Muscle for Life

Simply put, if you’re in business either for yourself or working for someone else and want to become a better entrepreneur, businessperson, worker, boss, or even, I would argue, a better person, you want you read this book. In short, it provides a compelling and comprehensive answer to the question of why some companies excel and others don’t, and it’s the result of a tremendous amount of in-the-field research and scientific analysis, not a single author’s experiences or opinions. One of the reasons I recommend Good to Great so highly is it deals with the strategic level of business and work, where decisions carry far more weight and influence than those made in the trenches. In fact, sound strategic thinking is probably the ultimate success “hack” there is because no amount of hard work can transform a lousy strategy into a screaming success, and nothing succeeds like a brilliant strategy executed competently. I believe that applies not just to business, but to all areas of life. Assuming you can do the type

I’ve churned through over 100,000 emails, social media comments and messages, and blog comments in the last 6 years. 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: What’s the best weightlifting program for natural bodybuilding? Is cryotherapy a good way to boost post-workout recovery? How many calories should I eat to lose weight?   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 How to Create the Ultimate Muscle Building Workout I Took A Cold Shower (Almost) Every Day for a Year. Here’s What Happened. How Many Calories Should You Eat to Lose Fat & Not Muscle? Want to get my best advice on how to gain muscle and strength an

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/

Gut health has become something of a buzzword these days and, quite frankly, a bit of a red flag, like “detoxing” or “pH.” Whenever I hear someone talking about how to improve gut health, my Spidey sense starts to tingle because there’s a fair chance that shenanigans are afoot. That said, it’s not all quackery. Gut health is a very real thing and impacts your overall health and wellbeing in a number of different ways, and that’s what Dr. Mike Ruscio and I discuss in today’s episode. Before I continue, however, I just have to give a sincerely sloppy kiss to my friends Sal, Adam, Justin, and Doug over at Mind Pump Media for inviting me to their #PODCASTHARD event where I met and interviewed Dr. Ruscio. They have one of the biggest podcasts in the fitness space and are a bunch of cool dudes to boot, so head over their way and if you like what you hear, tell them I sent you. Okay so back to business. In this episode, you’re going to hear from Dr. Ruscio on a number of hot-button issues, including… - What is a hea

Doing cardio on an empty stomach doesn’t necessarily help you lose fat faster. Doing fasted cardio can help you lose fat–and “stubborn” fat in particular–faster, though. (And it works especially well when combined with several other fat loss strategies, which we’ll talk more about in this podcast.) This sword cuts both ways, though. Do your fasted cardio wrong and you won’t lose fat faster. You’ll just lose muscle instead, which is a good way to wind up skinny fat. We’re going to break it all down in this podcast and learn the simple science of fasted cardio, including… What fasted cardio actually is (and isn’t). How it can help you lose fat faster. Why it can cause muscle loss. How to maximize its benefits (fat burning) and minimize its drawbacks (catabolism). What types of fasted cardio are best. And more. By the end, you’ll know how to use fasted cardio to speed up fat loss without sacrificing muscle. So let’s go.   5:52 - What is fasted cardio? 9:10 - How does fasted cardio affect fat loss? 11:37 - What

  In this episode, I interview my buddy Kurtis Frank, who’s the co-founder and former lead researcher and writer of Examine.com and the current Direct of Research for my supplement company Legion Athletics. This time around, Kurtis and I dive deep into the science and physiology of appetite, including the body’s primary levers for controlling it, how appetite is influenced by different types of foods and diets, easy ways to reduce your appetite while cutting and increase it while lean bulking, and more. So, if you’d like to gain a deeper understanding of how your body’s appetite works and how to make it work more the way you’d like, you want to listen to this episode. 4:11 - What is appetite? 6:04 - What are some common factors that screw up natural appetite? 17:58 - How is appetite affected by different types of diets? 19:29 - What do you mean by handling carbohydrates well? 
 20:48 - What are some signs of insulin sensitivity? 22:41- How does a high fat diet affect appetite? 
 24:15 - Is it true that your

When you first start lifting weights, getting stronger is simple. Show up, add weight to the bar, and hit your reps and sets, and go home. As you inch your way toward your natural muscular potential, however, progress slows. You’ll start missing or even losing reps, feeling burnt out and overtrained, adding little if any weight to your lifts for months. Where to go from here? There are a number of ways to keep progressing in your weightlifting workouts, but one of my favorite models is known as double progression. It’s a simple method that anyone can put into use right away, and it’s one of the most effective ways to keep making progress after your newbie gains begin to evaporate. So, in this podcast, you’re going to learn what double progression is, why it works, and how to do it right so you can get the needle moving again. Ready? Let’s start at the top. 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.co

Charlie Engle has had a lot of ups and downs in his life: - He ran 300 miles straight, without a break. - He ran across the Sahara desert. - He almost died from a cocaine binge. - He was a producer of a top-rated T.V. show. - He served 16 months in federal prison for a crime he didn’t commit. And as you can imagine, he also has a lot of hard-won lessons and wisdom to share that we can all benefit from, which is what this interview is all about. If nothing else, maybe by the end you’ll have a few things to remind yourself of the next time you’re tempted to tell yourself that you “can’t,” because let’s face it—we almost always can. For instance, I loved how Charlie dealt with being sent to prison for mailing loan documents that, unbeknownst to him, had been illegally altered by his mortgage broker, which he proved in court. Yes, Charlie beat the IRS’s claim that he forged documents and proved that it was in fact his mortgage broker and he had no idea, but was still sent to prison because he mailed the fraudulen

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/

In this episode I interview Geoff, who’s 34 years old and used my Bigger Leaner Stronger program to completely transform his physique. In this interview 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 Geoff 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, Geoff 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 person

