Bodybuilding Down Under

Welcome to Episode 233 of the Bodybuilding Down Under Podcast! Does leaving your towel on a machine mean it’s yours? Is “I’ve got two sets left” a fair response when someone asks to work in? And how much space should your tripod get during peak hour? This week, we debate five areas of gym etiquette. We discuss when reserving equipment becomes unreasonable, how to get out of a conversation without...

Welcome to Episode 232 of the Bodybuilding Down Under Podcast! This week, we review listener physiques and discuss what we would prioritise ahead of their next competitive season. We cover muscular balance, category selection, posing adjustments and whether athletes have built enough size to step onstage. We also discuss how to approach lagging muscle groups, from exercise order and training frequ...

Welcome to Episode 231 of the Bodybuilding Down Under Podcast! This week, we discuss the gap between wanting to turn pro and being willing to do what it takes. From training footage and check-ins to off-season coaching and posing practice, we unpack where athletes draw the line and whether their habits match their competitive goals. We also discuss unrealistic timelines for earning a pro card, the...

Welcome to Episode 230 of the Bodybuilding Down Under Podcast! This week, we talk about how we approach the transition from contest prep into the off-season. We cover the first 72 hours, eating over your post-show targets, weight gain and recovery, and how we use judges’ feedback to shape the next phase of training. We also discuss post-show burnout and why the best approach can look different fro...

Welcome to Episode 229 of the Bodybuilding Down Under Podcast! This week, we recap a massive weekend of bodybuilding across the Olympia and natural professional circuit. We discuss how Nick Walker overcame more genetically gifted opponents to win the Open Olympia, the incredibly fine margins separating the leading Bikini competitors and which physiques impressed us most across Classic, 212 and Men...

Welcome to Episode 228 of the Bodybuilding Down Under Podcast! This week, we reflect on how natural bodybuilding has evolved across Australia, from rising competitive standards and more federations to the growing number of pathways available for athletes wanting to compete internationally. From there, we discuss whether bodybuilders have become too afraid of fatigue. Should most of your training c...

Welcome to Episode 227 of the Bodybuilding Down Under Podcast! At what point does bodybuilding discipline stop helping and start costing you more than it gives back? We discuss whether 30 weeks of social isolation actually improves a contest prep, why flexibility is a skill rather than an excuse, and how athletes can tell the difference between being committed and simply being unable to switch off...

Welcome to Episode 226 of the Bodybuilding Down Under Podcast! This week, we’re joined by Natural Olympia champion and IFBB Pro Kristy Graham. Kristy takes us through her rapid rise in bodybuilding, from first stepping onstage in 2021 to winning Natural Olympia and earning her IFBB Pro Card less than two years later. We discuss the losses that shaped her early competitive career, the mindset behin...

Welcome to Episode 225 of the Bodybuilding Down Under Podcast! This week, we put listener submissions under the microscope, reviewing your physiques and training clips. We break down how to identify the areas that will make the greatest difference to a physique, whether weak points require more volume or better exercise sequencing, and why posing can change your presentation more than months of ad...

Welcome to Episode 224 of the Bodybuilding Down Under Podcast! This week, we break down what separates the athletes and clients who get the most from their coaching experience. We discuss the importance of honest and detailed check-ins, accurate logbooks, high-quality training footage and reflecting on your own performance before immediately looking to your coach for answers. We explore why effort...

Welcome to Episode 223 of the Bodybuilding Down Under Podcast! This week, we return to an old-fashioned listener Q&A, beginning with what first drew each of us into bodybuilding and what has kept us invested in the sport years later. From there, we discuss what career progression actually looks like after earning a natural pro card, particularly for Australian athletes with limited access to p...

Welcome to Episode 222 of the Bodybuilding Down Under Podcast! This week, we are joined by Revive Stronger founder, podcast host and WNBF Pro bodybuilder Steve Hall. Steve reflects on more than two decades of training and how his approach has evolved from rigidly following the scientific literature to balancing research with personal experience, coaching outcomes and the lessons learned from succe...

Welcome to Episode 221 of the Bodybuilding Down Under Podcast! This week, we tackle questions spanning contest prep, genetics and performance. We debate whether practice peak weeks provide useful information or simply introduce variables that cannot replicate the real thing. The conversation then turns to genetics. How quickly can a coach recognise a world-class physique, and can years of intellig...

