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. 245 - Is BMI Useless?
It’s Eric-ception folks. Today, we put to bed two controversies. Not only the controversy as to whether or not Eric Trexler is vat-grown, as he seems to have at least SOME pop-culture knowledge, but …
Ep. 244 - Does Your Body Composition Affect Your Testosterone Levels? (ft. Eric Trexler)
The new co-host of Iron Culture, Eric Trexler, is back with another (monster) episode. In this episode we take a look at everyone's favorite hormone, testosterone.
Specially, Dr. Trexler examines th…
Ep. 243 - Exercise Energy Compensation: It's Not JUST About Calories (ft. Eric Trexler)
This is a monster episode. Newly added co-host Eric Trexler details his impressive credentials, groundbreaking new line of research and perhaps most importantly, the best way to effectively execute a…
Ep 242 - The NEW Powerlifting King (feat Austin Perkins)
Fresh off his historic performance at USAPL Mega Nationals 2023, Austin Perkins joins Iron Culture to share his story of how in just two short years he exceeded Taylor Atwood’s 2021 record performanc…
Ep. 241 - The End of Iron Culture (As You Know It)
It’s been a while since the duo atop the pyramid just sat down for a good one-on-one chat, as we’ve had awesome guests on for the past 6 episodes. But what did we talk about as the two of us sat atop…
Ep. 240 - What Does it Mean to be an Evidence-based Coach? (feat Cliff Wilson)
The Iron Culture alumni tour continues with the four year anniversary of the last appearance of Cliff Wilson, who returns to Iron Culture after another four years in the trenches to share his perspec…
Ep. 239 - All About Body Composition & Body Fat (feat. Dr. Grant Tinsley)
The duo’s recent pilgrimage to Texas ended with a trip to the state-of-the-art Texas Tech University body composition lab led by Dr. Grant Tinsley. Eric and Omar went through a battery of body compos…
Ep. 238 - Do Steroids Give a Permanent Advantage? (feat Dr. Alex Kolliari-Turner)
It’s the four-year anniversary of the last appearance of then MR. Alex Kolliari-Turner, now DR. Alex Kolliari-Turner, who returns to Iron Culture to share the results of his now-completed Ph.D. resea…
Ep. 237 - What is the Dietary Fat Minimum Intake? (MASScast 7 ft. Dr. Eric Trexler)
The MASScast Iron Culture episodes are back! Today Dr. Eric Trexler joins us to answer the murky question: “What is an evidence-based guideline for a minimum dietary fat intake?” It’s easy to find gu…
Ep. 236 - Muscle Fiber Types & Training Explained (feat Andy Galpin)
Dr. Andy Galpin, world leading muscle fiber researcher, is back on Iron Culture! Dr. Galpin is not only a researcher, but a sports scientist and coach working with some of the most prominent elite at…
Ep. 235 - The Bikini Division - The Good, Bad, & Ugly (feat Laurin Conlin)
Laurin Conlin is back on Iron Culture after a long hiatus! For those who missed her first appearance, Laurin Conlin, MS is a coach and high-level competitor, having competed as an IFBB Pro Bikini ath…
Ep. 234 - The Ronnie Recap (feat. Conor Heffernan)
Last week we dropped the bombshell that we were going to have the opportunity to interview icon and 8x Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman, this week, we recap how it went. This episode was recorded while we …
Ep. 233 - The Road to Ronnie (feat. Conor Heffernan)
Yup, it’s confirmed. We’re going to interview living legend, 8-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman at the one and only Metroflex in Arlington Texas, in person, along with its founder Brian Dobson, and lo…
Ep. 232 - Iron Culture Documentary Update
With both hosts traveling to Texas, this is one of the rare weeks in which you get only Eric. Even more tragic (or perhaps a relief), you only get him for 10 minutes. But, it’s an exciting 10 minutes…
Ep. 231 - Keeping Strength While Cutting & Fiber-type Specific Hypertrophy (MASScast 6)
In this MASScast episode Dr. Helms shares his recent experience cutting down to and competing in the 83kg category - a weight class lower than his typical - in the midst of his bodybuilding contest p…
Ep. 230 - The Biggest Powerlifting Comeback of 2023 (feat Pana)?
We are joined by Panagiotis “Pana” Tarinidis, the now two-time 66kg IPF unequipped World Champion fresh off his win at the 2023 world championships in Malta. His story is one of redemption, as despit…
Ep. 229 - Is Failure More Important Than Volume For Hypertrophy (MASScast 4 ft. Dr. Zourdos & Zac Robinson)
In this MASScast episode, we’re joined not only by MASScast fellow host Dr. Mike Zourdos but also Ph.D. candidate Zac Robinson of Data Driven Strength, both of whom are co-authors on a pre-print that…
Ep. 228 - The State of Powerlifting (IPF Worlds 2023)
With Eric freshly back from coaching and commentating (how dare he) at IPF Classic Worlds 2023 - the largest, most competitive worlds to date - it only makes sense for a recap and discussion regardin…
Ep. 227 - Is Formal Education Worth it? (MASScast 3 ft. Lauren Colenso-Semple)
Let’s face it, going to school isn’t cheap. Moreso, you can learn almost anything online that you can learn in school. So is it worth it? How about for personal trainers? If it is worth it, for who a…
Ep. 226 - How Strong Do You Need To Be, Really? (Feat Dr Pak)
Patroklos Androulakis-Korakakis, AKA “Dr. Pak”, is back! In this episode we caught up with Dr. Pak while he was visiting Omar’s home turf in Toronto! There they trained together, and after a crappy t…