Muscle for Life

In this podcast, you’re going to learn about double progression, which is one of the best progression systems you can use. In fact, double progression has been part of my programs since 2012, and it’s still what I recommend today. So, in this episode you’re going to learn what double progression is, how to implement it in your training, how it differs from other types of progression, and how to get more out of it to gain muscle and strength faster. And if you’re not currently using double progression in your workouts, you’re definitely going to find this episode helpful. Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 4:01 - What is double progression 4:46 - How does double progression work? Mentioned on the Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/mike Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

I’ve written and recorded a lot of evidence-based content over the years on just about everything you can imagine related to building muscle, losing fat, and getting healthy. I’ve also worked with thousands of men and women of all ages and circumstances and helped them get into the best shape of their lives. That doesn’t mean you should blindly swallow everything I say, though, because let’s face it—nobody is always right about everything. And especially in fields like diet and exercise, which are constantly evolving thanks to the efforts of honest and hardworking researchers and thought leaders. This is why I’m always happy to hear from people who disagree with me, especially when they have good arguments and evidence to back up their assertions. Sometimes I can’t get on board with their positions, but sometimes I end up learning something, and either way, I always appreciate the discussion. That gave me the idea for this series of podcast episodes: publicly addressing things people disagree with me on and s

In this podcast, I chat with Jason McCarthy, the CEO and founder of GORUCK, a company that creates rucking gear and hosts events to build communities and empower people. This interview isn’t about how to get started with rucking (I already have one about that). Instead it’s about Jason’s story, including why he started GORUCK and how it developed and grew over time. While GORUCK sells loads of high-quality rucking gear now (rucksacks, footwear, and apparel tested by Special Forces combat veterans), and has hosted over 1,000 events worldwide, things weren’t always so peachy for the company, or for Jason personally. In this episode, we discuss . . . Jason’s Special Forces training and serving in Iraq Being a team player being part of something bigger than yourself The importance of investing in relationships and how he worked through marriage issues How he got started with designing rucksacks and turned GORUCK from a hobby into a business How he faced certain death in the business and figured out how

In this podcast, you’re going to learn about supplements that can help you focus better. The ability to control your attention and focus for extended periods of time is one of the most important metaskills. That is, it’s a skill that makes other skills better. Mastering your attention and eliminating distractions can make a big difference in your life. You can train your ability to focus with meditation or use techniques like Pomodoro to accomplish more deep work. You can also address your environment, tipping the scales in your favor to accomplish goals faster and easier. Your internal environment plays a role too. You can also get enough sleep, exercise regularly, and eat well, which will all help boost your brain power. The last part of the equation is supplementation. Are there any supplements scientifically-validated to improve your ability to focus? Find out in this episode. Timestamps: 7:00 - What do you mean by focus? 10:43 - What supplements enhance focus? Mentioned on the Show: Books by Mike Matth

Many people who follow me on Instagram after reading my book Bigger Leaner Stronger have been asking about my workouts lately. That’s because I’ve been posting my daily workouts in my stories, and what I’ve been doing doesn’t match my recommendations in BLS. Naturally, this causes a bit of confusion. So, what exactly am I doing in the gym, and why? Why am I not following my own program? Well, I am. I’m following Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger, which is my book for intermediate and advanced weightlifters. The workout routine in BLS is great for beginners, but if you’ve already gained your first 25 pounds of muscle and want to gain the remaining 15 pounds or so you have left before hitting your genetic ceiling, you want to follow Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger. So for this podcast, I’m going to share with you a chapter from my Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger audiobook where I break down the program in detail and explain how it works and how to do it. So if you want to know exactly how I’m training and see if it’s s

