Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) is often touted as the frontier of anti-aging supplements, promising not just more years of life, but better quality ones.  With bold claims of enhancing lifespan and slowing down aging, to improving physical performance, body composition, and brain health, NMN has captured the attention of both consumers and scientists. But how much truth is there to these claims?  In this episode, I’ll explore the molecule NMN, its benefits, the research supporting it, and whether or not it stands up to the hype.  Whether you're a skeptic or a hopeful believer in the search for the fountain of youth, listen to this podcast to learn about the potential of NMN supplements. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 2:19 - What is NMN and Why Is It Important? 5:31 - What Does Current Research Say About NMN? 9:52 - Can NMN Really Improve Your Physical Performance and Body Composition? 12:12 - Legion One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip 13:53 - Is NMN Anti-Aging? Can NMN Supplements Stop or Reverse Aging? 16:57 - Do NMN Supplements Improve Cognition and Brain Health? 21:15 - Are NMN Supplements Worth the Hype? Mentioned on the Show: Legion One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip

The debate around training to muscular failure has raged for decades. Is it necessary? Is it practical? Is it safe?  Expert opinion is all over the map, ranging from one extreme of low-volume, maximum-intensity, “beyond-failure” training to the other of high-volume, low-intensity, “never-even-close-to-failure” training; and every degree and permutation in between. Which philosophy is right? Or at least the most right? And more importantly, which is right specifically for you and your circumstances and goals? That is, are you training hard enough to efficiently and effectively achieve your goals? In this episode, renowned expert Lyle McDonald settles these questions and more, including what true muscular failure is (physiologically); why, in some ways, proximity to failure in training matters more than many other programming variables like load and rep ranges; why many people could benefit from more proximity to failure in their training rather than less; and more. And in case you're not familiar with Lyle, he’s a health and fitness researcher and author, and one of the godfathers of evidence-based fitness space whose work has greatly influenced my own, especially in the beginning of my career. In this interview, you'll learn: What failure is (technical, muscular, and volitional failure) and why proximity to failure is such an important factor in training for muscle growth How close you need to be to failure for maximal muscle fiber recruitment and growth The effects of training to failure on fatigue and how that interplays with training volumes Whether “beyond failure” techniques like dropsets and forced reps can be effective when controlled How to gauge and achieve effective reps for enhanced muscle development Guidance on the optimal proximity to failure for sustainable results Practical tips for reaching the optimal proximity to failure and incorporating variety in training to maintain long-term progress How often you should test true failure to ensure your training intensity is sufficient And more . . . Whether you’re seeking to optimize your workouts or someone curious about the science behind muscle growth, this myth-busting discussion will give you science-based clarity on one of fitness's most persistent debates.  So give it a listen and you'll be far better equipped to gauge your workout intensity and program it sustainably for better gains. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 3:20 - Why is Training to Failure Crucial for Muscle Growth? 08:29 - What Does Muscle Failure Really Mean and How Does It Impact Growth? 24:00 - Is Proximity to Failure More Important Than Your Workout Program? 33:11 - How Can You Optimize Volume and Reps for Maximum Muscle Growth? 43:06 - Save 25% on Pulse and Recharge! Go to buylegion.com and use code MUSCLE 44:33 - Why Are Rest Times Crucial for Maximizing Training Effectiveness? 54:05 - How Do You Recognize and Achieve True Muscular Failure? 1:01:41 - What Are Reps in Reserve and How Can They Optimize Your Training? 1:11:35 - How Can You Accurately Identify a True Failure Rep? 1:14:34 - Are Forced Reps and Other “Beyond Failure” Training Techniques Effective? 1:23:00 - Why Is Variety Important in Your Training Regimen? 1:32:01 - Where to Find Lyle McDonald’s Work? Mentioned on the Show: Save 25% on my pre-workout Pulse and post-workout Recharge now! Go to https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on any non-sale items or get double reward points! Lyle’s Website: https://bodyrecomposition.com/

Are saunas, steam rooms, and cold plunges beneficial after workouts? How can you naturally boost your testosterone levels quickly? What’s the best way to stop snacking out of boredom or anxiety?  In this episode, I delve into these and other intriguing questions from my listeners. As always, these questions come directly from my Instagram followers, who take advantage of my weekly Q&As in my stories. If you have a question you're dying to have answered, make sure you follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness) and look out for the Q&A posts. Your question might just make it into a podcast episode! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:34 - Benefits of sauna, steam room, and cold plunge post-workout? 3:44 - Is the stair stepper as effective as the treadmill? 4:38 - How to recomp when feeling too bulky? 7:06 - Should supplements be timed on a fasted stomach? 9:27 - Fastest methods to boost testosterone naturally? 12:46 - Try my upgraded, reformulated sleep aid, Lunar! Go to buylegion.com/lunar and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 16:19 - Update on Legion's new energy drink. 17:31 - How to stop snacking due to boredom or anxiety? 18:13 - Have I considered competing in bodybuilding? 19:38 - Strategies for overcoming fear. 21:36 - Evaluating the pink salt and honey pre-workout trend. 22:43 - Maintaining motivation in diet and exercise routines. 25:10 - Importance of barbells for hypertrophy. 26:40 - Effective exercises for weak biceps. Mentioned on the Show: Try my upgraded, reformulated sleep aid, Lunar! Go to buylegion.com/lunar and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

In this episode, I sit down with Dan, who achieved remarkable results through Legion’s one-on-one coaching program.  In just 3 months, he shed 20 pounds, significantly reduced his body fat, and saw more muscle definition than ever before. Though he previously experimented with various fitness routines like P90X and Body Beast, Dan's newfound success is rooted in his consistency with nutrition tracking and meal planning, along with a tailored workout routine that accommodated his hip arthritis. In this interview, Dan opens up about his past challenges, including alcohol consumption and diet compliance, and how making changes in these areas contributed to his success. He shares insights into transitioning to a lean bulking phase and offers practical tips for others starting their fitness journeys. Tune in to hear Dan's story and learn how personalization in training and diet, combined with a mindset focused on long-term sustainability, can lead to transformative results. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 2:22 - What prompted Dan to try the Legion one-on-one coaching program? 10:16 - How does Dan manage cheat meals and alcohol consumption? 12:44 - What was Dan's experience with reducing daily alcohol intake? 20:37 - Want 125 quick, easy, and delicious “fitness friendly” recipes? Get The Shredded Chef: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-shredded-chef/ 23:46 - What did Dan's training routine look like during the coaching program? 33:09 - Why did Dan include yoga in his fitness routine? 34:15 - Did Dan make any changes to his training when starting his cutting phase? 35:26 - What alternative exercises worked well for Dan? 37:17 - Has Dan noticed differences since beginning his lean bulking phase? 43:39 - Has Dan made adjustments to his training program and its volume? 49:44 - What key principles has Dan learned to enhance his workout effectiveness? Mentioned on the Show:  Want 125 quick, easy, and delicious “fitness friendly” recipes? Get The Shredded Chef: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-shredded-chef/

