Stronger Culture - The Mental Side of Bodybuilding Nobody Talks About

Iron Culture presented by MASS

The MASS Crew

Health & Fitness

4.8 • 874 Ratings

🗓️ 8 April 2026

⏱️ 71 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Join us for an in-depth discussion with Steve Hall & Eric Helms on supplement testing, polygraph use in bodybuilding, sleep optimization, and the power of acceptance in training and life.

This episode offers practical insights for natural bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts looking to optimize health, performance, and mental resilience.

If you're in the market for some new lifting gear or apparel, be sure to use code "MRR10" at elitefts.com for a 10% discount

Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Connection
02:09 Understanding Supplementation and Third-Party Testing
08:04 Microplastics and Health Concerns
09:58 The Importance of Third-Party Testing for Competitors
15:59 The Risks of Supplements and Marketing Influence
21:56 Polygraphs in Natural Bodybuilding
30:06 Navigating False Positives in Polygraph Testing
37:11 The Stress of Competition and Polygraph Testing
38:45 Personal Struggles with Lifestyle Constraints
40:59 Sleep Quality Challenges and Optimization
43:41 Navigating Workload and Recovery
45:01 Injury Management and Training Adjustments
50:14 Mental Strategies for Performance and Recovery
58:56 Acceptance and Its Role in Bodybuilding and Life

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey guys, welcome back to, ah, man, I want to say stronger culture, but I've been kind of swayed
0:07.0	to think that iron needs to be in there. There's so many people that wanted iron revive,
0:12.1	and then there was even longer names, but the name doesn't matter, right, Eric? It's just about
0:16.3	you and me connecting, having a good chat. So it's good to be just here back with you, Eric. You know what? We're building a stronger culture. We're reviving the iron. We're doing all those things. It's always a pleasure to chat with you, my friend. So, yeah, good to see you, man. You just cracked open a beverage. What's your, is this isn't the your, this isn't the first drink of the day though.
0:38.8	It is.
0:40.0	Oh, the first drink, Pepsi Max. For those who I'm waking up. It's 6.30 a.m. here in New Zealand, and I'm
0:46.9	having a Pepsi Max. People would just have a visceral negative response towards that. But me,
0:53.2	the days where I podcast before I go to breakfast, as I do go
0:58.1	in a walk to get breakfast, that's one of my, my habits. I normally have to have something,
1:04.6	and I need a little bit of caffeine. It's just a small amount, but I notice it when I'm on
1:08.3	empty stomach first thing waking up. Maybe it's just the carbonation in my mouth placebo but it wakes me up but I don't want to have coffee before
1:15.1	I then I go have coffee. So this is this is what I do. I'm here for it. It's the sort of thing
1:21.5	I'd absolutely do and have no shame in it. I have absolutely I've definitely told people or Charlotte's like walked in on me and she's
1:30.4	like you're having a like Pepsi Max now. But I have to be honest, I do. I'm that guy. You're not a monster
1:37.6	guy, right? Monster energy drinks. No, not typically. I'm not much of an energy drink guy. Yeah.
1:43.1	Okay. I don't know why for me. They're obviously, loads of people on them. They're a meme for a reason. Like, they are my, like, thing, a white monster every day. So, but I was going to expand on, we started the one percenters chat, but we didn't dive into
2:01.9	every route that it could go down. And I can't actually completely remember the ones we
2:06.3	touched on, but there's definitely plenty we didn't. The first thing though, Eric, I wanted to
2:10.1	talk to you about was just a thought I was thinking more about supplementation and making sure
2:15.9	it was third-party tested.
2:20.4	One of the immediate questions I had in my mind was,
2:23.5	are there better and worse third-party testing?
	...

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