Hammer and Chisel Performance Podcast

Maximus McCall is an Australian nutrition and strength coach. He works with some of the most elite strongman competitors, powerlifters and fighters in the world. Max is highly intelligent and utilizes some unorthodox strategies for dieting, as well as some unique protocols for managing mental issues like addiction and depression. We dive into several of those interesting unique diet and supplementation protocols in this episode and there are some incredibly interesting takeaways from this conversation.

In this week's rant, I go delve into a different topic than nutrition and training and talk about SLEEP. And I have an alternative perspective to offer here.

Stan Efferding is an IFBB Professional Bodybuilder, elite powerlifter, coach, entrepreneur, and creator of The Vertical Diet. Known as “The White Rhino,” Stan has spent decades at the highest levels of strength and physique sports while becoming a respected voice on nutrition, metabolism, performance, and long-term health.

Beyond his accomplishments as an athlete, Stan is known for his practical, evidence-based approach to improving body composition, bloodwork, digestion, cardiovascular health, and performance. His work emphasizes mastering the fundamentals—nutrition, training, sleep, movement, and health markers—rather than chasing unnecessary complexity.

In this week's nutrition rant, I dive into a huge error that people make when evaluating foods and their diet overall...over focusing on carbs and neglecting to account for the fats they do not realize they are eating!

Dr. Ben Skutnik is a performance scientist, educator, and nutrition coach with a Ph.D. in Human Performance from Indiana University. With over a decade of experience in strength & conditioning, sport science, and nutrition, Ben has worked with everyone from collegiate athletes to national-level weightlifters and Olympians. He currently serves as Head of Nutrition Coaching for Power Athlete, where he helps athletes turn evidence-based nutrition principles into practical, sustainable habits that improve health, body composition, and performance.In this episode of the Hammer and Chisel Performance Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Ben Skutnik to get back to the fundamentals of nutrition.With social media constantly pushing new diets, supplements, hacks, and conflicting nutrition advice, it’s easy to lose sight of the things that actually matter. Ben and I break nutrition down to its basic principles and discuss what people should understand before worrying about the more advanced details.We cover the roles of calories and macronutrients, food quality, meal structure, building sustainable eating habits, nutrition for performance and body composition, and why consistently executing the basics will take most people much further than chasing the latest nutritional trend.Whether your goal is to lose fat, build muscle, improve performance, or simply develop a better understanding of nutrition, this episode provides a practical foundation you can actually apply.

There is currently a debate in the fitness industry. Is the best way to grow muscle by essentially eating at maintenance and training effectively? Or smashing tons of food and gaining weight? I break down both sides and give MY opinion on the best way to approach this

Vince Wilkinson is one of the most unique humans alive. He is a strongman competitor, in the Army, has a massive social media following, and has become a huge influencer of men through his conquests in the fitness industry. A truly one of a kind human. LOCK in for this episode

I met up with Will Ratelle at his house in North Dakota. We trained our asses off and answered all of your questions you sent us on Instagram!

TIME STAMPS

0:00 Intro

1:46 Advice for novices to gain as much muscle as possible

3:25 Hunger hacks during a fat loss phase

4:39 Best way to improve bench with a history of pec pulls/tears

6:08 Cutting body fat while running high mileage

7:26 Best protein, carb & fat split when cutting

8:43 Are Zercher cleans useful for explosiveness and thickness?

9:01 Could you guys beat Kane in a fight?

9:33 How long to convince Jon to move to North Dakota?

10:12 Top set/back-off sets vs. equal-weight working sets

12:17 Would you return to strength & conditioning for an NFL head job?

14:26 How important is electrolyte supplementation?

15:53 How should you track cooking fats?

16:26 Thoughts on full-body training for hypertrophy

18:34 How to gain 10–15 lbs when training is already on point

19:08 How should night-shift workers track calories?

20:03 Do you miss college/pro football strength & conditioning?

22:21 Reasons and timing for a mini-cut

24:37 Should you go straight from a cut into a bulk?

25:19 Nutrition, training & sleep: two great, one terrible

25:48 Should training change between cutting and bulking?

