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 Hosts
02:00 The Time-Restricted Eating Bulking Study
07:00 Calorie, Protein, and Strength-Gain Results
11:30 Phil on Training Age and Real-World Bulking
16:00 Mike on Surplus Accuracy and External Validity
21:00 How Much Energy Does Muscle Growth Require?
26:00 Practical Bulking, Maintenance, and Cutting Strategies
31:00 Recomposition, G-Flux, and Metabolic Adaptation
36:00 Natural Athletes, Overfeeding, and Measurement Limits
39:30 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

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 Coach

Coach 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 Hosts
01:45 Sloppy Cleans and High School Strength Programs
05:10 Numbers, Injury Rates, and Coaching Quality
08:00 The Case for a School-Wide Strength Coach
11:20 Team Building and Safe Training Alternatives
14:00 Standards, Norms, and Four-Year Athlete Development
17:25 Freshmen, Long-Term Planning, and Biological Reality
20:15 Strength Coach Responsibilities and Sport Transfer
23:10 Strength, Speed, Power, and Rate of Force Development
26:15 Youth Athletes, Resilience, and Athletic Development
28:20 Funding and Contracting Qualified Coaching
30:05 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

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 Training

Coach 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 Hosts
05:20 Youth Sports, Heat Acclimatization, and Resilience
09:40 The Death of the Training Partner
13:10 Accountability and Technical Feedback
17:10 Healthy Competition and Support on Bad Days
21:15 Video Review and Relearning Perception
25:05 Velocity-Based Training and Wearables
28:45 Tandem Coaching and the Eye in the Sky
31:35 Caffeine, Bar Speed, and Objective Feedback
34:05 AssaultBike, Rower, and Interval Accountability
36:20 AI, Social Media, and the Limits of Outsourcing Coaching
39:40 Earned Respect, Tough Love, and Human Connection
41:55 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