Brains and Gains with Dr. David Maconi

Dr. David Maconi

On the Brains and Gains podcast, Dr. David Maconi discusses all things exercise science, nutrition, health, and personal development. Every week, Dr. Maconi invites health experts and thought leaders to share their expertise. Each episode ends with a charity donation to the charity of the guest's choice.New podcast weblog

  • 1 hour 18 minutes
    Data Driven Strength - Self-Experimentation, Response Differences, Diminishing Returns

    0:00- Intro to Data Driven Strength

    15:00- Self experimentation and variable responses

    48:00- Baseline differences versus response differences

    58:30- Short term gains vs changing rates of growth

    1:06:00- Specialization phases

    1:10:00- Diminishing returns

    1:13:00- Energy flux

    21 March 2026, 6:00 pm
  • 1 hour 28 seconds
    Aaron Straker + Bryan Boorstein -- Hyper-responders, Back to Bro Splits, PEDs Too Early

    0:00- Intro
     0:30- Bryan’s journey testing glucose levels 
     8:30- My home OGTT test and more on glucose 
     11:50- Aaron’s glucose monitoring journey
     14:30- Bryan’s bro split 
     17:30- Specialization routine
     20:00- Aaron’s volume
     23:00- Supplements
     26:45- TRT for increasing dopamine baseline
     43:30- Using PEDs early in your training career 
     52:30- Hyper-responders to PEDs 


    13 March 2026, 6:00 pm
  • 48 minutes 32 seconds
    Dr. Jason Tanoory - Sleep Routines, Life Success While Staying Fit, Powerlifting With Age

    0:00- Intro

    3:00- Jason’s lifting background

    8:00- Aging in powerlifting

    17:00- Balancing extreme success among different areas

    27:00- Stacked home gyms

    32:00- Peptides

    38:30- Sleep routine

    44:30- Final thoughts on life success while keeping fit 

    21 February 2026, 8:00 pm
  • 1 hour 17 minutes
    Abel Csabai - Specialization Update, Plastic Surgery, AI Implementation

    0:00- Intro
    1:00- Passing of time 
    3:40- Plastic surgery
    18:00- Dopamine
    45:00- AI and AI in fitness
    1:04:00- Update on our training

    14 February 2026, 5:00 pm
  • 1 hour 28 minutes
    Steve Hall Q&A - Solomon Nelson Videos, Shifting Away From RP Training, Neuromechanical Matching

                   0:00- Intro

                   1:00- Revive Stronger podcast

                   3:20- Solomon Nelson videos / Mike Israetel controversy

                   12:00- Being influenced by others’ training 

                   14:30- What led Steve to shifting away from RP style training?

                   31:30- Steve’s volume

                   44:00- Steve’s progress

                   48:00- Proper way to warm up

                   53:30- Advice for a 16 year old to progress

                   58:00- Given metabolic research, what’s the highest you’d push step count to?

                   1:01:15- MUI Goku vs Ultra Ego Vegeta

                   1:03:20- Neuromechanical matching and muscle leverages

                   1:09:30- Theory that you have to hit each region of the muscle or it atrophies within 4 days

                   1:10:50- Why Steve uses a limited ROM

                   1:14:00- Fake natties in competition

                   1:17:30- Thoughts on a 4 day upper/lower/push/pull split

    29 November 2025, 7:00 pm
  • 1 hour 29 minutes
    Dr. Eric Helms - HUGE Gains In One Season, High Volume, Contest Prep Surprises

                  0:00- Intro

                  1:00- AI in education

                  4:00- Eric’s latest bodybuilding show 

                  12:00- Objective measurements

                  14:00- Does young training influence specific development later in life?

                  26:00- Strategy for upcoming shows

                  30:00- Problems during prep

                  43:00- Tracking during prep

                  55:00- Specific changes for the next two shows

                  1:08:00- Training changes from last off season to this off season and prep

                  1:23:30- Where did Eric’s progress really come from?           

                  1:28:00- Where to find Eric

    15 November 2025, 7:00 pm
  • 1 hour 12 minutes
    Alberto Nunez Q&A - Optimizing 2-3 Days of Training, Tracking Cheat Meals, Proper Exercise Selection

                   0:00- Intro

                   1:30- Alberto contest updates

                   14:30- How to do proper exercise selection for back training

                   17:30- How to accurately track cheats during a diet

                   29:45- Are knee sleeves helpful for bodybuilding?