Kinesiology tape has become a common sight in the world of sports and in the gym. But what does it really do? Is there good science supporting its use, or is it all hype?   In this episode, we examine the scientific principles of kinesiology tape. From its supposed ability to reduce pain and inflammation to claims of improved muscle function, we dissect what research says versus popular belief.   Whether you're an athlete considering kinesiology tape, a fitness enthusiast curious about its effects, or just someone fascinated by sports science, listen to this podcast to gain a clearer understanding of what kinesiology tape can and cannot do.   Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:49 - What is kinesiology tape? 2:36 - What are the benefits of KT tape? 3:59 - What does the scientific research say about kinesiology tape? 7:29 - Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 10:39 - Does KT Tape enhance proprioception? 14:08 - Can KT Tape reduce swelling? 14:39 - Does kinesiology tape improve strength? 15:54 - Does KT Tape increase your flexibility?  17:27 - Can KT tape boost athletic performance? 19:08 - Does kinesiology tape help in preventing injuries? 21:39 - How effective is KT tape? 22:41 - How should you apply KT tape for best results?   Mentioned on the Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

Hitting a fitness plateau can be frustrating, but often the battle is not just physical—it's mental.  In this episode, Kasey Orvidas joins us to unravel the psychological elements that contribute to fitness stagnation. Specifically, we delve into the importance of understanding your own behavioral patterns and thought processes, and discuss the importance of being a "researcher in your own life" to get to the root causes behind your fitness plateaus. In case you're not familiar with her, Kasey Orvidas holds a Ph.D. in Psychology and is a certified health and fitness coach, renowned for her expertise in mindset and health behavior change.  With numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals, Kasey combines academic rigor with practical coaching, making complex scientific concepts accessible to a wider audience. In this podcast, Kasey and I discuss . . . Recognizing and addressing the psychological factors contributing to fitness plateaus Practical strategies for developing a growth mindset and enhancing motivation, including effectively responding to feedback, setbacks, and others' success Understanding the power of negative emotions and how to reframe challenges positively The role of acceptance and commitment therapy in managing difficult thoughts and feelings The influence of your social circle on motivation and ongoing success Avoiding rash decisions during emotional turmoil by creating space for rational thinking And much more . . . So, listen to this podcast to learn how to break through mental fitness barriers with a robust, growth-oriented mindset. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 13:12 - What signs indicate a lack of motivation in fitness? 21:33 - How can one improve at seeking and accepting feedback? 32:04 - Legion One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip 34:51 - What are effective ways to handle setbacks in fitness? 52:32 - How should we respond to the success of others? 01:03:28 - Why is it important to consider emotional states when making decisions? 01:09:14 - Where can people find more about Kasey Orvidas and her work? Mentioned on the Show: Legion One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip Kasey’s Website: https://www.kaseyorvidas.com/ Kasey’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coachkaseyjo/

How can you manage lower back pain during workouts? What's really happening when you're feeling full on a calorie deficit? And is the X-3 Bar a worthwhile investment? In this episode, I'll explore these topics and many more, giving you the insights you need to adjust your fitness routine effectively while ensuring long-term health and performance. As always, these questions come directly from my Instagram followers, who take advantage of my weekly Q&As in my stories. If you have a question you're dying to have answered, make sure you follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness) and look out for the Q&A posts. Your question might just make it into a podcast episode! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:02 - Tips for encouraging a male partner to work out and eat better? 1:46 - Favorite dictator? 2:21 - Feeling full in a calorie deficit, what's going on? 5:29 - Whose cocaine was it at the White House? 5:58 - For weight loss, is it better to do more reps with lower weights or higher weight with fewer reps? 9:10 - Thoughts on the X3 Bar? 13:27 - Lower back getting tight after a couple of sets of deadlifts and squats, any solution? 18:05 - Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 20:41 - Is it okay to just supplement vitamin D if the sun feels too strong? 21:37 - Why does the new Legion cookie have multiple sugars and sweeteners? 23:15 - Do you have any comments on the state of the union? 23:51 - Noticing a lack of meme content, is everything alright? 24:17 - Biceps curl: start with palms facing up or hammer grip to palms up rotation? 25:40 - Why are you the best fitness influencer on the internet? 26:21 - Thoughts on NMN supplements? 27:53 - Are ice baths good for recovery and what temperature is too low? 30:29 - What are the odds of tearing a muscle at the joint? 32:14 - Best way to develop your aerobic base? 32:38 - Your take on wine and fat loss? 33:33 - Advice on starting a business? Mentioned on the Show: Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

Is there a testosterone crisis in men? If so, why? And is it impacting you—are your testosterone levels declining or already low? How can you know? And what can you do about it? You’re going to get answers to those questions and more in today’s interview with men's health expert, Ali Gilbert. In case you’re not familiar with her, Ali is a men’s health coach popularly known as the “Queen of Men’s Health” online, and she has helped thousands of men of all ages improve their hormones and thus their health, energy, and physical, mental, and sexual performance. In this podcast, Ali and I chat about . . . The factors affecting the decline in testosterone levels in men and why it’s a significant concern for men’s health and well-being The role of nutrition, fitness, and sleep in maintaining hormonal balance  Science-based ways of naturally optimizing your hormonal health The controversy surrounding TRT and myths about estrogen’s role in men’s health The impact of alcohol on hormonal health The importance of sun exposure and where to get reliable hormone assessments And much more . . . This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in understanding the nuances of hormonal health and how to take control of their well-being through informed lifestyle choices. Timestamps:0:00 - Please ⁠leave a review⁠ of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 4:00 - Is there an actual decline in testosterone levels among men today? 7:41 - What are the health impacts of low testosterone in men? 15:01 - Are traditional masculine traits biologically influenced or mere social constructs? 30:05 - Try Pulse today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 32:17 - What factors contribute to the decrease in testosterone levels? 01:01:09 - Why is reducing estrogen levels harmful to men's health? 1:12:20 - What lifestyle changes can men make to optimize testosterone and estrogen? 1:17:42 - How does alcohol consumption affect men's hormones? 1:35:07 - Where can listeners connect with Ali Gilbert and her work? Mentioned on the Show:Try Pulse today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! Ali's Website: ⁠https://ali-gilbert.com/⁠ Ali's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thealigilbert/?hl=en

