Ep 328 - Bad Fundamentals Lead to Popular Pseudoscience

Iron Culture

The MASS Crew

Sports & Recreation, Health & Fitness

4.8 • 827 Ratings

🗓️ 22 May 2025

⏱️ 95 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode of Iron Culture presented by MASS, Dr. Eric Helms and Dr. Eric Trexler dive into a wide-ranging discussion covering updates on the long-awaited 3rd edition of the Muscle & Strength Pyramids, the writing process at MASS, and their recent frustrations with pseudoscientific claims in fitness and health.

They dissect recent content related to eccentric training, ketogenic diets, LDL cholesterol myths, and the fine line between critical thinking and cynicism. Plus, they tackle rapid-fire audience questions on deloading, protein intake, training at short vs. long muscle lengths, and more.

Timestamps
0:00 Intro
1:43 Muscle and Strength Pyramids Update
7:00 Why the Erics are extra snippy (about popular pseudoscience) in the upcoming issue of MASS
12:00 Keto diets and LDL (new research)
20:20 Why pseudoscience gains popularity
24:00 Cynicism vs. Skepticism
32:09 Paradigm shifts
37:02 Should I deload every 4 weeks?
46:02 Shortened vs. lengthened muscle training
50:37 High protein diets and kidney health question
53:21 Muscle imbalances after injury rehab
61:29 Why do we speak about the thermic effect of feeding so imprecisely? Why not manipulate it with high degree of specificity?
74:17 Hypertrophy rep ranges
74:56 Exercise science study design versus real-world questions
84:54 What's up with microplastics?
93:24 Wrapping up

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, everybody. My name is Eric Trexler. I am here with a good Dr. Eric Helms, and you are watching Iron Culture, presented by Mass, live on this lovely Monday evening. Dr. Helms, how are we doing?
0:19.4	I am wearing blue and black in solidarity with you, which is in solidarity with me for 3D muscle
0:24.6	journey, whether you intended that or not.
0:26.7	They saw you came on this way, and I was like, let me throw all my black sweatshirt and my,
0:30.5	grab my blue hat that I got for winning my pro card.
0:34.8	This is the big things you can get natural body building, folks.
0:37.8	Yeah. You can get a fitness you can get natural body building, folks. Yeah.
0:38.1	You can get a fitness brand hats.
0:40.9	So,
0:41.2	that's right.
0:42.6	The big achievement
0:44.6	you've had your eye on
0:45.5	for decades and they'll,
0:46.6	you know what you deserve for this?
0:48.2	A $17 hat.
0:50.5	I mean, it was AUD, so 20.
0:53.3	Oh, okay.
0:53.8	You know?
0:54.5	There you go.
0:55.1	Yeah.
1:08.1	Now, it's back in the day when I actually would like claim to be a pro natural bodybuilder in certain contexts, if I ever mentioned that around people who didn't get it, I'd be like, well, wait a minute.
1:09.5	You don't know what that means.
	...

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