Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews

CoolSculpting…The name itself reminds me of the 70s, perhaps an artist scene. Rebel against the government by making radical statues (back when radical was less “feminist” and more “Sonic the Hedgehog on a skateboard”.)Fight against the institution like Greek statues fight against pornographic standards of penis sizes.Then I learned it was a fat loss technique popular with middle-aged mothers with too much money and instantly felt like I needed to apologize to sculptors everywhere for the comparison.Then I looked into it.Boy, does this shoe taste bad. Shouldn’t have stepped into the realm of judging things by their cover if it just made my foot go into my mouth.Can’t really blame me though.After browsing a ton of CoolSculpting reviews I felt like I was so far into mommy blog territory that I needed to bring spare nappies and a welcoming gift of scented candles and wine just to continue listening.It was only after I googled the scientific name, cryolipolysis, that I understood how such a cool process with such a cool name could catch on.So what is CoolSculpting? Who thought of this positively radical name, and will it help my kickflips and graffiti?Not much, but it could help your family members from looking like bulldogs with their jowls ... if they have the money for it.---Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion SupplementsHere: https://legionathletics.com/shop/---Want to get my best advice on how to gain muscle and strength and lose fat faster? Sign up for my free newsletter!Clickhere: https://www.legionathletics.com/signup/

Many people have had rough childhoods thanks to stuff like oppressive parents, grinding poverty, and mental and physical roadblocks, but few have experienced what Chris Duffin has.First, he grew up in the wilderness. Not metaphorically, but literally. As a child, Chris and his family were vagabonds who wandered the California countryside, essentially living off the land.As you can imagine, this didn’t exactly put Chris on the fast track to success, academic or otherwise, yet today, he’s an MBA with a successful career as a corporate executive as well as a top-tier powerlifter who has deadlifted 1,000 pounds . . . for reps.Chris also has also created a popular coaching and education brand called Kabuki Strength as well as innovative strength training equipment including the Transformer Bar, Duffalo Bar, Kadillac Bar, and Trap Bar HD.And as if all that weren’t enough, Chris recently released a book called The Eagle and the Dragon, and in this interview, we’re going to talk about all the aforementioned, including some of the key lessons Chris has learned about parenting, leadership, and reinventing yourself for a better life.6:24 - What is your background story? 25:30 - How did your background affect who you are now? 33:41 - What values mean the most to you? 40:29 - What are some lessons you’ve learned from leadership? 59:36 - What fears are you chasing now?---Mentioned on The Show:Chris'sNew Book (The Eagle And The Dragon) https://christopherduffin.com/ Chris'sWebsite: https://kabukistrength.net/ Chris'sInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mad_scientist_duffin/Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/---Want to get my best advice on how to gain muscle and strength and lose fat faster? Sign up for my free newsletter!Clickhere: https://www.legionathletics.com/signup/