Ever stepped on the scale and wondered why your weight seems to dance around day by day?  You're not alone.  In this episode, we explore the multiple factors contributing to daily weight fluctuations.  From food weight, carbohydrate intake, sodium levels, to stress, strength training, the menstrual cycle, and even alcohol consumption—each plays a unique role in your body's weight changes.  You’re going to learn the best practices for tracking your weight effectively and understand how to interpret these fluctuations for a more accurate picture of your fitness progress. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 2:20 - Your weight is going to fluctuate. 5:54 - What is food weight? 7:29 - How do carbs affect weight fluctuation? 10:57 - Legion One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip 13:45 - How does sodium affect body weight? 15:15 - How does stress affect your weight? 19:55 - Can strength training affect weight fluctuation? 23:07 - Menstrual cycle effects on weight 23:52 - How can alcohol affect your weight? 24:18 - What is the best way to track your weight accurately? Mentioned on the Show: Legion One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip

Is calisthenics just a fancy name for bodyweight training, or is it something more? What are the benefits of calisthenics, does it beat out weightlifting, and how can you incorporate it into your routine? These are all questions you’ll learn the answers to in this interview with Al Kavadlo. In case you’re not familiar with him, he's a leading expert in bodyweight strength training and calisthenics, and the author of several influential books in the field, including Get Strong. He’s also been featured in major publications like The New York Times and Men's Health.  Through our discussion, we cover a range of topics, including . . . The benefits of calisthenics and how it compares with strength training and more traditional resistance training with machines and isolation movements How to incorporate calisthenics into your routine, including transitioning from traditional weightlifting to calisthenics, especially for older athletes Effective progressions for advanced calisthenics movements like the muscle-up and pistol squat Adapting calisthenics to busy schedules and limited equipment  Common pitfalls in calisthenics training and how to avoid them The value of resistance bands And much more . . . Whether you're new to calisthenics or looking to refine your technique, this episode is packed with practical advice and expert insights, so give it a listen! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:53 - How do calisthenics differ from bodyweight training? 6:54 - What are the primary benefits of calisthenics? 9:16 - What specific skills does calisthenics training target? 14:16 - How can incorporating calisthenics benefit your daily routine? 17:01 - What are some basic calisthenics exercises and their variations? 18:45 - Where to start if you can’t do a pushup or chin-up yet? 22:33 - My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ 24:26 - What's the next step after establishing a solid calisthenics foundation? 32:10 - Why is the pistol squat challenging and how to master it? 36:59 - How should you program the pistol squat into your workout? 40:19 - Are lunges a part of a calisthenics routine? 46:04 - What are Al Kavadlo’s thoughts on using bands in calisthenics? 55:49 - How to know if calisthenics is right for you? 01:02:34 - Where to find Al Kavadlo and his work? Mentioned on the Show: My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ Al’s Get Shredded Guide: https://www.fortifytraining.com/get-shredded-free Al's Website: https://alkavadlo.com/ Al's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/al_kavadlo/

Should you feel hungry while bulking, or feel stuffed from the calorie surplus?  Are there benefits to starting your morning with salt water? Should you train the same way in your 40s as you did in your 20s?  In this episode, I'll explore these topics and many more, giving you the insights you need to adjust your fitness routine effectively while ensuring long-term health and performance. As always, these questions come directly from my Instagram followers, who take advantage of my weekly Q&As in my stories. If you have a question you're dying to have answered, make sure you follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness) and look out for the Q&A posts. Your question might just make it into a podcast episode! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:33 - Should you feel hungry while in a slight calorie surplus? Or does bulking feel like you're stuffing yourself? 3:33 - Should you add salt to your water first thing in the morning? 6:34 - What is one thing everyone should incorporate into their diet? 10:04 - Should you still have the same workout after your 40s compared to your 20s and 30s? 11:26 - Does making funny lifting faces increase output? 11:59 Midroll ad 13:19 - How much caffeine is too much in one day for a 185lb male? 14:41 - Is it true you can train side delts with more volume than other muscle groups? 16:11 - How to find your new TDEE after a long period of dieting? 17:55 - What are your thoughts on religion? 20:51 - Is there an ideal timeframe for resting between working out certain muscle groups? 23:14 - Does making faces in the gym increase wrinkles? 23:36 - Strategies for overcoming strength plateaus 25:12 - Single arm vs. double arm lateral raises 26:36 - Using slower tempos with light weights 28:09 - What are your thoughts on Mike Mentzer and Dorian Yates HIT training style? Mentioned on the Show: Our Biggest Sale of the Year Is Here! Save 50% during our Black Friday Sale. Go to https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to get double reward points!

In this episode, I interview Katherine, a 60-year-old massage therapist who had struggled with her body composition until deciding to get in stage shape as a birthday challenge.  Even though she’s no stranger to fitness and had competed before, stress and lack of consistency caused her nutrition and training to suffer in recent years.  So, she signed up for Legion’s one-on-one coaching and started working with a Legion coach, which gave her the know-how and accountability she needed to succeed. In this interview, she offers her experience and best tips for sustainably getting leaner regardless of age, emphasizing why getting a customized plan and coach can make all the difference.  Tune in to learn how Katherine achieved her ultimate goal—standing victorious on the 60+ bikini stage—proving you’re never too old to achieve ambitious fitness goals. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 3:42 - Starting Legion's coaching program and contest prep 6:10 - Tracking food and flexible dieting approach 8:33 - Getting very lean for the stage vs regular fat loss goals 11:35 - Dealing with hunger, cravings and off-plan eating 13:59 - Why Katherine experimented with the carnivore diet 17:45 - My free quiz to answer all your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz 18:32 - Training focus and strategy for strength gains while cutting 23:30 - Peak week changes to training and cardio 25:42 - Show results - weight loss and body fat percentage 27:40 - No extended plateaus - why consistent hard work paid off 35:50 - Experience prepping in your 60s vs if you were 20 years old 36:41 - Mindset: solutions vs excuses 38:09 - Reverse dieting to put on more muscle in the off-season 40:41 - Having a coach as the ultimate shortcut 42:02 - Accomplishing goals through consistent hard work Mentioned on the show:  Take this free quiz to get science-based answers to all of your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz

