What I Listened to This Week (July 26, 2025)

Rugby Muscle "Why I started rugby muscle podcast"

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7Hr13RWgzAc1IlPssFUUe5?si=63wk_pN4QKWtfm2QMOzulg%0A

Rugby Muscle "6 Hallmarks of a Great Rugby S&C Program"

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4pxQyzsBlDKmW96IiVRpy1?si=JPgwgoqtT2O8A9SbtFFZMQ%0A

Rugby Muscle is a new podcast for me. It was recommended by one of you actually – a long time subscriber, supporter, and friend of the blog and email list.

I don't play rugby, but I do think rugby is the epitome of strength and conditioning as far as sport is concerned. And I train several young sport athletes at the high school and college level. I really like the first 2 episodes (for me) so far! The host has a great grasp on building functional muscle and strength that carries over to increased performance on "the pitch." 

The episodes are relatively brief and packed with information. I think coaches/trainers can learn a lot from this guy, and general gym bros also can gain a lot from listening to the Rugby Muscle Podcast.

I'm for sure going to continue listening to Rugby Muscle. I'm hooked. 

Brains & Gains with Dr. David Macroni (interview with Alex Leonidas)

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1RIFG6Kn4dUNRVFdfPopR2?si=SfDluzwSSY2OLF5d9Ung3A%0A&context=spotify%3Aplaylist%3A37i9dQZF1FgnTBfUlzkeKt

I've been sleeping on this podcast. This Dr. David Macroni guy is a former (maybe still current) YouTuber who is a part of "the noble natties" – a group of recreational natural bodybuilders on YouTube (YouTube influencers in the group include: GVS, Alex Leonidas, Basement Bodybuilding, Natural Hypertrophy aka NH, Alberto Nuñez, and Bald Omniman). Guys that fall into this group don't compete on stage (except Alberto Nuñez – a pro natural bodybuilder and coach), but they train for aesthetics and body composition and they share sensible advice, based on their own experiences and experiments, with the general public while insisting on staying natural (no PEDs). Shockingly (or maybe not), very few fitness influencers online are natural. 

Anyway, Dr. Dave has many of these YouTube friends of his on the show regularly and the episodes are super enlightening for anyone focused on training, nutrition, and maximizing results just for the love of health, strength, leanness, and hypertrophy (all could be lumped into Physical Culture).

The guests are great, the conversations are easy to listen to since most of the guests are familiar with each other – friends, even – and the information shared is super sensible and you can apply the tips right away. 

I think this will become one of my favorite straight up gym bro/lifting talk podcast shows I listen to regularly, along with Iron Culture.

For what it's worth, I like to keep the following genres in my listening loop:

Gym bro lifting podcasts

Personal trainer and coaching podcasts

General personal development podcasts

General business/entrepreneurship podcasts 

Miscellaneous podcasts

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