Welcome to Episode 220 of the Bodybuilding Down Under Podcast! After recapping the incredible standard displayed at Australia’s first natural NPC Pro Qualifier, we tackle some of the most uncomfortable questions in competitive bodybuilding. Are too many athletes arriving on stage underdone? Does being more conditioned automatically make you better? Can you genuinely be competitive without a coach?...

Welcome to Episode 219 of the Bodybuilding Down Under Podcast! The World Cup of Terrible Fitness Trends continues as we work through the quarter-finals, semi-finals and a fiercely contested final. We debate whether any exercise is inherently good or bad, the risks of going enhanced at a young age, the influence of unqualified health gurus and the widespread damage caused by labelling foods as eith...

Welcome to Episode 218 of the Bodybuilding Down Under Podcast! This week, the boys enter the worst trends in bodybuilding and fitness into a knockout tournament to determine which deserves to be crowned the most diabolical of them all. Recovery gadgets face off against “shocking the muscle,” peptides take on staying shredded year-round, and going enhanced at a young age competes against spot reduc...

This week, we’re joined by ICN Queensland and ICN India President Jay Acharya for an honest look at where natural bodybuilding within ICN is heading. We unpack the major changes already being implemented across ICN Queensland, including improved judging feedback, streamlined show formats, clearer category standards and a stronger focus on year-round drug testing. Jay also takes us behind the scene...

Welcome to Episode 216 of the Bodybuilding Down Under Podcast. This week, the boys put some of the most common contest prep foods on trial. Some are timeless bodybuilding staples. Others are aggressively marketed “diet foods” that may not deserve the reputation they have earned. From chicken and rice, oats and egg whites to FroPro pizza, Ninja Creamis, Pepsi Max and sugar-free lollies, everything...

Welcome to Episode 215 of the Bodybuilding Down Under Podcast! We open with an athlete watch, turning the spotlight on a couple of natural competitors who are making some serious noise heading into their upcoming shows. We discuss what's changed in their packages, what's got us excited, and why the standards being set are worth paying close attention to. From there we get into a conversation aroun...

Welcome to Episode 214 of the Bodybuilding Down Under Podcast! This week we get into some of the smaller details that actually move the needle. We kick things off with a question around exercise sequencing in prep and whether loading up on isolation work before your compound lifts is a smart strategy or a performance trap, covering where it helps, where it costs you, and how to find the sweet spot...

Welcome to Episode 213 of the Bodybuilding Down Under Podcast! This week we are joined by one of Australia's most respected natural bodybuilders and posing artists, Pete Hartwig. A two-time Natural Olympia champion who earned his classic physique IFBB pro card at the Australian Arnold Classic, Pete sits down for a wide ranging chat on a career spanning almost two decades and more than 40 shows. We...

Welcome to Episode 212 of the Bodybuilding Down Under Podcast! Before we get stuck into the main event, we take a few minutes to recap the most recent WNBF show in Melbourne, highlighting some standout physiques.  This week we are ranking the most common cable attachments you will find on any gym floor into a full tier list. Off the back of a great listener suggestion, we make our way through the...

Welcome to Episode 211 of the Bodybuilding Down Under Podcast! With Season A wrapping up across Australia, we take a deep dive into one of the most challenging parts of competing: the post show period. We break down what prep has actually done to your body and mind, why your brain is in survival mode coming off stage, and why the hunger and food noise you're experiencing is your physiology doing e...

Welcome to Episode 210 of the Bodybuilding Down Under Podcast! After a quick catch up we dive into a topic that keeps coming up across the industry: AI in bodybuilding coaching. With AI now baked into everything from MyFitnessPal to check-in software, we debate whether it genuinely threatens coaching or whether the human side of the sport is simply irreplaceable. We cover where AI falls short in n...

Welcome to Episode 209 of the Bodybuilding Down Under Podcast! With the final national shows of the season just around the corner, we tackle two of the most common yet least discussed realities of competitive bodybuilding. First up, what actually happens when you overeat on prep. We cover carb blowouts versus high fat binges, how being extremely lean changes the way your body may store excess food...