Starting a running routine can be daunting, whether you’re a beginner, someone looking to lose weight, or a former athlete.  In this episode, you’ll learn the essentials of starting a running program. We discuss the relationship between resistance training and running, address the interference effect, and provide a detailed 8-week running plan to get you on track.  Additionally, we touch on the correct running technique, essential gear, nutrition advice, and tips for getting back into running after a break.  This comprehensive episode is your guide for beginning or rekindling your love for running, so tune in. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 3:56 - Is it okay to combine resistance training and cardio? 4:04 - Will running interfere with my resistance training? 10:32 - Should I worry about the "interference effect"? 11:33 - How to get optimal benefits from cardio 12:50 - How do I start running as a beginner? 14:37 - Our Biggest Sale of the Year! Save 50% during our Black Friday Sale! https://buylegion.com/ 17:19 - Using the run-walk method 21:26 - Proper running technique and form 24:44 - 8-week running program for beginners 28:14 - Recommended running gear 29:09 - Nutrition tips for runners 30:28 - Getting back into running after a break Mentioned on the Show: Our Biggest Sale of the Year Is Here! Save 50% during our Black Friday Sale. Go to https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to get double reward points!

If you spend time in gyms or follow fitness influencers, you've likely encountered the mindset that more is better when it comes to training volume.  More sets, more reps, more time in the gym equals faster results. Right? Not necessarily. As with many areas of fitness and nutrition, the truth is more nuanced. Enter the concept of "minimum effective dose" training. Instead of constantly pushing the boundaries of training capacity and trying to maximize your progress, this approach focuses on the least amount of volume needed to drive meaningful progress. To dig into the details of this methodology, I'm joined by Dr. Patroklos “Pak” Androulakis-Korakakis. With a PhD focused on minimum effective training doses for strength gains and years of coaching experience, Dr. Pak has a deep understanding of the science and application of this topic. Throughout our discussion, you'll learn . . . What minimum effective dose training is and the major benefits it offers The surprising muscle-building potential of low training volumes How to determine your personal minimum effective doses based on experience level, genetics, and goals The importance of training intensity and progression regardless of overall volume How to add volume gradually over time as you adapt Why most people underestimate the effort needed to build muscle How social media promotes unrealistic training expectations The value of long-term consistency over extreme programs How traveling or busy schedules are no excuse to skip workouts And much more . . . If you want to maximize training efficiency and results, this episode provides science-backed insights on the least training needed for meaningful gains so you can save time and general “wear and tear” on your body. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 4:54 - What is minimum effective dose training? 6:25 - What are the benefits of minimum effective dose training? 18:16 - How to implement minimum dose training 23:57 - How did you interpret those findings? 26:52 - Is 5 sets per week ideal for experienced weight lifters? 31:48 - Midroll 34:34 - Optimal volume for maximizing muscle and strength progress 39:13 - Tips for safely increasing training volume 47:28 - Common misconceptions about minimalist training approaches 49:09 - Perceived "bad" training genetics and the role of genetics in training efficiency 56:13 - The crucial impact of nutrition in minimalist training regimens 1:06:51 - Discover more about Dr. Pak and his work and how to connect with him Our Biggest Sale of the Year Is Here! Save 50% during our Black Friday Sale. Go to https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to get double reward points! Mentioned on the Show: Dr. Pak's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr__pak/?hl=en Dr. Pak's Website: https://www.drpak.com/ Dr. Pak's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dr__Pak

Are you considering reducing your training volume as you dive deeper into a cutting phase?  Curious about the difference between brown and white fat, or the hybrid athlete trend? In this episode, I'll discuss these topics and many more, giving you the insights you need to adjust your fitness routine effectively while ensuring long-term health and performance. As always, these questions come directly from my Instagram followers, who take advantage of my weekly Q&As in my stories. If you have a question you're dying to have answered, make sure you follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness) and look out for the Q&A posts. Your question might just make it into a podcast episode! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 01:25 - Should You Reduce Training Volume During a Caloric Deficit? 14:07 - Top Strategies to Protect Your Joints in Weight Training 14:47 - The Lowdown on Flat Foot Shoes: Xero vs. Vivo Barefoot 15:27 - The Rise of Hybrid Athletes: Fad or Future of Fitness? 17:35 - Our Biggest Sale of the Year! Save 50% during our Black Friday Sale! https://buylegion.com/ 19:50 - Rest Intervals for Squats: How Long Is Too Long? 22:36 - Nutritional Showdown: Fruit & Vegetable Powders vs. Multivitamins 24:29 - Ideal Rep Ranges & Weight Percentages for Maintaining Strength in a Deficit 27:30 - Is 3 Sets of 6 Reps Enough For Muscle Growth? 28:26 - What’s the Difference Between Brown Fat and White Fat? 30:58 - Amino Acids for Youthful Skin: The Benefits of Arginine, Proline, and Lysine 32:01 - Ab-Coaster Workouts: Are They Effective? 32:33 - Snacking and High-Volume Meals: What's Best for Nutritional Success? 33:01 - Timing Ab Workouts: Beginning vs. End of Your Training Session 33:35 - Workout Split Tips: Deadlifts on Pull Days, Romanian Lifts on Leg Days 34:17 - Protein Intake: Is Half Your Daily Requirement from Whey Too Much? 35:00 - Incorporating Cardio into Fat Loss Phases: Steps vs. Structured Cardio 35:55 - Daily L-Glutamine: Is It Safe for Gut Health? Our Biggest Sale of the Year Is Here! Save 50% during our Black Friday Sale. Go to https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to get double reward points! Mentioned on the Show: Our Biggest Sale of the Year Is Here! Save 50% during our Black Friday Sale. Go to https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to get double reward points!

