2943: Your Bulk Is Not Working! Here Are the 5 Signs You Are Doing It Wrong
Release Date: 09/11/2026
Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
My Maps Program: https://mymapsprogram.com $297 for a fully customized MAPS program. Answer 20 questions, get a program built for your specific goals and equipment, plus a 1-on-1 call with a trainer to review it. In this episode the guys break down why the science got it wrong on small frequent meals — they actually do work for fat loss, just not for the reasons bodybuilders claimed. The thermic effect argument is false, but the behavioral reasons are real: smaller meals keep cravings from getting out of control, they force meal prep which increases consistency, you never have to wait...
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My Maps Program: https://mymapsprogram.com $297 for a fully customized MAPS program. Answer 20 questions, get a program built for your specific goals and equipment, plus a 1-on-1 call with a trainer to review it. Dr. Mike Israetel — co-founder of RP Strength, sport science PhD and competitive bodybuilder — joins the guys in person for a wide-ranging conversation that covers everything from vanity and body image to AI, GLP-1, UFOs and the future of humanity. Mike shares the thesis of his new book on vanity — that caring about your appearance is not inherently bad, that most people...
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My Maps Program: https://mymapsprogram.com $297 for a fully customized MAPS program. Answer 20 questions, get a program built for your specific goals and equipment, plus a 1-on-1 call with a trainer to review it. In this episode the guys break down the worst fitness lies that are quietly holding people back — harder is not always better and sometimes kills your progress, more is not better when the stress bucket is already full, walking absolutely counts and dramatically improves longevity at 8 to 10,000 steps a day, soreness does not mean your workout was effective and the opposite...
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My Maps Program: https://mymapsprogram.com $297 for a fully customized MAPS program. Answer 20 questions, get a program built for your specific goals and equipment, plus a 1-on-1 call with a trainer to review it. In this episode the guys break down why working out seven days a week is counterproductive for almost everyone. They cover the critical difference between a workout (aiming for a specific adaptation like strength, stamina or mobility) and activity (simply moving), why workouts are a physical stress on the body with a limited capacity, why recovery and adaptation are two...
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My Maps Program: https://mymapsprogram.com $297 for a fully customized MAPS program. Answer 20 questions, get a program built for your specific goals and equipment, plus a 1-on-1 call with a trainer to review it. In this episode the guys break down why you are still carrying body fat even though you work out consistently — eating out regularly adds 1,200 to 1,400 hidden calories per meal, processed foods are engineered to make you eat 600 more calories before feeling satisfied, not prioritizing protein leaves you naturally hungrier all day, eating while distracted adds 10 to 15% more...
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My Maps Program: $297 for a fully customized MAPS program. Answer 20 questions, get a program built for your specific goals and equipment, plus a 1-on-1 call with a trainer to review it. In this episode the guys break down the red flags to watch for when hiring an online fitness coach. They cover why 100+ clients per coach is a massive red flag, why you need to ask specifically how AI is being used (most coaching software now auto-responds to clients with AI without disclosing it), how often you will actually be in contact with a real human, and what the right answer is when you ask a coach...
info_outlineMind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
info_outlineMind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
MAPS Abs and Butt: https://mapsabsandbutt.com Code: LAUNCH for 40% off. Includes Butt Building Diet Guide, Women's Supplement Guide, at-home dumbbell version and a free second program at checkout (Muscle Mommy or Muscle Mommy 15). In this episode the guys break down five common hypertrophy study findings that do not hold up in the real world — why 15-20 sets per body part per week works in 8-12 week studies but burns out real people within months, why light weight and heavy weight producing the same results ignores how fatigue affects the big compound lifts, why training close to failure...
