Iron Culture

In today's episode, Drs Trexler and Helms discuss a wide range of fitness topics including metabolic stress, "the pump," targeting the different heads of the biceps, individualising diets and supplement protocols, maximal rates of fat loss, blood flow restricted training, the philosophy of science, and much more! We had some technical issues while recording this episode live, but it's all fixed now with the wonders of editing. If you don't understand a couple of the jokes, they're referring to chaos that has been deleted. Time stamps: 00:00 Straight into the topic: why should anyone care about metabolic stress? 03:13 Helms takes a deep dive into energy systems and muscle physiology 12:37 Subjective and objective measures of the pump and potential influencing factors 22:12 Arterial and venous occlusion 29:35 Update on Trexler’s training and Q&A 1 different curl variations 38:53 Q&A 2 Manipulating forearm position for the biceps? 42:42 Q&A 3 Can BFR increase vascularity? And an aside on muscle memory and testosterone 48:03 Q&A 4 Individualising supplements and diet 58:34 Q&A 5 Fat oxidation and maximum rate of fat loss per day with some applications for contest prep 1:13:42 Q&A 6 Science communicators/educators and the philosophy of science  Larsen 2025 Knee flexion range of motion does not influence muscle hypertrophy of the quadriceps femoris during leg press training in resistance-trained individuals https://sportrxiv.org/index.php/server/preprint/view/502  Kubo 2019 Effects of squat training with different depths on lower limb muscle volumes https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31230110/ Iron Culture Ep. 109- Empiricism vs Rationalism: What Do We Really Know When It Comes To Fitness? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT3KPnTgO7M 1:29:27 Q&A 7 Using BFR in practice 1:30:50 Closing out MASS Research Review https://massresearchreview.com/  --- Music credit: Airport Lounge - Disco Ultralounge by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-... Artist: http://incompetech.com/

In this episode of Iron Culture, Eric Helms and Trex discuss a variety of evidence-based fitness topics. In this conversation, Dr. Trexler and Dr. Helms delve into the complexities of muscle gain, recovery, and the role of nutrition in performance. They discuss the nuances of identifying plateaus in training, the impact of training volume, the importance of food quality, and how psychological factors can influence recovery and performance. The dialogue emphasizes the need for a balanced approach to training volume and exercise selection, as well as the impact of nutrition on overall health and performance in bodybuilding. They also discuss modern theories and practical applications surrounding body weight regulation and the neurophysiological factors influencing obesity. They explore the gravitosat theory, discuss the implications of muscle gain on body weight regulation, and examine the concept of upper and lower intervention points. Additionally, they touch on powerlifting training strategies and the significance of volume in strength training.   Time stamps: 0:00 Music 5:08 Introduction to the new year and another episode (and learning through teaching) 14:48 Q&A 1: Navigating injuries and recovery with training 23:42 Q&A 2: Plateaus with low volumes and difficulties recovering from increasing volume 31:08 Trexler on the importance of exercise selection and prescribing set volumes for clients 45:31 Q&A 3 The role of food quality in performance and hypertrophy 1:00:07 Q&A 4 Bodyweight regulation and intervention points with muscle gain 1:04:14 Exploring the Gravitostat Theory 1:10:50 Lower intervention points: muscle and fat gain Speakman 2011 Set points, settling points and some alternative models: theoretical options to understand how genes and environments combine to regulate body adiposity https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22065844/ 1:16:12 Neurophysiology and bodyweight regulation 1:24:01 Practical Applications of Body Weight Theories 1:29:35 Powerlifting Insights and Training Strategies Andoulakis-Korakakis 2021 The Minimum Effective Training Dose Required for 1RM Strength in Powerlifters https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34527944/ Pelland 2024 The Resistance Training Dose-Response: Meta-Regressions Exploring the Effects of Weekly Volume and Frequency on Muscle Hypertrophy and Strength Gain https://sportrxiv.org/index.php/server/preprint/view/460 1:33:31 Closing out another episode of Iron Culture presented by MASS https://massresearchreview.com/ MASS Office Hours: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLq2Hpu55tCKbaklI9h4Z5-2kJYf5T3ren

In this episode, Eric Helms is joined by returning guest, his fellow 3DMJ coach and WNBF Pro bodybuilder, Alberto Nuñez, who is also the  male WNBF athlete rep. In addition, they are joined by first time guest Steff Noble, a WNBF Figure pro, experienced coach, and president of WNBF UK. The trio first reflects on what was arguably the most competitive natural bodybuilding season to date, and the overall state of drug free bodybuilding, which in many ways is flourishing. There is more interest, higher competitive levels, higher productive quality in some regions, and in some countries natural bodybuilding is growing faster than enhanced bodybuilding. In North America, while some federations are doing better than others, the market demand for natural bodybuilding is obvious, as the NPC has made a concerted push to enter the natural bodybuilding scene, promoting drug tested shows in the US and Canada (as well as overseas), and even offering the chance to turn pro at the biggest natural events, with promises of drug tested pro shows on the horizon. What does this mean for natural bodybuilding? Is this a good thing, a threat, the beginning of a new era, or the beginning of the end? Further, what does the natural bodybuilding community need to do collectively to secure its future? Join us in this episode as we review not only the 2024 natural bodybuilding season, but discuss the future of the sport. The MASS crew records Iron Culture LIVE on YouTube, every Monday night at 7pm eastern time. Be sure to join us for a future episode and say hello in the live chat! If you'd like to submit a question or topic for us to address on an upcoming episode, please use this link: https://massresearchreview.com/office... Time stamps: 00:00 (Re)-introducing Berto and Steff while Helms discusses ‘sports’ 04:15 Steff’s WNBF World’s recap and natural bodybuilding journey 10:35 The differences and similarities between the UK and US bodybuilding scenes (with some Eric seed-planting) 17:14 Berto’s WNBF World’s experience and the rising standard of bodybuilding 24:22 Regional differences in bodybuilding 36:09 The promoting and production of shows 46:00 The shift in the bodybuilding athlete mindset 51:31 The growth of the sport and increasing number of federations 59:12 Discussing comparisons with Powerlifting 1:13:40 Time for natural bodybuilding to adapt or die 1:26:03 Final perspectives on the future of bodybuilding 1:33:00 Closing out  