Can you think your way to bigger muscles? The mind-muscle connection isn’t just a buzzword — it's a crucial element of successful resistance training and bodybuilding.  In this interview episode of Muscle For Life, Chris Barakat shares his expert insights on how a focused and intentional connection with your muscles can significantly influence muscle hypertrophy. Chris is a returning guest on the podcast, and for good reason. As a published scientist, educator, coach, and competitive natural bodybuilder, he blends academic insight with real-world gym experience to deliver effective strategies that get real results. His expertise never fails to educate and inspire, making every conversation with him a chance to gain new knowledge. In our discussion, Chris explains . . . -The subtleties of neuromuscular activity during exercise -How the mind-muscle connection differs between compound and isolation movements -Why muscle anatomy knowledge is vital for effective technique -Strategies to maintain tension to maximize muscle gain -Individualized approaches to sustain longevity in your training regimen -And more . . . So, whether you're a novice lifter or a seasoned bodybuilder, Chris's advice on how to enhance your mind-muscle connection will help you bring more mindfulness and precision to your workouts. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 3:26 - What does “mind-muscle connection” really mean, and why is it crucial? 5:23 - Can neuromuscular training effectively contribute to muscle hypertrophy? 11:15 - Does decreasing rest periods affect the mind-muscle connection? 14:40 - Our Biggest Sale of the Year! Save 50% during our Black Friday Sale! https://buylegion.com/ 16:51 - How does Chris Barakat define the mind-muscle connection? 20:19 - What are Chris's views on common perspectives about muscle activation? 28:04 - Why might someone overlook the importance of the mind-muscle connection? 29:55 - What techniques can enhance your mind-muscle connection? 42:27 - Are super slow reps beneficial for muscle growth? 48:16 - How should you initiate movements with the target muscle? 50:53 - Should the focus on the muscle also include the eccentric part of the rep? 54:00 - Where to find Chris Barakat and his bodybuilding insights? Mentioned on the Show: Our Biggest Sale of the Year Is Here! Save 50% during our Black Friday Sale. Go to https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to get double reward points! Chris Barakat’s Website: https://schoolofgainz.com/ Chris Barakat’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christopher.barakat/

The market is flooded with claims of miracle weight loss pills and injections.  But which of these medications hold up under scrutiny?  In this episode, Mike discusses the science behind 7 prominent weight loss drugs, providing clarity on their effectiveness, potential side effects, and more. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 0:40 - What Are Weight Loss Drugs, How Do They Work, and Why Are They Popular? 6:57 - What Is Orlistat and How Is It Used? 9:54 - How Effective Is Orlistat in Aiding Weight Loss? 12:32 - What Should You Know About Semaglutide? 14:41 - Are There Any Risks or Concerns with Using Semaglutide? 17:35 - Our Biggest Sale of the Year! Save 50% during our Black Friday Sale! https://buylegion.com/ 19:47 - How Does Phentermine Work for Weight Loss? 24:05 - What Is Plenity and What Benefits Does It Offer? 27:56 - What Are the Potential Side Effects of Plenity? 28:21 - How Does Liraglutide Function in Weight Loss? 30:34 - What Are the Side Effects and Risks of Liraglutide? 30:53 - What Is Naltrexone Bupropion and How Is It Used? 32:07 - Are There Side Effects or Risks with Naltrexone/Bupropion? 33:56 - How Does Tirzepatide Aid in Weight Loss? 35:27 - If I Stop Taking Weight Loss Medications, Will I Regain the Lost Weight? Mentioned on the Show: Our Biggest Sale of the Year Is Here! Save 50% during our Black Friday Sale. Go to https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to get double reward points!

Is chronic stress holding back your progress towards your fitness goals? It’s possible.  While stress is a scapegoat for some (stress can’t make you fat, but eating too much food while stressed can), for others it’s too often overlooked in discussions about health and wellbeing.  In this podcast, Sam Miller returns to the podcast to shed light on the surprising impact of stress on your metabolism, muscle growth, and overall quality of life. He also offers practical advice for dealing with it, going beyond typical stress management tips. In case you’re not familiar with Sam, he’s a best-selling author with over 15 years of experience as a health, fitness, and nutrition coach, helping coaches and health professionals improve their clients’ results.  As an educator, podcaster, certified nutritionist, and licensed, board-certified health practitioner, he shares simple, strategic methods for physique and health transformation.  And because he recently penned a book called, Metabolism Made Simple, he’s the perfect guest for discussing the role of stress and how it affects our metabolism.  In our conversation, we unpack the myriad ways stress manifests in the body, from micronutrient depletion and reduced stomach acid production to its insidious effects on strength gains.  We also delve into the nutritional aspects of stress management, exploring the role of diet and potential supplements that can aid in bolstering your body’s resilience.  You’re going to learn tangible strategies for mitigating stress, as Sam offers a comprehensive toolkit for tackling stress head-on. Whether you're struggling with visible signs of stress like disrupted sleep and poor dietary choices, or grappling with the unseen repercussions on your physical health, this episode provides a wealth of knowledge and actionable advice.  So, tune in as we navigate the complex landscape of chronic stress and uncover strategies to enhance your resilience, optimize your fitness, and elevate your quality of life. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 9:20 - What exactly does "chronic stress" entail? 18:06 - Could you elaborate on the physiological system responding to stress? 20:57 - How do most people perceive and identify stress in their lives? 25:06 - Are there noticeable symptoms indicating an excess of stress? 33:22 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip 35:46 - Do you have actionable strategies for effectively handling stress? 52:14 - How should one approach individuals causing significant stress in their lives? 57:00 - In what ways can our diet influence, or be influenced by, stress? 01:02:04 - Are there particular supplements beneficial for stress management? 01:06:08 - How can listeners connect with you and explore your work further? Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: ⁠https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip⁠ ⁠Sam’s Instagram⁠: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/sammillerscience/⁠ ⁠Sam’s website⁠: ⁠http://www.sammillerscience.com/⁠ Sam’s Book⁠: ⁠www.metabolismmadesimple.com⁠

