We’re still working on the cover design for our upcoming book Understanding Sciatica - a frustratingly long back-and-forth process with the designer that I wish I’d started much earlier… In the meantime, I thought I’d re-send this podcast that Annina and I recorded in September 2020. It’s still the most popular episode of the pod. Might nerve pain …

In this episode, I discuss the recent transformation I went through with the help of my coach, Virendran. The episode starts with a glimpse of my previous history, followed by a detailed explanation of why and how I did this transformation and ends with some takeaway points you might find helpful.

In this episode we are joined by Navin Krubhakar who is an Athlete, Coach and an Actor to talk about Training like an athlete and if you can train like one. We touch upon his career as an athlete and how he transitioned into a coach. Then, we discuss on whether you can train like an athlete, fears/barriers someone can come across when they try doin…

In this episode, we are joined by Nivedhan who is a partner and coach at Strength System to talk about training priorities for beginners. We touch upon how one can start their training, what the focus should be with regards to approach to training and much more. Link to the videos mentioned in the podcast (template) : https://youtu.be/_lrdBgLduhght…

In this episode Hypertrophy guy talks about the effect of high meal frequency on metabolic rate and if it equals to (more) fat loss . In other words , we would have heard people say statements like , "eating 6 meals instead of 3 is going to increase metabolism and hence make you lose more fat " . Is something like this true ? Check out this episode…

In this episode, we join hands with Coach Virendran to discuss the what , whys and hows of obesity . Topics discussed : 1. What is obesity? 2. What is/are the reason(s) for people being obese ? 3. Problems with pointing towards a single reason . 4. Thoughts on " calories or hormones as a driver of obesity " debate . 5. Thoughts on the statement - "…

In this episode we join hands with Varsha ( Clinical nutritionist and Co - Founder of ONP) to discuss on what is clinical nutrition, how clinical nutritionists help people and much more . Topics discussed ( in order ) : 1. What is clinical nutrition and with which population can a clinical nutritionist work with ? 2. Can you give a glimpse of the s…

In this episode we join hands with Yousuf to talk about how he built his career in the fitness industry and how someone who aspires to get into the industry can go about it . Topics Discussed (in order) : 1. Your experience in the fitness industry and how you built your career in it --- Bodybuilding , Coaching , Certifications , Helping Trainers , …

In this episode , we join hands with Sharmada (Nutritionist) to talk about various things that go into our Relationship with Food . Topics discussed (in order) : 1. What does relationship with food mean ? 2. Categorization of food as good and bad • Thoughts of perceiving food solely in terms of providing nutrients to the body 3. Guilt around food T…

In this episode we join hands with Ashraff to talk about his experience with pain , how he managed pain , some strategies that might help ppl, importance of PA in people with pain , improving self efficacy and much more !Topics discussed :1.His pain experience 2.What helped him in managing pain3.Dealing with flare ups 4.You shouldn't train/lift hea…

In this episode we join hands with Ashraff to discuss about PAIN SCIENCE . He takes us through how the definition of pain has evolved , models of pain , reason(s) of pain and much more with some interesting examples .Topics discussed :1. What is pain?2. Danger alarm system 3. Body = machine ?4. Biopsychosocial model of pain5. Tissue damage and pain…

In this episode we join hands with Bharathi and Jaiganesh to rant about boomer uncles and unsolicited advice people (especially, women) get in the gym or when they get into fitness . We also touch on toxic masculinity and other relevant things prevailing in the fitness industry . Topics discussed (in order) : Common misconceptions • Lifting weight …

In this podcast we ( Muscle Mechanics and Muscle Hypertrophy ) join hands with Jaiganesh ( Powerlifting coach ) to discuss on topics in and around Powerlifting . Time stamps : (00:09) - Introduction (00:58) - What is peaking ? How long before the competition is it done ? (02:16) - Would recovery take a hit during peaking ? / Taper and it's use (03:…

In this podcast , we ( Muscle Mechanics and Muscle Hypertrophy ) join hands with Coach Virendran to discuss on various topics which include warm-ups, stretching , technique , progressive overload , pain , biases , mentorships, etc . Time stamps (00:40) Warm-ups (06:48) Stretching (09:55) Technique - Textbook form (12:48) Rounded back Deadlift (15:3…

In this episode we join hands with Samson(Bodybuilder) and Muscle Mechanics to discuss about professional bodybuilding and contest prep . Follow us on Instagram https://instagram.com/muscle._.hypertrophy/ https://instagram.com/evolution__iron/

Thanks for reading the 38th edition of my newsletter. This newsletter tracks my research as I write a book about lumbar radicular pain! EDIT - The sound quality of this podcast is quite poor - you have been warned. I will try to transcribe it one day. This edition, it’s my pleasure to bring you my conversation with Ash, a project manager from Chenn…

In this episode (Fitness and Nutrition Q/A) we answer some doubts of our followers in Tamil . These are the hints of questions we answered (in no specific order) 1.Fasting / Calorie restriction? 2.Does any activity which increases heart rate lead to weight loss ? 3.Can someone have high muscle mass by only eating chapati ?! 4.Can vegans get 160 g p…