If you like fresh content on a subject I haven't touched on before, you're going to love this episode. That's because I'm chatting with Joelle Samantha all about orthorexia, which is an eating disorder that focuses on food quality and “purity.” With more people entering the fitness game every year and consumers becoming more conscious of what they put into their bodies, many people are paying more attention to what they eat. For many people, this is a good thing. But with a greater focus on food quality, tracking food, and clean eating than ever before, and misinformation and fad diets abound, it's not too surprising that orthorexia and other types of similar eating disorders are on the rise. So, what causes orthorexia, how does it manifest in daily life, and what can people do about it? Joelle is here to help answer these questions. In case you're not familiar with her, Joelle has a Masters Degree in Exercise Physiology and is an educator specializing in women’s health, nutrition, and physique development. S

Curcumin seems to be gaining momentum in the supplement space, and it’s not too surprising why. Studies show it has a number of health benefits, including reducing inflammation and joint pain. That said, it’s not as simple as eating a bunch of turmeric. If you want to get the most out of curcumin, you need to take the right amount of the right type. In this podcast, you’re going to learn what curcumin is, what it’s benefits are, the best type of curcumin to take (and how much), and more. Timestamps:  3:24 - What is curcumin? 4:35 - Why do people supplement with curcumin? 12:48 - How can curcumin help your body? 22:27 - What are the side effects of curcumin? Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://buylegion.com/vip Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

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.

If you like to geek out, this episode is for you. That’s because I’m getting into the weeds with Chris Barakat on peri-workout nutrition. If you don’t know what that means, peri-workout nutrition refers to the food you eat before, during, and after training. We’re talking pre-workout meals, post-workout feasts, and even intraworkout replenishment. Now, one important point (and one we’ll get into further in the episode) is that the advanced strategies Chris discusses are optimizations, as opposed to foundational knowledge. If you’re someone who just wants to get in shape without too much fuss, get your energy balance right and follow a meal plan that hits your macro targets, and you’re going to be doing better than most. In other words, get the most important things right, most of the time, and you’ll do well. But if you’re someone who likes to optimize--someone who wants to do everything you can to eke out every ounce of progress possible, these are the types of dietary strategies you should at least be think

Mushrooms seem to be all the rage these days. What are the health benefits of mushrooms, though? Well, it depends on the type, but one of the most popular kinds of mushrooms people supplement is Reishi. What’s so special about this Reishi fungi? That’s what I’m here to tell you in this podcast. Specifically, you’re going to learn what Reishi mushroom is, why people supplement with it, what sorts of benefits and side effects you can expect, the best way to take it, how much to take, and more. Let’s get to it, shall we? Timestamps: 5:17 - What is reishi mushroom? 9:28 - What are the benefits of reishi mushroom? Mentioned on the Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/mike Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

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 question: How Do You Increase Urgency and Necessity? 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. Mentioned on the Show: Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

I’ve written and recorded a lot of evidence-based content over the years on just about everything you can imagine related to building muscle, losing fat, and getting healthy. I’ve also worked with thousands of men and women of all ages and circumstances and helped them get into the best shape of their lives. That doesn’t mean you should blindly swallow everything I say, though, because let’s face it—nobody is always right about everything. And especially in fields like diet and exercise, which are constantly evolving thanks to the efforts of honest and hardworking researchers and thought leaders. This is why I’m always happy to hear from people who disagree with me, especially when they have good arguments and evidence to back up their assertions. Sometimes I can’t get on board with their positions, but sometimes I end up learning something, and either way, I always appreciate the discussion. That gave me the idea for this series of podcast episodes: publicly addressing things people disagree with me on and s

While my world revolves around lifting heavy objects and learning how to eat “like an adult,” I occasionally dip into talking about entrepreneurship, marketing, and business in general. And feedback on this sort of content has been great. People with the entrepreneurship bug want to know what’s worked for me, what hasn’t, and what I’ve learned while growing my own businesses. The truth is starting your own business isn’t for everyone. You have to do a lot more work, take on a lot more stress, and generate a lot more revenue to be successful than most people think. In other words, it’s not for the lazy or faint of heart. These are things I recently talked about with Cody McBroom, who interviewed me on his Tailored Life Podcast, in which he asked me about all things business. I wanted to share this interview on my own podcast because I think it will be valuable to my listeners. It provides a peek behind the curtain of what it really takes to run and grow a business, build and maintain momentum, and more. In the

