This is a set of interviews with some of the leading minds and thought leaders working in the industry today. I am your host, Tom MacCormick, a personal trainer and online coach. A few things make these podcasts unique, and I hope enjoyable and inspiring: I am trying to curate the greatest hypertrophy experts on the planet. I think we have gotten off to a good start with the experts below.
Secondly, I am constantly working with clients in the gym and online, people who face challenges that are unique to them but all with the common goal of being fit, healthy, and showing those results in their physiques. So, I have plenty of questions and experiences to bear on the conversations in these podcasts.
All these podcasts, taken individually or together, represent the cutting edge in human performance and hypertrophy training. It’s based on solid research, extensive expertise, and knowledge gained through real-world training practices.
Building Muscle Whether You Have Elite Genetics or Not
Our guest for this episode is Menno Henselmans. Menno is an online physique coach, scientific researcher, and fitness educator who traded his company car to follow his passion for fitness.
In this episode, go in-depth on:
- If hard gainers really exist
- How to predict your genetic potential for muscle growth
- Realistic rates of muscle gain
- How to establish your ideal training volumes and frequencies
- The fact that Menno stopped counting how many countries he’d lived in at 50! Yes, 50!
Getting Your Head in the Game for Muscle Gain
Our guest for this episode is Valentin Tambosi. Valentin is a Natural Pro Bodybuilder, Prep Coach, and Educator through the Intelligent Strength Coach Program.
His passion for training shines through on this episode and you can really feel that he gets a kick out of helping people to reach their fitness goals.
In this episode, we go in-depth on:
- The required mindset for muscle gain
- The intensity of effort required
- Creating the ideal training environment
- The power of visualization
- And we go into detail on the nitty-gritty of programming training to maximize growth. Specifically, identifying the 3 key pillars of muscle gain
We then round the show off with some key training strategies for the chest, biceps, and back.
Maximizing Your Return on Investment in the Gym
Borge Fagerli’s background as an engineer and later on as an entrepreneur and CEO has enabled him to put his methods into a step-by-step system that can transform your health, appearance and your performance – both mentally and physically.
Borge has been in the industry for over 20 years and is the creator of “Myo-reps” – one of the most time-efficient and effective training strategies to build muscle.
As a 45-year-old father and business owner, Borge is an expert on how busy guys can achieve exceptional results without having to sacrifice their lifestyle.
In this episode, we go in-depth on:
- What causes muscle to grow
- Effective reps
- Junk volume
- Maximizing your return on investment with training
- Myo-reps
And a shocking revelation about him!
Staying Open-Minded but, Sceptical to Achieve Elite Performance
Our guest for this episode is Dr. Andy Galpin. Andy is a tenured Professor in the Center for Sports Performance at CSU Fullerton. He is a pioneer in the field of human performance education and has his finger on the pulse of all the cutting-edge modalities you can use to level up in your athletic pursuits.
In this episode, we dive deep on all things muscle building. Andy channels both his inner-bro and inner-nerd to give you a host of golden nuggets you can take away and apply to improve your results.
The Number 1 Factor That Dictates If You Build Muscle, Strength, and Power
Dr. John Rusin is one of the fitness and sports performance industry’s leading experts in the pain-free performance training model that blends the world of strength and conditioning with clinical movement based diagnostic medicine to provide the ultimate results based methods.
In this episode, we discuss, red flags that might be holding you back, the 6 foundational movement patterns and how to develop strength in them, how to bulletproof your body, and why strength is never a weakness.
The Difference between Discipline and Motivation with JC Deen
Our guest for this episode is JC Deen. JC has been involved in athletics for over a decade, and now works as a fitness consultant to fitness enthusiasts and athletes all across the globe.
He whips people into shape and helps them learn how to make fitness complement their lives, as opposed to ruling it.
In this episode, we discuss the importance of having a mentor. The psychology of achieving your goals. The lessons he learned getting ripped for the first time. How to develop positive habits and rituals, a surprising fact about his past, and a whole lot more.
Increasing the ROI on Your Diet and Training with Eric Bach
Eric Bach describes himself as a bacon, bourbon, coffee connoisseur, and overly invested sports fan. For a decade has helped high school, college, and pro athletes. Helps guys to build confident, strong, athletic bodies. Works both in-person and online.
Eric has tried all the industry BS gimmicks. Discovered they didn’t work and has boiled his training down to the following motto… “Success lies in the relentless pursuit of the basics.”
In the episode, we discuss the basics of building an athletic and aesthetic physique, the key muscle building habits you need to know, common mistakes most lifters are making, how fast you can realistically build muscle, and a whole bunch more.
The Skinny Advantage with Brad Borland
Starting out as a scrawny 125lb kid at six feet, two inches, Brad Borland took up weight training at the tender age of fourteen and ended up a 220lb competitive, drug-free, natural bodybuilder several years later. Now, armed with both knowledge and muscle, he has helped countless individuals domestically and abroad.
Brad is also a University Lecturer with a Master’s degree in Kinesiology and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).
We discuss a wide range of subjects including, why people use genetics as an excuse, realistic rates of gain for a natural lifter, how to filter the information overload the modern lifter is bombarded with, and Brad’s favorite way to train if you want to build muscle as quickly as possible.
Strategies That Can Take You from Good to Great in the Gym
Our guest for this episode is Dr. Joel Seedman. With over 15 years of personal and team training, strength coaching, and nutritional counseling experience, Joel works with a wide variety of clientele.
To maximize performance and health, Joel focuses on improving his clients’ muscle function and movement mechanics. By doing this, all characteristics of performance, fitness, and health improve-no matter the athlete or training goal.
In this episode, we dive deep on what causes muscle to grow, the role of genetics on muscle and strength gains, the benefits of eccentric isometrics, factors that might inhibit your progress, and that Joel is the most interesting man on the planet.
Re-Kindling the Passion – Lessons from a World Champion
Our guest for this episode is Damian Lees. Damian is a Personal Trainer, Online Prep Coach, and WNBF Pro Natural Bodybuilder. He placed second at the world championships. In the interview, we go in-depth on how you can apply the principles and strategies he’s learned, from years as a top-level competitive natural bodybuilder to your own training. These tips will help you to maximize your results.
We discuss the mistakes he’s made in the past, how to balance family, work, and social life with elite performance, what holds people back from making the progress they are capable of, kitting out a home gym and much, much more!
How to Become Ruthlessly Efficient in the Gym
Our guest for this episode is Michael Goulden. Michael is a personal trainer and he founded his training facility, Integra way back in 1997. Since then he has been integrating exercise mechanics with neuromuscular preparation to create a uniquely sustainable approach to health, fitness, and performance. On top of this, he has gone on to become one of the leading fitness educators in the UK.
In this episode, we take a deep dive into all things exercise mechanics. Within the conversation we discuss:
- The importance of exercise mechanics on training efficiency
- Considerations for individualizing the process
- Active V Passive
- Matching exercises and programs to goals
- And providing a full contractile range challenge to muscles
Feedback Welcome
If you enjoyed these podcasts and took value from them, please rate and review to help us spread the word to motivate and inspire others to take their performance to the next level.
If you are interested in working with me or finding out more about my approach then follow me on Instagram @tommaccormick or visit my website tommaccormick.com.