If there’s one supplement that has truly passed the test of time, it’s creatine monohydrate.It has been the subject of hundreds of scientific studies, and the evidence is clear:- It helps you gain muscle and strength faster. - It improves anaerobic endurance. - It enhances muscle recovery.And moreover, it does it all naturally and safely.When it comes to improving your body composition and workout performance, creatine monohydrate is basically all pros and no cons.And in this podcast, we’re going to talk about why.By the end, you’re going to know what creatine monohydrate is, how it works, how effective it is, how to take it for best results, and more.Let’s get to it.2:45 - What is creatine monohydrate? 6:20 - How does creatine monohydrate benefit muscle growth? 8:49 - How does creatine monohydrate benefit strength gain? 10:27 - How does creatine monohydrate benefit power? 12:14 - How does creatine monohydrate benefit muscle recovery? 13:04 - How does creatine monohydrate benefit endurance? 14:24 - How does creatine monohydrate benefit joint pain? 15:41 - How does creatine monohydrate benefit type 2 diabetes? 19:20 - What is creatine ethyl ester and is it better than creatine monohydrate? 20:24 - What is buffered creatine and is it better than creatine monohydrate? 21:43 - What is creatine hydrochloride and is it better than creatine monohydrate? 22:13 - What is creatine magnesium chelate and is it better than creatine monohydrate? 22:49 - What is creatine malate chelate and is it better than creatine monohydrate? 23:22 - What is creatine nitrate and is it better than creatine monohydrate? 24:02 - What is micronized creatine and is it better than creatine monohydrate? 25:10 - What is creatine pyruvate and is it better than creatine monohydrate? 25:45 - What is creatine citrate and is it better than creatine monohydrate? 26:05 - What is liquid creatine and is it better than creatine monohydrate? 37:35 - How do you take creatine monohydrate? 29:29 - Does caffeine interfere with the effects of creatine monohydrate? 30:55 - Do you need to take creatine monohydrate every day? 31:52 - Do you need to cycle creatine monohydrate? 32:37 - Does creatine monohydrate cause bloating? 33:35 - Is creatine monohydrate bad for your kidneys? 35:20 - Should women take creatine monohydrate? 36:03 - Should you take creatine monohydrate when you want to lose weight? 39:31 - Does creatine monohydrate cause baldness? 40:29 - Does everyone benefit equally from creatine monohydrate?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/

This episode is part of a monthly 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:One Monday every month, 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 for the latest and greatest installment. Mentioned on The Show: Books by Mike Matthews:https://legionathletics.com/products/books/---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/

Learn about the concept of elastic habits and how they can adapt to life's challenges. Explore the importance of habits for fitness success and how they are related to resilience. Discover practical ideas for using the elastic habits model to create positive changes. Understand the benefits of overcoming initial resistance, tracking habits, and using smaller sub-goals for motivation. Challenge the myth of all-or-nothing thinking in habit formation. Wrap up the episode with book promotion and discussion of sports nutrition products.

Optimists say that with enough hard work, patience, and the right nutrition, you can get as big and strong as you want.That there really is no hard ceiling on your potential for whole-body strength and muscularity.To support this rosy outlook, these people often point to top-level bodybuilders and elite college athletes who claim to have never used steroids.I’ve written and spoken about this extensively already, but I wanted to get Lyle McDonald’s take on the limits of natural versus enhanced muscle gain, and particularly how they relate to the fat-free mass index (FFMI).In case you’re not familiar with Lyle, he has been one of the foremost evidence-based fitness researchers and writers for a couple decades now and someone whose work I’ve always liked. He pulls no punches, brooks no bullshit, and makes no apologies when he feels he has the evidence on his side.In this interview, Lyle and I chat about the difference between natural and enhanced muscle gain, what FFMI is and whether 25 is a true natural cutoff, common “fake natty” red flags, and more.Let’s dig in!11:18 - What is FFMI? 19:27 - Why is a normalized FFMI of 25 a likely ceiling for most people? 53:06 - What is your opinion on the studies on limits with college athletes? 01:16:07 - Would you agree that a FFMI over 25 is a red flag for steroid use?Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion SupplementsHere:https://legionathletics.com/shop/Lyle'sWebsite:https://bodyrecomposition.com/Want to get my best advice on how to gain muscle and strength and lose fat faster? Sign up for my free newsletter!Clickhere: https://www.legionathletics.com/signup/

I want to do some posts specifically for women, starting with a question I get asked often: how do you get rid of cellulite naturally and safely? Ironically, cellulite was once respected as an attractive symbol of wealth. It meant you could eat rich foods and didn’t have to physically labor. Well, these days almost all women have cellulite to one degree or another, and it’s generally considered a blight–a sign of a lazy, unhealthy lifestyle. Millions of women spend tens of millions of dollars per year on all kind of cellulite treatments looking for a cure, and aren’t any better for it. Is there anything you can do, really? Fortunately, there is. It seems like a good time to dive into the subject and help you sort the BS from the truth, and work out what you can do to get smoother, sexier legs, hips, and butts.---Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion SupplementsHere: https://legionathletics.com/shop/---Want to get my best advice on how to gain muscle and strength and lose fat faster? Sign up for my free newsletter!Clickhere: https://www.legionathletics.com/signup/

