Opening a community gym in the middle of a pandemic: crazy, or if done safely, sorely needed? That's exactly what Mike Farr (Silent Mike) and Jim McDonald did. These Nor Cal natives return from their previous episode alongside Alan Thrall and Eric Helms where we discussed what the heck is in the water in Sacramento that produces so many iconic lifting groups. They join us today to talk about their experience of pulling the trigger on their dream of opening a gym in Sacramento, despite the challe...
Feb 08, 2021•1 hr 39 min•Ep. 105
Ahhh, the eternal question: should I bulk or cut? It seems like everyone at some point asks this question. In this episode, we tackle what seems like a simple question, but to do so we have to traverse concepts like P-ratios, body recomposition, the spectrum of novice to advanced lifter, rates of weight gain and loss, psychology and the impact of social media, setting appropriate expectations and more.
Feb 01, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 104
The women's bodybuilding division has arguably changed more than any other division in physique sport. It's gone through periods of existence, non-existence, change, challenge, popularity, obscurity, and reemergence. While many focus on the physical differences of say, Cory Everson, and Iris Kyle, many don't realize the changing pressures uniquely placed on female bodybuilders in the IFBB. In this episode, Dr. Conor Heffernan returns to recount the history of this division and juxtapose it to th...
Jan 25, 2021•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 103
Without constraints, it's hard to know what direction to go in. But on the other hand, if you're too constrained it's hard to change direction in any meaningful way. This paradigm exists in many domains of life, but today we're discussing how it operates in training. You could conceptualise this as "top down" vs "bottom up" programming styles, but ultimately, the questions are: where do I begin and how do I adjust if it doesn't work? If you're an athlete, knowing the answer is how you make it to...
Jan 18, 2021•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 102
Literally, time to strap in for this one folks! Blood Flow Restriction training: hypertrophy training with light weights made as just effective as heavier weights by putting a wrap or cuff around an arm or leg! It sounds like a gimmick, but there are actually two decades of published research looking into this intervention. We're joined by returning guest and physical therapist Dr. Nick Licameli and Dr. Nick Rolnick, a first-timer Iron Culture guest who has not only published peer-reviewed artic...
Jan 11, 2021•1 hr 54 min•Ep. 101
100 episodes, wow. We just want to say thank you, dear listener. What began as an excuse for us to hang out more often than our friends and families thought was healthy, turned into a bonified opportunity for us to learn about all the various permutations the iron can take, the interesting, cutting edge science related to it all, and the history of what came before. We hope you learned as much as we have, and that your connection to the iron has deepened, and become more multifaceted. In this ep...
Jan 07, 2021•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 100
Still unsure if they need to get lawyers, our heroes emerge victorious from their mission to make the big leagues by being on with the one and only Joe Rogan. It only took breaking in, barricading the door, and hours of threats, but our hosts know when someone is just playing hard to get. While Joe has never released the episode, we're confidently waiting, and until then, enjoy these highlights. You'll notice there is still more work to be done, however. Our attempts to emphasize science and nua...
Jan 04, 2021•17 min
Jeff Alberts has been training longer than most Iron Culture listeners have been alive and competing in bodybuilding longer than some as well. As a natural bodybuilder, he's steadily climbed the ranks from amateur to professional, to winning pro shows, to placing top 5 at WNBF Pro Worlds. While these are impressive feats for any bodybuilder, what's incredible is that he's turning 50 this year, still at his peak, and is in the midst of contest preparation for the 2021 season. This résumé alone wo...
Dec 28, 2020•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 99
Danny Lennon still isn't returning our phone calls, but that's ok because his Sigma Nutrition Radio Co-host Alan Flanagan is! Alan is not only a Ph.D. candidate at Surrey University studying nutrition but was also a former practicing lawyer (and of course most importantly a powerlifter). This means he has not only a solid understanding of nutrition science but also logic and how to construct an argument. This combination makes him not only a potent communicator of nutrition science but also scie...
Dec 21, 2020•2 hr 8 min•Ep. 98
Despite the potato-famine controversy in our last episode with him, Dr. Conor Heffernan the strength historian is back dropping more gems from the past on iron culture. This time we address the ever-repeating cycle of the "machines vs free weights" argument from a historical perspective. From Sandow to Arthur Jones to the modern "functional fitness" era, this episode has it all!
