Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews

This episode is one of the chapters of the new second edition of my bestselling book for experienced weightlifters, Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger, which is live now at www.bblsbook.com. In this book, you’ll learn science-based and time-proven formulas for eating and training that’ll help you shatter muscle and strength plateaus, set new personal records, and build your best body ever. And better yet, you’ll do it without following restrictive or exotic diets, putting in long hours at the gym, or doing crushing workouts that leave you aching from tip to tail. Also, to celebrate this momentous occasion, I’m giving away over $6,000 of glorious goodies, including . . . 30-minute Zoom call with yours unruly Vitamix blender WHOOP fitness tracker $200 Lululemon gift card One month of Legion VIP coaching Inzer weightlifting belt And much more . . . All you have to do for a chance to win is… Head over to bblsbook.com, and buy a copy of BBLS 2.0 (any format) Forward the receipt email to launch@legionsupplements.com . . . and voila, you’re entered in the giveaway. You have to act fast, though, because the launch bonanza ends and the winners will be chosen on October 16th. You can also increase your chances of winning by buying extra copies of the book (any formats). Specifically . . . If you buy 3 copies, you’ll get 5 giveaway entries (+400% chance to win). If you buy 5 copies, you’ll get 8 giveaway entries (+700% chance to win). If you buy 10 copies, you’ll get 15 giveaway entries (+1400% chance to win) plus an autographed copy of the book. So, for instance, if you buy the paperback, ebook, and audiobook, you’ll get 5 entries to win, and if you buy 3 paperbacks as well as the ebook and audiobook, you’ll get 8 entries, and so forth. And what are you going to do with extra books, you’re wondering? You could give them to your workout buddies, donate them to your local library, hurl them at unpleasant children, I don’t know—there are so many options when you think about it. Anyway, to learn more about the giveaway and get your copy of Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger 2.0, head over to www.bblsbook.com. Alright, let’s get to the episode. Timestamps: 6:37 - What is a training plateau? 8:07 - What causes plateaus? 15:51 - Poor nutrition and how it contributes to plateaus 18:42 - How much carbohydrate should I be eating to maximize muscle growth? 20:27 - Poor recovery and how it contributes to plateaus 26:08 - How do you break through a plateau? 44:51 - Is your training properly periodized? 48:38 - Lack of proper sleep and how it contributes to plateaus 52:08 - Are you eating enough? 55:24 - Are you deloading enough? 58:52 - Are you using good form? 1:02:00 - Are you doing too much cardio? --- Mentioned on The Show: Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger 2.0: www.bblsbook.com --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

In this book, you’ll learn science-based and time-proven formulas for eating and training that’ll help you shatter muscle and strength plateaus, set new personal records, and build your best body ever. And better yet, you’ll do it without following restrictive or exotic diets, putting in long hours at the gym, or doing crushing workouts that leave you aching from tip to tail. Also, to celebrate this momentous occasion, I’m giving away over $6,000 of glorious goodies, including . . . 30-minute Zoom call with yours unruly Vitamix blender WHOOP fitness tracker $200 Lululemon gift card One month of Legion VIP coaching Inzer weightlifting belt And much more . . . All you have to do for a chance to win is… Head over to bblsbook.com, and buy a copy of BBLS 2.0 (any format) Forward the receipt email to launch@legionsupplements.com . . . and voila, you’re entered in the giveaway. You have to act fast, though, because the launch bonanza ends and the winners will be chosen on October 16th. You can also increase your chances of winning by buying extra copies of the book (any formats). Specifically . . . If you buy 3 copies, you’ll get 5 giveaway entries (+400% chance to win). If you buy 5 copies, you’ll get 8 giveaway entries (+700% chance to win). If you buy 10 copies, you’ll get 15 giveaway entries (+1400% chance to win) plus an autographed copy of the book. So, for instance, if you buy the paperback, ebook, and audiobook, you’ll get 5 entries to win, and if you buy 3 paperbacks as well as the ebook and audiobook, you’ll get 8 entries, and so forth. And what are you going to do with extra books, you’re wondering? You could give them to your workout buddies, donate them to your local library, hurl them at unpleasant children, I don’t know—there are so many options when you think about it. Anyway, to learn more about the giveaway and get your copy of Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger 2.0, head over to www.bblsbook.com. Alright, let’s get to the episode.