In this episode of Iron Culture presented by MASS, Dr. Eric Trexler and Dr. Eric Helms explore the science and debate surrounding lengthened partials, a training technique often celebrated for its hypertrophy and strength benefits. Drawing on recent studies, they discuss how emerging evidence challenges some hyperbolic claims of lengthened partials as a superior training method, suggesting instead that their effectiveness is highly context-dependent. The hosts advocate for viewing lengthened partials as a complementary, rather than revolutionary, tool in exercise programming. After the main discussion, the episode transitions into a series of listener questions, with Dr. Trexler sharing his renewed enthusiasm for training (and his current approach to training) as he recovers from surgery. The hosts also address topics like the importance of omega-3 intake during low-fat diets, the diminishing returns of high training volumes, practical applications of two-a-day training splits, and the impact of high-protein diets on digestive health, emphasizing fiber and dietary diversity. They also discuss caffeine’s role in sleep disruption, underlining caffeine timing as an easy way to improve sleep quality, among many other topics. The MASS crew records Iron Culture LIVE on YouTube, every Monday night at 7pm eastern time. Be sure to join us for a future episode and say hello in the live chat!  If you'd like to submit a question or topic for us to address on an upcoming episode, please use this link:  https://massresearchreview.com/office-hours/ Time stamps: 0:00 Intro music 2:30 Introduction to another episode of Iron Culture x MASS Office Hours 3:31 New pre-prints on lengthened partials Gschneider 2024 The effects of lengthened-partial range of motionresistance training of the limbs on arm and thigh musclecross-sectional area: a multi-site cluster trial https://sportrxiv.org/index.php/server/preprint/view/485 Hinson 2024 Mixing Up Muscle Lengths: The Effects of Manipulating Peak Torque At Different Muscle Lengths in the Elbow Flexors https://sportrxiv.org/index.php/server/preprint/view/486 16:33 Helms’ breakdown of the literature Maeo 2023 Effects of hip extension training performed with full versus partial range of motion at long muscle lengths on muscle hypertrophy and sprint performance https://www.ecss.mobi/DATA/EDSS/C28/28-3269.pdf Kassiano 2023 Greater Gastrocnemius Muscle Hypertrophy After Partial Range of Motion Training Performed at Long Muscle Lengths https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37015016/ Pedrosa 2022 Partial range of motion training elicits favorable improvements in muscular adaptations when carried out at long muscle lengths https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33977835/ Werkhausen 2021 Adaptations to explosive resistance training with partial range of motion are not inferior to full range of motion https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33465838/ 25:23 Live chat Q&A 1 An update on Trexler’s training 33:26 Q&A 2 Omega-3 intake with low fat diets 36:54 Q&A 3 Quantifying volume and finding the sweet spot Pelland 2024 The Resistance Training Dose-Response: Meta-Regressions Exploring the Effects of Weekly Volume and Frequency on Muscle Hypertrophy and Strength Gain https://sportrxiv.org/index.php/server/preprint/view/460 43:25 Teasing the MASS research interpretation and statistics guide 54:37 Q&A 4 When to do two-a-days 58:05 Q&A 5 Digestive health with high protein diets 1:06:12 Q&A 6 Caffeine and sleep disruption 1:13:07 Rapid fire Q&A: efficiency tiers, kinetic chain, waking-up with earplugs, cross-fit athletes, Trex’s injury and intervention, resistance profiles at different muscle lengths Plotkin 2023 Hip thrust and back squat training elicit similar gluteus muscle hypertrophy and transfer similarly to the deadlift https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37877099/ Kobayashi 2024 Distinct hypertrophy of the elbow flexors after incline versus preacher dumbbell curl training https://www.ecss.mobi/DATA/EDSS/C29/29-1752.pdf Zabaleta-Korta 2021 The role of exercise selection in regional Muscle Hypertrophy: A randomized controlled trial https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34743671/ Larsen 2024 Dumbbell versus cable lateral raises for lateral deltoid hypertrophy: an experimental study https://sportrxiv.org/index.php/server/preprint/view/487 1:32:37 Helms’ objectivity from being a competitive bodybuilder and closing out https://massresearchreview.com/ --- Music credit: Airport Lounge - Disco Ultralounge by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-... Artist: http://incompetech.com/