Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews

In this episode, I have another chat with my friend Noah Kagan on the psychology of getting and staying in shape.In case you didn’t catch the last episode, here’s a little primer on Noah: he was the 30th employee at Facebook and the Director of Marketing for Mint, and is the founder of Sumo.com and AppSumo.com, and he happens to be an all-around neat dude with interesting ideas about a lot of things.In this show, Noah and I talk about how to deal with some of the common psychological obstacles and difficulties that keep people from getting the body they really want, and we go all over the place, ranging from Noah’s experiences purposely gaining and losing 40 pounds to my thoughts on how to make training more fun and a lot more.Here’s a little sneak peek of what you’ll find in today’s episode:- How people talk themselves out of getting into shape. - How to immediately make your diet and training more enjoyable. - An easy way to motivate yourself to do new things. - How to use your behaviors to shape your attitudes (not the other way around). - And more…4:05 - What is the psychology behind people who do and do not want to become fit? 8:40 - How can people adjust their mentality to make training fun? 19:03 - What personal experience triggered you to get into health & fitness? 34:03 - How can we create "free" workouts and what are the positive behavioral effects behind habit? 39:15 - What's the psychology behind how our behavior effects our beliefWant to get my best advice on how to gain muscle and strength and lose fat faster? Sign up for my free newsletter! Click here: https://www.muscleforlife.com/signup/

This episode is part of a weekly series that I have dubbed “Motivation Monday.”(Yes, I know, very creative of me. What can I say, I’m a genius…)Seriously though, the idea here is simple:Every Monday morning, I’m going to post a short and punchy episode that I hope gets you fired up to tackle the workouts, work, and everything else that you have planned for the week ahead.As we all know, it’s one thing to know what you want to do, but it’s something else altogether to actually make yourself do it, and I hope that this series gives you a jolt of inspiration, energy, and encouragement to get at it.So, if you like what you hear, then make sure to check back every Monday morning for the latest and greatest installment.Want to get my best advice on how to gain muscle and strength and lose fat faster? Sign up for my free newsletter!Click here: www.muscleforlife.com/signup/

If you spend any time on Instagram, you can’t help but run into pretty girls promoting the miracles of “detox” teas.You know…Effortless weight lossAppetite suppressionImproved digestionMore energyReduced bloatingImproved complexionAnd more…In fact, many of these fitnessistas swear that they’ve never looked or felt better since starting their detox tea regimens.They’re not alone, either.Celebrity endorsements abound, and they’re flanked by countless before-and-after shots of everyday folk losing 20, 30, even 40+ pounds in just a matter of months.Thus, it’s no surprise that detox teas are more popular than ever.The promise of losing fat, looking sexier, and feeling better by just gulping down some mildly appetizing liquids is just too alluring for many to resist.It also smacks of “too good to be true,” and as you’re going to learn in this episode, there’s more to the detox tea story. A lot more.The reality is detox tea “cleanses” can help you lose weight, but not because of the tea, and not not safely and healthily. In fact, you’d be better off just starving yourself and drinking plenty of water.Ironically, the name “detox tea” is itself misleading because not a single one of these beverages “detox” your body.In this episode, you’ll learn what detox tea really is, why “teatoxing” is an unhealthy way to lose weight and what you should do instead.3:18 - What is detox tea? 4:36 - Can you lose weight with detox teas? 10:16 - What are toxins and how does our body process them? 12:39 - What else can assist your body's natural detoxification?Want to get my best advice on how to gain muscle and strength and lose fat faster? Sign up for my free newsletter!Click here: https://www.muscleforlife.com/signup/

In this episode, I have a meandering conversation with my friend Noah Kagan about various things related to book marketing, productivity, and fitness.In case you don’t know Noah, he was the 30th employee at Facebook, the Director of Marketing for Mint, the founder of Sumo.com and AppSumo.com, and an all-around neat dude with interesting ideas about a lot of things.In this episode, Noah and I talk book creation and marketing and how I plan to go from where I am--about 1 million books sold--to 5+ million sold in the next few years, as well as various strategies for getting in shape and staying productive, including intermittent fasting, how to stay excited about working out, and how to organize your environment to make it easier to stay in shape, and more.Click the play button below to listen and let me know what you think!3:10 - What is your writing process? 13:44 - What separates you from other health coaches? 16:30 - Do cheat days and binge eating work or does it reverse the effects of working out? 19:16 - What is a good way of incorporating fasting? 27:10 - What's the last thing you've changed in your diet and nutrition? 31:25 - What is sleep efficiency? 36:51 - How do you make your book stand out in the health & fitness space? 41:10 - After receiving feedback, what changes did you make to your original book? 42:27 - What surprises you during the interview process for your upcoming book? 44:09 - What are some of the questions you asked people in preparation for your new book? 46:04 - How do you not get bored with dieting and working out? 52:47 - What is the mentality behind training and exercise? How does this mentality improve your life? 57:01 - How do we delegate what tasks should be given to other employees? What tasks should a CEO have? 1:02:54 - Do you prefer to workout alone or with someone? 1:04:17 - How do you enjoy your time at the gym and make it a second home? 1:07:37 - When's the last time you had a major change of environment that positively affected your life?Want to get my best advice on how to gain muscle and strength and lose fat faster? Sign up for my free newsletter! Click here: https://www.muscleforlife.com/signup/

