2947: How to Build Glutes | Hip Thrust vs Squats What Bret Contreras Says Actually Works
Release Date: 09/17/2026
2970: Best Supersets for Every Muscle Group | Chest Back Shoulders Legs Arms and Core
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 the best supersets for every muscle group. They cover what a superset actually is, the three types (isolation to compound, compound to isolation, and heavy to explosive using post-activation potentiation), and then go through their personal favorites for chest, back, shoulders, glutes, quads, hamstrings, triceps, biceps, calves and core....
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2969: Is TRT Right for You | The Real Conversation Nobody Is Having About Hormone Therapy
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 everything about TRT — who it is for, who it is not for, and how to use it correctly. They cover the consistent decades-long decline in testosterone levels in men, why TRT is not a miracle cure-all if your lifestyle is poor, why the best clinics require patients to exercise and watch their diet, how Adam’s best friend visibly changed in...
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2968: Why Eating Six Times a Day Works (Even Though Studies Say It Shouldn't)
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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2967: Dr. Mike Israetel on His Dissertation Controversy — Here Is What Actually Happened
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. 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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2966: Harder Is Not Better — The Fitness Advice That Is Destroying Your Progress
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 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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2965: Should You Work Out Every Day? | Why 7 Days a Week Is Hurting Your Results
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 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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2964: Why You're Still Fat Even Though You Work Out (The Honest Answer)
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 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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2963: Online Coach Red Flags | Most Online Coaches Are Using AI to Reply to You and Not Telling You
Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
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...
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2962: The Best Kind Of Workout Programming For You Specifically !
Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
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2961: 5 Things Research Gets Wrong About Building Muscle
Mind 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...
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).
Bret Contreras — the man who invented the barbell hip thrust — joins the guys to talk glute building, training longevity and why genetics matter more than most trainers will admit. They also get into his rotating periodization system, the new research on upper vs. lower glute targeting, and why hip thrust beats squats for most people. Plus Bret opens up about being single at 50 and what therapy taught him about relationships.
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Legion (supplements): https://buylegion.com/mindpump
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GUEST LINKS
Bret Contreras: https://www.instagram.com/bretcontreras1
Booty by Bret: https://www.instagram.com/bootybybretofficial
LINKS
Mind Pump Store: https://mindpumpstore.com
Maps Fitness Products: https://mapsfitnessproducts.com
Instagram: @mindpumpmedia
0:00 - Intro
2:05 - Can anyone build a great butt? Bret explains why genetics determine 60% of the outcome
8:03 - Sacral slope, intramuscular fat, insertion points and fat distribution — the real variables
10:14 - Why quad dominant people cannot feel squats in their glutes — and the isometric fix
13:47 - New research: isometric training at stretch produces the same hypertrophy as leg extensions
21:57 - How Bret applies isometric work with clients and why eccentrics don't fatigue the same way
31:31 - How important is getting stronger? The research on strength and hypertrophy has finally caught up
34:11 - Why Bret's San Diego squad got more injured than his Fort Lauderdale squad — and the lesson
39:37 - Training around pain instead of through it — the real key to longevity in the gym
48:56 - Squats vs. hip thrust — why hip thrust wins on frequency, not on muscle activation
53:17 - Bret's rotating periodization system — switching the focus lift every four weeks
58:37 - New research: you can target upper vs. lower glute max through movement selection
1:01:00 - The permanent glute specialization template — 36 sets per week for glutes in 3 days
1:18:33 - Dating as a trainer surrounded by bikini models — Bret opens up about being single at 50
1:27:02 - Therapy, Gottman, Arthur Brooks and why Bret thinks purpose is the real secret to happiness