Iron Culture presented by MASS

In a series of recent Washington Post investigative articles about bodybuilding in the NPC/IFBB pro league, Desmond Butler (the son of the producer of Pumping Iron) covered a series of controversial topics. Among them, were the seemingly increasing numbers of competitor deaths. In this episode, we sat down with Dr. Guillermo Escalante, the Assistant Dean and a Professor of Kinesiology in the College of Natural Sciences at CSU San Bernardino, who is a competitive bodybuilder himself, as well as an athletic trainer (a sports medicine first responder). He was interviewed for these Washington Post articles because from 2012 to 2019 he spent many of his Saturdays in Southern California at shows, making himself available in case any athletes had medical emergencies. Dr. Escalante has also specifically published research examining the potential causes of death of enhanced pro bodybuilders. Needless to say, there are few people with more direct knowledge, experience, and perspective on the potential dangers of certain practices in enhanced physique sport, whether these risks can be reduced, and how.

Mr. Benjamin Franklin Esgro has the unique honor of being our first guest in our episodes numbered in the 200’s, as well as being on for his fifth, or maybe sixth time? We aren’t sure, but we like to have the man on! I’m this episode, he’s once again crusading against potential charlatans in the supplement industry. If you remember last time, Ben joined us to discuss the lacking evidence of a mechanism of action behind turkesterone and today, he’s back to give us a dose of reality on paraxanthine. What is paraxanthine you might ask? Well if you haven’t already heard of it, it’s supposedly the next big thing in the stimulant, nootropic and pre workout world. But, while this supplement is interesting and may have specific utility, should we really expect something truly groundbreaking considering it’s a metabolite of caffeine? Join us as we ask Ben Esgro to find out. 00:00 Intro 5:41 (Re)introducing Ben to kickstart another monster episode  19:24 An overview of paraxanthine Lelo 1986 Comparative pharmacokinetics of caffeine and its primary demethylated metabolites paraxanthine, theobromine and theophylline in man https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3756065/  Benowitz 1995 Sympathomimetic effects of paraxanthine and caffeine in humans https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8529334/ 34:59 Selling the acute supplement sensation and experience 48:20 Marketing paraxanthine and comparisons with caffeine 1:03:40 Paraxanthine toxicity and bioengineering explained 1:14:55 Chasing the mythical unicorn of replacing banned supplements 1:23:17 Creating demand and producing the same subjective experience as paraxanthine? 1:32:38 Potency and derivatives of compounds 1:38:40 Dosages and densities of powdered supplements 1:43:45 What to expect from a paraxanthine supplement 1:48:38 Closing out with a (metaphorical) mic drop: the positive impact of the evidence-based lifting community Li 2022 Self-Reported Training and Supplementation Practices Between Performance-Enhancing Drug-User Bodybuilders Compared with Natural Bodybuilders https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36165879/ 

It’s the start of a new era, as Omar and Eric sit down for episode 201. In this conversation, the two pick up where they left off from episode 200, tackling the Cult’s questions that were too good, and too deep to cover last week. Specifically, we discuss how to compare the potential effects of dissimilar variables on hypertrophy, such as sleep, protein, and creatine using research. Further, we field questions on how you measure progress and deal with plateaus, and whether higher frequency training can provide unique advantages. 00:00 Introduction to a new era of Iron Culture (and reading comments) 15:11 Start of Q&A. Effect sizes in sport science research (protein, creatine, and sleep) and their application to practice Tagawa 2020 Dose-response relationship between protein intake and muscle mass increase: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33300582/ Morton 2018 A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28698222/ Lanhers 2015 Creatine Supplementation and Lower Limb Strength Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25946994/ Lanhers 2017 Creatine Supplementation and Upper Limb Strength Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27328852/ Branch 2003 Effect of creatine supplementation on body composition and performance: a meta-analysis https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12945830/  Craven 2022 Effects of Acute Sleep Loss on Physical Performance: A Systematic and Meta-Analytical Review https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35708888/ 44:55 Advice for people who love the iron game but may not necessarily have the best genetics and life situation for it (reframing our view of strength standards that we compare ourselves to) 56:58 Which variable(s) to adjust when strength plateaus 1:05:03 How important is it to have a high volume for a specific muscle group in a single session vs across the week? Iron Culture Ep. 40- Training Frequency For Strength & Hypertrophy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDNvJaNeDw4&t=13s Iron Culture Ep. 152-Effort vs Exertion, Frequency, and Qualitative Research (Q&A) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCg_4tQzbC0 Greg Nuckols’ in-house Meta https://www.strongerbyscience.com/frequency-muscle/ James Krieger’s in-house Meta https://weightology.net/the-members-area/evidence-based-guides/set-volume-for-muscle-size-the-ultimate-evidence-based-bible/ Schoenfeld 2017 Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass: A systematic review and meta-analysis https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27433992/ Baz-Valle 2022 A Systematic Review of The Effects of Different Resistance Training Volumes on Muscle Hypertrophy https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35291645/ 1:12:40 Closing out (and Iron Culture TikTok??)