This episode is part of a weekly series that I have dubbed “Motivation Monday.”(Yes, I know, very creative of me. What can I say, I’m a genius…)Seriously though, the idea here is simple:Every Monday morning, I’m going to post a short and punchy episode that I hope gets you fired up to tackle the workouts, work, and everything else that you have planned for the week ahead.As we all know, it’s one thing to know what you want to do, but it’s something else altogether to actually make yourself do it, and I hope that this series gives you a jolt of inspiration, energy, and encouragement to get at it.So, if you like what you hear, then make sure to check back every Monday morning for the latest and greatest installment.Want to get my best advice on how to gain muscle and strength and lose fat faster? Sign up for my free newsletter!Click here: www.muscleforlife.com/signup/

If you want a detailed and practical overview of the science of optimizing your mental and physical performance, then you’re going to like this book.It explores three primary topics–how to use stress and recovery to stimulate progress and growth, how to prime and prepare yourself for optimal performance, and how to tap into the power of purpose–and is packed full of insights and practical takeaways.I’ve read quite a bit in this space already and so didn’t find much inPeak Performance that I hadn’t come across elsewhere, but I did enjoy it nonetheless. It’s a well-organized and well-presented review of the performance literature, and is written in a breezy, conversational style that makes for effortless reading.I particularly liked the procedure for finding and formulating a purpose, whether for an individual project or your entire life. It emphasizes transcending yourself and identifying core values and fundamental beliefs, which I believe is spot on, because while they may be worshipped in today’s culture, self-interest and acquisitiveness are, in the end, incredibly unfulfilling and demotivating. You can only spend so much living for yourself and accumulating money and things before your soul yearns for something deeper and more meaningful. And you can only ignore this for so long before it hollows you out.The right path, the authors argue, is in the opposite direction–the dedication of yourself to a course greater than you, and in focusing on becoming the person that you want to be as opposed to having the things that you want to have.This isn’t news, of course–high-achievers and thinkers of all stripes have been saying it for millennia–but it will always bear repeating because sometimes you have to hear something multiple times or at the right time before you really take it to heart.Want to be notified when my next book recommendation goes live? Hop on my email list and you’ll get each new installment delivered directly to your inbox. Click here: https://www.muscleforlife.com/signup/

The new documentaryWhat the Health is causing quite the stir these days.According to some people, it’s the nail in the coffin for omnivorous eating, conclusively proving that animal products have disastrous effects on your health and the environment.Others scoff at such claims, dismissing the movie as vegan propaganda meant to shock and scare people into changing their ways.Every day I hear from at least a few people who are surprised, concerned, or skeptical about what’s presented in the film and want my take, and so this is an episode I’ve owed you for a little while now.Well, here’s the long story short:What the Health makes some very good points, and all-in-all, will probably help many people make healthier eating choices. Unfortunately, it’s also riddled with factual errors, misrepresentations and oversimplifications, and outright fabrications.I’m going to break it all down in this episode and directly address a number of questions that you probably have after watching the film, including…Does eating animal products really increase your risk of heart disease and cancer?Is a 100% plant-based diet the best (or only) way to maximize long-term health and vitality?Are the people that disagree simply justifying their own poor eating habits?Do rent-seeking food conglomerates reign over public health institutions?And more…By the end of this episode, you’re going to know whatWhat the Health got right, what it got wrong, and what science actually says about eating animal products.5:18 - Is protein deficiency possible? 8:07 - Is all meat bad for you? 12:12 - Does dairy increase the risk of cancer? 14:11 - Are eggs as harmful to the body as cigarettes? 15:35 - Is all animal farming cruel and bad for the environment? 17:47 - Does dietary fat cause diabetes? 21:28 - Is veganism the only diet for long term health and vitality? 22:52 - What did What The Health get right? 28:00 - How do you build muscle and lose fat on a vegan diet?Want to get my best advice on how to gain muscle and strength and lose fat faster? Sign up for my free newsletter!Click here: https://www.muscleforlife.com/signup/

