Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews

I’ve churned through over 150,000 emails, social media comments and messages, and blog comments in the last 6 years.And that means I’ve fielded a ton of questions.As you can imagine, some questions pop up more often than others, and I thought it might be helpful to take a little time every month to choose a few and record and share my answers.So, in this round, I answer the following four questions:Are bro splits optimal for muscle growth?Should you use a weightlifting belt?How long should you remain in a calorie deficit?Is intermittent fasting better for retaining muscle than traditional dieting when cutting?If you have a question you’d like me to answer, leave a comment below or if you want a faster response, send an email to mike@muscleforlife.com.Recommended reading for this episode: The Definitive Guide on How to Build a Workout Routine: https://legionathletics.com/how-to-build-a-workout-routine/ 5 Studies Answer: Should You Use a Weightlifting Belt?: https://legionathletics.com/do-weightlifting-belts-work/The Complete Guide to Safely and Healthily Losing Weight Fast: https://legionathletics.com/how-to-lose-weight-fast/ The Definitive Guide to Intermittent Fasting: https://legionathletics.com/the-definitive-guide-to-intermittent-fasting/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/

Tom Brady’s diet has become something of an obsession for many Americans.Since the publication of his 2017 health and wellness book, The TB12 Method, “Touchdown Tom’s” eating habits have gone mainstream in a major way.Every major media outlet has weighed in multiple times and you can even find “I tried Tom Brady’s diet and here’s what happened” videos online.And unlike many fly-by-night celebrity diets, Brady’s has earned staying power.The main reason for this is obviously the halo effect. He’s indisputably one of the greatest and most accomplished athletes of all time, so anything he says and does is likely to be judged favorably.Moreover, Brady isn’t just a Hollywood hunk who got jacked for a superhero movie. Brady’s a world-class athlete who appears to be invincible by normal NFL standards, which many players joke stands for “Not for Long.”Due largely to the brutal nature of the game, the average NFL player lasts just 3.3 years, and many careers are cut short by torn ligaments, broken bones, severe concussions, and the like.Not Brady, though.He’s wrapping up his 19th year in the league with his 9th Super Bowl, and aside from a knee injury that sidelined him in 2008, he hasn’t suffered a major injury in his career.How has he managed to stay so healthy?Well, Brady says his unique diet has contributed to his robust health in a major way and enabled his body to endure and recover from levels of stress and punishment that would break the average person.Hence its popularity.So, what does the Tom Brady diet look like? Well, it mostly consists of plenty of fresh vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and a moderate amount of lean meats like salmon, turkey, and chicken.In other words, it sounds like your average “healthy diet” that many obesity and nutrition scientists have been advocating for the last several decades.It doesn’t stop with “eat a bunch of nutritious things,” however, which is where the controversy begins. Brady’s version of “clean eating” requires more or less only eating nutritious things and prescribes a menagerie of restrictions, including . . .- No gluten, bread, pasta, or white flour of any kind - No coffee or caffeine - No cooking oil - No potatoes, peppers, or mushrooms - No drinking water during or around meals - No eating within 3 hours of bedtime - No eating fruits with other foodsIn fact, once you’ve wound through all the twists and turns of Brady’s diet, as we’ll do in this podcast, you can’t help but wonder if there was any real method to the apparent madness.I mean, if you were to tear random pages out of the bestselling diet books of the last 20 years and follow whatever you found, you’d likely end up with something similar.Not only that, but thanks to the aggressive commercializing of the TB12 brand, the regimen also includes a number of Brady’s proprietary supplements and other products.All that doesn’t necessarily mean the Tom Brady diet deserves the scrapheap instead of the spotlight, though.As you’ll learn, Brady’s fastidious eating gets more right than wrong and is far superior to the average Western diet, but it’s not without major flaws and fallacies.6:25 - What is the Tom Brady diet? 12:00 - Should I eat mostly anti-inflammatory foods? 19:16 - Should I eat mostly alkaline foods? 26:07 - Is it bad to combine food groups in one meal? 30:10 - Should I drink half of my body weight in ounces of water per day? 33:48 - Should I eat as little saturated fat and cooking oil as possible? 43:29 - Who is Alex Gurrero? 49:05 - How can I use food to optimize my body composition, well-being, and longevity? Mentioned on The Show:Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/

