Laurin Conlin is back on Iron Culture after a long hiatus! For those who missed her first appearance, Laurin Conlin, MS is a coach and high-level competitor, having competed as an IFBB Pro Bikini athlete from 2014-2018. She recently visited Eric before they flew to Melbourne to present at the annual Ultimate Evidence Based Conference at JPS Health & Fitness. In her and Eric's conversations in and around the event, they discussed "the competitor trap"; the unique atmosphere and culture in the NPC and IFBB that seems to encourage bikini competitors specifically to compete annually, stay lean, and in many cases work with coaching teams with bad reputations. Why does this happen, and what are the consequences? Tune in to find out!

00:00 Laurin's New Zealand journey and travel tips with Eric

05:43 Reintroducing Laurin

Conlin 2021 Flexible vs. rigid dieting in resistance-trained individuals seeking to optimize their physiques: A randomized controlled trial https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34187492/

Iron Culture Ep. 38- Flexible Dieting, Meal Plans & Nutrition (Ft. Laurin Conlin) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKPXHb0v_Xs

09:26 The regular competition cycles of Bikini competitors

20:05 The appeal of competing in Bikini

35:32 The popularity, incentives, and pressures of competing in Bikini

46:23 The issues that competitors face

Washington Post Article https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/national/investigations/exploited-for-decades-female-bodybuilders-speak-out/2022/10/25/a93a60ff-b70a-42de-8cf6-7ed5f808f403_video.html

1:07:35 The changes that need to be made

1:17:33 Educating others and the pushback

1:23:33 Social media influencers and the algorithm

1:34:27 Where can you find Laurin?

Instagram @laurinconlin https://www.instagram.com/laurinconlin/?hl=en

Team LoCoFit https://www.teamlocofit.com/