Iron Culture presented by MASS

From the 1900s when Eugen Sandow promoted "Plasmon" and his "Health and Strength Cocoa", the supplement industry has been rife with dubious claims. Since, like a game of limbo, the bar for quality, and scientific accuracy has only lowered. Rather than bending under the low bar, a few individuals vaulted right over by doing the unthinkable: starting companies that sell science-backed products, educate consumers, and use no-nonsense marketing. This week, Eric hosts a roundtable consisting of Ben Esgro, the biochemical-artist behind De Novo Nutrition, Mike Matthews of Legion Athletics, and our very own Omar Isuf, founder of Ouroboros. Learn the challenges they face as iconoclasts in the supplement industry and how they overcame them in this episode.

Ten years ago, any supposedly knowledgeable PT would be making judicious use of the friendly blue foam roller with clients. Ten years later, the blue idol has fallen out of fashion and we've seen a trend towards minimalism. Stretching is overrated. Doing a squat will prepare you to squat and that is the end of the story. Or is it? Co-owners Eric Helms & Omar Isuf are joined by veteran personal trainer and gym owner Dean Somerset. Dean has been successfully navigating the realm beyond simply counting 3 sets of 10 for almost 20 years and his approach is an exemplary model for aspiring trainers to follow. By the end of this episode, you will learn that the blue cylinder is neither friend nor foe but a tool whose utility depends upon the context of use. Spoiler Alert.

Rewind the clock. The year is 2009, Lady Gaga is all the rage, MySpace is THE social media platform and if you eat carbs after 6 pm, you are sabotaging your gains. Enjoy this episode of co-hosts Eric Helms and Omar Isuf reminiscing on their early days as lifting enthusiasts. You'll learn about the most anabolic chili, how far Eric is willing to go to get his protein intake and why adding 5lb per week to the bar doesn't work forever. You'll probably find yourself nodding along relating to many of the anecdotes...and probably being horrified by several others.

What is aesthetic? While the hosts agree on what they consider aesthetic in a physique (except for the importance of calves), individual opinions vary drastically. Despite the variety of opinions, physique sport judges have the difficult task of ranking competitors in multiple divisions. In this episode, we are joined by first-time guests Chris Bumstead, the current Classic Physique Mr. Olympia, and Pro Natural Men's Physique Champion and Coach, Paul Revelia, to explore aesthetics in and out of physique competition.

Omar and Eric realized that if they maintained their current totals, and cut to the 59kg class, they'd rank among the top 10 raw drug-free powerlifters in the world. In this episode, they bring on three researchers/coaches/athletes: Kedric Kwan, David Nolan, and Arthur Lynch, experts who in the course of their ongoing PhDs have published the only peer-reviewed research in existence on this topic. Ultimately, Omar and Eric's dreams of becoming elite 59kg lifters are crushed, but the listeners come away with valuable knowledge.

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.