Iron Culture presented by MASS
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. It's now hosted by Eric Helms and Eric Trexler, who repeatedly beg Omar to return as a guest.
Iron Culture focuses on dispensing practical, useful information to the listener, bouncing from history, to philosophy, to contemporary lifting culture issues, to science. 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.
Iron Culture is proudly presented by the MASS Research Review.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 93 minutes
- Episodes
- 347
- Years Active
- 2019 - 2025
Ep. 47 - Everything You Wanted To Know About Protein (Timing, Amount, Frequency)
In one of our previous duo episodes, Omar went on a deep dive with Eric into autoregulation, the topic of his Ph.D. In this episode, Omar sits down with Eric and asks him to rewind the academic clock…
Ep. 46 - Powerlifting: Raw vs Equipped Lifting (ft. Mike Tuchscherer, Natalie Hanson, and Bryce Krawczyk)
Mike Tuchscherer and Natalie Hanson return to Iron Culture in this obscenely strong episode. These world champions and top tier powerlifting coaches are joined by first-time Cult member, Canadian cha…
Ep. 45 - Everything You Wanted To Know About Strongman & Strongwoman (ft. Joey Szatmary & Alan Thrall)
Accused of being "Aesthetic Boys" that just care about muscular men, the hosts decide to pivot and talk about the next best thing; Strongmen/women. The hosts are joined by Strongman competitors Joey …
Ep. 44 - The Science of Bodybuilding (ft. Dr. Bill Campbell)
Dr. Bill Campbell is a full professor at the University of South Florida where he runs the “Physique Lab”, a unique place in the world of sports science. At his lab, Dr. Campbell and his students and…
Ep. 43 - Veganism, Nutrition & Moderation
“Documentaries” have changed the game (pun intended) when it comes to nutrition. Unfortunately, this has not been for the better, as misinformation, bias, and conflicts of interest have polluted avai…
Ep. 42 - Strength & Conditioning (Ft. Ian Pyka)
Coach Ian Pyka has more history than fits in an episode. While currently an instructor of kinesiology, biomechanics and strength and conditioning at Florida Atlantic University, Coach Pyka has done i…
Ep. 41 - Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Creatine (ft. Dr. Darren Candow)
It is no secret that co-host Omar Isuf has had a long and difficult relationship with Creatine Monohydrate. Today's episode is about facing your addictions head-on as the hosts bring leading Creatine…
Ep. 40 - Training Frequency For Strength & Hypertrophy
Humans try to reduce answers to binary outcomes: yes or no, black or white, or often as is the case in fitness, good or bad. Unfortunately, this is often to our own detriment as few fitness questions…
Ep. 39 - How Bodybuilding Saved My Life (Ft. John Berardi)
John Berardi has been a voice of evidence-based nutrition for decades. A competitive bodybuilder in his youth he went on to pursue his Ph.D. and became one of the first well-known voices advocating f…
Ep. 38 - Flexible Dieting, Meal Plans & Nutrition (Ft. Laurin Conlin)
If you've been in the fitness industry long enough, you've undoubtedly heard of flexible dieting. Depending upon who you ask, flexible dieting is either a liberating way of quantifying the food you c…
Episode 37 - Insulin, Obesity & Weight Loss (Ft. James Krieger)
James Krieger has been putting out some of the best science-based information in the lifting community for over a decade. With expertise in nutrition, resistance training, statistics, and with person…
Ep. 36 - How To Look Your Absolute Best: Peaking (ft. Cliff Wilson)
Cliff Wilson is universally respected in the bodybuilding community, on both sides of the fence, by enhanced and natural athletes and coaches alike. He’s an example of a coach who is science-aware bu…
Ep. 35 - What Bodybuilders Do Differently (ft. Alberto Nunez)
In this episode of Iron Culture, you get to observe the emotional maturity of Omar as he realizes he’s in an open relationship with Eric. The original bodybuilding bromance is on display this week, a…
Ep. 34 - How To Coach Yourself (Ft. Mike Israetel)
We were joined by Dr. Mike Israetel to discuss Maximum Recoverable Volume...just kidding. Actually, we were moved to chat with Mike after his recent post where he went point-by-point through his self…
Ep. 33 - Pain Science, Injury & Rehab (ft. Nick Licameli, Quinn Henoch, and Jordan Feigenbaum)
Ep. 32 - Alan Thrall, Silent Mike & Jim McDonald (SacTown Boys)
Consider this episode a homecoming as co-host Eric Helms reminisces on Sacramento lifting culture. He is joined by fellow Sacramento natives Alan Thrall, Silent Mike, and Jim McDonald. A seemingly sm…
Ep. 31 - Chronicling Weightlifting & World’s Strongest Man (ft. Randall Strossen)
Over the last three decades, Randall Strossen was there for it all. World records in weightlifting at the Olympics and world championships, incredible performances at the Highland games world champio…
Ep. 30 - The Science of Weight Loss (Metabolic Adaptation ft. Dr Eric Trexler)
Is Iron Culture big enough for two pro natural bodybuilders with PhDs named Eric (or was it Derek)? The banter heats up as metabolisms cool down this week as the cult leaders are joined by Dr Eric Tr…
Ep. 29 - The Science & History of Steroids (And Drug Testing ft. Alex Kolliari-Turner)
Doping: the topic every 19 year old in the YouTube comments section seems to be an expert on. Maybe it’s more complicated and nuanced than the local internet culture would have you believe? In this e…
Ep. 28 - The Problem With The Fitness Industry (ft. Chip Conrad)
In this episode, Eric & Omar are joined by firebrand Chip Conrad. A true physical culture enthusiast, Chip has been involved with seminal figures in our culture (Mel Siff, Tommy Kono, Jan Todd and Da…