Muscle for Life

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

If you’ve read any books on weightlifting, endurance sports, or training in general, you’ve probably come across the term energy system before. Unfortunately, the more you read about energy systems, the more confused you’re likely to become. Most explanations of energy systems quickly devolve into a complex firehose of scientific jargon like Krebs cycle, mitochondrial respiration, anaerobic glycolysis, and other tongue twisters. Luckily, you don’t need a degree in exercise science to decipher energy systems. You don’t even need to know what most of these words mean. At bottom, energy systems describe how your body produces energy during physical activity, from squatting a barbell to running a marathon to typing on a keyboard. As you’ll learn in this podcast, gaining a better understanding of how energy systems work can help you improve your performance by optimizing your training and nutrition to support different energy systems, which in turn can improve your performance in different activities. For example,

If you’re not familiar with my story, the truth is I didn’t always want to have a career in the fitness industry. But after I decided to write a book to help people learn from my own mistakes in the gym, things started snowballing. Not only have I sold nearly 2 million books, but I started my own sports nutrition company, Legion, which has since become an 8 figure business with over 250,000 customers worldwide. If you’re interested in hearing more about my backstory and the beginnings and founding of Legion, you’re going to love this podcast, which is actually an interview from The More Than Fitness Podcast with Matt McLeod. In his podcast, Matt interviews some of the brightest stars in the fields of fitness, business, and self-development, with the goal of maximizing life both in and outside of the gym. So, I was happy to oblige when Matt asked to have a conversation with me. In this episode, Matt asks me all about the history of Legion and my background as a do-er of “fitness things,” including . . . How

Do you want to know how to use science to optimize your health, fitness, and lifestyle? Do you want to know how to protect yourself against misguided, misleading, and even menacing advice supposedly supported by research? And do you want to get up to speed quickly, regardless of your educational background? If so, then my new book Fitness Science Explained is for you. It’s a crash course in reading, understanding, and applying scientific research, and it teaches you in simple terms what most people will never know about how to not suck at science. Fitness Science Explained covers all of the big moving parts, including . . . The basics of the scientific method The differences between randomized trials and observational studies The power of the placebo effect The importance of sample sizes The anatomy of statistical analysis And much more In this episode, I’ll be sharing the third chapter of the audiobook “Welcome to the Hierarchy (of Evidence)” So, whether you want to discover and use evidence-

Do you want to know how to use science to optimize your health, fitness, and lifestyle? Do you want to know how to protect yourself against misguided, misleading, and even menacing advice supposedly supported by research? And do you want to get up to speed quickly, regardless of your educational background? If so, then my new book Fitness Science Explained is for you. It’s a crash course in reading, understanding, and applying scientific research, and it teaches you in simple terms what most people will never know about how to not suck at science. Fitness Science Explained covers all of the big moving parts, including . . . The basics of the scientific method The differences between randomized trials and observational studies The power of the placebo effect The importance of sample sizes The anatomy of statistical analysis And much more In this episode, I’ll be sharing the second chapter of the audiobook “How to Think About Science” So, whether you want to discover and use evidence-based metho

Do you want to know how to use science to optimize your health, fitness, and lifestyle? Do you want to know how to protect yourself against misguided, misleading, and even menacing advice supposedly supported by research? And do you want to get up to speed quickly, regardless of your educational background? If so, then my new book Fitness Science Explained is for you. It’s a crash course in reading, understanding, and applying scientific research, and it teaches you in simple terms what most people will never know about how to not suck at science. Fitness Science Explained covers all of the big moving parts, including . . . The basics of the scientific method The differences between randomized trials and observational studies The power of the placebo effect The importance of sample sizes The anatomy of statistical analysis And much more In this episode, I’ll be sharing the first chapter of the audiobook “Good Science, Bad Science: The Difference and Why It Matters” So, whether you want to disc

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 three questions: Should you go straight from a cut to a lean bulk? Is there an ideal heart rate for fat loss? Are massage guns beneficial? If you were arrested with no explanation, what would your friends and family assume you had done? 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: https://legionathletics.com/clean-bulking/ https://legionathletics.com/cardio-weightlifting/ Timestamps: 4:23 - Should you go straight from a cut to a lean bulk? 18:47 - Is there an ideal heart r

In this episode, I interview Brian, who used Bigger Leaner Stronger to bulk up from an atrophied 150 pounds to a jacked 220 pounds. Like many guys, Brian learned everything he knew about fitness from magazines. He was following bro splits and celebrity workouts, taking every supplement under the sun, and hardly paid attention to his diet. And thanks to the majestic power of newbie gains, he still made progress despite all this. But then everything changed. Brain was the victim of a crime that landed him in a 6-day coma. When he woke up, his body had atrophied to an unrecognizable 155 pounds. The good news is Brian didn’t give up, and he got back in the gym, determined to heal his body. He experienced newbie gains for a second time thanks to muscle memory, but progress began to stagnate. Along the way, a friend introduced him to Bigger Leaner Stronger, and that’s when things really started to change. Brian learned about progressive overload, how much protein he should be eating, how to track his workouts, and

When you first start working out, one of the most confusing questions you’ll face is what workout split to follow. A workout split refers to how you’ll organize your training throughout the week. The reason it’s called a split is because most workout plans split up your training in a way that has you train different muscle groups or exercises on different days of the week. Sounds simple enough: some days you train some muscle groups or exercises, other days you train other muscle groups or exercises. Of course, it’s not that simple. There are countless ways to organize a week of workouts, but everyone has an opinion on what works best, and they’ll tell you you’re wrong if you’re not following exactly what they recommend. Should you do traditional bodybuilder workouts where you train each muscle group once per week, obliterating it with as many sets as possible? Or should you follow one of the minimalist full-body strength-training programs that have become popular over the past few years? Or should you do som

