Who Do You Trust

Vegetarian vs. Omnivore Muscle Gains in Older Adults, Plus Two New Human Clenbuterol StudiesDr. Lonnie Lowery covers the IMPACT randomized trial in adults 55+ where a self-selected lacto-ovo vegetarian diet failed to show non-inferiority to an omnivorous diet for protein intake (about 0.33 g/kg/day less) and appendicular lean mass (+0.38 kg vs. +0.66 kg) over 12 weeks of resistance training, and the hosts discuss compliance, coaching leverage, and the paper's wording. Dr. Mike T. Nelson then walks through two human clenbuterol trials from Hostrup's group: a late-2025 crossover study (11 adults, 80 mcg/day for two weeks) showing about 0.91 kg more lean mass but a 7% drop in VO2 max and blunted beta-2 signaling, and a 2026 randomized trial (8 weeks of training, 16 weeks of detraining, 8 weeks of retraining) showing about 1.7 kg more lean mass and greater bench and leg press gains that faded after stopping. They discuss DEXA reliability, neuromuscular effects, receptor downregulation and on/off cycling, and why unconventional dosing studies take time to get approved.00:00 Welcome and Hosts02:15 Strength and Muscle Sport News03:30 Vegetarian vs. Omnivore Diets and Muscle in Older Adults12:05 Coaching Leverage and Compliance15:40 Iron Radio Updates and Newsletter19:30 Two New Clenbuterol Studies: The Hostrup Crossover Trial26:35 Metabolic Rate, Fuel Use, and Neuromuscular Effects32:25 DEXA Reliability and Scan Variation35:50 Clenbuterol Training, Detraining, and Retraining Trial40:25 Fat Loss, Free-Living Diets, and Polypharmacy42:40 Receptor Downregulation and Cycling Schedules49:50 How Studies Get Approved and Dose Selection54:35 Wrap and Disclaimer Donate to the show via PayPal HERE.You can also join Dr Mike's Insider Newsletter for more info on how to add muscle, improve your performance and body comp - all without destroying your health, go to www.ironradiodrmike.com Thank you!Phil, Jerrell, Mike T, and Lonnie

Who Do You Trust? Peptides, Peer Review, Sponsorships, and Coaching CredibilityCoach Phil Stevens, Dr. Mike T. Nelson, and Dr. Lonnie Lowery discuss how to be a good consumer in a heavily commercialized fitness world. Mike breaks down the FDA peptide hearing, where the research staff voted "no" but the committee voted "yes," and the apparent green light for a handful of compounding pharmacies, plus China's first major law change in decades requiring higher purity for exported peptides. The hosts talk about Muscle Media 2000 era fakes, direct-to-consumer lab testing (Labcorp, Quest, Ulta Lab), the limits of peer review and meta-analyses, AI hallucinations, and the rule to follow the money and disclose affiliations. Phil and Lonnie then cover rebranded training systems, giving credit (triphasic, Dan John, CrossFit), and how young coaches can earn trust through apprenticeship, intro exercise physiology textbooks like Katch and McArdle, and learning to actually read a study.00:00 Welcome and Hosts01:25 Who Do You Trust? Peptides and the FDA08:15 China's New Peptide Purity Rules10:35 Muscle Media Days and Fake Products13:30 Direct-to-Consumer Lab Testing14:50 Trusting Science and Peer Review19:05 Follow the Money and Disclosure24:35 Fake Coaches, Stolen Systems, and Attribution30:10 Renaming Old Ideas and Mechanism Madness31:55 Earning Your Reputation as a Coach35:30 Learn the Basics First: Textbooks and Apprenticeship39:30 Word of Mouth, Mentorship, and Reps45:55 Reading Studies, Meta-Analyses, and AI49:45 Wrap and Disclaimer Donate to the show via PayPal HERE.You can also join Dr Mike's Insider Newsletter for more info on how to add muscle, improve your performance and body comp - all without destroying your health, go to www.ironradiodrmike.com Thank you!Phil, Jerrell, Mike T, and Lonnie

