Yesterday · 31 min
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Hammer and Chisel Performance Podcast
Jon Heck
My name is Jon Heck, and I am a strength and conditioning coach and nutritionist. I am a former strength coach from Division-1 college football and the NFL. I now run my coaching business Hammer and Chisel Performance full time, working with all walks of life on nutrition and training. With a background in powerlifting, bodybuilding, strongman, football and coaching in different fields, I will be bringing on a wide variety of guest from all of these realms of the world of performance and the fitness industry to talk all things coaching, nutrition, training, business, and more.
- 23 episodes
- a few times a week
- Avg 1 hr 6 min
- English
Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.
- HATuesday · 1 hr 1 min
Ep. 99: Brian Kula | Speed Training 101
Brian Kula is a veteran speed and performance coach and the founder of Kula Sports Performance. With roughly three decades of experience developing athletes from the youth level through the professional ranks, Kula has coached National Champions, All-Americans, Gatorade Players of the Year, Olympians, and professional athletes. He is especially well known for his longtime work with NFL star Christian McCaffrey and has also worked with athletes including Saquon Barkley and A.J. Brown. Kula's background spans track & field, football, strength and conditioning, and speed development, and he was himself an All-American decathlete at the University of Northern Colorado.Brian gives us a Speed Training 101 look at how he structures an athlete's offseason. We cover acceleration, max-velocity sprinting, mechanics, force production, strength and power development in the weight room, recovery, and how all of these pieces fit together within a complete training week. Kula's approach emphasizes high-quality sprint exposures alongside strength and power work while managing fatigue so athletes can actually perform at high outputs.
- HASeptember 3 · 1 hr 3 min
Monthly Q&A Answered: All things diet and training
0:00 Intro 1:22 How do you integrate eating out into your macros? 2:30 Nutrition strategies for appetite when using Adderall or Vyvanse 4:32 Do macro and calorie recommendations differ for women? 5:07 My experience with retatrutide: benefits & side effects 6:45 Optimal body fat percentage for performance & aesthetics 7:59 Can you flex your pecs? 8:23 How to structure a surplus for a 50kg female 9:42 How to combine Olympic lifting with hypertrophy training 10:21 Optimal daily creatine dose for muscle & cognitive benefits 11:21 How should training change when going from growing to cutting? 13:00 How to progress your strict press from 130 to 200 lbs 14:03 How would you diet natural vs. enhanced lifters differently? 15:12 Fast or slow weight cut for a strength competition? 16:21 How many steps should you get while dieting? 17:19 Favorite carb sources during a gaining phase 18:33 Grass-fed, organic vs. conventional meat: is it worth it? 19:13 Genetic limitations for natural muscle gain 20:17 How to carb cycle during maintenance 20:55 How much pre- and intra-workout carbs 21:35 How much fluid should you drink daily? 21:58 Does knee bend make an RDL not an RDL? 23:19 How long should transitions between diet phases be? 23:52 Best post-workout meal one hour before bed 24:23 Do high-volume meals before bed affect digestion and sleep? 25:06 Thoughts on nutrition & strength coaches without degrees 26:20 How much fat should be in a post-workout meal? 26:37 What body fat percentage should you start a growth phase at? 27:04 My end goals for physique and training 28:03 “skinny fat” beginner lifters 28:47 Why are your biceps so sexy? 28:57 Should you make body composition changes in-season? 29:51 My go-to cheat meal 31:04 How much fluid is too much during a workout? 31:36 TSA with supplement powders 32:01 Why almond butter over peanut butter? 32:43 My pumpkin pancake recipe 33:15 How to increase carbs during a reverse diet 33:35 weight loss stall 34:36 Best ways to learn strength & conditioning and nutrition 35:32 Do natural testosterone boosters actually work? 36:26 Will I offer discounts on coaching? 36:50 How to foster a lifelong love of physical activity in your kids 38:17 How to transition from bulking to cutting and vice versa 38:49 Do I love Donald Trump? 40:03 How to structure A/B or A/B/C weeks for squats & deadlifts 41:14 How to get your first pull-up 41:55 Meal timing & frequency for bodybuilding and performance 42:45 Downsides of starting a calorie surplus while peaking for competition 43:24 Should you log meat cooked or raw? 43:38 What nutrition concept should every strength coach understand? 