Iron Culture presented by MASS

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 nuance were met with interesting tangents on DMT, wolves, grass-fed butter honey toast, and general frustration with research, but we know our boy Mr. Rogaine will come around eventually!

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 would warrant any smart bodybuilder to listen closely and take notes, but on top of his personal experience, Jeff has coached over 1000 individuals, recreational and competitive, from amateur to professional champion. This isn't one to miss folks, so sit back and take in the wealth of experience of Jeff Alberts.

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 science at a meta-level. He joins us this episode to discuss how heuristics can become falsehoods, how evidence-based "rules" can masquerade as dogma, and why an RCT doesn't always trump epidemiology. This one is for the nerd's nerd, so strap in to expand your critical thinking skills (and if not just continue to put your blind faith in Iron CULTure).

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!

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 Sigma Nutrition, science communicator well versed in chrononutrition, and Dr. Grant Tinsley of Texas Tech University, a leading researcher in the area of time-restricted feeding return! Also, joining us is a first-time guest, Ph.D. candidate Jackson Peos, who is doing his Ph.D. on diet breaks in athletes. Sit back, grab your popcorn (but only eat it in the 8-hour window while the sun is out on your refeed day or diet break week), and enjoy!

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 born of this history and what the very first shows were like. We look back with reverence, but without rose-tinted glasses, exploring surprising aspects of this history, like the legal battles and money-making schemes that look surprisingly like the fit teas of today. Know your history, or repeat the mistakes of the past dear cult.

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 have been due to COVID, and you're regaining strength you previously had.

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/train like Z now!" We are joined by Ben House, who has his PhD in nutrition and has been an educator in the lifting world for years helping people to think critically, learn nuance and get better. Today he joins us to pull back the curtain on the stories that pull us in with an emotional response, prey on them, and subvert our critical thinking. Moreso, he also asks the challenging question, is this always bad? Is this natural and how can elements of these approaches be used positively?

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 enlightened. Join them on their knowledge-seeking journey in this episode. They learn all about lifting and nutrition during and following pregnancy with guests Molly Galbraith, CSCS, a world-leading evidence-based educator for women's health and fitness through her work as the owner of Girls Gone Strong, and Marika Hart, an experienced musculoskeletal physiotherapist completing her post-graduate education incontinence and pelvic health. Molly is Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and co-founder and owner of Girls Gone Strong, a global movement dedicated to helping women feel strong, confident, and empowered in their lives and bodies through industry-leading education materials, certification programs, and coaching — all focused on women. Molly is also the creator of the Girls Gone Strong Academy, the world's first online academy housing multiple evidence-based, interdisciplinary, women-specific certifications for health and fitness professionals. Marika is a postgraduate trained physiotherapist, pilates instructor, and mother-of-two. She is super passionate about helping women feel fit, strong, and healthy during pregnancy and beyond. https://herasphere.net/about/ For More Information: Pre- & Postnatal Coaching Certification Info Page GGS Coaching & Training Women Closed Facebook Group Free 5-Day Course: Exercises To Do & Avoid During & After Pregnancy Free 5-Day Course: The Ultimate Guide To Coaching & Training Postpartum Clients

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 disciplines to answer this question and each guests "picks a character" as a champion of their sport in this thought experiment. To tackle these important questions the guests are thankful to be joined by returning guests and strength aficionados, Alan Thrall, Jonnie Candito and Max Aita. Strap up your Velcro's, hop on the school bus, grab your bag lunch from mom and get ready to argue during recess in this episode of iron culture!