Iron Culture presented by MASS

Dr. Melissa Davis is a Renaissance Periodization consultant and coach with a Ph.D. in neuroscience, who specializes in behavior change. She is also no stranger to setting and achieving difficult goals as a black belt in Brazilian jujitsu who is a multi-time masters world champion. Join us this week on Iron Culture as we explore the science and practical application of behavior change with Dr. Mel Davis.

Brett Gibbs is one of the current icons of IPF powerlifting. Having placed 1st or 2nd in the 83kg class every year since 2014 at IPF Worlds, competing sometimes in both equipped and raw divisions, he’s elite among even other elite lifters. However, what is perhaps most interesting, is how his outlook on the sport and his outlook on winning has changed over time. Join us this week as we delve into the mind of a champion, as we discuss the journey of Brett Gibbs as a lifter.

Eric & Omar are joined once again by guests Gabrielle Fundaro and Mike Tuchscherer to discuss a seemingly taboo concept in the "evidence-based" fitness community: intuition. Find out how intuitive eating & autoregulation are related and why listening to biological feedback has a high degree of utility. Our subjective experiences can provide useful inputs for how we shape our decision making. Intuition need not be relegated to the background of our choices and fortunately, Gabrielle & Mike emphatically explain why.

This week Omar and Eric sit down with Greg Nuckols and Sohee Lee. Both are fantastic science communicators in the world of fitness, but specifically, they both have expertise in sex differences among lifters. Greg did his master's thesis specifically looking at sex differences in inter-set recovery during resistance training, while Sohee is in the early stages of her Ph.D. in which she’s planning to examine how circuit vs traditional resistance training may impact female lifters. What differences are there between men and women, different modalities of lifting, and why? Join us this week to find out!

Periodization in and of itself tends to be a confusing and hotly debated topic, heavy on opinions but light on evidence. But periodization for hypertrophy alone is an even greater unknown. Join Omar and Eric this week as they explore this nebulous topic by discussing the scant, and not perfectly applicable research on the topic, periodization theory, and mechanisms of hypertrophy. In the end, this speculative discussion sheds a bit of light on what elements of periodization, if any, might be applicable for hypertrophy training and how they could be applied.

At last, the long-standing feud between Iron CULTure, free speech and Danny Lennon of Sigma Nutrition comes to a close. The co-owners, Eric and Omar, interview the very friendly (there is not even a remote possibility that he is a serial killer) Danny Lennon on chrononutrition, the intersection of circadian rhythms and nutrition. Learn about your master clock, why it appears those who eat the majority of their calories earlier in the day lose more weight and dietary considerations for every individual.

Bryce Lewis, elite powerlifter and founder of The Strength Athlete is back on Iron Culture fresh off his 2019 USAPL Raw Nationals 105kg Open win. Now a 3-time national champion, his 902.5kg total is an unofficial world record and ranks him #1 in the world for tested raw 105kg lifters. His eyes are on IPF Classic Worlds 2020 to secure a 2nd World title, but 2020 also marks his 10 year anniversary of working with Eric as his coach. In this episode Omar grudgingly puts aside jealousy to interview Eric and Bryce, getting to the heart of what makes an effective coaching relationship long term.

Four words to describe this podcast would be authentic, vulnerable, and being real. Or something like that. We are joined by Jordan Syatt, a personal trainer who has grown an online presence by doing everything you shouldn't. You'll find almost no video or photo of him lifting, showing off abs, or "exposing" other practitioners. Instead, he delivers on a consistent basis practical, insightful, and useful fitness information. Explore with co-owners Eric Helms & Omar Isuf as they define what qualities make a good personal trainer and how to succeed in the online fitness space without selling your (immortal) soul.

It’s a new year, it’s a new decade, and it’s a year in review for Iron Culture. Join our hosts...or rather owners, as they reflect on the first year of Iron Culture and discuss their plans for 2020 in this tongue and cheek bonus episode.  Bonus: Eric tries to expand the Culture’s demographics into Mukbang territory. Bonus Bonus: And apparently ASMR. We apologize.

In one of our previous duo episodes, Omar went on a deep dive with Eric into autoregulation, the topic of his Ph.D. In this episode, Omar sits down with Eric and asks him to rewind the academic clock even further, to his first foray into academia and research, his masters. In this episode, the hosts not only discuss the roots of how Eric’s career as a trainer and online coach forked into becoming a researcher, but they also dive into the nitty-gritty of his master’s thesis, which was done on everyone’s favorite macronutrient: protein!