28:03 How lean should a male be before starting a gain phase?

29:15 Thoughts on sauna for athletic recovery

30:13 Which area of your business would you drop first?

31:09 Should you adjust calories based on WHOOP calories burned?

32:19 Top 3 protein and carb sources

33:47 Does Will still warm up with dot drills?

34:09 Diet structure for performance vs. body composition

35:20 Minimum calories/kg before starting a cut

36:09 Can you improve bench using only dips and behind-the-neck press?

36:33 Best frequency and volume for sprint training

37:46 What attributes do you like in your clients?

40:13 All-time favorite training split

42:02 What food scale brand do you recommend?

42:21 Is power work and jumping overrated?

43:23 Training an obese client with limited range of motion

44:12 Hobbies outside of lifting and fitness

45:26 How many years to reach your natural lifting limit?

45:36 What have you changed your mind on nutritionally?

47:30 Can a busy dad get big, strong & capable training 3–4 days/week?

50:02 How do you recover after heavy training sessions?

52:03 Favorite movies

53:19 Could you arm wrestle Devon Larratt?

54:29 Best strategies for injury prevention

55:43 Does your pre-workout meal change between gaining and cutting?

56:05 What do you believe that 99% of the field would disagree with?

58:59 How to drink alcohol in moderation while maintaining a healthy lifestyle

1:01:27 Can you still make gains while drinking on weekends?

1:01:35 How should you adjust calories and training after surgery?

1:02:23 Is hunger necessary for a good calorie deficit?

1:03:19 How do you stay on plan while traveling?

1:05:30 How can you speed up digestion?

1:06:02 Accessory lifts improving but compounds regressing during a cut

1:06:27 Why are Jon's calves so small?

1:07:08 Should you stay in an 800-calorie deficit during a peaking cycle?

1:08:17 Most impressive athletic feats

1:09:58 Struggling to lose more fat after going from 25% to 13%

1:10:46 Athletes you looked up to growing up

1:12:10 Is an initial weight spike normal when starting a gain phase?

1:12:42 Does undereating your calorie target during a cut matter?

1:13:14 What do you think of people who say bulking is dumb?

1:14:36 Preferred rep range for hypertrophy

1:15:53 Maintenance or surplus on vacation with little exercise?

1:16:21 Are barefoot/minimalist shoes worth it for training?

1:16:38 What do you do to stay disciplined?

1:19:47 Outro

In this week's nutrition and training rant I cover how to properly match training cycles with the diet phase you are in. How to approach training while cutting, while bulking, and in transition or maintenance periods.

Ashley Kowalewski is a Strength & Conditioning Coach at LSU, where she oversees performance training for the Tigers' volleyball and women's tennis programs. A former Division I javelin thrower at the University of Oklahoma, Ashley has coached at Arizona, Missouri, Michigan, and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center. Known for her innovative, athlete-first approach, she specializes in developing resilient, high-performing athletes through unconventional and evidence-based training methods.

Time Stamps00:00 Intro01:08 Meet Ashley Kowalewski (LSU Strength Coach)07:30 Pull-Up Progressions for Beginners11:42 Ashley's Coaching Journey18:34 Assistant Strength Coach of the Year20:14 Isometric Training Explained24:34 Yielding vs. Overcoming vs. Quasi Isometrics30:09 How Ashley Programs Isometrics38:34 Offseason Isometric Progressions43:23 Sponsor Break / Training Programs45:17 Isometrics for Recovery & Performance46:36 Hotel Workouts with Ratchet Straps50:50 "Train Like an Athlete" Misconceptions56:45 Deep-Tier Plyometrics & Landing Progressions01:01:45 Olympic Lifts: Are They Necessary?01:05:50 Why Athlete Availability Is King01:10:17 Single-Leg Training & Pit Shark Progressions01:18:40 Gamifying Training for Athletes01:28:30 Unilateral Training Philosophy01:36:45 Hold Strong Opinions Loosely01:45:10 Coaches, Social Media & Sharing Knowledge01:54:16 Where to Find Ashley Kowalewski01:55:08 Outro