Iron Culture

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

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!

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.

As a hardcore Iron CULTure listener, you’re already drinking the cool-aid. But, did you know that a large majority of adults are already drinking another addictive drug? You guessed it, caffeine is consumed in one form or another ubiquitously across the globe. In this episode, the man himself, Registered Dietitian Ben Esgro becomes a three-peat Iron Culture guest. He unholsters his dual master's degrees in sports nutrition and pharmaceutical chemistry and comes in blazing in this episode to teach you everything about caffeine. From its pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics to its mechanisms of action, performance-enhancing effects, side effects, withdrawal, dependence, and the other nutraceuticals which can modify its effects, this monster episode of iron culture could easily replace your morning cup-a-Joe!

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.

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.