If you can’t recover from your workouts properly, you’re going to have a hard time.You won’t be able to lift as much weight, progress on your lifts and get stronger as quickly, and you won’t enjoy your workouts, reducing the likelihood that you’ll stick to your routine over the long term.Muscle recovery supplements can get you back in the gym faster and allow you to train harder, speeding up your progress.And in this podcast, we're going to cover the 3 best ones you should be taking. Let's get to it.---Mentioned on The Show:Shop Legion Supplements Here---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.legionathletics.com/signup/

If you’re a veteran gymgoer, you probably know what it’s like to feel fatigued.You’re drained, achy, and lethargic. The weights feel oppressively heavy. You’d rather go home and take a nap than train.Look around online for an answer as to what causes this, and one of the first explanations you’ll likely find is something called central nervous system (CNS) fatigue, aka “neural fatigue.”The reason you feel so down, the goo-roo will explain, is your nervous system has become overtaxed and needs a break, not unlike a barrel of a gun that has overheated from intensive firing and needs to cool off.To resolve the problem, the solution offered is always some form of more rest and less stress, like taking a few days off or deloading or the like, and to avoid such issues in the future, suggestions usually include training less frequently or intensely, taking special supplements, and sleeping or eating more.In fact, some fitness folks claim that minimizing CNS fatigue is a vitally important (and often overlooked) aspect of getting jacked—and especially for us natural weightlifters—and promote low-volume training plans as optimal for maximizing overall long-term results.How reasonable is all of this? Is your body really so fragile that it can only manage a handful of productive weightlifting workouts per week? Is CNS fatigue even real?To answer these questions and more, I invited Menno Henselmans back on the podcast to break it all down.In case you’re not familiar with him, Menno is a bodybuilding coach, writer, and published scientist who’s also on the Scientific Advisory Board of my sports nutrition company, Legion Athletics.In this interview, Menno discusses the different types of fatigue, what CNS fatigue really is, how much can result from training, how to deload properly (and why), and more.Let’s get to it!5:50 - What is fatigue? 9:40 - How can you tell the difference between mental and physical fatigue? 21:09 - Is there any way to achieve an ongoing deficit? 26:18 - How long can CNS fatigue last? 38:19 - What is your recommended method of deload?---Mention on The Show:Books by Mike Matthews:https://legionathletics.com/products/books/Menno's Website & Email List: https://mennohenselmans.com/ Menno's Instagram:@menno.henselmans---Want to get my best advice on how to gain muscle and strength and lose fat faster? Sign up for my free newsletter! Clickhere: www.legionathletics.com/signup/

“Can you recommend a book for…?”“What are you reading right now?”“What are your favorite books?”I get asked those types of questions a lot and, as an avid reader and all-around bibliophile, I’m always happy to oblige.I also like to encourage people to read as much as possible because knowledge benefits you much like compound interest. The more you learn, the more you know; the more you know, the more you can do; the more you can do, the more opportunities you have to succeed.On the flip side, I also believe there’s little hope for people who aren’t perpetual learners. Life is overwhelmingly complex and chaotic, and it slowly suffocates and devours the lazy and ignorant.So, if you’re a bookworm on the lookout for good reads, or if you’d like to get into the habit of reading, this book club for you.The idea here is simple: Every month, I’ll share a book that I’ve particularly liked, why I liked it, and several of my key takeaways from it.I’ll also keep things short and sweet so you can quickly decide whether the book is likely to be up your alley or not.Alright, let’s get to the takeaways.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.legionathletics.com/signup/