44:14 Nutrition tips for very early morning training 45:02 How I start a new nutrition coaching client 45:49 How to structure pre- and post-workout nutrition 47:01 How to transition from a cut into a gaining phase 47:16 How much muscle can you gain after 5+ years of lifting? 47:55 How much cardio should you do during a gaining phase? 48:58 Ideal weekly rate of weight gain during a building phase 49:16 How to approach a recomp if you’re “skinny fat” 50:19 Am I natural? 50:57 How to calculate daily electrolyte needs 51:43 Do you like hugs from the right person? 52:05 Does my enhancement protocol change when bulking vs. cutting? 52:38 Do I have siblings? 52:54 Meal plans vs. “If It Fits Your Macros” 53:47 Best training split if you can only train 4 consecutive days 54:32 Should baseball players prioritize physique or performance? 55:05 How many of your daily carbs should be around your workout? 55:24 total carbs or net carbs? 55:39 How to improve squat, bench & deadlift while running 56:20 How long should a building phase last after fat loss? 56:47 body fat set point? 57:45 How my nutrition & training philosophy has changed over 5 years 59:18 How many sets per week are ideal for strength and size? 1:00:40 Best barbell-only exercises for quad hypertrophy 1:01:24 How should carb cycling change if you’re also running? 1:01:58 Carnivore diet
- HASeptember 1 · 1 hr 39 min
Ep. 98: Maximus McCall, Unorthodox Diets and Supplements
Maximus McCall is an Australian nutrition and strength coach. He works with some of the most elite strongman competitors, powerlifters and fighters in the world. Max is highly intelligent and utilizes some unorthodox strategies for dieting, as well as some unique protocols for managing mental issues like addiction and depression. We dive into several of those interesting unique diet and supplementation protocols in this episode and there are some incredibly interesting takeaways from this conversation.
- HAAugust 27 · 21 min
Why SLEEP May Be Overrated...
In this week's rant, I go delve into a different topic than nutrition and training and talk about SLEEP. And I have an alternative perspective to offer here.
- HAAugust 25 · 1 hr 15 min
Ep. 97: Stan Efferding | Nutrition, Longevity & Legendary Stories
Stan Efferding is an IFBB Professional Bodybuilder, elite powerlifter, coach, entrepreneur, and creator of The Vertical Diet. Known as “The White Rhino,” Stan has spent decades at the highest levels of strength and physique sports while becoming a respected voice on nutrition, metabolism, performance, and long-term health. Beyond his accomplishments as an athlete, Stan is known for his practical, evidence-based approach to improving body composition, bloodwork, digestion, cardiovascular health, and performance. His work emphasizes mastering the fundamentals—nutrition, training, sleep, movement, and health markers—rather than chasing unnecessary complexity.
- HAAugust 20 · 21 min
The Truth About “High-Carb” Foods: You’re Eating More Fat Than You Think
In this week's nutrition rant, I dive into a huge error that people make when evaluating foods and their diet overall...over focusing on carbs and neglecting to account for the fats they do not realize they are eating!
- HAAugust 18 · 1 hr 37 min
Ep. 96: Dr. Ben Skutnik | Nutrition Made Simple
Dr. Ben Skutnik is a performance scientist, educator, and nutrition coach with a Ph.D. in Human Performance from Indiana University. With over a decade of experience in strength & conditioning, sport science, and nutrition, Ben has worked with everyone from collegiate athletes to national-level weightlifters and Olympians. He currently serves as Head of Nutrition Coaching for Power Athlete, where he helps athletes turn evidence-based nutrition principles into practical, sustainable habits that improve health, body composition, and performance.In this episode of the Hammer and Chisel Performance Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Ben Skutnik to get back to the fundamentals of nutrition.With social media constantly pushing new diets, supplements, hacks, and conflicting nutrition advice, it’s easy to lose sight of the things that actually matter. Ben and I break nutrition down to its basic principles and discuss what people should understand before worrying about the more advanced details.We cover the roles of calories and macronutrients, food quality, meal structure, building sustainable eating habits, nutrition for performance and body composition, and why consistently executing the basics will take most people much further than chasing the latest nutritional trend.Whether your goal is to lose fat, build muscle, improve performance, or simply develop a better understanding of nutrition, this episode provides a practical foundation you can actually apply.