Dec 14, 2020•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 97
Intermittent energy restriction, intermittent fasting, time-restricted feeding, refeeds, diet breaks, nonlinear dieting, and chrononutrition, oh my! You're not in Kansas anymore, it's a wide world of meal frequencies and eating patterns dear cultists, but don't worry we've assembled the avengers on these topics! Teaching us the terminology in the lay vs scientific community, the theories, the state of the evidence, and ultimately, the practical application, are three guests: Danny Lennon MSc of ...
Dec 07, 2020•2 hr 22 min•Ep. 96
History, Science, Culture. As a CULTist, that's what you signed up for and we've been lax delivering the first: history. But no more! We are joined by Dr. Conor Heffernan, Assistant Professor of Physical Culture and Sport Studies at the University of Texas at Austin to discuss how vaudeville circus acts became the iron game as we know it. Learn how Eugen Sandow literally ripped off his suit to enter the world stage and reshaped the view of what strongmen looked like. Learn how bodybuilding was b...
Nov 30, 2020•1 hr 57 min•Ep. 95
You're hitting those sets of five on triceps pushdowns because you want maximum transfer to bench. Or maybe, you're doing sets of 8-12 on the big 3, because you want to be strong and big. But damnit, your elbows and hips hate you. Are you doing something wrong? Is this really the best way to train for strength and size? Are you actually being specific in a useful way? In this episode, we discuss not only these topics, but also how they apply when you've been away from the gym, like many of us ha...
Nov 23, 2020•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 94
The stories often used in the fitness and nutrition space, but which certainly aren't restricted to it, can suck us in, bleed our wallets, and turn us into zealots. "I used to think X but I was wrong! Look at this obscure mechanism (which I probably don't understand and you definitely don't understand), and look at this anecdote! This is why I now think Y! Everything we thought we knew was wrong and THEY don't want you to know! You're unknowingly missing out on gains/unhealthy, so we need to eat...
Nov 16, 2020•2 hr 50 min•Ep. 93
The majority of personal training clients are women, and the majority of women will be pregnant at least once in their life. Yet, resistance training and nutrition during and following pregnancy are not topics most trainers are well versed in. Join Omar and Eric in this episode to watch these two flawed protagonists find redemption. They previously used the documentary "Junior" starring Saint Schwarzenegger and Danny Devito as their sole information source on pregnancy, but now they are enlighte...
Nov 09, 2020•2 hr 6 min•Ep. 92
We've all been in 5th grade...many of us wish it never ended. In this episode we take you back to that magical time by transposing our most important questions from that era like: "who would in a fight, Superman or Godzilla?" or "Could a silverback defeat a grizzly bear?" and the important follow up "what if they had swords?", onto strength sports. Today we ask, who are the strongest: Powerlifters, Weightlifters, or Strongmen/women? We discuss what ways we could legitimately test strength across...
Nov 02, 2020•1 hr 48 min•Ep. 91
Everything you thought you knew about body composition is WRONG. Ok, that's absolutely not true, but this episode will deepen your understanding of the composition of muscle, the composition of fat, the tools we use to estimate (notice I didn't say measure) body composition, and what this means for understanding how the human body changes in response to training and nutrition. We guarantee you'll have some eye-opening moments listening in to this conversation as the hosts are joined by Dr. Cody ...
Oct 26, 2020•1 hr 52 min•Ep. 90
As a hardcore Iron CULTure listener, you're already drinking the cool-aid. But, did you know that a large majority of adults are already drinking another addictive drug? You guessed it, caffeine is consumed in one form or another ubiquitously across the globe. In this episode, the man himself, Registered Dietitian Ben Esgro becomes a three-peat Iron Culture guest. He unholsters his dual master's degrees in sports nutrition and pharmaceutical chemistry and comes in blazing in this episode to teac...
Oct 19, 2020•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 89
Elite sprinters don't run sub-10s year-round, elite powerlifters aren't always ready to total new personal bests, and physique athletes aren't shredded in the offseason. Why is this? Are they doing something wrong the rest of the year, or are they doing something right when they're at their peak performance? In this episode, we explore what Omar always says "you may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like." In the end, you'll learn whether or not you should continue to freak ou...
Oct 12, 2020•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 88
You might be just one of the many chosen of the Cult, vacillating between Draperism and Paimon, but that doesn't mean you aren't a unique snowflake. Today we discuss just what makes you unique, and how with that understanding, you can unlock your potential and get so smoking hot that the heat threatens your own existence as a snowflake. That's right Cultists, today we explore the intricacies of individual differences and the fundamental nature of why frequentist statistics will never dominate ev...