We can’t believe it. 200 episodes. What else is there to say except thank you from the bottom of our hearts? It’s always a blast for us to hang out and chat, but it’s a huge bonus that so many people find value in our conversations. At the outset, we hoped we’d be able to provide both educational and entertainment value to our listeners, and it seems like we’ve succeeded. This episode is a bit of a celebration, as we reflect on what brought us here, and what it’s going to lead to. We have big plans dear listener, and I think you’re going to like them. Also, we squeeze in a little bit of genuine Q&A from the cult (we promise we didn’t make these questions up, seriously).   00:00 Intro: history of THE Iron Culture 3:12 🚨🔥Episode 200 🔥🚨 and a HUGE news reveal 16:25 The Helms review of the 2022 IPF Commonwealth Championships 31:30 The importance of the Sheffield Powerlifting Championships 44:15 What is Eric competing in next year? And starting some quickfire Q&As 49:02 How did Eric arrive at a minimum intake of 0.5g/kg/day for Fat? 52:29 What lift would you add to Powerlifting if you could? Iron Culture Ep. 91- Powerlifter vs Weightlifter vs Strongman...Who's The Strongest!? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyYqQiaE9RA 1:01:55 The effect of creatine on cognition and brain function Iron Culture Ep. 142- Myths and Facts About Creatine (New Research ft. Dr. Darren Candow) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcfTuJYW374 1:05:27 What questions should you ask your strength sport athletes? Iron Culture Ep. 195- Overreaching, Deloads & Tapers: Nutrition Considerations https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-o4IOjihkTI 1:17:11 Moving forward in 2023

An in-depth discussion on how protein influences satiety, debunking misconceptions about fat gain on high-protein diets and the impact of high-protein diets on energy expenditure. Understanding the complexity of hunger and satiety regulation in humans, exploring the influence of protein supplementation on appetite and weight management, and the impact of protein intake on satiety.

For many, research is taken to represent a framework for understanding concepts that can then be applied to their own training.  This can be taken too far when some hope to divine exact details that apply specifically to their own journey. Research isn’t meant to tell you (dear listener) how to train on a Tuesday.  What is the best way to properly utilize the current literature to better our own lifting journeys? Two hunks set out to explore this very topic. 00:00 Introducing another MONSTER episode (and reviewing reviews and continuing the feud with the macrofactor podcast) 06:56 How training to failure research is really conducted Warneke 2022 Influence of Long-Lasting Static Stretching on Maximal Strength, Muscle Thickness and Flexibility https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9174468/ Iron Culture Ep. 197: Training To Failure: A Comprehensive Overview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa8Z-fUuiNU Halperin 2021 Accuracy in Predicting Repetitions to Task Failure in Resistance Exercise: A Scoping Review and Exploratory Meta-analysis https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34542869/ 34:00 The death of the “expert” (and Mr Train-to-failure) 44:01 Study designs: disconfirming hypotheses vs proving something to be true Iron Culture Ep. 196- How Much Training Do Powerlifters Actually Need To Get Stronger (Ft. Dr. Pak) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EJ0Qp6spGQ Bell 2022 “You can't shoot another bullet until you've reloaded the gun” https://sportrxiv.org/index.php/server/preprint/view/208 1:01:52 Barriers to research and the mistrust of science Monaghan 2001 Challenging medicine? Bodybuilding, drugs and risk https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-9566.00180 Li 2022 Self-Reported Training and Supplementation Practices Between Performance-Enhancing Drug-User Bodybuilders Compared with Natural Bodybuilders https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36165879/ 1:21:00 Appeal to swoleness: researchers in sport science and the application of findings 1:32:40 How science can change practice: the BCAA example Hackett 2013 Training practices and ergogenic aids used by male bodybuilders https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22990567/ Iron Culture Ep. 182 - How to call out B.S. and Pseudoscience https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckzuycwnRH8  1:45:42 Concluding thoughts

In this episode we are excited to revisit an ever-controversial topic in bodybuilding, training to failure! Yes, we’ve discussed this before on Iron Culture, and yes, people have surprisingly (but maybe not so much when you dissect it…) strong feelings about training to failure. You may remember that one of the biggest limitations in the literature we previously discussed in our last episode was that there are different ways of defining failure. Should we be lumping together studies that use “momentary muscular failure” with studies that used “repetition maximums” or “voluntary failure”? Probably not. But great news, Martin Refalo a Ph.D. candidate at Deakin University specifically studying the effect of failure on hypertrophy joins us in this episode. Martin recently published a scoping review and a subsequent meta-analysis that specifically identified these differences in failure types and analyzed the literature based on these distinctions, as well as looking at velocity loss thresholds to provide new and important insights on this topic! Tune in to learn more!