- HAAugust 13 · 29 min
The BEST Diet Approach to Gain Muscle
There is currently a debate in the fitness industry. Is the best way to grow muscle by essentially eating at maintenance and training effectively? Or smashing tons of food and gaining weight? I break down both sides and give MY opinion on the best way to approach this
- HAAugust 11 · 1 hr 21 min
Ep. 95: Vince Wilkinson, The Art of Locking In
Vince Wilkinson is one of the most unique humans alive. He is a strongman competitor, in the Army, has a massive social media following, and has become a huge influencer of men through his conquests in the fitness industry. A truly one of a kind human. LOCK in for this episode
- HAAugust 9 · 1 hr 20 min
Bonus Q&A with Will Ratelle, 70+ Questions Answered
I met up with Will Ratelle at his house in North Dakota. We trained our asses off and answered all of your questions you sent us on Instagram! TIME STAMPS 0:00 Intro 1:46 Advice for novices to gain as much muscle as possible 3:25 Hunger hacks during a fat loss phase 4:39 Best way to improve bench with a history of pec pulls/tears 6:08 Cutting body fat while running high mileage 7:26 Best protein, carb & fat split when cutting 8:43 Are Zercher cleans useful for explosiveness and thickness? 9:01 Could you guys beat Kane in a fight? 9:33 How long to convince Jon to move to North Dakota? 10:12 Top set/back-off sets vs. equal-weight working sets 12:17 Would you return to strength & conditioning for an NFL head job? 14:26 How important is electrolyte supplementation? 15:53 How should you track cooking fats? 16:26 Thoughts on full-body training for hypertrophy 18:34 How to gain 10–15 lbs when training is already on point 19:08 How should night-shift workers track calories? 20:03 Do you miss college/pro football strength & conditioning? 22:21 Reasons and timing for a mini-cut 24:37 Should you go straight from a cut into a bulk? 25:19 Nutrition, training & sleep: two great, one terrible 25:48 Should training change between cutting and bulking? 28:03 How lean should a male be before starting a gain phase? 29:15 Thoughts on sauna for athletic recovery 30:13 Which area of your business would you drop first? 31:09 Should you adjust calories based on WHOOP calories burned? 32:19 Top 3 protein and carb sources 33:47 Does Will still warm up with dot drills? 34:09 Diet structure for performance vs. body composition 35:20 Minimum calories/kg before starting a cut 36:09 Can you improve bench using only dips and behind-the-neck press? 36:33 Best frequency and volume for sprint training 37:46 What attributes do you like in your clients? 40:13 All-time favorite training split 42:02 What food scale brand do you recommend? 42:21 Is power work and jumping overrated? 43:23 Training an obese client with limited range of motion 44:12 Hobbies outside of lifting and fitness 45:26 How many years to reach your natural lifting limit? 45:36 What have you changed your mind on nutritionally? 47:30 Can a busy dad get big, strong & capable training 3–4 days/week? 50:02 How do you recover after heavy training sessions? 52:03 Favorite movies 53:19 Could you arm wrestle Devon Larratt? 54:29 Best strategies for injury prevention 55:43 Does your pre-workout meal change between gaining and cutting? 56:05 What do you believe that 99% of the field would disagree with? 58:59 How to drink alcohol in moderation while maintaining a healthy lifestyle 1:01:27 Can you still make gains while drinking on weekends? 1:01:35 How should you adjust calories and training after surgery? 1:02:23 Is hunger necessary for a good calorie deficit? 1:03:19 How do you stay on plan while traveling? 1:05:30 How can you speed up digestion? 1:06:02 Accessory lifts improving but compounds regressing during a cut 1:06:27 Why are Jon's calves so small? 1:07:08 Should you stay in an 800-calorie deficit during a peaking cycle? 1:08:17 Most impressive athletic feats 1:09:58 Struggling to lose more fat after going from 25% to 13% 1:10:46 Athletes you looked up to growing up 1:12:10 Is an initial weight spike normal when starting a gain phase? 1:12:42 Does undereating your calorie target during a cut matter? 1:13:14 What do you think of people who say bulking is dumb? 1:14:36 Preferred rep range for hypertrophy 1:15:53 Maintenance or surplus on vacation with little exercise? 1:16:21 Are barefoot/minimalist shoes worth it for training? 1:16:38 What do you do to stay disciplined? 1:19:47 Outro
- HAAugust 6 · 39 min
Matching Training with Your Diet Phase
In this week's nutrition and training rant I cover how to properly match training cycles with the diet phase you are in. How to approach training while cutting, while bulking, and in transition or maintenance periods.
