Let's Grow Big Together

People love sports for the thrill of the challenge, to push their bodies to boldly go where they’ve never gone before. But in Star Trek, how would people compete in a universe where physical augmentation makes almost anything possible?  What happens to bodybuilding a thousand years from now? Today’s episode is a dual drop from Feast of Fun and Let’s Grow Big Together, think of it as a transporter...

Chicago’s very own Kyle Smolinski is a rising star in the Open Bodybuilding scene, dominating some of the top NPC heavyweight contests—including a gold-medal win in the heavyweight division at the NPC Jay Cutler Classic in Virginia.  But beyond his impressive size and stage presence, Kyle is also openly gay and known for his signature rainbow-colored hair. Let’s Grow Big Together! The podcast that...

We’re living in a new golden age of bodybuilding, thanks in part to the Internet, which provides endless resources for building muscle, and to medical advancements over the past few decades in fighting HIV, AIDS, and cancer. Let’s Grow Big Together! The podcast that tests positive for F.U.N. (and lots of performance enhancing drugs.)  In this series, hosts Fausto Fernós and Marc Felion take a look...

Bodybuilding isn’t cheap- food, gear, training, and coaching can make the road to becoming a legend super expensive.   Now that’s where the generous benefactors come in handy! Famous bodybuilders like Arnold Schwartzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Kai Greene made money as muscle for hire and it wasn’t always as security detail. Muscle worship and muscle posing can sometimes bring in the bucks if y...

For those struggling with fitness and building muscle, coaches can sometimes do more harm than good by not meeting clients where they are at.  This can lead to people feeling overwhelmed, giving up on their goals and not living their best life. Let’s Grow Big Together! The podcast that tells you:  Don’t just stand there, lets get to it, strike a double biceps pose, there’s nothing to it. Pose.  In...

If you’re not used to going to the gym, working out can seem like you’re walking through a field of landmines.  Am I doing this right? Will I hurt myself? Do I look good? They’re all going to laugh at me! And what happens If I run into the person I hooked up with last week and it didn't go so well because my Bulgarian Split Squats in bed didn’t impress them much?  Let’s Grow Big Together - the pod...

In the 1990s fitness guru Susan Powter rose to fame with her sassy late night TV infomercials, short cut platinum hair and her catchphrase: “stop the insanity!” Do you remember “stop the insanity?” Well the insanity never stopped. For the last 50 years, corporations have been making a lot of money by waging war on our bodies- stressing us out, forcing bad food and bad lifestyles on us, resulting i...

When you’re busy making gains in the gym, it’s easy to overlook your own vulnerabilities. Because workouts can be exhausting, it’s easy to let your guard down and fall for bad ideas, snake oil supplements, scams or even worse.  Let’s Grow Big Together!  You got big dreams, you want big muscle? Well here is where you pay, with SWEAT.  In this series, we’re taking a look at the passion for muscle, a...

In the 1980s, actress and workout guru Jane Fonda popularized the mantra “no pain, no gain” as a way to suggest that discomfort is necessary for muscle growth. Unfortunately, this type of thinking can lead folks to ignore the very injuries that might be holding back their gains. Let’s Grow Big Together - The podcast that hurts so good it should be illegal, and sometimes it is. In this series, we’r...

We live during an extraordinary time for building muscle. What started out over a hundred years ago as a theatrical curiosity has grown to become a sport and art form that has millions of people pumping iron all around the world. And while genetics certainly plays a factor, from Hollywood to your friends at the gym, there are more jacked up folks around these days than ever. How do they do it? Let...

There’s a belief that fitness and comedy are at odds with each other. We’ve seen many comedians get jacked and then they don’t appear to be as funny. Carrot Top famously said he stopped bodybuilding because it didn't fit his style. Dave Chappelle put on muscle and started trolling trans people, and who can forget those awful Bud Light TV ads from the 80s where Joe Piscopo dressed up in drag and fl...

Last weekend in Bloomington, Illinois, over 210 bodybuilders showed up to go for the glory at the NPC Mid-American Winter Classic. The competition was intense, but surprisingly friendly and juiced up with sportsmanship. Let’s Grow Big Together! The podcast that reminds you the biggest prize of all is the friends we make along the way. Today we take you to the NPC Mid-American Winter Classic, where...

