Q&A Database:
Education, Interpreting Research, Building a Business, and Cooking Tips

Every week on the podcast, Greg Nuckols and Eric Trexler discuss recent research and answer listeners’ questions about anything and everything related to training, nutrition, science, and life in general.

Here, we’ve compiled all of the miscellaneous (education, research, business, and cooking) topics discussed and questions answered on the podcast along with time-stamped links so you can quickly jump around and find the content you’re most interested in.

You should also subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts to make sure you’re getting new episodes and answers to your questions every week.

All questions

Education and Building a Business

I am a newly certified personal trainer, and I am planning to submit applications for personal trainer positions at commercial facilities in a couple weeks. How does a new trainer know when they are “ready” to take on clients?

Episode 46: Season Finale: Tons of New Meta-Analyses and Q&A Catch-Up

I’m a first year psychology student. We recently had a class on how to read research articles, and many course materials laid out processes that would take about 5-6 hours for every single paper. What is your process for reading research? Does this change when you’re trying to get acquainted with a whole new body of literature versus evaluating a single paper on a familiar topic?

Episode 46: Season Finale: Tons of New Meta-Analyses and Q&A Catch-Up

Discussion about creating fitness content (with Jeff Nippard)
Interview with Jeff Nippard: On genetic limits, FFMI, training, and nutrition
Do either of you have any recommendations on how to seek out a quality academic reference, without being a complete jerk about it? How can someone with aspirations of becoming a researcher get their start in the research world?

Episode 29: Q&A: High Protein Diets, Hardgainers, Exercise Variety, and Bone Adaptations

I was wondering if you guys could provide any advice for students looking to improve their writing skills for science-based fitness articles. Related to that, what would be a useful approach for getting published on well-known websites?

Episode 25: Q&A: Rest Periods, Deadlifts, Bulking, and Hypertrophy for Powerlifters

In a recent podcast you suggested buying an exercise physiology textbook. Is an old edition of a textbook worth reading, or would there be too much outdated information?

Episode 21: Q&A: BCAAs, Mini-Cuts, Sex Differences, and First Meet Tips

What are some of the best reading materials you’d recommend for a trainer that is just starting out?

Episode 15: Q&A: Keto, Rapid Fat Loss, Deadlifts, and Faulty Movement Patterns

What are some of the biggest tips you would give someone who wants to get into an exercise science program at a university and excel academically?

Episode 15: Q&A: Keto, Rapid Fat Loss, Deadlifts, and Faulty Movement Patterns

What would happen if Terry Tao started studying exercise science? What kind of progress would the field make?

Episode 3: Q&A: Beltless Training, Leucine, and the Health Benefits of Strength

A few scientific fields have recently identified issues with replication, reproducibility, and transparency in research. How prevalent are these issues in exercise science?

Episode 3: Q&A: Beltless Training, Leucine, and the Health Benefits of Strength

How did you (Greg) build a following in the fitness industry?

Episode 7: Q&A: CBD, Junk Volume, Eccentric Training, and Building a Following in Fitness

What advice do Greg and Eric have for students pursuing a degree in exercise science?

Episode 2: Sex Differences in Fatigue and Recovery, and Dr. Jason Cholewa

What are some big things that you’ve changed your mind about over the years?

Episode 16:Changing Your Mind, Internet Arguments, Metabolic Adaptation, and Leigh Peele

What what were the early days of evidence-based fitness like?

Episode 16:Changing Your Mind, Internet Arguments, Metabolic Adaptation, and Leigh Peele

As someone who went the standard business route after college and is getting minimal satisfaction from their current career, how possible is it to get proper certifications for nutrition and personal training to make a career out of something I am more passionate about?

Episode 23: Q&A: Carbs, Sodium, and Experimenting with Your Training

Reading and Interpreting Research

What are some studies you would like to see conducted? 

Bonus Live Q&A: Energy Constraint Model, Training Volume, Creatine Kinase Levels, and More

Is the Dunning-Kruger effect based on legit evidence?

