Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews

In this episode I interview Steve, who’s a 37 year old father of two young kids who read my book Bigger Leaner Stronger and used the program to completely transform his physique.We talk about how he found his way to me and my work, including what he had tried previously, how things changed after he started implementing the advice in my books, articles, and podcasts.As with everything, nothing ever goes exactly as planned, and learning to adjust and adapt to conditions is an important part of the fitness game, which is something Steve experienced firsthand.He ran into a number of roadblocks along the way that most of us can relate to, including issues with workout and meal scheduling, hunger and cravings, dietary temptations, and more, and in our chat, Steve shares what has helped him navigate these barriers skillfully and prevent them from getting in his way.So, if you like hearing motivational stories about how people have changed their bodies and lives, and if you want to pick up a few tips that may help you along in your personal journey, then this episode is for you.You can learn more about Steve and his work here:Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/adapnation/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/adapnation/Website - https://AdapNation.io5:00 - Where were your numbers before you started Bigger Leaner Stronger? 7:13 - What are your current numbers? 16:35 - How did you find me and my work? 20:16 - How was your experience with Bigger Leaner Stronger? 30:10 - How did the Stacked app help? 36:12 - How did this help you choose a new career path? 39:36 - What else has made a big difference for you? 39:53 - How did you change your habits from not reading at all to reading regularly? 52:53 - What were your before and after results? 1:05:52 - Where can people find you and your work?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/

"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 and MFL 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.muscleforlife.com/signup/

You’ve just stepped into the gym.Should you hit the weights or do your cardio first?Some people say that you should start with cardio because it’s a great whole-body warmup, and it’s easier and more enjoyable before an intense lifting session than after.Others say you should do your weightlifting first because you need all the energy you can muster for it if you want to gain muscle and strength as quickly as possible.Others still say it doesn’t really matter either way so you should do whatever works best for you.Who’s right?Well, here’s the short answer:If you want to maximize muscle and strength gains, you should do your weightlifting before your cardio.And in this podcast, you’re going to learn exactly why.We’re going to discuss how cardio generally affects strength and muscle gain, the pros and cons of doing cardio before or after weightlifting, when to do your cardio workouts to get all of the benefits of cardio with none of the downsides, and more.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.muscleforlife.com/signup/

“What are you up to?”“When are the new books coming out?”“When are we going to get a new flavor of Whey+?”I get asked these kinds of questions a lot.While I usually prefer to keep my nose to the grindstone and unveil the finished product when it’s ready, I also want to keep all of you apprised of the goings-on at Muscle for Life and Legion Athletics.I’ve been working on several long-term projects that most people won’t get a chance to see or hear about until they launch. So, I want to start giving you all a little glimpse behind the curtain as to what I’m doing, making, and working on before it’s finished.In this episode, you’re going to learn . . .When Legion’s protein bars are (finally) going to be available for sale.When my new books for men and women are going to be finished.The latest and greatest flavors of Whey+ that are coming out in the near future.Some MFL-approved heavy metal music produced by a MFL team member.An outstanding opportunity for you to work with me and the rest of the MFL team, should you choose to accept it. 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: https://www.muscleforlife.com/signup/

There's a reason why the majority of people that work out regularly don't have much to show for it, and why so few people ever build truly impressive physiques. And, contrary to popular belief, it's not (the lack of) steroids--many drug users are just as flabby and weak as the next guy.The reason why so few people are able to build muscular, strong, lean, healthy bodies is they are doing too many things wrong in and outside of the gym.Training and eating right isn't particularly complicated, but there are quite a few moving parts that need to be integrated and coordinated. It's not as simple as "train hard and eat big." There aren't a couple "secrets" to getting big, lean, and strong. There are a collection of principles that must be properly and consistently applied.In this podcast, we're going to talk about the training side of the equation. Specifically, the biggest weightlifting mistakes that I see people make, and why they keep you small, weak, and frustrated.Let's get to it.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/