Current Favorite Equipment: Why Angles, Injuries, and Body Proportions Decide What WorksCoach Phil Stevens, Dr. Mike T. Nelson, and Dr. Lonnie Lowery share the machines and tools they are leaning on right now. Mike explains his hack squat and belt squat work, including paused bottom positions and quiet, controlled eccentrics. The hosts discuss why body proportions and old injuries make some equipment (like Scott curls) fail for certain lifters, and Phil's 24-hour test for judging an exercise. Phil highlights pulldowns, leg extensions, and leg curls for knee rehab, Lonnie prefers seated cable rows, and the group debates barbells and dumbbells for freedom of angle versus machines for rehab. They also cover leg extensions as finishers for joint health or volume, and Mike details the Beyond Power Voltra I for separate eccentric and concentric loading (with an affiliate disclosure).00:00 Welcome and Hosts01:30 Mike's Hack Squat and Belt Squat Love05:25 Body Proportions, Angles, and Scott Curls07:00 The 24-Hour Test and Pulldowns09:20 Iron Radio Network Updates and Newsletter12:10 Barbells, Dumbbells, and Machines for Rehab16:20 Leg Extension Finishers and Joint Health19:00 Beyond Power Voltra I and Eccentric Training22:00 Current Favorites Challenge and Affiliate Disclosure22:50 Wrap and DisclaimerDonate to the show via PayPal HERE.You can also join Dr Mike's Insider Newsletter for more info on how to add muscle, improve your performance and body comp - all without destroying your health, go to www.ironradiodrmike.com Thank you!Phil, Jerrell, Mike T, and Lonnie Donate to the show via PayPal HERE.You can also join Dr Mike's Insider Newsletter for more info on how to add muscle, improve your performance and body comp - all without destroying your health, go to www.ironradiodrmike.com Thank you!Phil, Jerrell, Mike T, and Lonnie

Why Competing Changes You—Even When You LoseCoach Phil Stevens, Dr. Mike T. Nelson, and Dr. Lonnie Lowery explore how competition can turn fear into focused energy, strengthen confidence and identity, and reveal how athletes respond when circumstances are outside their control. They share first-meet stories and discuss adapting coaching to experience and temperament; choosing confidence-building openers for newcomers; attempt selection, pacing, warm-ups, deloads, post-meet rest, and handler support; and using simulations to prepare for meet-day variability. They also discuss peak-week decisions in physique sports, caution against last-minute overreach and extreme fluid manipulation, and explain how competing can make training a higher priority while fostering resilience, personal benchmarks, and community support.00:00 Welcome and Hosts02:50 Why Compete? Courage, Confidence, and Identity08:59 First Meets, Pressure, and Performing Under Stress14:30 Competition Timing and Event-Day Stress15:42 Coaching for Different Personalities and Experience19:17 Remote Coaching and Meet-Day Calls22:57 Building Confidence: Openers and Tapering26:21 Handlers, Rest, and Meet Logistics28:01 No Mind: Avoiding Last-Minute Mistakes29:16 Bodybuilding Peak-Week Decisions32:15 Competition, Self-Comparison, and Winning Mindset37:24 Does Competition Make Training Better?41:23 Personal Limits and a Supportive Community43:57 Wrap and DisclaimerDonate to the show via PayPal HERE.You can also join Dr Mike's Insider Newsletter for more info on how to add muscle, improve your performance and body comp - all without destroying your health, go to www.ironradiodrmike.com Thank you!Phil, Jerrell, Mike T, and Lonnie Donate to the show via PayPal HERE.You can also join Dr Mike's Insider Newsletter for more info on how to add muscle, improve your performance and body comp - all without destroying your health, go to www.ironradiodrmike.com Thank you!Phil, Jerrell, Mike T, and Lonnie

Less Optimizing, More Training: Build Strength Before Chasing the Perfect PlanCoach Phil Stevens, Dr. Mike T. Nelson, and Dr. Lonnie Lowery respond to listener Chris’s experience going from 170 pounds to a muscular 256 after years of lifting, highlighting the value of a meaningful body-weight goal and persistent work over endlessly precise calorie calculations. They discuss filling weight classes with realistic 10- to 20-pound gains, the difficulty of identifying an individual’s comfortable body-weight “set point,” the role of carbohydrate adaptation and energy intake, and why building mass earlier may help young athletes. The conversation then turns to the episode’s central theme: athletes and lifters cannot optimize their way around a missing strength base. The hosts cover progressive overload, absolute strength alongside relative percentages, individual variation in rep performance, AMRAPs for guiding training, and the importance of hard work, technical effort, and mental toughness for athletic development.00:00 Welcome and Hosts00:56 Listener Email: Building Size and Strength04:55 Weight Classes and Goal-Based Bulking09:29 Calories, Carbohydrates, and Body Composition12:41 Body-Weight Set Point and Long-Term Gain18:37 Why Gaining Earlier Can Help Athletes21:46 Iron Radio Network, Newsletter, and Book Updates24:42 Stop Optimizing and Just Train25:05 Strength Foundations for Sport Athletes34:37 Progressive Overload, Absolute Strength, and AMRAPs37:49 Hard Work, Failure, and Mental Toughness39:44 Preparing Young Athletes for Next-Level Training47:26 Put the Phone Down and Train48:54 Wrap and DisclaimerDonate to the show via PayPal HERE.You can also join Dr Mike's Insider Newsletter for more info on how to add muscle, improve your performance and body comp - all without destroying your health, go to www.ironradiodrmike.com Thank you!Phil, Jerrell, Mike T, and Lonnie Donate to the show via PayPal HERE.You can also join Dr Mike's Insider Newsletter for more info on how to add muscle, improve your performance and body comp - all without destroying your health, go to www.ironradiodrmike.com Thank you!Phil, Jerrell, Mike T, and Lonnie

