theocratic overlords, who want your voice to be heard (so long as you say and ask things that we approve of beforehand). That’s right, we’re back with another question and answer episode! In this episode, we discuss the differences between effort and exertion, what the latest data on frequency suggests, and what the limitations of the extant frequency data are, and finally, we discuss the role and...
Ep. 151 - Strange But True
December 27, 2021 11:00 - 1 hour - 152 MBAs it’s said, truth is stranger than fiction. On Iron Culture we’ve pointed out multiple fantastical, claims backed by pseudoscience that were just gimmicks designed to make you buy something. But sometimes, things that sound gimmicky are actually legit. In this episode, we cover a number of them, like the surprising effects of visualization (AKA motor imagery) training on strength, the effects of compression garments on recovery, and also the positive and negative effects of cold therapy.
Ep. 150 - Iron Culture: 3 Years Later
December 20, 2021 11:00 - 1 hour - 149 MBCan you believe it’s been nearly 3 years of running the cult? By this point, most people in our shoes would have had their final Kool-Aid party, ran out of followers after inaccurately predicting the apocalypse too many times, or simply had the law catch up with them after too much credit card fraud and polygamy. But nay! We still stand (err sit) before you, preaching the gospel THEY don’t want you to hear. That’s right, this pirate radio station isn’t going anywhere (at least until one of t...
Ep. 149 - Overreaching, Overtraining and Insufficient Recovery: Everything You Need To Know
December 13, 2021 11:00 - 1 hour - 153 MBWe get questions all the time like “is squatting more than twice a week overtraining?” Or, “how much volume is overtraining?” But what is the actual scientific definition of overtraining, do lifters actually experience it, and what does overtraining result in? In this episode we do a deep dive on the topic of insufficient recovery, some of which falls under the umbrella of overtraining, and some of which falls under the umbrella of under-eating. Ultimately, by the end of this episode you’ll ...
Ep. 148 - Personal Training: A Lost Art Form (ft. Chad Landers)
December 06, 2021 11:00 - 1 hour - 214 MBChad Landers has over 30 years of experience as a personal trainer. He started as a young trainer, working for others as an employee or a contractor, as most trainers do, but eventually became a gym owner. More importantly, his gym has survived in LA, an incredibly saturated and competitive market, through both the mid-2000’s financial crisis as well as the recent COVID epidemic. He’s prioritized value-based teamwork, developing relationships, evidence-based knowledge, understanding of histo...
Ep. 147 - What The Fitness Industry Gets Wrong About The Obesity Epidemic (Part 2)
November 29, 2021 11:00 - 1 hour - 143 MBWe’re back with Part 2 of our discussion on “What the Fitness Industry Gets Wrong About Obesity”, this time we move from a discussion about the divide between the diet and anti-diet narratives, and the role of the coach, and bring on a clinician. Dr. Spencer Nadolsky AKA “the doc who lifts” is an obesity and lipid specialist physician who works in the real world, on a day-to-day basis with his patients with obesity. He has to assess with each patient the potential risk and benefits of attemp...
Ep. 146 - What The Fitness Industry Gets Wrong About The Obesity Epidemic
November 22, 2021 11:00 - 2 hours - 226 MBReturning guests Dr. Gabrielle Fundaro and Dr. Ben House discuss how the divide in the nutrition community spurred by the “diet” and “anti-diet” debates can potentially lead to inaction and subsequent unaddressed problems. When there is a passionate debate across a moral divide, data often goes by the wayside. This occurs when obesity-focused practitioners and researchers don’t acknowledge pathways to improved health other than weight loss, or the potential harm from weight loss attempts whi...
Ep. 145 - Powerlifting & Strongman Training Before Social Media (ft. Chip Conrad)
November 15, 2021 11:00 - 1 hour - 211 MBAre you useful? I don’t know, but we’ve got the author of this amazing book back on! That’s right, none other than physical culture revivalist Chip Conrad. This time, it’s storytime as we catch up with Chip after our last chat way back in July of 2019. Learn how he used to spend weekends at Mel Siff’s house talking exercise science in the sauna, how he interviewed all the strongmen champions competing at the Arnold Classic, how he has a more recent book that he wishes Omar and I would promot...
Ep. 144 - When To Call It Quits?
November 08, 2021 11:00 - 1 hour - 173 MBAnother duo episode? Some say it’s because we’ve burned every bridge with every guest we’ve ever had on, but the truth is we just can’t get enough of each other. In this episode we discuss how mental fatigue can impact training, based on some interesting research on the topic, and how being distracted in certain ways can potentially help skill acquisition. After this brief research review, we dive into the main course, which is to discuss the following questions: when is it the right move to...
Ep. 143 - Everything You Need To Know About Velocity Based Training
November 01, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 214 MBVelocity-based training, you’ve probably heard of it and have a vague understanding of what it is, but don’t fully grasp it. That’s about to change with this episode as we bring two experts on to discuss it, both of who are literally doing their Ph.D.’s on topics related to it. Landyn Hickmott, MS is a powerlifting coach, semi-pro hockey player, creator of RTS’s new velocity-based training course, and a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Saskatchewan. He joins Ivan Jukic, MS a strength and...
Ep. 142 - Myths and Facts About Creatine (New Research ft. Dr. Darren Candow)
October 25, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 164 MBThe creatine kingpin, Dr. Darren Candow is back to update us on what’s happening in the world of creatine research and explain the many myths that still prevail despite decades of published studies. How can creatine both dehydrate you and cause water retention? Does creatine really cause hair loss? Do you need to load creatine? Does it matter if you take it pre or post-workout? And is the optimal dosage for bone health and other clinical uses the same as it is for performance and body composi...