If you’re like most women, you want a very specific type of body. You want to be lean but not too skinny (and most definitely not “skinny fat“).You want a toned upper body but don’t want to look like a “bulky” weightlifter.You want a flat, defined stomach.You want tight, shapely legs, and last but most definitely not least…You want that perfect, gravity-defying butt.Well, you–yes, lil’ ol’ you–can have all these things.Seriously.You don’t need top-shelf genetics or a lifetime of training to look like a million bucks.You have to know what you’re doing, though.Forget what the fitness magazines have told you–you don’t become a “goddess” through starving yourself and doing an unconscionable amount of cardio.Instead, you need to take a completely different approach. And believe it or not, a much healthier, more enjoyable, and sustainable one.In this podcast, you’re going to learn exactly what that approach is and how to build the body of your dreams.If that gets your attention, then you’ll want to listen this episode, because we’re going to start with what you most definitely shouldn’t be doing…4:29 - What's the worst fitness plan for women? 9:54 - How much muscle should you gain? 11:37 - How do you do get to where you want to be? 12:06 - Doesn’t heavy weightlifting make women bulky? 19:15 - How much cardio should you do? 25:14 - Do I have to starve myself? 30:06 - What's an action plan to put these strategies into place?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 interview, I talk with Luke who’s 28 years old and recently completed my 90-day transformation coaching service.He shares his personal fitness journey, including what he was up to before finding me and my work and how it was going, how things started to change after implementing some of the advice in my books and articles, and how he recently used my coaching service to really accelerate his progress and get into the best shape of his life.The bigger picture looks like this: When Luke first found Bigger Leaner Stronger about two years ago, he was about 20% body fat at about 185 pounds, and today, he’s about 10% at the same weight and about 280 pounds stronger on his key lifts. As far as natural recomps go, that's about as good as you can get.Luke’s transformation wasn't without struggles, of course. He ran into a number of roadblocks along the way that most of us can relate to, including issues with workout and meal scheduling, hunger and cravings, dietary temptations, and more. And in our chat, Luke shares what has most helped him navigate these barriers skillfully and prevent them from derailing his progress.So, if you like hearing motivational stories about how people have changed their bodies and lives, and if you want to pick up a few tips that may help you along in your personal journey, this episode is for you.5:16 - What were your before and after results? 17:46 - What lessons did you learn during a cut? 19:09 - What tactics did you use to stay on track? 25:13 - Do you think it’s better to track calories or apply intuitive eating? 30:19 - What obstacles did you have while cutting? 36:35 - What are you doing now for training? 37:26 - What obstacles are you encountering while bulking?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/

You don’t have to read much of the pain literature to discover that it’s a fairly mysterious thing.Some people experience regular and excruciating pain for no apparent reason while others experience very little pain despite having severe structural damage.And this is especially true of back pain, which is can be a truly baffling phenomenon that seems to follow no discernable patterns or rules as far as prognosis and treatment go.That sucks too because the fact is most everyone will experience back pain at some point in their lives, and sometimes it’ll resolve on its own and sometimes it won’t.When it doesn’t resolve, many people go see doctors and specialists and do x-rays and MRIs only to find their way back to square one, with no idea why their back hurts so much and what to do about it.Well, “what to do about it” is what Mark Rippetoe and I talk about in this episode. Whether you’ve been struggling with back pain for years, have only had it a few times in the past, or just want to do whatever you can to avoid it in the future, I think you’re going to enjoy this chat.In it, Mark and I discuss common questions such as . . .- What causes low back pain for most people? - How effective is surgery for reducing back pain? - Should you keep doing squats and deadlifts if you have back pain? - How helpful is stretching for back pain? - How long does it take for low back pain to go away?The bottom line is by the end of this interview, you’re going to know more about back pain than most people ever will, along with some counterintuitive tips about how to deal with it that you probably haven’t heard elsewhere.6:57 - Why do people experience back pain? 10:50 - Is back pain seen more in mammals that are walking on their two feet than quadrupeds? 11:30 - What is a Q-angle? 13:07 - Why does the degeneration of a disk result it back pain? 23:02 - What do you do if deadlifting or squatting hurts your back? 29:58 - What do you think of foam rolling, massages, and active release therapy? 35:17 - Does yoga positively affect back pain when training? 38:46 - What are some equipment recommendations to help prevent back pain? 40:38 - Are there any substitutes for the deadlift when experiencing back pain? 52:19 - Where can people find you and your work?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/

What if I told you that by eating nothing but meat and other animal products—no fruits, vegetables, or plant foods of any kind—you could . . .-Lose fat without counting calories-Bulletproof yourself against and even cure diabetes-Prevent blood sugar spikes and crashes-Increase your testosterone levels, build more muscle, and improve your athletic performance. . . BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!You may also be able to resolve digestive problems like bloating, gas, and constipation and overcome depression, fatigue, joint pain, and other maladies.Well, according to a growing number of self-styled health and diet gurus, that’s exactly what happens when you follow the “carnivore diet,” which involves eating only animal products (along with water and salt).If you poke around online and read people’s experiences with the carnivore diet, you’ll find some compelling success stories.Men and women of all ages and circumstances are saying that it has cured their arthritis, stomach bloating, headaches, insomnia, anxiety, brain fog, depression, and alcohol and nicotine addictions, as well as helped them build muscle, lose fat, and look and feel healthier than ever before.On the other hand, there are decades of research showing that eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains is healthy, and some evidence that suggests eating high amounts of animal products increases the risk of disease and dysfunction.Which position has the weight of the evidence on its side?Well, the short answer is that while it’s possible to be healthy on the carnivore diet (at least for a while), there’s an overwhelming amount of scientific research showing that it’s far from optimal and that there are much better options.And in this podcast, you’re going to get the whole story, including . . .-What the carnivore diet is-Why people follow it-What the benefits and downsides are-How safe it is. . . and more.Let’s get started.-8:47 - What is the carnivore diet? -10:05 - What would a carnivore diet food list look like? -11:37 - Why do people follow the carnivore diet? -15:34 - What are the benefits of the carnivore diet? -21:38 - How does the carnivore diet affect cardiovascular health? -32:08 - Does the carnivore diet reduce inflammation in the body? -36:23 - How does the carnivore diet affect testosterone levels? -42:42 - Do you get the nutrition you need on the carnivore diet? -45:19 - How do you get enough Vitamin C without eating plants?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/