Warrior Mode: Turning Intensity On—and Knowing When to Turn It OffCoach Phil Stevens and Dr. Lonnie Lowery discuss the learned skill of entering a focused, physical “warrior mode” for sport, training, and difficult goals without becoming reckless or a jerk. They explore youth football physicality, confidence and the on/off switch, Arnold-style training intensity, pain and effort in the gym, diet discipline, and why real control includes the ability to say yes as well as no.00:00 Welcome and Hosts01:30 Youth Football, Physicality, and Running Through Contact05:00 Confidence, Violence, and the Warrior On/Off Switch08:30 Turning Intensity On in Training and Competition11:30 Pain, Effort, and the Guts to Keep Going14:00 Diet Discipline and Not Letting Food Win17:00 Control Means Knowing When to Turn It Off19:30 Finding Warrior Mode in Strength Sports and Life21:15 Wrap and DisclaimerDonate to the show via PayPal HERE.You can also join Dr Mike's Insider Newsletter for more info on how to add muscle, improve your performance and body comp - all without destroying your health, go to www.ironradiodrmike.com Thank you!Phil, Jerrell, Mike T, and Lonnie Donate to the show via PayPal HERE.You can also join Dr Mike's Insider Newsletter for more info on how to add muscle, improve your performance and body comp - all without destroying your health, go to www.ironradiodrmike.com Thank you!Phil, Jerrell, Mike T, and Lonnie

Training Like Former You: Re-aiming Athletic Intensity as You AgeCoach Phil Stevens, Dr. Mike T. Nelson, and Dr. Lonnie Lowery discuss why former athletes must stop comparing their current performance to their 20s and 30s, while preserving meaningful standards and continuing to participate. They explore changing goals and recovery needs, minimum strength benchmarks, injury-aware substitutions, training age and accumulated mileage, soft-tissue limitations, and how to redirect an athlete's intensity toward sustainable work. The hosts also discuss realistic benchmarks for pressing, pulling, squatting, grip, and aerobic conditioning, plus the mindset of doing hard things and finding something worthwhile on the other side of suck.00:00 Welcome and Hosts02:10 Stop Training Like the Athlete You Used to Be08:00 Aging, Drive, and New Performance Minimums13:00 Adjusting Training Around Injuries and Recovery18:30 Mike's Strength, Grip, and Aerobic Benchmarks24:00 Training Age, Mileage, and Elite Older Athletes29:00 The Mindset of Doing Something Hard33:00 Re-Aiming Athletic Intensity and Choosing New Movements36:15 Wrap and DisclaimerDonate to the show via PayPal HERE.You can also join Dr Mike's Insider Newsletter for more info on how to add muscle, improve your performance and body comp - all without destroying your health, go to www.ironradiodrmike.com Thank you!Phil, Jerrell, Mike T, and Lonnie Donate to the show via PayPal HERE.You can also join Dr Mike's Insider Newsletter for more info on how to add muscle, improve your performance and body comp - all without destroying your health, go to www.ironradiodrmike.com Thank you!Phil, Jerrell, Mike T, and Lonnie

