Barbell Medicine Podcast

Do You Need a Calorie Surplus to Build Muscle? | Dr. Eric Helms

Most lifters have been told they need to eat in a Calorie surplus to build muscle. That rule has always come with a list of exceptions: unless you're new, unless you're c

Is Obesity A Muscle Problem?

Muscle is where most of the glucose goes, and muscle insulin resistance is the first thing that breaks on the road to type 2 diabetes. Both of those are true, and neither

Who Needs Testosterone, and Who's Not Getting It I Signal Episode 4

Most men who start testosterone never needed it, and some who genuinely do never get treated. In the final episode of the Signal series, Dr. Jordan Feigenbaum and Dr. Aus

Your Fat Has a Storage Limit

In 2004 a surgeon removed about ten kilograms of fat from fifteen women and measured everything that mattered. Nothing improved. Four years later, it still hadn't. That

Lifting and longevity: is 1 hour a week really the limit? Plus GLP1s and mood, training with ME/CFS, and Protein vs. Calories

A popular paper claimed the longevity benefit of lifting disappears once you train more than an hour a week. It's a real paper, but the claim is a misread. This is the fr

The FDA Voted for 6 Peptides. Its Own Scientists Said No

An FDA advisory committee just voted to open a legal compounding supply line for six of seven peptides, including BPC-157 and TB-500, over the objection of the FDA's own

The Man Who Couldn’t Stop Gaining Weight | A Medical Mystery

A previously healthy 21-year-old shows up with seven months of headaches and 30-plus pounds of weight gain he can’t explain. He’s eating the same and training more, and t

The Protein Scaries: What the Research Says About Your Kidneys, Cancer, Bones, and Body Fat

Every couple of years a new headline warns that the protein you eat is quietly hurting you. This year the target is your kidneys. Before that it was cancer, then your bon

Is It Really Just Calories In, Calories Out? Metabolism, Insulin, Hormones and Why Counting Fails

Is weight loss really just Calories in, Calories out? The equation is true, but "just count your Calories" is bad advice for most people, and almost every objection to it

Is Obesity a Willpower Problem? The Biology of Weight, Diets, and GLP-1s

Obesity roughly tripled in about 60 years, and the genes didn't change in that time. So if body weight isn't a willpower problem, what is it? Dr. Jordan Feigenbaum and Dr

Direct Line (Free): GLP-1 Muscle Loss and Creatine, Bulking vs Cutting, One-Hour Training, & Detraining

Once a month we answer Barbell Medicine Plus subscribers’ questions on the Direct Line. This is a free look at June’s episode. We start with GLP-1 drugs and muscle: why D

Menopause Part 4: Training, Protein, Cortisol, Hormone Therapy, & Bone Density

Is there really a “menopause-specific” way to train, eat, and supplement — or is most of it marketing? In the finale of our 4-part menopause series, Drs. Jordan Feigenbau

Menopause Part 3: Body Composition, Bone, Brain, & the Fitness Changes (The Data vs the Influencers)

Most women in 2026 are told menopause affects everything, the weight, the belly fat, the bones, the heart, the brain, and that the fix is hormones, supplements, and a pro

Menopause, Part 2: The 2,000-Year-Old Lie About Women and Exercise

The story goes that hard exercise is risky for women, and that the idea is ancient. Both halves fall apart on contact. In this solo episode, Dr. Jordan Feigenbaum follows

Menopause, Part 1: What It Actually Is and the 24-Year WHI Correction

In 1889 a French physiologist injected himself with guinea pig and dog testicle extract and published a claim of self-rejuvenation in The Lancet. That announcement kicked

Is Creatine Causing Your Shin Pain? + Splitting Training, Endometriosis for Lifters | Direct Line · May 2026

This is the free preview of the May 2026 Direct Line, our monthly AMA for Barbell Medicine Plus subscribers. Three reader questions answered in full. We open with a mid-

What’s Actually Driving Your Testosterone Down? | Signal Ep 3

Most cases of low testosterone in modern men are not a problem with the testes. The number is downstream of body composition, sleep, and energy availability. The wellness

Progressive Loading Part 3: Why the Novice / Intermediate / Advanced Framework Doesn't Work, and What to Do Instead

Three weeks of stalled squats. The conventional answer is to switch programs because you've crossed into intermediate territory. The data says something else. In Part 3 o

Is Your Testosterone Actually Low? Why Higher Testosterone Doesn't Do What You Think | Signal Ep 2

Out of 32 symptoms commonly attributed to low testosterone, only 3 actually correlate with it. All three are sexual. The other 29 — fatigue, brain fog, low mood, weight y

Direct Line April 2026: Stopping Ozempic and Lifting With Osteopenia

Stop a GLP-1 and about two thirds of the weight loss comes back within a year. Three randomized withdrawal trials (SURMOUNT-4, STEP 1 extension, STEP 4) and a new BMJ 202