This episode of the podcast isn’t your standard health and fitness fare. Instead, it’s about living well beyond fitness, and more specifically, a concept Pat Flynn refers to as “flourishing.” Pat Flynn is a repeat guest not only because I enjoy our conversations, but I’ve gotten great feedback from listeners who like hearing about these deeper, philosophical topics we dive into. In case you’re not familiar with Pat, not only is he a fitness expert who is known for his kettlebell prowess, but he’s also a podcaster, philosopher, and author who just released a book titled “How to Think About God,” a metaphysical and spiritual journey all about the philosophy behind this foundational belief. While I’m not a philosopher, I do have an interest in ideas I can use to improve my life and that I can share with other people to make their lives better as well. Plus, I always enjoy my conversations with Pat, and in this episode, we discuss several topics and questions listeners have been asking me, including … The probl

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.

Most people know that exercise is good for them. And most also know that not exercising is bad for them. Despite that, most people fail to meet even the bare minimum recommendations for physical activity (2.5 hours of moderate exercise or a little over an hour of intense exercise). Just 22.9 percent of Americans hit minimum activity guidelines, not even half (46 percent) of Europeans exercise or play sports, and only 16 percent of Canadians perform the recommended levels of activity. Then, of course, there’s a smaller group of people who go to the opposite extreme. The Ironman triathletes, gym rats, and so forth who spend every spare second in the gym or doing cardio, largely in the belief that more exercise is always better. But, what about the rest of us? What about people who want to be fit, healthy, and happy, who also have jobs, families, and other obligations that limit how much time we can spend working out? And what if we don’t just want to stave off disease and dysfunction, but also build a body we’r

When you look at a celebrity on T.V., a rising star in the office, or an impressively fit person at the gym, it’s easy to attribute their success to in-born talent, circumstance, and luck. This is especially true when it comes to fitness, because your results are inextricably tied to your genetics. That is, you can work just as hard as someone else or even harder, and they still might get better results in the end. And once you realize this, it becomes very easy to rationalize your lack of progress. That person is stronger than you? Must be nice to have so much time to work out. That person is more muscular than you? Must be nice to have won the genetic lottery. That person is leaner than you? If only you had their metabolism. This kind of fixed mindset is comforting, but it’s also pernicious. It erodes your self confidence, saps your motivation, and poisons your perception of what you can achieve. And it overlooks something even more important than genetics, upbringing, and luck for achieving your goals: Gri

“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 wh

What if I told you that with one pill, you could boost your energy levels, supercharge your strength, and even melt away mental and physical pain and discomfort? And what if this pill could do those things naturally and safely? And what if I even told you that it’s just a sugar pill, but so long as you truly believe in its ability to work, it will? If that sounds like science fiction, I understand, but the underlying mechanism is actually science fact, and it’s called the placebo effect. Many people have heard of the placebo effect, but it’s much deeper than many people realize, filled with quite a few surprising and interesting aspects. That’s why I invited Kurtis Frank back onto the podcast to give us a little lesson on the placebo effect, including ... The most surprising effects of placebo and how it works How the placebo effect can improve your workouts How resilient is the placebo effect and does it wear off? Why it's important to have researchers blinded from the placebo in experiments Why y

Would you like to see a trick? With just one word, I can stimulate electrochemical responses in your brain associated with feelings of affection and joy. By merely uttering this three-letter rune, I can ignite your imagination, drench you in desire, and constrain you to my every command. And no, it has nothing to do with slapping slippery body parts together. Are you ready for this primordial talisman? *leans in close* N-E-W. Hear it again, with the velvety tone of buttery vocal pipes . . . New. Inhale it like the ripe breath of autumn. Let it race through you like chain lightning. Flare with it like a match dropped in a dry patch. New. New what, you wonder? Not one, not two, but a camel-load of only the finest fitness wares this side of Damascus are on the way, including . . . Balance A non-bacterial gut health supplement that'll help your body better process and absorb the food you eat. (Releasing next month.) Lunar Reflavoring A much-needed upgrade to our shuteye supplement’s flavor system, which is curren

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. --- 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/

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

Nobody likes getting hurt. Well, besides masochists, of course. But seriously, getting injured sucks. Pain is annoying at best or excruciating at worst, but that’s not necessarily even the worst part. If you try to work through the pain, you’ll usually end up even worse off. So, injuries not only prevent you from working out comfortably, but they often keep us out of the gym altogether. In turn, this slows down your progress or even brings your fitness goals to a complete halt. Most people fear serious, acute injuries from lifting weights. The truth is weightlifting isn’t nearly as dangerous as many people think, and one of the most common issues us gym-goers face is repetitive stress injuries (RSIs). That’s why I called in a true RSI expert, Paul Ingraham, the founder of PainScience.com who spends all day writing about pain and injuries. In this episode, we chat about ... The underlying mechanisms behind overuse injuries How you can prevent RSIs and treat chronic pain Why you might not want to take ant

Building muscle can seem like a confusing process. Some people say you need to use high reps in your workouts, others say you should just focus on getting strong. Some say you need to eat a high-protein diet, others say it doesn’t matter. Some say you need to eat a meal immediately before and/or after your workout, others say you just have to eat enough calories throughout the day. How are you supposed to know who’s right? Well, one way to sift through this muddle of facts, opinions, and pap is to zero in on exactly what you’re going for. And if your goal is to build muscle, then you need to understand that all of these strategies are really aimed at one thing: muscle protein synthesis. What’s that, you wonder? Well, that’s what you’re going to learn in this podcast. You’re going to learn what muscle protein synthesis is, why it’s so important for building muscle, the six best ways to increase muscle protein synthesis, and how to avoid the things that decrease muscle protein synthesis. Let’s get started. 3:4