Article discussed

Episode 61: Responders, Non-Responders, and Fish Oil

What are the most common errors that you see people make when interpreting statistics?

Episode 62: Energy Deficiency, Training Frequency, and Beginner Gains

Research Roundup: History of strength training research

Study linked
Episode 59: Beta-Alanine, Training Frequency, and Strength for Hypertrophy

If ethics and money were no concern, what’s a study you’d love to see?

Episode 58: Q&A Extravaganza

Correlation doesn’t imply causation. But what does?

Episode 58: Q&A Extravaganza

Research Roundup – Masks

RETRACTED: Facemasks in the COVID-19 era: A health hypothesis

Episode 57: Caffeinated Naps, Intuitive Eating, and Q&A Catch-Up

Replication in science

Episode 50: Q&A: Cortisol, Hydration, Anti-Nutrients, and Deadlift Recovery

Call to increase statistical collaboration in sports science, sport and exercise medicine and sports physiotherapy

Study Reviewed

Episode 47 – Bench Angles, Appetitive Traits, and Mesocycle Progression

Are questionable research practices facilitating new discoveries in sport and exercise medicine? The proportion of supported hypotheses is implausibly high

Study Reviewed

Episode 47 – Bench Angles, Appetitive Traits, and Mesocycle Progression

Broader discussion on research interpretation

Subtopics include:

  • How much do conflicts of interest matter? Are some conflicts more notable than others? 
  • When do we have enough evidence to justify trying something that’s unproven? 
  • When do we have enough evidence to conclude that something definitely doesn’t work? 
  • Historical perspectives: How did the steroid, creatine, caffeine, and citrulline malate literature develop over time? What would have been some ramifications of forming conclusions too quickly as the initial studies came out? 

Episode 45: Betaine, Sodium Bicarbonate, and Evaluating New Research as it Develops

Effect size discussion

Power analysis for interactions.

Episode 45: Betaine, Sodium Bicarbonate, and Evaluating New Research as it Develops

How much evidence and research would it take for you to implement new findings into your own practice? One study with a large effect size, or multiple replicated studies?

Episode 19: Q&A: Fasted Training, Training Frequency, and How Much Research is Enough?

How do you reconcile value for research, with the likelihood that there’s some degree of really bad research out there, and that many people can’t tell the difference between good and bad research?

Episode 17: Q&A: Dreamer Bulks, Concurrent Training, Recovery Modalities, and Valuing Research

What is the state of research in exercise science and sports nutrition?

Episode 2: Sex Differences in Fatigue and Recovery, and Dr. Jason Cholewa

Training studies are often quite short, and in relatively untrained people. Do the results from these short-term studies translate to long-term differences over a training career?

Episode 8: Drug Testing, New Supplement Research, Squat Science, and Dr. Eric Helms

What is response heterogeneity, and why is it important?

Episode 14: Sleep, Response Heterogeneity, and Dr. Brandon Roberts

What tips do Greg and Eric have for reading and interpreting research?

Episode 20: Reading Research, the Placebo Diet, Muscle Memory, and Alex Kolliari-Turner

Do you think that Bayesian Statistics will be used in future studies for analysis?

Episode 23: Q&A: Carbs, Sodium, and Experimenting with Your Training

Cooking

To Play Us Out: Protein bread

Episode 67: Calorie Restriction, Protein Restriction, App Updates

To Play Us Out: Scacce ragusana 

Episode 63: Metabolic Rate, Blood Flow Restricted Training, and Turkesterone

To Play Us Out: Fruit bars 

Episode 64: Constrained Energy, Modeling Hypertrophy, and Effects of Aging on Performance

To Play Us Out: Olive oil blondies of Sohla El-Waylly

Sohla’s blondies recipe video

Episode 55: BMI, Plant-Based Protein, Stretching, and Mouthguards

What are some recipes for high-volume, low-calorie foods for limiting hunger when you’re trying to get shredded?

Episode 54: P-Ratios, Ischemic Preconditioning, and Q&A

Can you rank cooking methods from best to worst in terms of how they impact micronutrient content?