- HAAugust 4 · 1 hr 55 min
Ep. 94: Ashley Kowalewski, Unorthodox Training Methods
Ashley Kowalewski is a Strength & Conditioning Coach at LSU, where she oversees performance training for the Tigers' volleyball and women's tennis programs. A former Division I javelin thrower at the University of Oklahoma, Ashley has coached at Arizona, Missouri, Michigan, and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center. Known for her innovative, athlete-first approach, she specializes in developing resilient, high-performing athletes through unconventional and evidence-based training methods. Time Stamps00:00 Intro01:08 Meet Ashley Kowalewski (LSU Strength Coach)07:30 Pull-Up Progressions for Beginners11:42 Ashley's Coaching Journey18:34 Assistant Strength Coach of the Year20:14 Isometric Training Explained24:34 Yielding vs. Overcoming vs. Quasi Isometrics30:09 How Ashley Programs Isometrics38:34 Offseason Isometric Progressions43:23 Sponsor Break / Training Programs45:17 Isometrics for Recovery & Performance46:36 Hotel Workouts with Ratchet Straps50:50 "Train Like an Athlete" Misconceptions56:45 Deep-Tier Plyometrics & Landing Progressions01:01:45 Olympic Lifts: Are They Necessary?01:05:50 Why Athlete Availability Is King01:10:17 Single-Leg Training & Pit Shark Progressions01:18:40 Gamifying Training for Athletes01:28:30 Unilateral Training Philosophy01:36:45 Hold Strong Opinions Loosely01:45:10 Coaches, Social Media & Sharing Knowledge01:54:16 Where to Find Ashley Kowalewski01:55:08 Outro
- HAJuly 30 · 57 min
Q&A Answered! Fat Loss, Carb Cycling, Reverse Diets, Training, Supps and More
Timestamps Below: 00:00 Intro 00:52 Carb cycling on week 11 of a cut – training is getting harder 03:17 Creatine dosing 04:49 How many intra-workout carbs should you use? 07:34 My Mount Rushmore of training exercises 09:30 Do you take HCG? At what dose? 10:11 Can a natural lifter eat 900g of carbs on a high day? 11:05 Is 1,900 calories too low for a 220 lb person finishing a cut? 12:51 How do you reverse diet and know you're at maintenance? 14:36 Macro percentages for bulking vs. cutting 16:41 Nutrition after surgery (ACL repair) 18:52 How should I structure a reverse diet after fat loss? 19:56 My disc injury, rehab, and mental recovery 22:31 Do you need a coach for a reverse diet? 23:26 How would I redesign collegiate strength & conditioning? 25:24 Rest days vs. active recovery 26:15 Addressing metabolic slowdown during a calorie deficit 27:24 Training program or nutrition plan first? 28:07 When should athletes use a weight belt? 28:56 Do you live in North Carolina? 29:02 Will I ever do an endurance event? 29:45 Recomp for a competitive powerlifter? 31:03 Do women reach maintenance faster after a diet? 32:00 Should you add activity calories to BMR? 32:54 Nutrition for early morning training 33:44 How do you get your girlfriend into the gym? 34:42 Thoughts on designer PEDs 35:20 Carb cycling for endurance training 35:54 Ending a cut, hunger, reverse dieting & refeeds 37:20 One thing I wish I knew before starting my business 38:44 Best way to learn the science of nutrition 40:13 Coming off retatrutide into maintenance 40:43 Is 0.8 g/lb of protein enough naturally? 41:14 Balancing lifting with speed & agility 41:48 Programming lifting and running together 43:13 Can you maximize lifting and cardio simultaneously? 44:09 Finger flexor training for rock climbing 44:31 Training during cutting and reverse dieting for general population 45:06 Choosing a coach when transitioning from natural to enhanced 46:20 When is moving to enhanced a good idea? 47:33 Thoughts on BPC-157 for strength 48:16 Transitioning from a cut into maintenance or a bulk 48:49 Nutrition recommendations postpartum 49:46 First time I witnessed freakish strength 50:49 Could I beat Devon Larratt in arm wrestling? 51:41 My current carb cycling approach 52:08 Could I beat The Undertaker? 52:23 Thoughts on intermittent fasting 53:46 Balancing physique and performance goals 54:36 When am I dropping merch? 55:35 Outro
