Iron Culture presented by MASS

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 159 - Vitamin D Supplementation: A Deep Dive Feb 21, 2022

Show notes

The hype around Vitamin D supplementation has waxed and waned over the years in the lifting community, but has overall, landed in a place where it's more or less universally seen as a positive supplement. But what is the state of the data? What can you expect as a lifter out of vitamin D supplementation? How do you measure vitamin D status, how reliable are these measures, and should we even be measuring it? The answer probably differs at the population and individual levels. We're joined by Dr. Niamh Aspell of Sigma Nutrition who did her Ph.D. on Vitamin D as well as Austin Baraki, MD from barbell medicine who deals with this on a clinical level on a regular basis to answer these questions.

Ep. 158 - Why You Should Be Skeptical of Ecdysteroids (Including Turkesterone) Feb 14, 2022

Show notes

Turkesterone and ecdysterone have garnered a lot a of interest as of late, and a number of notable folks in the evidence based community have done a great job pointing out the lack of evidence supporting their efficacy. For newer lifters, you might not be aware, but this isn't the first time these compounds have been hyped up beyond the evidence. Is this hope and hype founded? In this episode we're joined by Ben Esgro, who uses his pharmacological knowledge to explain that it probably isn't. Join us as he goes through a mechanistic evaluation of how these compounds works, and why we probably shouldn't expect much out of them.

Ep. 157 - Exercise Selection for Hypertrophy: An In-Depth Examination Feb 07, 2022

Show notes

Exercise selection, a multi-layered piece of cake that you don't have to eat all of to benefit from, but really, who eats just part of a slice of cake (weirdo)? For hypertrophy, it can be as simple as having a few compound exercises for each major muscle group, a few isolation exercises to round them, smaller muscle groups out, and training through a full ROM. But, what about the folks who tell you compounds are all you need? And what about all those bodybuilders who swear by (certain types) of partials? Well, the former folks may have not considered the functional anatomy of specific muscles, or how biarticular muscles function in compound exercises, and more importantly, they probably don't care. Most of the time, these minimalists are actually answering a different question and have different goals from the competitive or non-competitive physique athlete, but on the internet, this gets lost. Likewise, those IFBB pros training through a partial range of motion…is it just steroid-induced ego lifting? Or are they perhaps focusing on something you hadn't considered? In this episode we go through each layer, helping you understand why the range of motion is an important variable, and how certain types of partials are actually fine, and maybe even beneficial, while others will short change your stimulus. Finally, we talk about why it's a good idea to not just stick to compounds if your goal is hypertrophy, and which specific muscle groups and exercises you need to consider.

Ep. 156 - Deloads: The Science of Overload, Fatigue & Recovery Jan 31, 2022

Show notes

Watch the Episode Here:

https://youtu.be/99e5iFWZwEQ

Deloads, sometimes called unloads, light weeks, or simply incorporated as phases of a periodized plan, are frequently discussed in the evidence-based community, but they actually have very little direct research behind them. If that's the case, why are these phases universally used? What principles are deloads based on? What sectors of research do we use to indirectly inform their structure? And most importantly, what options do you have for deloading, and how should you apply different approaches in different contexts? Join us in this episode of iron culture to find out!

Ep. 155 - Alex Tilinca: A Self Made Man Jan 24, 2022

Show notes

In this episode of Iron Culture, we're joined by Alex Tilinca. Alex is a young competitive physique athlete with an already impressive amateur career thus far, seeking to get nationally qualified this year and hopefully compete at the national level in the NPC in the Classic Physique division. He's also a prep coach at Scooby Prep, the well-known prep coaching company started and led by Jason Theobald. What makes Alex's journey unique, is that he was born female, and is the first transgender man to compete in the classic physique division. His goal is to become the first transgender IFBB Classic Pro and one day, to become an Olympian. Join us in this episode as he shares his story, his experiences, the unique aspects of contest prep he's discovered along the way, and how he helps other similar lifters navigate their goals through his experiences.

Alex Tilinca https://www.instagram.com/alextilinca https://www.selfmademan.shop/ Coaching: alex@scoobyprep.com https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXsXl9txLLFtO71fg4wNKBw

Ep. 154 - Intermittent Fasting & Peri-Workout Carbohydrates Jan 17, 2022

Show notes

In this episode of Iron Culture, we do a deep dive on the topic of pre-workout carbohydrate intake. While the data on endurance training is relatively consistent in showing a beneficial effect on performance, it's more complex for resistance training. For strength and power, what you eat prior to training is probably less important, but when assessing the ability to perform volume, the data indicate that eating prior to training can in some contexts make a difference. This then leads to a discussion on time-restricted feeding (AKA intermittent fasting), as many adherents don't consume a meal before training. Specifically, we discuss a new year-long study on time-restricted feeding, the longest to date, to see how these two lines of investigation converge.

Ep. 153 - Were Ancient Warriors Actually Jacked? Jan 10, 2022

Show notes

Watch Episode 1 Here: https://youtu.be/VHBTMm94yeM

In this episode, we lean heavily into the history and culture side of Iron Culture and discuss ancient history, specifically, ancient warfare and its accompanying physical culture. For those who don't know, Omar teamed up with the History Channel to host a series that just launched on the History Channel's YouTube and streaming service titled "Ancient Workouts". You can catch the first episode which is already out now, and in this episode, we discuss some of the coolest aspects of the show. Specifically, we evaluate the various tropes we have in modern times about the physicality, training, and diets of Vikings, Spartans, Gladiators, and others, and dissect how these tropes compare to actual historical evidence. If you didn't know, Omar is actually somewhat of an amateur historian, so you'll get the rare experience of hearing him go in on a topic, while Eric listens and learns.

Ep. 152 - Effort vs Exertion, Frequency, and Qualitative Research (Q&A) Jan 03, 2022

Show notes

We're kicking off 2022 by listening to the people. We, your humble cult leaders, are benevolent theocratic overlords, who want your voice to be heard (so long as you say and ask things that we approve of beforehand). That's right, we're back with another question and answer episode! In this episode, we discuss the differences between effort and exertion, what the latest data on frequency suggests, and what the limitations of the extant frequency data are, and finally, we discuss the role and importance and qualitative research in a field dominated by quantitative data. Enjoy!

Ep. 151 - Strange But True Dec 27, 2021

Show notes

As it's said, truth is stranger than fiction. On Iron Culture we've pointed out multiple fantastical, claims backed by pseudoscience that were just gimmicks designed to make you buy something. But sometimes, things that sound gimmicky are actually legit. In this episode, we cover a number of them, like the surprising effects of visualization (AKA motor imagery) training on strength, the effects of compression garments on recovery, and also the positive and negative effects of cold therapy.

Ep. 150 - Iron Culture: 3 Years Later Dec 20, 2021

Show notes

Can you believe it's been nearly 3 years of running the cult? By this point, most people in our shoes would have had their final Kool-Aid party, ran out of followers after inaccurately predicting the apocalypse too many times, or simply had the law catch up with them after too much credit card fraud and polygamy. But nay! We still stand (err sit) before you, preaching the gospel THEY don't want you to hear. That's right, this pirate radio station isn't going anywhere (at least until one of the big corporations we hit up for an ad partnership on the daily finally responds)! Join us for this 150th anniversary Iron culture reflections episode…and thank you for listening!

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Iron Culture presented by MASS

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected