Iron Culture presented by MASS

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 Haun, who carries out cutting edge research on skeletal muscle anatomy, and Dr. Grant Tinsley who is a leading researcher in body composition assessment. More importantly, though, Cody has ridiculous pec development, and Grant can deadlift over 500lbs.

In this episode, the guest discusses caffeine, covering its pharmacokinetics, mechanisms of action, performance-enhancing effects, side effects, withdrawal, dependence, and other nutraceuticals that can modify its effects. They also explore the social acceptability of caffeine, the field of pharmacology, and the individualized use of caffeine in training sessions. Additionally, they highlight the importance of being an informed consumer of supplements and provide useful websites for analyzing ingredients and understanding their effects.

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 out and change your program each time you can't lift more weight or do more reps than last time.

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 evidence-based practice...all in the service of the most important goal of all: becoming really, really, ridiculously good looking.

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 Highland games, he became a 2-time amateur world champion before turning pro in his now burgeoning professional career. Tune in to learn about the most functional activity of all, throwing stones, spears, discs, hammers, and yes, even trees at your enemies.

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 underlying science. Chris recently authored a publication titled "Body Recomposition: Can Trained Individuals Build Muscle and Lose Fat at the Same Time?" which challenges this belief. Join us in this episode as he breaks down the science for our understanding.

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 component of CrossFit. Finally, you ever see the delts on a gymnast?? In today's episode, we explore these relationships, roles, the history of Gymnastics, and the new evolution of sports science within it. To do so we're joined by Eric's 3DMJ teammate Andrea Valdez, a former gymnastics coach and young gymnast who has returned to the sport as an adult, and Dr. Dave Tilley who is leading the modern, evidence-based charge in the sport.

"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 change your nutritional, sleep, recovery, training, and mindset habits all simultaneously fails to acknowledge that it's not only the advanced outcomes but also the advanced processes that take time to master.

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 and judgments, external, internal, real, and imagined they faced. It's a brave new world and in 2020 a young fitness professional trying to make it online might not know where to start. In this episode, you can learn what the process might look like.

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 recently finished second at the Arnold Classic, but he was also the youngest IFBB pro card winner when he attainted pro status as a lightweight at the 2014 NPC nationals at the age of 21. His impressive physique stands on its own; however, his ability to displaying it is amongst the best in the game and his posing routines leave lasting impressions on all who view them.