In this episode, I interview Anna, who read Thinner Leaner Stronger and used what she learned to lose over 85 pounds of fat while gaining 20 pounds of muscle and getting significantly stronger. Before finding TLS, Anna was 200 pounds, in pain from being overweight, displaying symptoms of pre-diabetes, and didn’t know how to lose fat. She wanted to make a change, but didn’t know where to start. Luckily, her brother was familiar with my work and convinced her to read TLS. That’s when she learned all about what to do in the gym, how to eat properly, and most importantly for her, flexible dieting. Now she knew what to do, but she was filled with self-doubt and didn’t know if she could accomplish her goals. She smartly set a smaller, attainable goal of getting down to 170 pounds as a benchmark. Once she started applying what she learned and saw progress, she gained confidence. She started to feel like she was in control and could actually set even bigger goals and reach those too. Now, Anna is 135 pounds, having g

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 question: How Often Should You Switch Exercises? 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. Mentioned on the Show: Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

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 question: How effective are negatives? 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. Timestamps: 3:07 - What are negatives? 6:04 - Should I only be doing eccentric training? 9:19 - How do I incorporate negatives in my training? Mentioned on the Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/mike --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

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.

This podcast is a story about overcoming oppressive obstacles. It’s about facing reality head-on, coming to terms with the truth, and deciding to make a positive change. Specifically, it’s the story of Brad Jensen and how he beat addiction to reinvent himself and become known as “the sober bodybuilder.” I’ll save the details for the interview, but in broad strokes, Brad was a fitness-interested teenager who found himself turning to alcohol and eventually hard drugs to get through life. This led to a decade of serious addiction, becoming a drug dealer, multiple arrests, homelessness, and repeated cycles of recovery and relapse. In other words, Brad has had to deal with far more hardship than the average Joe, but he was able to take responsibility, not succumb to a victim mindset, and completely turn his life around. And while most of you listeners luckily won’t have to deal with the same issues or episodes of intense withdrawal, I think his story will be inspiring and motivating. In case you’re not familiar wi

The more you think about it, the weirder it gets. Obviously we have reproductive differences but, beyond that, do women and men really vary that much? Especially when it comes to science. We use rats to estimate how stuff affects us for crying out loud. We share about 50% of the same genes as fruit flies and some have argued that our societal structures are similar to that of lobsters. When it comes to comparing one human against the other then 99.9% similarity may be an understatement because we don’t want to use more decimal places. And yet, despite this, we find numerous claims that supplements can benefit women and men differently beyond sex-based anatomical differences. To rub salt in the wound they are also all called vitamins for what I can only assume to be marketing or negligence. The amount of times I’ve seen calcium included in lists of vitamins for women’s health is equal parts staggering and saddening (we’ll get to why that’s wrong in a moment). Screw “vitamin,” the most commonly misused term by

I’ve written and recorded a lot of evidence-based content over the years on just about everything you can imagine related to building muscle, losing fat, and getting healthy. I’ve also worked with thousands of men and women of all ages and circumstances and helped them get into the best shape of their lives. That doesn’t mean you should blindly swallow everything I say, though, because let’s face it—nobody is always right about everything. And especially in fields like diet and exercise, which are constantly evolving thanks to the efforts of honest and hardworking researchers and thought leaders. This is why I’m always happy to hear from people who disagree with me, especially when they have good arguments and evidence to back up their assertions. Sometimes I can’t get on board with their positions, but sometimes I end up learning something, and either way, I always appreciate the discussion. That gave me the idea for this series of podcast episodes: publicly addressing things people disagree with me on and s