Episode 48: Breakfast, Glycine, Muscle Knots, and Trigger Points

To play us out: football season barbecue tips

Episode 47 – Bench Angles, Appetitive Traits, and Mesocycle Progression

The importance of cooking (with Dr. Krista Scott-Dixon)

Behavior Change and Eating Habits with Dr. Krista Scott-Dixon

Chef Eric’s Easy Lentil Soup

Q&A: Training frequency, reducing caloric intake on rest days, and isometric training

How to make risotto

Episode 38: Immune Function, Home-Based Workouts, Fat Burners, and Lifting with Long Limbs

Cooking with mushrooms

Episode 36: Antioxidants, Injury Risk Factors, and the Conjugate Method

Sous vide cooking tips

Episode 35: Metabolic Rate, Artificial Sweeteners, Electromyography, and Non-Failure Training

How to bake the perfect loaf of sourdough bread

Episode 34: Cell Swelling, Genetic Ceilings, Touch-and-Go Deadlifts, and Load-Specific Adaptations

Homemade caramels

Episode 33: Doping, Collagen, Goals, and Hyperplasia

Turkey roasting tips

Episode 30: Fructose, Knee Sleeves, Weight Loss Variability, and James Krieger

How do you make really, really good homemade ice cream?

Episode 13: Q&A: Warming Up, Calculating Volume, Assessing Fatigue, and Creatine Non-Responders

Does pineapple belong on pizza?

Episode 5: Q&A: Dropping Weight, Building Strength to Promote Hypertrophy, and Training Around Pain

Which is best: chicken wing, chicken thigh, or chicken breast?

Episode 5: Q&A: Dropping Weight, Building Strength to Promote Hypertrophy, and Training Around Pain

On the Rise

Evan Peikon

Episode 44: Caffeine Genes, Brown Adipose Tissue, Concurrent Training, and Hangovers

Daniel DeBrocke

Q&A: Training frequency, reducing caloric intake on rest days, and isometric training

Marco Sterpa

Episode 37: Heart Rate Variability, Antagonist Stretching, and Chrononutrition

Travis Pollen

Episode 37: Heart Rate Variability, Antagonist Stretching, and Chrononutrition

Meghan Callaway

Episode 36: Antioxidants, Injury Risk Factors, and the Conjugate Method

Extremely Miscellaneous

Is there anything within the industry that Greg and Eric fundamentally disagree on? 

Episode 66: Refeeds, Diet Breaks, Fructose, and Sodium

Preferred body hair removal techniques

Episode 60: Capsaicin, Multivitamins, and Time Off

Biggest fitness myths on Instagram these days

Episode 60: Capsaicin, Multivitamins, and Time Off

If you could redesign the Presidential Fitness Test to be science-based, what exercises would you select to assess physical fitness?

A brief history of the bizarre and sadistic Presidential Fitness Test
Maintenance Phase episode about the Presidential Fitness Test
Episode 59: Beta-Alanine, Training Frequency, and Strength for Hypertrophy

What are some (fitness) topics where your opinion is firmly against the common wisdom and why?

Episode 58: Q&A Extravaganza

What is Ant-Man’s Wilks score?

Episode 47 – Bench Angles, Appetitive Traits, and Mesocycle Progression

How do you make behavior change seem “sexy” or “exciting” to people? (with Dr. Krista Scott-Dixon)

Behavior Change and Eating Habits with Dr. Krista Scott-Dixon

Why is it so difficult to change behavior? (with Dr. Krista Scott-Dixon)

Behavior Change and Eating Habits with Dr. Krista Scott-Dixon

Research Roundup – The stress of chess players as a model to study the effects of psychological stimuli on physiological responses: an example of substrate oxidation and heart rate variability in man

Study

Episode 37: Heart Rate Variability, Antagonist Stretching, and Chrononutrition

Supporting immune function

Episode 38: Immune Function, Home-Based Workouts, Fat Burners, and Lifting with Long Limbs

Scroll to Top