Can you build an impressive physique when you’re broke? Ron Partlow, Dusty Hanshaw, and Scott McNally discuss what it really costs to build muscle on this episode of It’s Just Bodybuilding.
From food and supplements to gym memberships, we compare bodybuilding costs in 2010 and 2026 and debate where your money makes the biggest difference. Are you paying for better results or convenience? We weigh meal prep services against cooking at home, discuss organic food, and play “Keep It or Cut It?” with bodybuilding expenses.
We also discuss why you don’t need perfect conditions to make progress. Overthinking sleep, nutrition, and training “optimization” can become another reason to put things off.
Then court is in session! Play along with Bodybuilding Court as we deliver verdicts on questionable bodybuilding behavior. Plus, listener feedback, American gun culture, Thanksgiving, and the story behind Ron’s 1993 squat video.
What’s your best bodybuilding money-saving tip? Send us your ideas and questions for a future episode.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Welcome to It’s Just Bodybuilding
2:30 Bodybuilding on a Budget: Do You Need Time & Money?
8:00 How a Minimalist Approach Can Save You Money
10:50 Networking & Finding Bodybuilding Deals
13:30 Bodybuilding Costs: 2010 vs. 2026
15:00 Gym Membership Costs: Then vs. Now
16:00 Rising Prices or Paying for Convenience?
17:20 Meal Prep Services vs. Cooking Your Own Food
20:50 One Bodybuilding Expense You Shouldn’t Cut
22:45 Is Organic Food Worth the Extra Money?
24:30 Keep It or Cut It? Bodybuilding Expenses
33:00 You Don’t Need Perfect Conditions to Make Progress
48:20 Bodybuilding Court: Guilty or Not Guilty?
1:01:40 Listener Feedback on Our Last Episode
1:08:10 Pew Pew Culture in the United States
1:14:00 Skipping Thanksgiving?
1:16:20 Ron Partlow’s 1993 Squat Video
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