- HAJuly 27 · 59 min
Ep. 93: Dr. Michelle Gordon, Is Obesity a Disease? Understanding GLP Drugs
Dr. Michelle Gordon is a board-certified obesity medicine physician with a background in general surgery and lifestyle medicine. After spending years as a practicing surgeon, she shifted her focus to treating obesity as a chronic, relapsing disease, helping patients understand the complex physiology behind weight regulation, metabolism, and long-term health. Her work emphasizes evidence-based care, the science of obesity, and the appropriate use of therapies such as GLP-1 medications to improve health outcomes. Obesity is one of the most misunderstood conditions in healthcare. In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Michelle Gordon to separate fact from fiction and explore what obesity really is, when it becomes a disease, and why it's far more complex than simply eating less and moving more. We dive into the biology behind weight regulation, discuss the role of genetics, hormones, and metabolism, and unpack the science surrounding GLP-1 medications—including who they're for, common misconceptions, long-term use, and where they fit into obesity treatment. Whether you're a coach, clinician, athlete, or someone looking to better understand metabolic health, this episode provides an evidence-based look at one of the most important topics in modern medicine
- HAJuly 23 · 33 min
Why society treats discipline like its weird
This week's nutrition rant...Why do people like me get cast out as "the weird one" for adhering to structured nutrition and passing on alcohol? The frustrating backlash we face from society when we have a fitness based lifestyle.
- HAJuly 21 · 1 hr 48 min
Ep. 92: Joe Pedulla, How to train for SPEED
Joe Pedulla is a strength and conditioning coach specializing in sprint development, return-to-play, and athletic performance. He has worked with athletes across multiple levels of sport and is known for his practical, evidence-based approach to integrating weight room training with on-field speed development. How do you actually get faster? In this episode, I sit down with speed coach Joe Pedulla to break down how to effectively program both the weight room and field work for speed development. We discuss sprint mechanics, exercise selection, weekly programming, balancing lifting with sprint sessions, common mistakes coaches make, and how to build athletes who are faster, more explosive, and more resilient. Whether you're a strength coach, sport coach, or athlete, this episode is packed with actionable takeaways you can immediately apply to your training.
- HAJuly 16 · 38 min
Tips for handling your diet while traveling
In this week's nutrition rant I cover some tips and perspective on how to handle your diet when traveling in various situations
- HAJuly 14 · 2 hr 5 min
Ep. 91: Drew Donaldson, Peptides and Biohacking
Drew Donaldson is the founder of DDT Method Training and a coach known for his evidence-based approach to performance, body composition, and health optimization. Through his coaching, podcast, and educational content, Drew helps athletes and everyday individuals bridge the gap between training, nutrition, recovery, peptides, and biohacking to maximize both performance and longevity. In this episode, I sit down with Drew for a deep dive into the world of peptides, biohacking, and human performance.We discuss practical strategies for improving cognitive function, reducing brain fog, enhancing recovery, and optimizing overall health. We also break down several of the most popular performance and fat loss peptides, covering how they work, who may benefit from them, and the common misconceptions surrounding their use.
- HAJuly 9 · 21 min
Stop assigning moral value to foods...do this instead
Weekly nutrition rant. Many people build their diets by over analyzing singular foods based on foods they believe to be "good" or "bad"..."healthy" or "unhealthy"...this is a fallacy. Here is a better way to evaluate and build your ideal diet