Ever been curious about different ways to hit your protein targets when you're always on the move?  Or perhaps you've considered GABBA supplements for stress and anxiety? In this episode, I delve into these questions and many others that come directly from my dedicated followers. As always, these questions come directly from my Instagram followers, who take advantage of my weekly Q&As in my stories. If you have a question you're dying to have answered, make sure you follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness) and look out for the Q&A posts. Your question might just make it into a podcast episode! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:39 - What protein-packed meals or snacks do you recommend for frequent travelers? 3:30 - Can GABBA supplements effectively reduce stress and anxiety? 4:36 - What's the significance of various deadlift and squat variations, like pause, pulse, sumo, and single leg? 5:35 - Are you leveraging AI technologies like Chat GPT for content creation? 13:38 - Are there plans to introduce a whey and casein protein blend? 15:27 - Midroll 17:23 - I experienced a sudden lower back strain during deadlifts. Should I continue or take a break? 19:35 - Will opting for whey isolate reduce acne compared to regular whey? 20:01 - For optimal ab workouts, should I aim for a specific rep number or go by time? 20:54 - Update on your tendonitis recovery? 22:36 - Why might one experience a reduced appetite during a calorie deficit? 23:29 - Mushroom coffee: Is it worth the hype? 25:48 - Your take on cyclic dextrin as a go-to carb supplement? 26:20 - Any recent findings from the testosterone testing you've been exploring? 32:32 - What natural sources can boost energy besides caffeine and adequate sleep? Mentioned on the Show: Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You in Just 60 Seconds: http://www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz

You’ve probably heard you need to eat a high protein for maintaining muscle.  But when life happens and eating a lot of protein isn't feasible, how does it affect our muscles? How low can we realistically go with daily protein without compromising our muscles? This episode dives deep into the science and strategies around our daily protein needs. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:45 - What exactly is protein and why is it crucial for our muscles? 4:58 - Can we truly gain muscle with a minimal protein intake daily? 11:41 - Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 14:51 - For seasoned athletes, does advanced training modify our protein needs? 16:53 - How do calorie deficits or surpluses change our daily protein requirements? 18:53 - If we skimp on protein for a few days, will our muscles suffer? 19:45 - Are there unexpected sources of protein in our everyday foods? Mentioned on the Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

How do you fix a crashed metabolism? Should you eat more than your TDEE while bulking on non-exercise days? Are resistance bands as effective as free weights over a short duration?  In this episode, I dive into these questions and a lot more, all sourced from my audience who regularly participate in my Q&A posts. As always, these questions come directly from my Instagram followers, who take advantage of my weekly Q&As in my stories. If you have a question you're dying to have answered, make sure you follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness) and look out for the Q&A posts. Your question might just make it into a podcast episode! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:13 - Do big meals stretch your stomach? 1:47 - Is the deadlift considered leg or back volume? 3:01 - Should I eat over my TDEE on non-exercise days during a lean bulk? 4:39 - Is training for abs still worth it? 5:35 - Can nuts aid in weight loss? 6:25 - What are strategies to fix a crashed metabolism? 9:44 - How can I progress from a 285lb to a 315lb bench press? 11:19 - Does your program involve too many sets and insufficient recovery? 13:50 - Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You: www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz  14:36 - Can resistance bands replace weights effectively for a short duration? 16:51 - What are tips for lifting heavy with back issues? 18:26 - What's the best training/eating regimen for lowering blood pressure? 18:41 - Would Legion Athletics consider Dylan Mulvaney as a spokesperson? 19:06 - Can you suggest a back day routine? 22:11 - How can I return to my previous lifting weight after a 3-week break? 24:55 - Why should I transition from BBLS 1.0 to 2.0? 26:01 - Are there concerns about electromagnetic frequencies from AirPods? 26:56 - What additional remedies exist for SI Joint issues beyond abductor exercises? 29:53 - What are your opinions on weight gainer and mass gainer supplements? Mentioned on the Show: Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You in Just 60 Seconds: http://www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz

In this podcast, I interview Isho, who turned his weight loss journey around by transitioning from traditional diet myths to a holistic, evidence-based approach.  In his 40s, Isho has lost 24 pounds (and counting!) while getting stronger at the same time. Having battled with weight for years, Isho's breakthrough came from our comprehensive coaching program, emphasizing flexibility, balance, and consistency.  In our discussion, we delve into his diet structure, how he manages cravings, and his strategies for indulging in treats without derailing progress. Tune in to learn how Isho transformed his relationship with food by recognizing the importance of a balanced and sustainable diet, and the mindset shifts and mental fortitude required for lasting change. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 3:10 - Isho's Background: Life before discovering our coaching program. 8:51 - Emotional Eating: Isho's evolving relationship with food. 16:06 - Comparing Methods: Why past dieting didn't work and how our approach made a difference. 18:51 - Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 21:26 - Body Transformation: Insights into Isho's remarkable change in body composition. 29:06 - Diet Decoded: How Isho set up his diet for success. 39:25 - Sweet Temptations: Isho's strategy for desserts and treats. Mentioned on the show:  Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

This topic will seem ridiculous to some, but it’s very appealing to many. How can you lose muscle mass you don’t want? That is, how can we reduce our muscle size, and specifically, in targeted areas to build our dream physique? While many aim to gain, others seek ways to slim down their muscle bulk. In this episode, you’ll learn how to intentionally reduce muscle size. Whether you're aiming to decrease muscle mass for aesthetic reasons, sports requirements, or personal preference, this episode will guide you safely through the process. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 0:53 - Drawbacks of losing muscle: Weighing the risks. 3:53 - Unpacking reasons for intentional muscle loss. 7:23 - Holistic strategies for muscle reduction. 9:25 - Targeted muscle loss: Can you pinpoint specific areas? 11:10 - Strategies for arm muscle reduction. 13:29 - Shedding muscle from the legs: How and why? 14:46 - Want 125 quick, easy, and delicious “fitness friendly” recipes? Get The Shredded Chef: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-shredded-chef/ 17:56 - Tailoring the hamstring muscles: Methods and motivations. 19:32 - Slimming down calf muscles: Techniques to consider. 21:16 - Glutes: The approach for muscle downsizing. 22:06 - Back muscle reduction: Where to start? 23:16 - Addressing shoulder muscles: Best practices. 25:27 - Techniques for pec muscle reduction. 26:03 - Chest muscle strategies: What to consider? 26:45 - Dietary tweaks for muscle reduction: What to eat and avoid. 31:16 - Setting expectations: Timeframes and milestones in muscle reduction. 35:30 - Concluding thoughts: Finding balance in muscle management. Mentioned on the Show: Want 125 quick, easy, and delicious “fitness friendly” recipes? Get The Shredded Chef: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-shredded-chef/