Time-Restricted Bulking: Can a Narrow Eating Window Build Muscle Without Excess Fat?Coach Phil Stevens, Dr. Mike T. Nelson, and Dr. Lonnie Lowery examine a new 12-week randomized controlled trial of 16:8 time-restricted eating during a bulking phase. They discuss the study's modest sample, single-frequency BIA, prescribed versus actual calorie and protein intake, and similar fat-free-mass and strength gains despite the restricted group eating less than planned. The conversation challenges the idea that a 300–500 calorie surplus is universally sufficient, considers beginner gains versus results in experienced lifters, and explores practical factors such as adaptive metabolism, training age, sleep, stress, stimulants, DOMS, and the difficulty of accurately tracking food in free-living conditions.00:00 Welcome and Hosts02:00 The Time-Restricted Eating Bulking Study07:00 Calorie, Protein, and Strength-Gain Results11:30 Phil on Training Age and Real-World Bulking16:00 Mike on Surplus Accuracy and External Validity21:00 How Much Energy Does Muscle Growth Require?26:00 Practical Bulking, Maintenance, and Cutting Strategies31:00 Recomposition, G-Flux, and Metabolic Adaptation36:00 Natural Athletes, Overfeeding, and Measurement Limits39:30 Wrap and DisclaimerDonate to the show via PayPal HERE.You can also join Dr Mike's Insider Newsletter for more info on how to add muscle, improve your performance and body comp - all without destroying your health, go to www.ironradiodrmike.com Thank you!Phil, Jerrell, Mike T, and Lonnie Donate to the show via PayPal HERE.You can also join Dr Mike's Insider Newsletter for more info on how to add muscle, improve your performance and body comp - all without destroying your health, go to www.ironradiodrmike.com Thank you!Phil, Jerrell, Mike T, and Lonnie

Strength Coaching News: Why Every High School Needs a Qualified Strength CoachCoach Phil Stevens, Dr. Mike T. Nelson, and Dr. Lonnie Lowery discuss a high school strength program that celebrates a dangerously sloppy clean and use it as a springboard to examine coaching quality, injury prevention, long-term development, strength versus speed and power, transfer to the field, and affordable ways schools can bring qualified strength and conditioning expertise to every sport.00:00 Welcome and Hosts01:45 Sloppy Cleans and High School Strength Programs05:10 Numbers, Injury Rates, and Coaching Quality08:00 The Case for a School-Wide Strength Coach11:20 Team Building and Safe Training Alternatives14:00 Standards, Norms, and Four-Year Athlete Development17:25 Freshmen, Long-Term Planning, and Biological Reality20:15 Strength Coach Responsibilities and Sport Transfer23:10 Strength, Speed, Power, and Rate of Force Development26:15 Youth Athletes, Resilience, and Athletic Development28:20 Funding and Contracting Qualified Coaching30:05 Wrap and DisclaimerDonate to the show via PayPal HERE.You can also join Dr Mike's Insider Newsletter for more info on how to add muscle, improve your performance and body comp - all without destroying your health, go to www.ironradiodrmike.com Thank you!Phil, Jerrell, Mike T, and Lonnie Donate to the show via PayPal HERE.You can also join Dr Mike's Insider Newsletter for more info on how to add muscle, improve your performance and body comp - all without destroying your health, go to www.ironradiodrmike.com Thank you!Phil, Jerrell, Mike T, and Lonnie

The Death of the Training Partner: Accountability, Feedback, and the Human Element of Strength TrainingCoach Phil Stevens, Dr. Mike T. Nelson, and Dr. Lonnie Lowery examine what happens when lifters lose the in-person training partner. They discuss accountability, technical feedback, healthy competition, support on bad training days, and the limits of remote programming. The conversation covers video review, velocity-based training, Tendo/GymAware and other wearables, tandem coaching, caffeine and perceived bar speed, interval feedback, social-media praise, AI coaching, and why earned human respect and tough love remain difficult to automate.00:00 Welcome and Hosts05:20 Youth Sports, Heat Acclimatization, and Resilience09:40 The Death of the Training Partner13:10 Accountability and Technical Feedback17:10 Healthy Competition and Support on Bad Days21:15 Video Review and Relearning Perception25:05 Velocity-Based Training and Wearables28:45 Tandem Coaching and the Eye in the Sky31:35 Caffeine, Bar Speed, and Objective Feedback34:05 AssaultBike, Rower, and Interval Accountability36:20 AI, Social Media, and the Limits of Outsourcing Coaching39:40 Earned Respect, Tough Love, and Human Connection41:55 Wrap and Disclaimer Donate to the show via PayPal HERE.You can also join Dr Mike's Insider Newsletter for more info on how to add muscle, improve your performance and body comp - all without destroying your health, go to www.ironradiodrmike.com Thank you!Phil, Jerrell, Mike T, and Lonnie