When training for any athletic event, a lot can go wrong. Even worse: your mind can start playing tricks on you. So it helps a great deal to have a great coach guide you on the road to become a legend. Let’s Grow Big Together! The podcast that climbs the Stairmaster along with you, but not on the same machine, cause people are gonna look. In this series, we’re taking a look at the passion for musc...

Almost a third of American gym goers will use performance enhancing substances at some point in their lives. There’s always risks to consider when supplementing to get big muscles and many doctors just don't have the training or knowledge to help prevent serious complications. So what do you do? It’s the podcast that squeezes the juice to the last drop. In this series, we’re taking a look at the p...

Bodybuilding legend Ronnie Coleman loves to say “Everybody wants big muscles but nobody wants to lift no heavy ass weights!” But lifting heavy ass weights isn't the most difficult part of bodybuilding for everyone. For some, the biggest challenge to coming home with that sword in a competition is the ability to shred body fat without losing muscle mass. Let’s Grow Big Together - It’s the only body...

When it comes to building muscle, eating is fundamental. Besides being incredibly good looking, bodybuilder and film star Derek Bolt is great at fixing yummy things in the kitchen to help build his legendary physique. Let's Grow Big Together: the podcast that shows you the things you need to put in your body to make it grow! In this series, we’re taking a look at the passion for muscle, adventures...

Bodybuilding can be very lonely as you toil away at the gym, make your meals and rest a lot all by yourself. So in the endless pursuit of building muscle it’s important to always be looking for inspiration that reminds you of why you fell in love with it in the first place. Let’s Grow Big Together- the podcast that screams “come with me if you want to lift!” In this series, we’re taking a look at...

Every great adventure begins with an explosion that sets our heroes on a new path, and bodybuilding is no exception. When the journey begins, it’s great to have the wisdom of a good teacher to help illuminate the path towards building muscle. Let’s Grow Big Together - where sticks and stones may break your bones but squats make you a badass. In this series, we’re taking a look at the passion for m...

If you want to be big, you have to eat big. When it comes to building muscle, the cornerstone of bodybuilding is nutrition, not just what you eat, but when you eat it to keep those gains in motion. But it’s not always that easy, for some people it’s incredibly hard to get the calories and protein they need to grow in size. Let’s Grow Big Together- the podcast that is on the ABCDEFG diet plan: Alwa...

One of the drawbacks of following bodybuilders on social media is you come across a few muscle giants who unfortunately have fallen for a lot of right wing nonsense, sexism and bigotry. Thankfully, the kids are all right and a rising tide is shifting to invite everyone to pump iron and bring on the gains. Let’s Grow Big Together - the podcast that helps put meat on the bone and then slathers it in...

Folks used to discourage training your legs because they thought it would make your butt too big! Today we know better, weightlifting not only gives you a strong core and legs, but now everyone wants a muscular booty! Let’s Grow Big Together - the podcast that loves big butts and can not lie even when others try to deny. Today Erica Nix, a very famous, Austin specific workout guru joins us to talk...

A lot of great bodybuilders begin their journey by overcoming huge challenges. Some people’s bodies fall apart long before they begin to build them back up, so when they step onstage, the battle has already been won. Let’s Grow Big Together- the podcast that tastes as good as it looks! In this series, we’re taking a look at the passion for muscle, adventures in bodybuilding, muscle gods, muscle wo...

If you’ve never been to a bodybuilding competition in person, it might seem quite intimidating with all that muscle painted dark and greasy, strutting it on stage. But in reality a lot of these contests have a wide variety of people from different ages, backgrounds and bodies ready to showcase their physiques. Category is: jacked up butch queen realness! Today our friend John Paul O’Neil, long tim...

When it comes to building muscle, it helps to fearlessly be yourself. Amateur bodybuilder Derek Bolt raised eyebrows and shook the bigots when he competed in a bodybuilding contest wearing purple nail polish that matched his purple posing trunks. Although Derek loved the presentation, he felt the look, along with his career as a film star, was too much for the judges and hurt his ranking in the co...

When you think of musical theater you don’t often think of bodybuilders, but the roles of Rocky in Rocky Horror Picture Show, Gaston in Beauty and the Beast or Tarzan in Disney’s stage adaptation all require a certain amount of muscle to portray the role. Let’s Grow Big Together- the podcast that has a sophisticated charm and plenty of muscle! In this series, we’re taking a look at the passion for...