In this episode 4 (A DOCTORS PERSPECTIVE TOWARDS FITNESS AND NUTRITION ) we invite Arun Kumar , an MBBS student to discuss about the doubts we often come across on our journey towards fitness and being healthy ,such as whether to eat broilers or not , Is Hernia due to lifting weights ? , Training after covid19 infection , Gynecomastia , Is there a …

In this episode (POWERLIFTING TRAINING - ORU ALASAL) we invited Jaiganesh to talk about powerlifting - misconceptions, programming, etc . He also shared his experience in the first powerlifting meet , he took part - in Tamil . Follow us on Instagram https://instagram.com/muscle._.hypertrophy/ https://instagram.com/evolution__iron/…

In this episode ( TRAINING FOR HYPERTROPHY - AN OVERVIEW OF MISCONCEPTIONS ) we discuss about the common misconceptions with respect to training for hypertrophy in TAMIL ; FT . LIFTER A , HYPERTROPHY GUY . Follow us on Instagram https://instagram.com/muscle._.hypertrophy/ https://instagram.com/evolution__iron/…

A Discussion about online fitness content Follow us on Instagram https://instagram.com/muscle._.hypertrophy/ https://instagram.com/evolution__iron/

Thanks for reading the 31st edition of my sciatica newsletter. This newsletter tracks my research as I write a book about lumbar radicular pain! Hi from San Jose, California, where I’m visiting the in-laws! Here’s part two of my chat with Adam Dobson, where we discuss neuropathic pain, nerve assessment, exercise and rehab for sciatica, and more! Fi…

Thanks for reading the 30th edition of my sciatica newsletter. This newsletter tracks my research as I write a book about lumbar radicular pain! I must say things have been pretty quiet on the book front this week! In the time I’ve had to work on it, I’ve mostly just been wading through the literature. It seems like on any topic there’s really only…

Thanks for reading the 25th edition of my sciatica newsletter. This newsletter tracks my research as I write a book about lumbar radicular pain! This week I spoke to Kate Charlton again! When we spoke last year, she was recovering from her second bout of radicular pain, getting back into her training and everything was going well. Since then, Kate’…

Thanks for reading the 19th edition of my sciatica newsletter. This newsletter tracks my research into all things lumbar radicular pain! This week I spoke to Professor Raymond Ostelo! Raymond recently published a fantastic review of the evidence behind the treatment options for sciatica (link should be open access). In our conversation, we talk abo…

Thanks for reading the 17th edition of my sciatica newsletter. This newsletter tracks my research into all things lumbar radicular pain! For this week’s podcast I spoke to Mark Laslett! Here’s the timestamps for our conversation, with some links to one or two papers Mark mentions: 1:38: On somatic referred pain. 2:40: “Do you have a theory of what'…

Thanks for reading the 15th edition of my sciatica newsletter. This newsletter tracks my research into all things lumbar radicular pain! Today I was up bright and early to attend Annina Schmid's online course on assessment of entrapment neuropathies. Annina was kind enough to talk with me afterwards for a podcast! Our conversation mostly focused on…

Thanks for reading the 13th edition of my sciatica newsletter. This newsletter tracks my research into all things lumbar radicular pain! This week I’m talking to Giacomo Carta. Giacomo is a basic science researcher in neuromechanics, neurorepair and neuroplasticity. He’s also a physical therapist! We discussed his research and his hopes for the fut…

Thanks for reading the 11th edition of my sciatica newsletter. This newsletter tracks my research into all things lumbar radicular pain! This week's podcast is a Sciatica Story with Drew Jordan Drew got sciatica about one year ago. He was on holiday and tried surfing for the first time which seems to have triggered it, and he spent a lot of time si…

This is a repost from 2018, an article caled Wired Into Pain: a history of the science of pain. I hope you enjoy it. I’ve also recorded an audio version to go with it! [2024 AUTHOR’S NOTE: I think this piece (from 2018) is still a hugely valuable introduction to the history of pain science, rich in detail. But there are some mis-steps towards the e…

Welcome to the eighth edition of my sciatica newsletter! This week’s podcast In this week’s podcast, I talk to Michelle Angus. Michelle is a consultant physiotherapist working for the Complex Spinal Team in the Emergency Village of a tertiary spinal referral centre at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust. In this podcast, she tells me about: * Managi…

Hi and welcome to the seventh edition of my sciatica newsletter! This week's conversation is with Kate Charlton, a physiotherapist and triathlete from Northumberland, England. Kate has had two nasty episodes of sciatica and in this podcast she tells me about what it was like, what did and didn't work for her, and how she graded her return to sport.…

Hello and welcome to the sixth copy of the newsletter! In my TherapyLive talk I pitched that when we treat radicular pain we should think in terms of nerve health and sensitivity rather than nerve compression (although the former includes the latter!). To illustrate what I mean by "nerve health" I showed pictures from a study by Albrecht et al. in …

Hello everyone! Welcome to the fifth copy of the newsletter. I was delighted to speak with David Butler a couple of weeks ago about nerve root pain. With his permission, I recorded our chat so everyone could listen. And then I realised I’d started a podcast! I’ve avoided the temptation to give it a cringey pun title and just gone with “The Sciatica…