We are delighted to have Dr Patroklos Androulakis-Korakakis on Iron Culture! “Dr. Pak” is a researcher and lecturer at Solent University, coach at stronger by science, and finally, a lifting enthusiast himself. He did his PhD on powerlifting. Specifically, he conducted research to answer the question: “how much training do powerlifters need to do, to make meaningful increases in strength?” This question led him to conduct interviews and surveys with the best powerlifters and powerlifting coaches in the world to first understand what they consider “meaningful” strength gains to be, and then he conducted some of the very few longitudinal training studies on competing powerlifters to determine just how much work they need to do to get better. Join us in this fascinating look at the inner workings of his research, as well as some of the more recent research he’s currently involved with, bridging the gaps in terminology and application between science and practice.

"Should I cut my calories back during deloads?” This incredibly common question pops up all the time online, and there are a few things to consider when answering it. First, the purpose of a deload, technically, is to recover after an overreaching phase. What do we expect after an overreaching phase? Are these expectations compatible with a reduction in calories? Secondly, we need to consider the differences in total energy expenditure between a deload week, and the preceding training, which again, consisted of an overreaching phase. Finally, in this episode, we discuss other cases, for example “deloads” that don’t occur after overreaching, deloads following strength/intensity-based overreaching, tapers, and intro weeks. While the question is simple, the answer has a bit of nuance, so join us to learn these details! 00:00 Intro: addressing the “alliance” with Stronger ByScience 12:07 Eric’s damage control apology and appeal to the Iron Culture HR department 17:05 The effects of deloads on muscle hypertrophy: should you cut calories on a deload? Bjørnsen 2018 Delayed myonuclear addition, myofiber hypertrophy, and increases in strength with high-frequency low-load blood flow restricted training to volitional failurehttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30543499/ Vann 2022 Effects of High-Volume Versus High-Load Resistance Training on Skeletal Muscle Growth and Molecular Adaptationshttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35360253/ 39:22 The differences between deloading and tapering for competition and Damas 2019 Myofibrillar protein synthesis and muscle hypertrophy individualized responses to systematically changing resistance training variables in trained young menhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31268828/ Travis 2020 Preparing for a National Weightlifting Championship: A Case Serieshttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31373973/ 53:55 Change in energy expenditure during deloads Lytle 2019 Predicting Energy Expenditure of an Acute Resistance Exercise Bout in Men and Womenhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30768553/ Iron Culture Ep. 66- Cardio for Lifters: Everything that Matters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpjZCp6lX24 107:58 Closing out  

Mr Dr. Ben House is back on Iron Culture, but this time, he’s fully indoctrinated. That’s right, Ben is making a push to experience what it’s like to get into bodybuilding stage condition. He’s been collaborating with Eric in the process, learning to pose, reincorporating tracking after a long time away, and getting leaner than lean. When is he competing you ask? Believe it or not, he’s probably not going to! Ben decided to do this for a few reasons, first to support a friend who is a competitor, second to get the experience of what it’s like so he can be a better coach and also make more accurate representations in his content, and finally, he’s scientifically interested in exploring how to find one’s lower intervention point. Ben wants to know just how sustainable or unsustainable being in such a position is. Learn about not only his experience in this episode, and what he’s learned, but also how we integrate concepts like energy availability and body fat regulation in terms of practical application.  00:00 (Re)introducing Dr Ben House and how this episode came to be 9:26 Ben’s dieting journey Iron Culture Ep. 192- He's Not Just A Bodybuilder (ft. Mr. Universe Alberto Nunez) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kseqS8jFgbg 20:10 Ben’s experience of getting shredded 37:20 Getting to the summit and how it could affect your life Towards a Sustainable Nutrition Paradigm in Physique Sport: A Narrative Review https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31315180/ 49:00 🚨❗️ Officially entering monster episode territory❗️🚨 52:46 The physiological effects of getting lean Trexler 2017 Physiological Changes Following Competition in Male and Female Physique Athletes: A Pilot Study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28422530/ Longstrom 2020 Physiological, Psychological and Performance-Related Changes Following Physique Competition: A Case-Series https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33467243/ Iron Culture Ep. 14- Why Lifters Lose Motivation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErMpLl106Vw 1:03:33 Framing energy availability and what is “healthy”? Can You Stay Shredded? https://www.strongerbyscience.com/stay-shredded/ Iron Culture Ep. 146- What The Fitness Industry Gets Wrong About The Obesity Epidemic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfAbKeiAuII 1:10:41 Individual differences in metabolic adaptation and the ability to live in low energy availability 1:23:30 Is Omar getting shredded!? 1:31:35 Closing out and where to find Mr Dr Ben House Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drbenhouse/?hl=en Deconstruct Nutrition: https://www.deconstructnutrition.com/