RP Strength Podcast
Nick Shaw · Dr. Mike Israetel, Nick Shaw
Show overview
RP Strength Podcast has been publishing since 2023, and across the 3 years since has built a catalogue of 106 episodes. That works out to roughly 100 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a fortnightly cadence.
Episodes typically run thirty-five to sixty minutes — most land between 51 min and 1h 6m — and the run-time is fairly consistent across the catalogue. It is catalogued as a EN-language Health & Fitness show.
The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 3 days ago, with 18 episodes already out so far this year. The busiest year was 2024, with 45 episodes published. Published by Dr. Mike Israetel, Nick Shaw.
From the publisher
On the RP Strength Podcast, RP co-founders Dr Mike & Nick Shaw breakdown tons of hypertrophy training, nutrition, and other fitness related topics. As a bonus, you'll get plenty of laughs as they go down various tangents on every episode!
Latest Episodes
View all 106 episodesShould You Get on TRT? Testosterone Myths, Risks, and Benefits | Dr. Eric Trexler
Why Mindset Alone Is Not Enough to Win | Justin Sua
What's the Best Training Split for Muscle Growth? | Dr. Milo Wolf
Balancing Music Career Chaos And Fitness With Carter Vail
Coaching Bodybuilders Better: Corey Lindner on Technique, Division Demands, and Athlete Development
Army Dietitian Reveals Why Soldiers Struggle With Nutrition | Gerald Ernat
Caffeine, Tolerance, and Getting Your Pre-Workout to Work Again with Dr. Eric Trexler
Want to get even more jacked? Grab the RP Hypertrophy App for your training, and maximize your gym efforts with the RP Diet Coach App to nail your nutrition. Dr. Eric Trexler's Links: RP article: Caffeine, The Double-Edged Sword Stronger by Science: The Lifter's Guide to Caffeine Instagram: @trexlerfitness ResearchGate: Eric Trexler publications Twitter/X: @EricTrexler Timestamps: 00:00 Eric and Nick's BEEF 🥩 06:53 Caffeine's prevalence in fitness 09:10 Eric's caffeine research background 11:04 Daily caffeine intake (1g/day of caffiene safe?) 17:30 Effective dosing by bodyweight and when high doses backfire 22:30 Tolerance and habituation: why your caffeine stops working 30:15 Caffeine withdrawal: symptoms, timeline, and how bad it actually gets 41:30 Caffeine sensitivity and genetics 44:00 Practical upper limits and sleep tradeoffs 48:00 Strategic caffeine use, deloads, and re-sensitizing 50:15 Different delivery forms: drinks, food, pills, and gum 53:45 Does caffeine Dehydrate you? Wrap-up and where to read more
The Science of Knowing When NOT to Train Hard (HRV) with Dr. Mike T. Nelson
Want to get even more jacked? Grab the RP Hypertrophy App for your training, and maximize your gym efforts with the RP Diet Coach App to nail your nutrition. Dr. Mike T. Nelson's Links: Website: https://miketnelson.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmiketnelson/ Timestamps: 00:00 Intro - What brings Dr. Mike back? 01:20 Dr. Mike's background and how he landed in HRV research 05:45 What HRV is in plain language 09:06 How training stress changes HRV acutely and across recovery 16:00 Deload timing: proactive blocks vs reactive adjustments 26:55 Athlete vs lifestyle stress: using HRV to decide when to push or pull back 39:30 Aerobic base, breathing rate, and resilience 43:45 Supplements and what actually matters 49:00 Device accuracy, nightly measurements, and low resting HR caveats
Training Past Failure for Muscle Growth: What Actually Works With Dr. Milo Wolf
Want to get even more jacked? Grab the RP Hypertrophy App for your training, and maximize your gym efforts with the RP Diet Coach App to nail your nutrition. Dr. Milo Wolf's Links: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DrMiloWolf Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmilowolf/ ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Milo-Wolf Timestamps 00:00 Intro,Wolf call, s**ty weather 02:35 Why training close to failure generally improves hypertrophy 05:05 Reactive vs planned deloads and fatigue trade-offs 12:29 Injury risk perspective: failure training in context 15:42 Study breakdown: failure vs past-failure training 33:53 Three ways to train past failure: partials, drop sets, and cheat reps 38:45 More stimulus > less volume 47:09 Minimal training dose: how little time can still work 53:36 Escaping all-or-nothing thinking in fitness 59:12 How to track progress when using failure and beyond-failure methods