In this episode, I interview Tom, who found me on Youtube and used my teachings to completely change his body and life.When he first started working out, he didn’t know what he was doing with his training or diet and after a spurt of newbie gains, fell into a rut.He was also dealing with debilitating sciatica that sometimes had him crawling to the bathroom in the middle of the night and asking his girlfriend to help him put on underwear.Everything changed when Tom discovered the world of evidence-based fitness, however, and started implementing my advice. In the span of 1.5 years, he bulked up from 160 pounds to 205 and then cut back down to a much leaner, more muscular 160 pounds. And even better, his back pain was more or less gone. He couldn’t believe it.In fact, Tom was so astounded that he decided to pay it forward by starting to share his journey and learnings on the popular website Twitch. Now, hischannel is now the most popular fitness-related hangout on the website, and every day, Tom uses it to stream workouts, answer people's questions, and share his favorite tips that have helped him build his best body ever.In this interview, Tom and I chat about his story and the many important lessons he's learned along the way, including exactly how he beat his back pain, how he optimizes meal prepping for maximum enjoyment, efficiency, and economy, and more.9:23 - Where was your physique when you started the program? 19:29 - How many calories do you eat per day at the end of a bulk? 20:43 - How does alcohol affect muscle gain and fat loss? 25:02 - What kind of back issues did you have? 42:04 - What led you to be on Twitch? 48:26 - Do you have any tips on meal planning? 1:10:49 - Where can people find you and your work?Mentioned on The Show:Tom's Twitch Channel: https://www.twitch.tv/tominationtimeWant 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/

For many people, ibuprofen, naproxen, and acetaminophen are godsends.Whenever they feel a niggling ache or pain, they pop a pill and feel right as rain.Elbow pain from benching? No problem.Knee pain from squatting? Nothing a few pills can’t fix.Shoulder pain from overhead press? Not today.Have a bad case of DOMS? NBD, man.Take a few pills, and you’ll be able to push through workouts that might otherwise keep you sidelined.And others even take these over-the-counter (OTC) painkillers on a regular basis, just in case something starts to hurt.If you’ve read anything about these drugs, though, then you may have heard that they can also interfere with muscle growth.Some even go so far as to say that you should avoid them at all costs. It’s better to stay home and wait for your body to heal itself than to take a pill that kills your gains.Who’s right, and what should you do?That’s what you’re going to learn in this podcast. By the end, you’ll know how painkillers affect muscle growth, whether or not taking them will interfere with strength and muscle gain, and how to balance the pros and cons to get the best of both worlds.Let’s get started.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/

If you’re new to proper weightlifting, you have much to look forward to. You’re taking your first steps in a journey that can transform not only your body but your entire life. With every bit of muscle and strength you gain, you’re going to look a little better, feel a little better, and thrill a little more at the prospect of what else you might be able to achieve. You have a special advantage, too—one that even the most accomplished weightlifters envy. Whereas they have to fight tooth and nail for every ounce of improvement on the scale and bar, thanks to a quirk of physiology, you’re going to progress with relative ease.For instance, for someone like me, no matter how hard I work in the gym, the best I could possibly do over the next 12 months is maybe 30 to 35 pounds added to my key lifts and 1 to 3 pounds of muscle gain.You?Well, in just your first year of proper training, you should have no trouble increasing your whole-body strength by several hundred pounds and gaining 15 to 25 pounds of muscle (and about half that if you’re a woman).Such is the power of “newbie gains.”Notice I’ve said “proper” a couple times now, too. This is important because even if you’ve been into lifting for a while, if you’ve made little progress since starting, you too can benefit from newbie gains.In short, if you’ve yet to gain your first 15 to 25 pounds of muscle (again, for women, about half that amount), you can get there a lot faster than you might think.If you’re skeptical, I understand.Maybe you think you’re a “hardgainer” who’s destined to stay small and weak. Maybe you think you’ve already more or less maxed out what your physique has to offer and your only hope of getting bigger and stronger is using steroids.Maybe you just don’t know what to do in the gym to gain more muscle and strength.Well, I have good news:Although some people gain muscle and strength easier than others, nobody has to remain forever frail.Although we all have hard genetic ceilings for muscle and strength gain, you’re probably well short of yours.Although the art and science of training can appear hopelessly complex, all you likely need to achieve your goals is intelligent and rigorous application of the fundamentals.I have proof, too.Through my books, articles, podcasts, and videos, I’ve helped thousands of everyday men and women build their best bodies ever, and I can do the same for you. And I can start right here, right now, by providing you with an in-depth review of the science of newbie gains—a rather controversial phenomenon. Some people say newbie gains aren’t really a thing because there’s nothing special occurring at the physiological level.Others say newbie gains are

