What happens when your passion becomes your career? From the outside, lifting as an occupation would be an enviable position for any lifting enthusiast. There are hidden drawbacks however as things such as financial incentives shroud over a once pure pursuit.  How do you keep the fire lit after over a decade of lifting when seemingly all stones have been overturned? If you're a member of the Cult, perhaps one of the two Hunks atop the Pyramid, you turn on your penlight and you begin navigating the encroaching darkness.

Ep. 186 - The Resurrection of a Professional Toner

Iron Culture was started by Eric Helms and Omar Isuf as a means of exploring the world of physical culture and attempting to distill a unified philosophy of lifting and to help listeners find greater meaning from the iron. The lifting community has become fractured over the last ~70 years and this Podcast will attempt to explore the fundamental threads that unite these different tribes.  The Podcast focuses on dispensing practical, useful information to the listener, bouncing from history, to philosophy, to contemporary lifting culture issues, to science. This can range from teaching the audience about lifting, programming, nutrition, supplements/PEDs and the history of lifting culture. The format includes casual conversations between the two hosts on a variety of topics, discussions with a panel of experts and interviews with authoritative figures in the lifting community.

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Health & Fitness

Trextopia, this is your episode. We peel back the layers of pro natural bodybuilder, exercise science researcher & co-host of Iron Culture, Eric Trexler. Learn how he got into lifting, what low bar squatting 500lb ATG will do to your body & why there might be more controversy in Iron Culture’s near future. This might be the peak of Iron Culture but Trexler is no fan of peak weeks. 00:00 Introduction to an episode with Eric without the other Eric 03:06 An inside peak into Trexler’s day as a scientist (Trex lore)  09:42 Trexler’s foray into powerlifting 19:47 T-Nation and what informed Trexler’s training practices 27:12 Wrestling, lifting, and experimenting with training 36:02 Change of perspective: different approaches to training 42:44 The evolution of Trexler’s training and getting into science 48:37 “Optimisation” for bodybuilding and peaking (Helm’s hat cameo) 1:00:45 The pros and cons of different approaches 1:04:53 Diving into different research topics and the recent challenges in Trexler’s fitness journey  1:16:57 Growing and learning from the experiences (and the return of the T-Rex) 1:30:41 Closing out this monster episode 

Ep. 271 - Powerlifting, Natural Bodybuilding & Science (Eric Trexler’s Journey)

We here at Iron Culture have been on a mission to better inform you, dear listener, as to the inner workings of science. From what goes on in the lab itself, to the publication process, to dissemination, to eventual meta-analysis, the challenge of interpretation and communication of science, the optimistic promises of open science, and the increasing focus on replication, it’s been a hopefully eye-opening and overall encouraging discussion. However, while the scientific method is inherently self-correcting, the apparatus of science is far from perfect and there is a big problem with its principle tool of correcting the peer-reviewed record: retraction. What leads to a paper being retracted? What is the process? How does it impact the literature? Most importantly, does it effectively change the understanding of the science in the community the studies are meant to serve? Join the Erics in this most recent episode as they break it all down! 00:00 Retraction in science and a recently retracted study on cold water immersion Néma 2024 Impact of cold exposure on life satisfaction and physical composition of soldiershttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36599485/ Iron Culture Ep. 267- Addressing Data Fraud in Nutrition Science https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZqQ0_pweTs 16:00 A peak behind the sport science curtain 25:19 The process of retraction and its flaws Soria-Gila 2015 Effects of Variable Resistance Training on Maximal Strength: A Meta-Analysishttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25968227/ Retraction Watch https://retractionwatch.com/ 41:15 Keeping up to date with retractions and critically appraising studies Wakefield 1998 Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9500320/ 1:00:54 Wild claims from science communicators and their responsibility 1:11:09 Letter to the editor and the retraction process Phillips 2017 Changes in body composition and performance with supplemental HMB-FA+ATPhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28301440/ 1:22:53 The open science movement and the dangers of unreliable findings 1:30:04 Moving forward: the effective science communicatorand alternative publishing models 1:39:16 Closing out this intervention episode for Helms

