Iron Culture presented by MASS

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 decide winners in a fair and consistent way in a subjective sport? Tune into this episode to learn the answer and hear the story of the WNBF.

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, and Quinn's baritone voice letting you know that even if you are feeling beat up, it's going to be OK.

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 arguments between these "camps". As is often the case when people don't see eye to eye, there is typically something lost in translation. In this episode, we wade into that gap with Dr. Fundaro, who's been working to bridge it. Brene Brown's Ted Talk on Shame Brene Brown's book on women and shame, I Thought It Was Just Me Helen Veit's book Modern Food, Moral Food Christy Harrison's book Anti-Diet Bridging the Gap Article Series

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 to compete in the now-canceled Sheffield. Join us in this episode of Iron Culture where we get to take a look into the experience of a world champion who never saw it coming. Trust me, there is a lot of wisdom in this episode, and we were grateful Evie shared it with us!

The recent explosion of washed-up lifters getting in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has sparked some introspection within the CULT. To discover their chances of becoming a mixed martial legend, Eric & Omar bring in notable Strength & Conditioning coaches Phil Daru and Seth Lenetsky to discuss what it is liked getting punched in the face. Phil has coached many top lifters at ATT (American Top Team) and Seth is one of the few published researchers on the subject of MMA, with his Ph.D. being in "Punchology" as he puts it. Find out how fighters train to improve their performance and discover a tender moment when Omar puts forth his pride and joy, Eric, as the soon to be undisputed King of the Cage.

This episode is sure to create a lot of future apologies for the co-owners. In this far-ranging interview with IPF royalty and powerlifting phenom Jessica Buettner, the hosts immediately mispronounce her last name. Gracious in victory as well as in hearing butchered variations of her last name, Jessica has ascended to the tippity top of drug-tested powerlifting in only a few short years. Beyond the junior world championship and world records however is an insightful story of a lifter overcoming the odds, redefining what strength means and becoming an ambassador of all things heavy lifting.

This is the episode where the two hosts sell out. You knew it was going to happen. Inside you'll find Eric's top tips in order to become the biggest dancing sensation on TikTok and Omar explains how there really is no moral conundrum with selling photos of your calves on OnlyFans. Somewhere between those two sizzling topics, the hosts manage to give a sneak peek at the content creation process at Iron Culture. Many Iron CULT members have noted enjoying the diversity and depth of the discussions; it is high time the hosts explain the guiding principles of the Iron CULT. Instructive not only for aspiring personal trainers, educators, and lifting enthusiasts, underneath the thick banter you might just discover some guiding principles to leading a fulfilling life. Or learn a sick dance move from Eric. The man can move.

Have you noticed that more and more of the new crop of elite powerlifters were high-level athletes before hitting the platform? Powerlifting participation has grown greatly, and with it comes a greater talent pool. But what is talent? Is it just "genetics"? Or might it also be that powerlifting's recent popularity, and later age-peak for performance attracts former athletes? If so, are these athletes succeeding purely because they've got "genetics", or is there a mindset that comes from years of sport that fuels success? Tune in to this episode with world champions LS McClain and Taylor Atwood to get the perspective from two individuals who were competing long before they got their first squat command.

Training volume has a relationship with rates of hypertrophy in research. But how do you quantify volume? Further, just because a group doing more volume often grows more than a group doing less, does that mean your volume needs to increase? When should volume increase? Are there times volume increases are counterproductive? What are the fundamental differences between increasing load or reps, and number of sets? In this episode we break down hypertrophy, progressive overload, progression, and volume from a first principles perspective, ultimately helping you understand the answers to all of these questions.

It is time to talk about the new old school in powerlifting. We aren't referring to Larry Pacifico, Don Reinhoudt, or Ed Coan. We're talking about the rise of drug-tested powerlifting in the last decade with two of the biggest voices leading the way, Jonnie Candito and Russel Orhii. The number of participants in the IPF (and USAPL) has grown immensely over the last decade in no small part due to individuals being able to share their journey online. Jonnie Candito (of CanditoTrainingHQ) pioneered the informative strength video on YouTube, leading to many of his contemporaries trying out powerlifting. This in turned inspired individuals like Russel Orhii to get into powerlifting. Russel is one of the most popular powerlifters today with his 2019 IPF Championship win accumulating more views than any other IPF related video. What has led to this explosive growth? Why are squats suddenly cool? And is there any point in training other than getting ridiculously aesthetic? The hosts find out in today's episode.