This episode is part of a weekly series that I have dubbed “Motivation Monday.”(Yes, I know, very creative of me. What can I say, I’m a genius…)Seriously though, the idea here is simple:Every Monday morning, I’m going to post a short and punchy episode that I hope gets you fired up to tackle the workouts, work, and everything else that you have planned for the week ahead.As we all know, it’s one thing to know what you want to do, but it’s something else altogether to actually make yourself do it, and I hope that this series gives you a jolt of inspiration, energy, and encouragement to get at it.So, if you like what you hear, then make sure to check back every Monday morning for the latest and greatest installment.Want to get my best advice on how to gain muscle and strength and lose fat faster? Sign up for my free newsletter!Click here:www.muscleforlife.com/signup/

If you look into the reading habits of extremely successful people, you’ll notice that many of them spend a lot of time reading biographies and autobiographies.For example, top Nike designer and entrepreneur D’Wayne Edwards attributes much of his unlikely professional success to a biography of Jackie Robinson that inspired him to endure great hardship.Elon Musk has also spoken many times about his love of biographies of brilliant inventors and entrepreneurs, including Howard Hughes, Albert Einstein, Nikola Tesla, and, fittingly, Benjamin Franklin.There are several reasons why this type of literature is so popular among overachievers.First, we humans love good stories, and if someone has a book dedicated to his or her life, chances are it’s because they have an unusual and compelling story to tell.Second, biographies are the ultimate in self-improvement literature because they provide you with wide-ranging, raw, and unfiltered information and insights as opposed to carefully chosen and pre-digested morsels.Unlikely most self-help books, biographies aren't making carefully crafted arguments intended to sell you on particular ideas, strategies, or ideologies—they're showing you the real-world results of very different paradigms for thinking and living, which you can then assess and analyze to formulate your own highly individual lessons and takeaways.In this way, a biography is a "choose your own adventure" of sorts, and can resonate in very different ways with each and every reader.So, with that, let's talk about this week's book, which is widely considered to be the definitive biography of Benjamin Franklin, and a book that sits on the "must read" lists of many notable people.I loved it for several reasons:First, I'm a bit of an Isaacson fanboy. He's not only an outstanding researcher, writer, and storyteller, but he has also worked his ass off for decades to hone his craft and establish himself as one of the premier biographers of our times.Second, I think that Franklin was a man worth modeling in many ways. What spoke most to me was his intense curiosity, diligence, persistence, practicality, lightheartedness, congeniality, and relentless drive to improve both his life and the lives of others. The world could use more Franklins.Third, I've always enjoyed American history and the Revolutionary period in particular, and as Franklin played a pivotal role in both the winning of the war and creation of America, I was already inclined to like the book.The bottom line is if you're already into biographies but haven't read this one yet, I promise it won't disappoint. Similarly, if you've never read a biography before and my pitch has sold you on giving it a go, this is a great place to start.Want to be notified when my latest book recommendations go live?Hop on my email list and you’ll get each new installment delivered directly to your inbox. Click here:https://www.muscleforlife.com/signup/

Spend enough time in the gym and you’ll inevitably notice that the biggest guys and gals are also often the strongest.Sure, some people are stronger than they look, but for the most part, strength and size seem to be directly correlated.The bigger someone is, the bigger his weights tend to be.This begs a question, then:Is muscle growth simply a byproduct of strength? If you just focus on getting stronger and stronger, will your muscles just get bigger and bigger?Advocates of strength training have been saying this for decades, but their detractors say that muscle growth isn’t that simple.They point to stringbeans that can push, pull, and squat tremendous amounts of weight, and to research that appears to demonstrate that heavy weightlifting–the bread and butter of all strength programs–simply isn’t necessary for getting big muscles.Instead, they counter, you can focus on other training variables, such as volume, time under tension, metabolic fatigue, and others, and achieve the same results.Who’s right? Or are both of these schools of thought misguided and the truth is somewhere in the middle?Well, in this podcast, you’re going to get a clear, concise, and conclusive answer based on decades of anecdotal evidence as well as our current scientific understanding of muscle hypertrophy.3:59 - What is the primary driver of muscle growth? 5:39 - What should be the number one goal for a weight lifter? 6:31 - What about people that get big but not strong? 11:00 - What about people that are stronger than they look? 14:37: What should you do when you eventually stop gaining strength?Want to get my best advice on how to gain muscle and strength and lose fat faster? Sign up for my free newsletter!Click here:www.muscleforlife.com/signup/