The Truth About Body Fat Myths with Dr. Pak
Want to get even more jacked? Grab the RP Hypertrophy App for your training, and maximize your gym efforts with the RP Diet Coach App to nail your nutrition. Dr. Pak's Links: https://www.instagram.com/dr__pak/ https://www.youtube.com/@Dr__Pak 00:00:00 - "The Pakman's" Greek heritage 00:06:25 - Myth 1: Can you actually measure body fat accurately? 00:10:45 - Why body fat tests vary so much (Dexa, Bod Pod, BIA) 00:15:30 - Waist circumference as a better health predictor 00:21:10 - Myth 2: Does high body fat prevent muscle gain? 00:27:30 - The challenge of maintenance 00:33:00 - Defining a healthy body fat range for men and women 00:37:45 - Visual body fat charts and why they are unreliable 00:44:00 - How lighting and social media distort our expectations
Fasted Cardio, VO2 Max & Building a Better Fat-Burning Machine With Dr. Mike T Nelson
Want to get even more jacked? Grab the RP Hypertrophy App for your training, and maximize your gym efforts with the RP Diet Coach App to nail your nutrition. Dr. Mike T. Nelson's Links: https://www.instagram.com/drmiketnelson/ miketnelson.com 00:00:00 - Intro 00:05:45 - Dr. Mike T. Nelson's background 00:07:20 - Defining metabolic flexibility and fuel switching 00:09:00 - Genetic components of metabolism and the Pima Indian studies 00:15:30 - Training your body to become more efficient at burning fat 00:20:15 - Why carbohydrates are the preferred fuel for high-intensity power 00:29:48 - The truth about fasted cardio for physique athletes 00:39:21 - Using HRV to gauge recovery and cardio volume 00:41:28 - High protein diets (1.5g+ per lb) and hunger management 00:53:37 - NEAT and the subconscious reduction of movement during dieting 01:04:07 - The importance of VO2 Max for recovery in the offseason
Ethan Suplee: 300 lbs Lost & 5 Years of Maintenance - What No Diet Book Tells You
Ethan's Links: Podcast + More Weekly Lives: https://2way.tv/ethansuplee/ Want to get even more jacked? Grab the RP Hypertrophy App for your training, and maximize your gym efforts with the RP Diet Coach App to nail your nutrition. 00:00 - Intro & Welcome Back (5.5 years since last episode) 06:16 - Ethan's Backstory: First Diet at Age 5 09:00 - Hitting 536 lbs: The Freight Scale Story 15:50 - "Just Don't Eat Bread" 22:55 - Discovering Dr. Mike's TEDx Talk: Ethan hates it 😂 40:10 - The Maintenance Revelation: Harder Than Dieting? 51:15 - GLP-1 Discussion: Why Ethan Hasn't Tried Them 52:30 - Treating Weight Like a Chronic Condition (Sobriety Parallel) 59:15 - The Future of Dieting: Hunger as a "Solved Problem" 01:05:45 - Closing: "Life is Not Really a Struggle Anymore"
Do Partial Reps Build More Muscle? (Lengthened Partials Explained) | Dr. Milo Wolf
00:00 - Intro: Is Milo Batman or Robin? 01:00 - How he finished a PhD young (23 YO BABY 💥) 06:30 - Why Milo chose to study exercise physiology 11:49 - What got Milo into lifting? 16:30 - Bulking mistakes: why big surpluses usually mean mostly fat gain 26:30 - How Milo started studying ROM as it's related to hypertrophy 38:45 - Not all partials are equal: stretch-position vs squeeze-position 44:30 - How Milo feels being assigned "The Stretch Guy" 49:50 - Milo's principled protocol for max hypertrophy 56:00 - Rep standardization: partials vs full ROM; Tempo and injury prevention
How to Lift With Cerebral Palsy (And Still Get Jacked) With Will Glasser
00:00 - Intro 00:00:51 - Will has cerebral palsy: what it actually looks like day to day 00:02:57 - Growing up with CP, how Will started lifting, and what early training looked like 00:15:08 - Gym confidence, feeling judged, and pushing past the "new guy" phase 00:19:11 - Exercise selection: why barbell squats are tough (and what he does instead) 00:33:24 - Machines, imbalances, and unilateral work 00:38:20 - Should you compete? Dieting realities and expectations 00:40:50 - Bulking: eating enough, high protein, and making it work in real life 00:54:49 - Advice for lifters with disabilities
Dr. Pak: The Truth About Volume Wars and How Little You Need to Grow