How will AI shape the future of gym coaching? What should one pick between NMN and creatine? Is it optimal to consume simple carbs immediately after a workout? In this episode, I dive into these questions and more, all sourced from my audience who regularly participate in my Q&A posts. As always, these questions come directly from my Instagram followers, who take advantage of my weekly Q&As in my stories. If you have a question you're dying to have answered, make sure you follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness) and look out for the Q&A posts. Your question might just make it into a podcast episode! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 0:02:09 - AI in Fitness: Will Artificial Intelligence Replace Gym Coaches? 0:03:31 - Supplements Showdown: NMN vs. Creatine – Which is Better? 0:06:00 - Post-Workout Nutrition: Are Simple Carbs Beneficial Immediately After Exercise? 0:06:28 - Italian Travel Tips: What's the Best Region in Italy to Visit? 0:07:09 - Travel Health: Effective Strategies to Combat Jet Lag. 0:18:38 - My free meal planning tool: buylegion.com/mealplan 0:20:05 - Fitness Recovery: Should You Avoid Certain Exercises with Pain or Just Reduce Weights? 0:22:21 - MFL Merchandise: When's the Release of the New Ladies' Top? 0:22:58 - Productivity Hacks: Is It Better to Read and Write in the Morning or Evening? 0:24:59 - Kitchen Decor: Why Display Certain Items and Do You Enjoy It? 0:25:27 - Workout Alternatives: Best Substitutes for Trap Bar Deadlift in BBLS. 0:25:49 - Personal Inspiration: Who Influences You the Most in Fitness and Life? 0:26:13 - Powerlifting Metrics: What are Considered Strong Numbers for Major Lifts? 0:27:10 - Shoulder Health: Solutions When Struggling with Pressing Due to Shoulder Pain. 0:29:42 - Training Plans: Do You Still Follow the 4x6 Workout Routine? 0:31:39 - Deadlift Aftermath: Handling Tightness After Performing Deadlifts. 0:32:13 - Workout Recovery Indicators: How to Determine if You're Fully Recovered Post-Exercise. Mentioned on the Show: Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free!

Change is inevitable, but how we approach and adapt to it can make all the difference.  In his new book, Master of Change, Brad Stulberg explores the essence of change and how our mindset towards it can be our biggest asset or detriment. In case you’re not familiar with Brad, he’s a researcher, writer, and coach on well-being and what it takes to succeed. As an author, he’s been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, New Yorker, Sports Illustrated, Outside Magazine, Forbes, and more. He helps executives, entrepreneurs, and athletes work on their mental game, improve their overall well-being, and achieve excellence.  He’s also the coauthor of Peak Performance, a book I did a Book Club episode on in 2017. In our discussion, Brad and I chat about . . . The driving force that led him to write his latest book and the revelations that came with it. The concept of “rugged flexibility” and how our thoughts shape our approach to challenges and aspirations. How our expectations influence our perception and experience of change (and how altering this perspective can help you excel) Wisdom and practical tips on how to turn friction and resistance into momentum. 5 questions that can steer us towards acceptance and proactive action in the face of change. This episode is full of deep insights, actionable advice, and a fresh perspective on a topic so inherent to our lives. So, if you've ever felt overwhelmed by change or are looking for a better way to harness its power, this conversation with Brad Stulberg is one you won't want to miss. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 2:40 - What inspired Brad's "Master of Change"? 6:01 - Deciphering the concept of "rugged thoughts." 8:11 - Applying "rugged flexibility" to personal goals. 26:26 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://muscleforlife.show/vip 28:07 - How do expectations influence our perception of change? 30:36 - Practical applications of these concepts in everyday life. 37:47 - Overcoming friction when aiming for positive change. 39:57 - Brad's five pivotal questions for change. 46:17 - How to engage further with Brad Stulberg's insights. Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://muscleforlife.show/vip Brad’s book Master of Change: https://www.amazon.com/Master-Change-Everything-Changing-Including/dp/006325316X/?tag=mflweb-20 Brad’s website: www.bradstulberg.com Brad’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/BStulberg

We often hear claims from steroid users that performance-enhancing drugs only give them a slight advantage, emphasizing their dedication and hard work.  But is this reality or just a smokescreen? This episode unpacks a study from The University of Sydney comparing 147 natural bodybuilders with 40 steroid users. We'll delve into training volumes, rest intervals, cardio habits, supplementation choices, and their actual results. If you've ever wondered about the tangible advantages of steroids and how natural bodybuilders' methods contrast with their "enhanced" counterparts, this episode offers clear insights.  From volume and intensity to supplement choices that highlight the health concerns of steroid use, this podcast sheds light on what truly sets apart the natural from the enhanced. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:08 - How do training and supplementation practices differ between steroid users and natural bodybuilders? 10:13 - What are the actual outcomes of using steroids versus pursuing natural bodybuilding? Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching for personalized fitness guidance: https://muscleforlife.show/vip

If you want to grow your glutes, and you’ve looked around online for tips, you’ve almost certainly come across hip thrusts. But are they better than squats for getting a bigger butt? Should you do squats or hip thrusts?  Well, after years of speculation among booty-building enthusiasts, we now have a scientific study that directly compared hip thrusts and squats in terms of hypertrophy. And I thought, who better to discuss this study than “The Glute Guy” himself, Dr. Bret Contreras. Not only is Bret a glute training expert, but as the cherry on top (or should I say peach?), he was actually one of the head honchos involved in conducting the study. In case you're not familiar with Bret, he's a PhD in Sports Science, renowned researcher, educator, bestselling author, and a personal trainer for over two decades, whose title "The Glute Guy" reflects his unmatched expertise in lower body training, making him the foremost authority on building a great butt.  Our discussion includes . . . The surprising results of the hip thrust versus squats study, including how they compare for glute hypertrophy and non-specific strength transfer Bret's take on a potentially fabricated study that stirred the fitness community The benefits and challenges of studying beginner trainees An exploration of training the glutes at varied muscle lengths The relationship between EMG studies and muscle hypertrophy The importance of technique over "feeling the burn" in compound movements Nuanced insights into the complexities of muscle growth mechanisms Practical strategies for those seeking to optimize their glute training And more . . . So, if you want to learn about the nuances of glute training and how to grow a bigger butt, or want to know what the science says about hip thrusts versus squats, don’t miss this episode!  Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 2:39 - Why was this research essential, and what drove its inception? 13:59 - What's the rationale behind focusing on novice trainees? 17:58 - How would outcomes differ with more advanced lifters? 25:49 - Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 28:59 - The role of EMG in predicting muscle hypertrophy. 31:42 - EMG's Relevance in Bodybuilding Science 35:04 - How does this study redefine our understanding of biomechanics and other exercises? 39:22 - What larger impacts does this study have on fitness research? 45:13 - Additional insights from the findings and final thoughts. 49:35 - How to connect with Bret Contreras and his work. Mentioned on the Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! Bret Contreras’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bretcontreras1/ Bret Contreras’s Website: https://bretcontreras.com/