I’ve recorded hundreds of episodes of Muscle for Life on a huge variety of things related to health, fitness, and lifestyle, ranging from the basics of diet and exercise like energy and macronutrient balance and progressive overload and training frequency and volume to fads like the ketogenic and carnivore diet and collagen protein to more unfamiliar territories like body weight set point and fasted cardio. Some episodes resonate with my crowd more than others, but all of them contain at least a few key takeaways that just about anyone can benefit from (that’s what I tell myself at least). And as cool as that is, it poses a problem for you, my dear listener: Ain’t nobody got time for that. Well okay, some people do make the time to listen to most or even all of my podcasts, but my wizbang analytics tell me that while many listeners tune in on a regular basis, they don’t catch every installment of Muscle for Life and thus miss out on insights that could help them get a little better inside and outside the gym. People have also been saying they’d like me to do more shorter, multi-topic episodes, like my Q&As. And so I got an idea: how about a “best of” series of podcasts that contains a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from my most popular episodes? This way, people who are new to the show can quickly determine if it’s for them or not, and those who enjoy what I’m doing but don’t have the time or inclination to listen to all of my stuff can still benefit from the discussions and find new episodes to listen to. So, in this episode of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Greg Nuckols on the Best Way to Get Jacked (Originally published May 23, 2017) Everything You Need to Know About the Ketogenic Diet        (Originally published Jul 27, 2017) Motivation Monday: 3 Powerful Ways Working Out Makes You Better at Life (Originally published June 4, 2018) And we’ll be starting with number one, Greg Nuckols on the Best Way to Get Jacked. 5:32 - Greg Nuckols on the Best Way to Get Jacked 15:55 - Everything You Need to Know About the Ketogenic Diet 29:07 - Motivation Monday: 3 Powerful Ways Working Out Makes You Better at Life --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

In this episode, I interview Brannen, who used Bigger Leaner Stronger to cut from 186 pounds down to 171 all while building his inner strength to beat depression, anxiety, and even an alcohol habit. Before finding Bigger Leaner Stronger, Brannen was experiencing marital problems. A move cross-country as part of his enlistment in the Air Force and a toxic relationship left him emotionally exhausted and without a support network of family or friends. He started relying on alcohol to help him cope, which left him out of shape and depressed. Eventually he got divorced, but this took a lot of mental bandwidth and ultimately, he felt like he didn’t have much going for him. The good news is Brannen found Bigger Leaner Stronger, which gave him a step-by-step workout routine to follow, and he started eating healthier. He also started reading books and filled his time with leading his men while deployed. And when coronavirus hit and he couldn’t come home, he stayed the course and kept “doing the work.” Over time, his mental health improved and he got a lot stronger while losing 15 pounds and going from a 35-inch waist down to a 31-inch waist with 10% body fat. In this interview, Brannen and I talk about his story and the important lessons he’s learned along the way, including how to get back into the gym after a break, how important it is to put order in your life and live according to your values, how to deal with negative thoughts and grief, why showing up and being consistent is more important than perfection, how to avoid a victim mindset, and a whole lot more. So if you’re looking for a jolt of inspiration and like motivational stories, I highly recommend you listen to this episode. 5:50 - How has your performance been during COVID? Has your strength declined or stayed the same? 17:27 - What was your body like before and after my program? 22:25 - What type of problems were you facing when you found my work? 42:21 - So now you are in the gym and building some momentum, what happens next? 49:12 - How did you stay away from the victim mindset? 1:00:15 - Where do you plan on going from here in your fitness journey? --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

Building muscle when you’re new to weightlifting is mostly a game of patience and persistence. As long as you show up, finish your workouts, and follow a sensible diet plan, you’ll gain muscle and strength like clockwork. After your “newbie gains” dry up, though, progress comes in fits and starts. And it’s at this stage that many people cast their gaze about for more “advanced” training techniques, hacks, and shortcuts. Things like supersets, rest-pause sets, German Volume Training, and so forth. Another technique you may have heard of is known as doing cluster sets, which boils down to taking short breaks during your sets, but resting less between each set. Some people say this method triggers muscle growth above and beyond what you could achieve with traditional weightlifting, while others say it’s a pointless gimmick. Who’s right? Can cluster sets help you gain muscle and strength? And if so, are they better than more traditional training styles? You’re going to learn the answers to these questions and more in this podcast. By the end, you’ll know exactly what cluster sets are, how they’re supposed to increase muscle growth, whether or not they’re effective, and how to include them in your training if you choose to do so. Let’s start at square one. 3:23 - What is a cluster set? 8:02 - Why do cluster sets? 23:15 - What does science say about cluster sets vs traditional sets? --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: legionathletics.com/shop/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