Want to get even more jacked? Grab the RP Hypertrophy App for your training, and maximize your gym efforts with the RP Diet Coach App to nail your nutrition. 00:00:00 - We've got PhDs at home - the PhDs at home: Dr. Pak 00:02:00 - Dr. Pak's educational background 00:06:04 - Starting out for free: building experience in research and coaching 00:10:04 - Minimum effective dose and "volume tribalism" 00:20:45 - The "3-5 must-haves" for training: effort, enough volume, long-term consistency 00:23:30 - Setting realistic physique expectations 00:27:50 - The illusion of optimal 00:34:10 - Exercise selection flexibility + why titles/thumbnails look "absolute" but content is nuanced 00:42:10 - The "52 sets" misconception: specialization phases, tradeoffs, bad extrapolations 00:50:00 - Dr. Pak's current training, strength numbers, and bulking history
What It Really Takes To Be An Elite Athlete with Dr. Eric Trexler
Want to get even more jacked? Grab the RP Hypertrophy App for your training, and maximize your gym efforts with the RP Diet Coach App to nail your nutrition. 00:00 - Intro 03:20 - Is the 10,000-hour rule a myth? 07:15 - Specializing too early 13:43 - Why Doing Multiple Sports Can Make You Learn Faster (and Win More Later) 24:29 - The Hidden Cost of Early Specialization: Burnout, Injuries, and Quitting the Game 28:08 - What Makes Kids "Great" Often Fails at the World-Class Level 31:13 - Youth Stars Rarely Become Adult Legends: The 90% Turnover Reality Check 35:32 - How Sticking With It Paid Off for Nick and Eric 48:00 - When It's Appropriate to Specialize | Limitations of Specializing 59:35 - Practical Playbook: The 4 Takeaways You Can Apply to Training, Parenting, and Progress
The Truth About Science Based Lifting w/ Dr. Milo Wolf and Dr. Pak
Want to get even more jacked? Grab the RP Hypertrophy App for your training, and maximize your gym efforts with the RP Diet Coach App to nail your nutrition. 00:00 - Intro 01:15 - How Milo and Pak found RP 05:10 - Milo and Pak's lifting > research arc 18:30 - How "evidence based" fitness has changed over the last 10 years 23:35 - What does "evidence based" actually mean 37:30 - How science is being misrepresented 49:15 - Looks ≠ Expertise 52:50 - Upcoming research and projects
How to Diet Without Losing Muscle with Dr. Eric Trexler
Want to get even more jacked? Grab the RP Hypertrophy App for your training, and maximize your gym efforts with the RP Diet Coach App to nail your nutrition. 00:00 - Christmas magic ✨ 04:10 - Dr. Mike's distain for modern Batman 06:05 - Bodybuilders ≠ Hollywood 12:20 - Muscle loss isn't one-size-fits-all 24:30 - Does diet duration effect muscle loss? 28:30 - Do men lose more muscle when dieting? 34:40 - Are people losing excess muscle on Ozempic? 40:40 - Organ size shifts when gaining and losing fat 44:00 - Factors that make muscle loss worse in a deficit 50:15 - Setting realistic body fat targets 1:00:00 - Best rate of loss / Protein intake / Cardio for muscle retention 1:06:00 - Objections to modern weight loss drugs 1:12:45 - Carb/macro intake for muscle retention
Dr. Mike's FULL Diet Setup: Macros, Pharm, & Training
Want to get even more jacked? Grab the RP Hypertrophy App for your training, and maximize your gym efforts with the RP Diet Coach App to nail your nutrition. 00:00 - Intro - kids are ruthless 14:45 - Dr. Mike's full arc: time off > contest prep 28:30 - Cutting setup: pharm, Calories, steps, diet breaks 38:20 - How Mike found the "sweet spot" for his dieting setup 47:15 - Mike's split 53:45 - GLP-1 stack talk (Tirzepatide/RETA) + "future of bodybuilding" take Happy New Year!
High Frequency Training WITHOUT Joint Pain
Want to get even more jacked? Grab the RP Hypertrophy App for your training, and maximize your gym efforts with the RP Diet Coach App to nail your nutrition. 00:00 - Intro 00:20 - Five Nights at Freddy's chaos 03:30 - Mike's "performance" issues 04:44 - Cialis/Viagra as "pre-workout pump," what it does/doesn't do 08:30 - Post-photoshoot reset: diet/training overview + plan setup 17:41 - Arm/shoulder emphasis: training arms 6x/week + managing flare-ups 20:33 - The "heavy → moderate → light" 3x/week frequency model (with exercise variation) 39:14 - Why joints hate high frequency (and how exercise selection helps it) 53:13 - Wrap-up: holidays, deload timing, and goals for the next block