Oct 05, 2020•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 87
Today we explore iron game disciplines with deep historical and cultural roots with Kyle Lillie. We discuss Highland games, a 1000-year-old sport, and throwing, which dates back to ancient civilization. Kyle is a professional Highland games competitor and Division 1 throws coach at Sacramento State University. Before Highland games, he threw for Arizona State at the national championship level and was a National Junior College Athletic Association champion before that. Shortly after his start in...
Sep 28, 2020•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 86
Chris Barakat MS, ATC, CSCS is a natural bodybuilder, coach, and researcher studying body composition manipulation at the University of Tampa. In "evidence-based" circles, we like to think we're immune to the echo chamber effect because what we say is based on data. Unfortunately, this isn't always the case. The statement "gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time is impossible unless you're on drugs, high in body fat or a novice" is often repeated without a thorough understanding of the un...
Sep 21, 2020•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 85
Before there was powerlifting, bodybuilding, weightlifting, and strongman, there was the iron game, and it all overlapped. Before that, there was the physical culture movement. During this era, you couldn't find a strongman or woman who didn't do hand balancing, calisthenics, or tumbling as a part of their training. Gymnastics has a long history, but today it is its own sport and embedded in some national sport systems to build a foundation for young athletes' careers. Further, it's a major comp...
Sep 14, 2020•1 hr 45 min•Ep. 84
"Advanced lifter" - what comes to mind when you hear this phrase? Strong, muscular, elite, clearly doing things right? Perhaps, and that's why many people emulate advanced lifters. Everyone wants the athleticism, strength, and physiques that advanced lifters have, and thankfully, these days novices and intermediates are coming to understand that those outcomes take time. But what they don't often realize is that the processes that result in those outcomes take time to engrain as well. Trying to ...
Sep 07, 2020•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 83
Kedric Kwan of The Strength Guys, Jim Elli of Reactive Training Systems and Joe Stanek of The Strength Athlete all have something in common: they started as young online powerlifting coaches who were given a chance to learn the ropes under the guidance of some of the biggest and most respected online coaching teams. Today, we host a reflective discussion with them to understand their journey; where they started, what they expected, what they've learned, how they've grown, and what expectations a...
Aug 31, 2020•1 hr 46 min•Ep. 82
In another era, bodybuilding was considered as much as an art as it was a pseudo-sport. A decade ago one could argue that its artistic element was at an all-time low, but things have changed in the last few years. In the IFBB specifically, the creation of the classic physique division is arguably resulting in the cultural revival of these artistic elements. Today, Iron Culture hosts a fantastic ambassador of the art of bodybuilding, Terence Ruffin. Not only has he won multiple pro titles and rec...
Aug 24, 2020•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 81
The World Natural Bodybuilding Federation was founded in 1989, and since its inception led the way in professionalism for drug-free bodybuilding. We have the pleasure of speaking to one of the heads, Bob Bell, who started as a WNBF competitor, became a promoter, and now sits at the helm with Tina Smith and Nancy Andrews. The story of this progression is an intriguing one that gives insight into the complexities of keeping a sporting organization alive and flourishing. Further, just how do you de...
Aug 17, 2020•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 80
Previously in Episode 33, Iron Culture hosted a roundtable on Pain Science as it relates to lifting. It was in that episode that the hosts learned Dalton from Road House was right all along; pain doesn't hurt much. Building on top of this episode, the CULT returns to the topic of injury, getting "hurt" and what you can do about it. The hosts are joined by 3 DPTs in Nick Licameli of 3DMJ, Quinn Henoch of Clinical Athlete, and Sam Spinelli. This episode is full of practical takeaways, useful tips,...
Aug 10, 2020•2 hr 7 min•Ep. 79
Things happen fast on the interwebs these days kids. You might have only recently learned what intuitive eating actually means. In the course of that, you might have come across the terms "diet culture" and "anti-diet culture". If you didn't know what the former was, then you certainly weren't aware of the definition or possibly even the existence of the latter. In this episode returning guest, Dr. Gabrielle Fundaro helps us understand the roots, definitions, misunderstandings of, and the argume...
Aug 03, 2020•1 hr 52 min•Ep. 78
Evie Corrigan began lifting just over four years ago and started Powerlifting shortly after. This was truly her first introduction to competitive sport, yet within two years, and in her first international competition, she got to represent her home country of New Zealand and became a Junior World Champion. How did her motivations to lift change once she became an overnight champion? What pressures did she experience? Fast forward to earlier this year, she was one of the few IPF lifters invited t...
Jul 27, 2020•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 77