Ep. 270 - Scientific Retractions Aren’t Working

Whitney Houston said it best: “I believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way.” Here at Iron Culture, we’re old, irrelevant and out of touch. But, we believe in platforming the next generation of educators to carry on the torch (or at least pandering so they’ll platform us in return when we can no longer pay the bills). In this Roundtable we’re joined by Dr. Milo Wolf, Dr. Pak, and first-time guest Max Coleman, to discuss the challenges of growing a following using social media in 2024 as an evidence-based content creator. The game has changed what worked for us, won’t be as successful, and striking the right balance is not easy, and getting it wrong comes with lashback. Are we all just doing more harm than good? Join us as we discuss! 00:00 Ignoring our actual guests and introducing Jim Powers 05:06 Actually introducing the young pioneers and getting into the topic 13:22 Milo’s thoughts and using the hook of the title and the thumbnail Iron Culture Ep. 268- Science Communication, Gatekeeping & The Fitness Industry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOuoJoF5IDA 20:43 The rise of Eric’s visibility and gaining a foothold in social media fitness  28:52 Dr. Pak’s perspective and how he shapes his content 36:28 Playing the social media game 49:18 Nuance, and (finally) getting Max Coleman’s viewpoint   1:00:54 Doing it for the fame, the saturation of the landscape, and finding yourself within it 1:10:24 Milo’s tips for new content creators (one weird trip to explode your social media presence) 1:22:05 Max’ favourite movies and some applications to takeaway 1:33:20 Closing out and where to find our guests (to increase their subscriber count by 2) Milo https://www.youtube.com/@WolfCoaching, IG @wolfcoach_ , wolfcoaching.com   Dr Pak https://www.youtube.com/@Dr__Pak IG @dr__pak , drpak.com Max  IG @coleman.et.al

Ep. 269 - Are Social Media PhDs Ruining Fitness? (feat Dr. Milo Wolf, Max Coleman & Dr. Pak)

Dr. Pak is back on Iron Culture for his third appearance! This time, he sat down with Omar and Dr. Helms for a meta-discussion on the challenges of science communication. How do you maintain credibility when you’re using social media as a science communication tool? This challenge has changed, but it isn’t new by any means. The “Sagan effect” describes the well-researched phenomenon by which the scientific community perceives other scientists who get more media exposure as less legitimate scientists - despite the fact that, on average, scientists more active in science communication typically publish slightly more often and with a higher impact than scientists less active in science communication. In modern times, however, the incentive structures are different, and many instances of expert creep, “selling out” and pseudoscience have been propagated on social media by some academics or members of the medical community. In this episode we discuss the challenges of attempting to communicate science without being criticized for doing so, how this has and hasn’t changed over time, and the instances of gatekeeping which are ultimately counterproductive to increasing scientific literacy. 00:00 Introduction to Helms Haven/Deep 04:57 The Dr Pak Trilogy and The Grizzly at the Raskol booth at the Arnold 16:13 The Grizzly backstory 32:52 Pak’s experience with The Grizzly 42:43 The academic and the memer 52:18 The scientific community and public scientists Martinez-Conde 2016 Has Contemporary Academia Outgrown the Carl Sagan Effect? https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26888919/  1:13:53 Getting the reps in within the science communication game and being critiqued 1:35:00 Academics and science communicators across social media platforms  1:42:35 The closing pieces to this monster episode  Where to find Dr. Pak Instagram: @dr__pak https://www.instagram.com/dr__pak/ YouTube: @Dr__Pak https://www.youtube.com/@Dr__Pak Website: https://www.drpak.com/

Ep. 268 - Science Communication, Gatekeeping & The Fitness Industry (feat Dr. Pak)

The holy trinity is back and holy smokes do we have a Holy Ghost of an episode! First, to kick things off the crew discusses the recent “March madness” of powerlifting that just finished: IPF European Champs, the UK Arnold, and Powerlifting America Nationals. Some absolutely stunning performances occurred all over the world in powerlifting and it seems the rising tide of talent has no end. Then we get into the meat - or should I say the bottomless soup - of the episode. While fraud in research is exceedingly rare, it does happen, and unfortunately, more common issues such as p-hacking are a far more prevalent issue. What is to be done in situations like this? One tool, as the Erics discuss, is replication. 00:00 An intro in unison (as always) and Trexler the bouncer MASS Research Review https://massresearchreview.com/ Raskol Apparel https://raskolapparel.com/ 10:20 Introducing more Trex lore 14:42 Powerlifting America Nationals, Arnold UK, and IPF European Champs recap 34:45 Trexler yawn-gate rears its head again and some numbers behind tzhe sport 54:37 Trexler’s return and getting into the science of replication  1:10:08 The bottomless soup bowl Wansink 2005 Bottomless bowls: why visual cues of portion size may influence intake https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15761167/ Lopez 2024 Visual cues and food intake: A preregistered replication of Wansink et al. (2005) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37917442/ Vigotsky 2022 Improbable data patterns in the work of Barbalho et al.  https://osf.io/preprints/sportrxiv/sg3wm  George 2015 Data fraud in clinical trials https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25729561/ 1:19:41 What is a successful replication? 1:29:10 Closing out with a brief history of violence 

Ep. 186 - The Resurrection of a Professional Toner

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