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MAPS Sale:Code: SCARY40 for 40% off everything sitewide for 3 days only. Also: MAPS Abs and Butt at — Code: LAUNCH for 40% off. In this episode the guys sit down and tell the full origin story of how they each got into fitness and the personal training industry. Sal shares starting at 13 with plastic sand-filled dumbbells, spotting his dad benching 300 pounds, getting his first job at 24 Hour Fitness at 18 with zero certification, and selling $6,000 of personal training on his first day without knowing what it cost. Adam shares falling into fitness accidentally, the moment money sold him on...
info_outlineMind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
MAPS Abs and Butt: https://mapsabsandbutt.com Code: LAUNCH for 40% off. Includes Butt Building Diet Guide, Women's Supplement Guide, at-home dumbbell version and a free second program at checkout (Muscle Mommy or Muscle Mommy 15). In this episode the guys break down the secrets for training in a calorie deficit — why bodyweight lifts are psychologically and physically the best choice when cutting, what it actually feels like to train depleted and why anticipating it helps you push through, why low reps beat high reps in a deficit because they preserve muscle with far less stress on the body,...
info_outlineMAPS Abs and Butt: https://mapsabsandbutt.com
Code: LAUNCH for 40% off. Includes Butt Building Diet Guide, Women's Supplement Guide, at-home dumbbell version and a free second program at checkout (Muscle Mommy or Muscle Mommy 15).
In this episode the guys break down the signs that your bulk or reverse diet is not working — losing weight on the scale, still feeling hungry, strength not going up, energy not improving, and sleep not getting better. They cover why strength is the single best metric to track during a bulk, why under eating during a supposed surplus leads to binge cycles on garbage food, and why women especially resist the scale going up even when building muscle is the goal. They also get into why old gym machines from the 90s with their heavier stacks were built for bodybuilders and how modern machines are designed for ease and safety, Paleo Valley bone broth protein in coffee that Sal's uncle has been doing for months without knowing it was a protein supplement, a new dating app exclusively for people who were never vaccinated for Covid, TBPN and how AI companies are buying podcasts to control public narrative — plus the William Hearst and cannabis prohibition parallel showing this is a 200-year-old game, pheromone maxing and the viral trend of guys skipping showers before dates, Arthur Brooks on the happiness data showing kids reduce daily enjoyment but dramatically increase meaning, and Vuori now making pickleball paddles as pickleball hit 479% growth and 24 million players in 5 years. Then they answer questions from Instagram.
SPONSORS
Paleo Valley (bone broth protein): https://paleovalley.com/mindpump
15% off automatically applied at checkout.
Vuori: https://vuoriclothing.com/mindpump
20% off first order, no code needed.
Dose for Your Liver: https://dosedaily.co/MINDPUMP35
Code: MINDPUMP35 for 35% off first month subscription.
LINKS
Mind Pump Store: https://mindpumpstore.com
Maps Fitness Products: https://mapsfitnessproducts.com
Instagram: @mindpumpmedia
0:00 - Intro
1:13 - Signs your bulk is not working — and why most people are making the same mistakes
3:39 - Sign 1: You lost weight — if the scale goes down you are nowhere near eating enough
10:09 - Sign 2: You are hungry — on a proper bulk you should never feel hungry
13:00 - Sign 3: Strength has not gone up — the most objective metric during a bulk
15:12 - Sign 4: Energy is not better — proper surplus should have you moving more subconsciously
21:36 - Sign 5: Sleep is not better — and the libido clue nobody talks about
22:56 - Old gym machines had heavier stacks and were built for bodybuilders — a completely different design
25:00 - Paleo Valley bone broth protein in coffee — Sal's uncle has been doing it for months
26:40 - The new dating app exclusively for unvaccinated people — it is real
30:31 - TBPN sale and AI companies buying podcasts to control public narrative
38:02 - William Hearst, cannabis prohibition and 200 years of media narrative control
44:04 - Pheromone maxing — skipping showers before dates and the ovulation science behind it
47:24 - Arthur Brooks on happiness data — kids lower daily enjoyment but dramatically increase meaning
57:36 - Vuori now makes pickleball paddles — 479% growth and 24 million players in 5 years
1:06:21 - Q&A: Best way to build leg strength without a squat rack
1:08:43 - Q&A: Getting tighter after starting to lift — is this normal or a stretching problem?
1:12:08 - Q&A: Is winging it in the gym okay if you are consistent and progressing?
1:18:18 - Q&A: What would each of the guys be doing if Mind Pump never happened?