What’s the best way to get big and strong? Some people say that the only way to get big is to get strong, and the best way to get strong is to stick to the big lifts. Do a lot of heavy compound weightlifting, and you’ll naturally get bigger as you gain strength. In other words, anything that’s not the squat, bench press, overhead press, and deadlift is a more or less a waste of time and effort. On the flip side of the coin, some claim that if you want to get big, you need to blast your muscles with tons of reps on isolation exercises to really concretize the “mind-muscle connection” and gain size. In fact, they claim, you don’t have to do any compound lifts to get bigger and doing big lifts like deadlifts and squats cause more fatigue than necessary, limiting how much work you can do on accessory exercises. Who’s right? As is usually the case, the truth is somewhere in the middle, and in this episode, I speak with Mark Rippetoe on the best ways to incorporate assistance exercises in a strength training routine. I thought Mark would be a good guest because while we agree on many things, we don’t always see perfectly eye to eye when it comes to training for aesthetics (or wanting a six-pack). In fact, Mark didn’t agree with my approach to the programming in the latest edition of my book for intermediate and advanced weightlifters, Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger, and I thought this could make for an interesting discussion. In this episode, Mark and I discuss . . . Movement patterns versus assistance exercises Exercises that really move the needle when it comes to muscle growth The value of barbell curls and lying triceps extensions Why and how to incorporate rack pulls Halted and wide-grip deadlifts Overhead squats and good mornings The importance of trap and ab training And more . . . So, if you want to learn about effective assistance work you can incorporate into your routine, this is an episode you don’t want to miss. Hit play and let me know what you think! 7:19 - Should you put accessory exercises into your program? 38:36 - What about variations like rack pulls or Romanian deadlifts? 38:23 - How and why should someone put a rack pull into their program? 43:19 - What’s the point of the halted reps? 49:01 - What about overhead squats? 51:36 - Is the good morning a good assistance exercise? 52:25 - Do you recommend any direct trap training? 54:29 - Do you recommend any ab training or anything directly for the core muscles? --- Mentioned on The Show: Mark Rippetoe's Website: www.startingstrength.com Mark Rippetoe's Podcast: www.startingstrength.com/radio Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

This episode is a bit of a curveball. While not a health or fitness topic per se, the subject of this episode is tangentially related. Specifically, the topic is privilege and the idea that it’s wrong for some people to enjoy advantages that others don’t get to enjoy, and that equal outcome should be our goal. In other words, inequality should be corrected through government policies and societal norms. According to some people, equality of opportunity isn’t enough. The only way to have a fair society is to have equality of outcomes. That’s the real sign that you have a system that works for everyone. Privilege is at odds with this idea. And while many people have heard of “white privilege” in recent times, that’s just one head of the hydra that needs to be lopped off to slay the beast of entitlement. Is that the right frame of reference, though? Is privilege really at the core of our socioeconomic and racial dysfunctions here in the West? Is it something we should systematically mitigate or eliminate altogether for a better world? Should you feel guilty and ashamed for any privilege you enjoy? Everyone has different privileges relative to one another and almost anything can be viewed as an advantage if you compare to the right subject. So what’s the proper response? Should we dispossess our advantages or feel pride? Should we “cancel” people with privilege, or use those advantages to help others? These are just some of the questions I chew the cud over with my guest Sal Di Stefano, a good friend of mine and one of the co-hosts of the number one fitness podcast in the world, Mind Pump. Now, you may be wondering why two fitness guys are talking about privilege on a fitness podcast, and the simple reason is that we love chatting about politics, culture, economics, and history. Plus, a lot of the non-fitness content I’ve sprinkled into my podcasts over the years has generated a lot more positive feedback than negative and we don’t subscribe to the “stay in your lane bro” critiques. So with all that said, let’s get to the show and let me know your thoughts! 7:34 - The skill of being objective and logical 10:10 - Two roadblocks to objectiveness 16:04 - Can I act in ways that are going to produce a desired result even though the action doesn’t feel right? 19:19 - What is privilege? 24:21 -  What is Intersectionality? --- Mentioned on The Show: The Mind Pump Podcast: https://mindpumppodcast.com/ Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