                   31:45- What are the biggest changes you’ve made prepping as a father?

                   40:25- How to optimize training when limited to 2-3 days per week

                   47:00- When you’re tired during prep, would you add refeed days?

                   52:15- Best way to bring up lagging arms

                   1:04:30- Who are your go to sources of information

    1 November 2025, 6:00 pm
  • 1 hour 30 minutes
    Basement Bodybuilding Q&A - What If You Lost All Gains, 19 Inch Arms, Staying Shredded

                   0:00- Intro

                   0:30- Motivation

                   10:00- Getting shredded and maintaining a shredded state

                   12:00- Artificial sweeteners            

                   19:30- What is the best way to eliminate hip shift during squats? 

                   22:30- Getting stronger but not bigger, what is the cause?

                   25:30- Growing home gym space, better than commercial gyms?

                   35:15- How big should one expect to be for a certain height

                   36:15- How many meals per day and how many times do you train per week?

                   45:30- Atlaspowershrugged trolling

                   46:00- Best lift named after someone

                   50:00- Can I reach an advanced physique without being obsessed with lifting?

                   55:50- Is there any benefit to bulking beyond 15% body fat?

                   1:00:40- If you lost all of your gains, what would you do to get jacked again?

                   1:04:45- Minimum number of sets per week to grow muscle?

                   1:06:45- Do you find wide grip pulldowns to be worth it for lats?

                   1:09:00- Nausea during training

                   1:10:30- When is the road to 19” arms?

                   1:16:45- How to program a good bodybuilding program if you have 3 days to train?

                   1:21:00- How do you program brachialis training in your program?

    18 October 2025, 7:00 pm
  • 1 hour 28 minutes
    Mario Tomic Q&A - High Dose Creatine, Knowing You're 10%, Genetic Variation

                   0:00- Intro

                   1:30- High dose creatine

                   13:00- How does one know they’ve reached 10% body fat?

                   23:00- What is your best body fat / body weight performance ratio for strength?

                   27:30- What to do when you hit a fat loss plateau?

                   33:00- How much do genetics vary when it comes to fat loss and muscle gain

                   42:50- After a cut, how quickly should one increase calories?

                   51:00- How to avoid injuries with progressive overload 

                   59:15- How do you determine how far below maintenance to go during a cut

                   1:02:15- Is lean bulking a reasonable strategy at 18-20% body fat?

                   1:06:15- Running with lifting performance

                   1:12:40- Do you need to workout to retain muscle during a cut, or can you just eat more protein?

                   1:19:15- Do you believe the macros you consume should be taken in a certain order?



    4 October 2025, 6:00 pm
  • 1 hour 2 minutes
    Geoffrey Verity Schofield Q&A (Pt 2): Paul Carter, Lyle McDonald, Beyond Failure Training

    0:00 - How is Geoff’s bloodwork? 
    10:55 - Geoff’s camera and mic quality 
    13:15 - Thought on Paul Carter 
    16:35 - How to know you’re too focused on the logbook? 
    22:45 - Where does GVS disagree with Lyle McDonald 
    25:25 - Was progress linear or was there a point where things took off? 
    33:15 - When was the first time you received a PEDs accusation?
    40:45 - How do you avoid injuries with beyond failure training? 
    44:15 - Atlaspowershrugged trolling 
    45:55 - Advice for advanced naturals who want to stay lean and not sacrifice progress? 
    49:45 - What would you say to OHP purists? 
    55:15 - How to address muscle imbalances

    Website and Coaching: https://brainsandgainspodcast.com/

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dave_maconi/

    27 September 2025, 7:00 pm
  • 56 minutes 55 seconds
    Geoffrey Verity Schofield Q&A (Pt 1): High Dose Creatine, High Volume Training, Weak Points

    0:00- Intro  
     1:00- Our most recent diets
     8:30- The Jeff Nippard Controversy  
     20:30- High dose creatine 
     24:30- How to train with high volume without getting injured
     28:50- Thoughts on current full body hype/fad
     34:10- How much progress should an advanced lifter expect on a yearly basis?
     41:30- How do you compare HIT training to GVS’s training
     44:40- Calisthenics skills while trying to optimize bodybuilding
     46:30- What are GVS’s weak points and does he require specialization?
     52:30- Do you every struggle with muscle stiffness or recurring joint pain? 

    Website and Coaching: https://brainsandgainspodcast.com/

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dave_maconi/

    26 September 2025, 10:00 am
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