As fun as it can be to geek out on obscure and advanced muscle-building strategies, most people looking for advice on how to gain more muscle and strength just need to double down on the fundamentals instead.You know, compound exercises, heavy weights, progressive overload, and the like.There comes a point, though, where a basic understanding of the basics is no longer enough to keep the needle moving.Then, you should add some more advanced tools to the shed, including programming techniques like periodization, set schemes like drop and rest-pause sets, and exercise variations to address weak points.That last point—exercise variations—is what Chris Barakat and I talk about today, and specifically, how to use different types of exercises and ways of performing those exercises to maximize muscle gain in every major muscle group you train.As you’ll learn, relatively small changes to the exercises you do and how you do them can make quite a big difference in the bottom-line results.If you’re not familiar with Chris, he’s not only a member of Legion’s Scientific Review Board, he’s also a published scientist, educator, coach, and natural bodybuilder, so he’s intimately familiar with the respective needs of beginning, intermediate, and advanced weightlifters and bodybuilders.Let’s get to it!6:51 - What is the architecture of a muscle? 9:30 - What is an alternate exercise to leg extensions that will help develop the distal part of the quads? 10:16 - Which exercises best target the upper part of the pecs? 12:55 - What are your thoughts on how different exercises impact the development of the biceps and triceps differently? 14:05 - Which exercises best target the biceps and triceps and how would you program it? 15:55 - Which exercises best target the shoulders and how would you program it? 28:06 - Which exercises best target the back and how would you program it? 39:09 - How does an alternate grip on pulls affect the back? 41:54 - Which exercises best target the hamstrings and how would you program it? 45:15 - Which exercises best target the calves and how would you program it? 49:46 - What are your thoughts on improving abs and core? 58:43 - How important is controlling the concentric and eccentric phases? 1:00:42 - Which exercises best target the glutes and how would you program it? 1:02:17 - How can people find you and your work?Mentioned on The Show:Legion VIP one-on-one coaching:https://legionathletics.com/coaching/Chris's one-on-one coaching:https://www.competitivebreed.com/Chris's website: https://schoolofgainz.com/Chris's educational content: https://www.bodybuilding.com/author/christopher-barakatChris's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christopher.barakat/?hl=enWant 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/

“When’s your next book coming out?”“What kind of supplements are you going to release next?”“What would you name your boat if you had one?”I’m asked questions like these all the time and so I thought I’d start doing monthly updates about what’s new and exciting here at Legion HQ.So here’s a quick hosedown of what me and my jolly band of pirates and bums have been up to lately.Enjoy!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/

“CrossFit won’t just transform your body,” an acquaintance once told me, “it will change everything—who you are, how you view the world, what you think is possible.”I’m a big believer in the life-changing power of being fit, but . . . really? I felt like I was being pitched on an MLM, not a workout program.This type of talk is common in the CrossFit universe, which has enjoyed tremendous success in the last decade. There are over 13,000 CrossFit affiliates (gyms) around the world, and CrossFitters are some of the most passionate fitness folk you’ll ever meet.But is it everything the true believers claim it to be? Is it really the best way to get fit? Does it really transform mere “working out” into something transcendent?Or is it just another fad with nothing particularly special to offer other an increased risk of injury and overtraining, as many of its detractors claim?Well, the long story short is this:CrossFit can absolutely help you get in great shape, and depending on the coach you work with, it’s not as dangerous as some people would have you believe.That said, CrossFit is not the best way to gain muscle and strength and lose fat, which is why many people get into it in the first place.Let’s find out why . . .3:49 - What is CrossFit? 6:55 - What are the positives of CrossFit? 13:11 - What are the negatives of CrossFit? 17:57 - How does CrossFit measure up with gaining muscle and strength? 22:04 - What’s the best way to improve cardio and gain muscle and strength? 23:27 - Is CrossFit good for fat loss? 30:28 - Should I do CrossFit?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 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: https://www.legionathletics.com/signup/

If you’ve been slinging iron for any amount of time, you’ve probably seen quite a few “ONE MORE REP” lifters.They’re usually a 20-something year-old dudes in stringers and Waffen-SS haircuts with oompa loompa tans and maybe, just maybe, a bit of lip gloss too (yep, I’ve seen it).These boys just love training to failure, often ending set after set with the weights on the floor or their bodies.We might think they look ridiculous, but maybe the joke’s on us?Maybe training to muscle failure—the point where you can no longer move the weight—is the key to gains?Well, like rep ranges and training frequency, the topic of training to failure is a contentious one. Many bodybuilders, experts, and “gurus” claim it’s at least beneficial, and some say it’s essential for maximizing muscle and strength gain.On the other hand, others say we should never train to failure because it doesn’t increase anything but our risk of injury and overtraining.Who’s right?Well, in this podcast, you’re going to learn what the scientific literature has to say on the matter, including the effectiveness, safety, and usefulness of training to failure.3:33 - What is training to failure? 6:20 - Why do people train to absolute failure? 9:22 - How does a workout routine that includes training to failure compare to a workout routine that doesn’t include training to failure? 25:46 - When and why should I train to failure? 25:11 - What are the benefits of training to failure?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/