Have you ever thought to yourself . . . “Do I really have to do this now?” “I can just do this tomorrow.” Or like me “Let me clean the entire kitchen first, before I record this podcast.” Procrastination is extremely common, and it’s likely impossible to find someone who never procrastinates. Even when it involves things we truly enjoy doing we still find ourselves procrastinating.  (I love writing, but it still took me way too long to sit down and record this podcast.) In fact, research done on college students tells us that 50% procrastinate on academic tasks at least half the time. And in the overall population, 20% are chronic procrastinators. This isn’t a new phenomenon. Even prior to Instagram’s pulling us into unconscious scrolling, procrastination existed. In 800 B.C., the Greek poet Hesiod, cautioned against the dangers that come with “putting your work off till tomorrow and the day after.” Not only does procrastination present issues for getting work done in a timely manner, but research done in the field of economics and psychology describes how procrastination negatively influences performance and well-being. In this podcast, we dive a bit deeper into why, as humans, we so frequently procrastinate and where procrastination comes from. Further, we will leverage the research to outline some strategies you can use to beat procrastination and be more productive, less anxiety-ridden, and happier with your workflow. Let’s get started. 6:08 - What is procrastination? 14:02 - Why do we procrastinate? 18:55 - What are the three factors that account for procrastination? 21:19 - Manage your time to meet the deadlines for your goals 41:30 - Take bigger goals and break them down into smaller goals 42:47 - Minimize distractions 47:29 - Envision yourself enjoying the process --- Mentioned on The Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ --- 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.legionathletics.com/signup/

Google “how fast should I lose weight,” and you’ll get the same answer pretty much everywhere: One pound per week. And that’s not bad advice. You’ve probably heard that a pound of fat contains 3,500 calories. To lose a pound of fat per week, then, you just need to eat 500 fewer calories per day than you burn (500 x 7 = 3,500). Simple, easy to remember, and doable for most people. There’s just one problem with this little weight loss heuristic: If you have 25, 50, or 100+ pounds to lose, losing one pound per week means you’ll be dieting for months if not years. That’s a long row to hoe, especially if you’ve tried and failed to lose weight many times in the past. Now for the good news: If you’re very overweight (25+% body fat as a man or 35+% as a woman), you can probably lose a lot more than one pound of fat per week. In fact, if you know what you’re doing with your diet and training, you may be able to safely lose two, three, or even four pounds of fat per week. Of course, this strategy isn’t without downsides. You’ll be more hungry, you’ll have to be more strict about your diet, and you’ll probably need to do some exercise, too. The payoff, though, is that you can lose fat two or three times faster than most personal trainers, dietitians, and weight loss gurus recommend, without risking your health or losing large amounts of muscle. So, if you want to learn how fast you can safely lose weight when you have a lot of weight to lose, you want to keep listening. In this podcast, you’ll learn ... What “safe” weight loss really means How fast you can safely lose weight Whether or not you should try to lose weight as fast as possible How to lose weight as fast as possible And more ... Let’s start by taking an honest look at what constitutes “safe” weight loss. 6:49 - How much body fat can I safely lose per week? 12:39 - What should be my target rate of weight loss and why? --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

Meat has become more and more controversial of late. Some say its damaging effects are on par with smoking, and others even claim we should apply a special “health tax” on meat eaters. The contrarians say meat has a number of positive health benefits, very few downsides, and most of the research showing otherwise is on low-quality processed meats. And others take a middle-of-the-road outlook and say meat might cause some health problems in large amounts, but it’s healthy in moderation. Looking at the scientific evidence only further muddies the waters. If you look online, you’ll find some studies that seem to show meat is bad for you, some studies that show it’s benign, and others that seem to show it’s good for you. In the past few years, though, the pendulum of public opinion has swung hard in the “meat is bad for you” direction, largely thanks to several position statements from major health authorities. Who’s right? Well, the short answer is meat probably isn’t as bad for you as many news outlets claim, and reducing your intake of meat probably won’t make a big difference in your health. That said, it’s also fair to say eating as much processed or fatty meat as you want probably isn’t good for you, either. Ready for the long answer? Let’s kick things off by looking at exactly what meat is, then we’ll get into the case for and against eating it. 4:25 - What is lean and processed red meat? 4:40 - Should I be eating red meat? --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/