You’ve been training hard and eating right, and you’ve been making gains. Your stomach is tighter. You’re stronger than ever before. Your friends are starting to make meathead jokes. But progress has slowed. It’s getting harder and harder to add weight to the bar and your body isn’t changing like it once was. What to do? Well, if you turn to the magazines, you’ll probably conclude that you just have to eat more. “Eat big to get big” right? Sorta kinda maybe… Yes, a caloric surplus is conducive to muscle gain, but no, adding a gallon of milk per day to your meal plan isn’t advisable. You’ll gain weight, alright, but too much will be fat. You need a smarter approach, and rest-pause training can help. As you’ll see, this simple weightlifting tool can be adapted to any type of workout program, and, unlike most fancy-sounding training tips, it has science on its side. It actually works. So, in this podcast, you’re going to learn what rest-pause training is, why it works, and how to do it right so you can get the n

It’s rare for a billionaire legend to take his time to carefully outline his own personal “operating system” for achieving success and fulfillment in work and life, and that’s exactly what Ray Dalio has done with Principles. Inside, you’ll find many of his ideas and procedures for many aspects of his professional and personal life, ranging from his definition of meaningful work to his recipe for turning pain into pleasure, his prerequisites for deep relationships, his “fierce intolerance” of badness of any kind, and much more. Unlike similar books, Principles doesn’t try to entertain you with anecdotes or fancy prose or sell you with references to science or history. Instead, it simply presents Dalio’s thoughts, experiences, and practices in a clear and highly organized manner, which I appreciated because it allowed him to share an almost overwhelming amount of high-value information. By the end of this book, I had made a ridiculous amount of highlights and notes. I also appreciated that Dalio also isn’t one

Some people say steroids are safe and awesome. Others say they cause permanent damage to your body and can even be deadly. Many drug users swear they’re not addicted and can quit at any point. Others admit that life is just better on steroids and don’t plan on giving them up. Many recreational bodybuilders often claim that steroids don’t make as big of a difference as everyone thinks. A quick look at professional fitness competitors suggests otherwise. My point is there’s a lot of mystery surrounding steroid use and even more confusion. Like most things health and fitness, opinions are all over the place. I assume you’re interested in listening to this podcast because you want to know things like how steroids work, how effective they are, their side effects, and how to know if someone is likely natural or “enhanced.” Well, in this podcast we’re going to take an in-depth look at steroid use and touch on all of those points and more. Before we start, I’d like to make my position on steroids clear: I’m mostly (b

Let’s face it. One of the biggest reasons to toil away in the gym is to look good. Really good. Most of us guys want a big, broad upper body, bulging biceps, washboard abs, and a thick, strong lower half. Gals usually want lean legs, a curvy butt, and a toned upper body and abs. If you listen to the right people, you’ll discover that getting there isn’t all that hard, really. Get your calories and macros right, follow a well-designed workout program, take the right supplements (or not), and just put in the work, and you’ll gain muscle and lose fat each and every week. Unfortunately, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll wind up with the exact body that you want. In time, you might notice that one side of your chest is slightly smaller than the other, or one arm is clearly larger than the other, or one thigh is more developed than its counterpart. What to do? Many people say this can’t even happen if you’re training properly. Many others say it’s purely genetic, and that you have to just play with the cards tha

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 no denying the fact that people’s body weight tends to remain settled in certain ranges over long periods of time. There’s also no denying that “dieting” simply doesn’t work for most people. Sure, they can lose weight, but many regain it all once they stop the diet. And to add a cherry of hopelessness on top, we’re also often told that exercise kind of sucks for weight loss too. What are we to do, then? Accept whatever body weight nature and our environment has given us? Is there really no effective way to achieve and maintain an ideal body weight for the long term? Well, there’s a counterpoint to the above research: evidence that about 20% of overweight people successfully reduce their body weight by at least 10%, and then maintain their new weight for at least 1 year. What’s going on here? What’s going on is a result of people’s body weight set points, which are very real and can either work for or against you in your quest to get and stay lean. In this podcast, you’re going to learn why your body w

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/

In this episode, I speak with the grandfather of barbell training, Mark Rippetoe, who has given us many a great things, including books that everyone should read, Starting Strength and Practical Programming. I’m a fan of Mark and his work, of course, because nobody has done more to promote, teach, and defend barbell training than Rip, and also because of his peppery personality, which always makes for a fun conversation. This time around, we talk about pressing, specifically the bench and overhead press and all of their variations and subtleties. These are two of the most effective upper body exercises you can do for gaining strength and size. It’s not a stretch to say that the stronger you get on these two exercises, the happier you’re going to be with how you look above the waist.   There are a number of factors beyond your control that influence how well you can bench and overhead press—your limb lengths, bone structure, height, and so forth—but there are also many things that you can control, like your te

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/

Rob Dionne over at Open Sky Fitness was kind enough to have me on his podcast to talk about various things that I thought you might find interesting, so I wanted to share the interview on my podcast as well. Rob and I go all over the place in the interview, from the best rep ranges for building muscle and training frequency, to key lessons I’ve learned growing multiple businesses while also raising a family, to the ins and outs of the supplement and publishing industries, to the most important rule I’ve learned about success along the way, and more. I hope you enjoy it. 5:11 - What’s your origin story? 9:13 - What was your college background? 18:21 - How many books have you written?   19:15 - What was the impetus behind your supplement company? 24:43 - What is a good profit margin for retail? 28:44 - Do you feel pressure from being the face of your company? 29:11 - Do you offer affiliate programs? 40:47 - Do you feel like you have a hard time connecting to people? 40:08 - Are light weights, higher reps better