Ep. 141 - Peak Performance (When & How Long Will You Be At Your Strongest?)
October 18, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 163 MBIn this episode of Iron Culture, we address the questions “How long can I keep progressing or maintain my peak as I get older? and "What can I do to stay at my best for as long as possible?” After our previous metabolism myths episode, where we discussed how many age related effects come much later than most think, we wanted to do a follow up to focus specifically on performance, recovery, and how long strength and physique athletes should expect to still be at their best. Tune in, as you mi...
Ep. 140 - Squats Are Bad For You (The Origin of this Fitness Myth)
October 11, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 183 MBWe’ve had medical doctors and physical therapists who specialize in lifting to dispel exercise-specific fears and myths around risk, outdated treatments, and reductionist narratives multiple times on Iron Culture. But, do you ever wonder why they have to dispel these myths in the first place? In this episode, Dr. Conor Heffernan, the strength historian, is back to teach us about the origins of these beliefs, narratives, and fears. Where did the Snap City fears of modern YouTube comments on d...
Ep. 139 - Why Try Harder Fails
October 04, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 148 MBHard work is undeniably an essential element of success in the iron game and life. Yet, while that is true, just like telling someone who is depressed to “cheer up”, telling someone struggling with their progress to “try harder” doesn’t help. Despite that, so much of our signaling on social media, our shared community values, and our identities as lifters come down to expressing, celebrating, and worshipping that exact sentiment. In this episode, we explore why this happens, and the rare cas...
Ep. 138 - Metabolism Myths (Age, Sex & Individual Differences)
September 27, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 162 MBIt’s all downhill when you hit years old!” is one of the most heard phrases by not yet middle-aged lifters at family events. But is that true? In this episode we address “metabolic myths” related to energy expenditure changes over the lifespan, so-called “differences” between the sexes, and also cover some crazy realities like the true extent of individual differences in energy expenditure, and how things change (or don’t change) during pregnancy. Make sure to tune in to this episode of Iro...
Ep. 137 - Exercise Selection & Execution for Strength & Hypertrophy (Q&A #5)
September 20, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 147 MBWe are back with another question and answer episode! This one includes a deep dive into exercise selection, execution, and ways to maximize time efficiency as it relates to exercise selection, covering both strength and physique goals, those who have both goals, and other nuances on these topics that people often don’t consider. Further, we discuss what competitive natural bodybuilding could do to improve the experience of both competitors and fans alike. And finally, we talk about frequenc...
Ep. 136 - All About Testosterone & TRT (Yeah We Go There)
September 13, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 173 MBTestosterone. The obsession of the lifting world. Previously on Iron Culture, we’ve had Roundtables on PEDs (taking supraphysiological levels of testosterone, synthetic testosterone, and other performance-enhancing drugs), and we’ve had experts on to discuss the history of PEDs, their long term effects, and how they are tested for in sport. But today, we have Dr. Ben House back on the podcast to talk specifically about testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) in a clinical setting…and well, th...
Ep. 135 - Lifting For Endurance Athletes
September 06, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 175 MBFor better or worse we committed to the Iron Culture mission statement of being “for all lifters”…even for endurance athletes who lift. Yes, you heard that right, endurance athletes. In this episode we are joined by Professor Sara Mahoney, who has her Ph.D. in exercise physiology, researches nutrition for endurance athletes, is a runner herself, and coaches Division 1 and 2 cross country and track and field. She’s on to talk about how she uses resistance training to help her endurance athlet...
Ep. 134 - You Don’t Understand Genetic Limits
August 30, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 147 MBNatty limits, genetic potential, everyone talks about these concepts, but most people truly get it wrong. You’ve heard the tropes, “you reach 80% of your muscular potential in your first X years of effective training.” It sounds great in theory, but it is the exception rather than the rule when it plays out this way in the real world. How often do people start off with effective training? How does regular dieting, either for competition or for the likes impact this timeline? What about injur...
Ep. 133 - The Shady History of Supplements (ft. Dr. Conor Heffernan)
August 23, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 177 MBDr. Conor Heffernan, the Strength historian, and Ben Esgro, the dual-masters degreed sports nutrition/pharmaceutical chemistry formulation artiste are both back on Iron Culture for this monster episode on the history of the supplement industry. Learn what it was like in the days of Sandow’s cocoa and how at one point in America’s history, every lifter had a little Bob Hoffman in them…literally. Contrast and compare that history with the contemporary experiences Ben has had in the supplement ...
Ep. 132 - Where Does Broscience Come From?
August 16, 2021 10:00 - 1 hour - 162 MBThis episode will hit your ears like a sonic boom, changing your perspective on “broscience” in a flash. Where do lifting myths come from? Locker room convos between Chad Broseph and Chance Halfsquat? Sometimes. But more often than not, the myths of today were the scientific truths of yesterday. So how do we pursue truth when faced with the reality that some of what we think we know today is incorrect? Well, we must avoid over concluding on the limited evidence we have, seeking to evaluate n...
Ep. 131- Training To Failure (What the Science Actually Says)
August 09, 2021 10:00 - 2 hours - 220 MBIf you don’t train to failure, you’ll be a failure. It not only sounds good, but it also appeals to the hardcore inner masochist in every serious lifter that’s just waiting to strike in the comments section. But, is the saying true? In this episode, we’re joined by Zac Robinson from Data Driven Strength to find out. He’s a powerlifting coach who did his master's degree specifically on the effects of training to and short of failure on hypertrophy and strength with Dr. Mike Zourdos at Florida...