Raising successful individuals is a challenge that every parent grapples with. How do we instill independence, resilience, and success in our children? Esther Wojcicki's How to Raise Successful People offers a set of principles that have not only been proven by her experiences as a seasoned educator but also as the mother of three exceptionally successful women.  In this podcast, I’m sharing my top 10 insights from the book. “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 whether the book is likely to be up your alley or not. Alright, let’s get to the takeaways. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe and leave a comment! 3:40 Why is Overprotecting Our Children Detrimental to Their Growth? The fatal flaw of helicopter parenting 4:05 - How Does Respecting a Child's Development Foster Their True Self? 4:40 - How Do Our Reactions to Mistakes Influence Our Children’s Learning? 4:48 - Why Should Educators Answer the "Why" Question in Classrooms? 5:07 - How Does the Education System Impact Creative Thinking from Childhood to Adulthood? 5:34 - What Role Do Positive Family Experiences Play in a Child's Development? 5:47 - Why are Functional Relationships Crucial in Modeling Behavior for Our Children? 6:07 - What Does Research Say About the Effects of Maintaining Marriage on Children’s Well-being? 6:44 - How Can We Teach Children About the Importance of Purpose and Meaning in Life? 7:29 - Why Does Parenting Shape the Future of Our World? 7:40 - Try Pulse today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! Mentioned on the Show: Try Pulse today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! How to Raise Successful People: https://www.amazon.com/How-Raise-Successful-People-Lessons/dp/1328974863/?tag=mflweb-20

Wondering how to kickstart your training after a long break? Is gym shaming a good or bad thing? What would I be doing with my life if I hadn’t started Legion?  In this episode, I address these questions and more, sourced from my Instagram followers who participate in my regular Q&A posts. As always, these questions come directly from my Instagram followers, who take advantage of my weekly Q&As in my stories. If you have a question you're dying to have answered, make sure you follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness) and look out for the Q&A posts. Your question might just make it into a podcast episode! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:27 - How should someone approach training after a month-long break and what pitfalls should they avoid? 3:44 - Who's the preferred choice for 2024: DeSantis or Trump? 5:52 - Is it essential to progress through all the BLS phases, or can one remain in phase one indefinitely? 7:09 - What's your take on the recent spate of chemical train derailments? 8:17 - How do you view the behavior of women shaming men at the gym? 9:19 - Is it typical for one's non-dominant bicep to be weaker than the other? 10:26 - My free quiz to answer all your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz 11:12 - Can you suggest top hamstring exercises ideal for garage setups? 11:31 - What's your perspective on the carnivore diet? 12:10 - Why continue intensive training even after hitting one's genetic potential? 13:21 - Has AI technology replaced you, and are we still hearing the real Mike? 14:01 - If you hadn’t started Legion, what do you envision as your career path? 17:09 - Did you attend college and what was your major? 20:51 - Can increased muscle mass play a role in cancer prevention? 21:20 - What differentiates lying leg curls from seated leg curls? 22:16 - Is reducing calorie intake on non-training days a good strategy for fat prevention? Mentioned on the Show: Take this free quiz to get science-based answers to all of your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz

Have you seen the headlines? Social media and the internet at large are abuzz with the controversy surrounding the well-known artificial sweetener aspartame.  The recent classification of aspartame as a possible human carcinogen (category 2B) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has sparked a new wave of discussions, concerns, and media sensationalism. In this episode, Alan Aragon helps unravel the complexities and provide a more balanced perspective on this hot topic. Alan is no stranger to the podcast, but in case you’re not familiar with him, he’s a nutrition researcher and educator who’s been at the forefront of the evidence-based fitness movement for over a decade now and has helped countless fitness enthusiasts, professional athletes, and top coaches, and even influenced my own work. Alan has a knack for translating science into practical application, which you can see for yourself if you check out his research review, which was the first of its kind in 2008. In this podcast, you’re going to learn about . . . The latest news and opinions on aspartame and its classification by the IARC The negative connotations associated with artificial sweeteners and why people often overlook their benefits Animal testing on artificial sweeteners and whether the findings can be applied to humans Practical considerations for the consumption of artificial sweeteners, their place in a balanced lifestyle, and how much is safe to consume And more . . . This episode offers valuable insights for anyone interested in artificial sweeteners, diet, and overall health, cutting through the confusion and fear to provide an evidence-based viewpoint. So, click play to listen and learn about aspartame and its effects on health. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 06:36 - What is the latest news with aspartame? 13:30 - Do you have an opinion on what is going on with aspartame and the IARC? 18:28 - Do you think the negative findings of aspartame and artificial sweeteners has put a bad connotation on them? and prevents people from looking into the benefits of artificial sweeteners? 27:41 - My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ 29:41 - If animal testing shows an increase in cancer risk can that really be applied to humans? 57:16 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on the Show: My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ Alan Aragon’s Research Review: https://alanaragon.com/aarr/ Alan Aragon’s Website: https://alanaragon.com/ Alan Aragon’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thealanaragon/

What is your body type, and how can you leverage it to make faster progress toward your fitness goals?  Are you stuck with what nature gave you or can you change your body type? Does your body type even matter? In this episode, you’re going to learn about the age-old concepts of ectomorph, endomorph, and mesomorph body types. Whether you think you're "skinny" and can't build muscle or "thick" and can't lose fat, I’m going to give you the right strategies to overcome these obstacles.  This episode will dispel myths, offer actionable insights, and provide a roadmap to achieving the body type you desire through targeted diet, workout, and supplement strategies. So tune in now to learn what body type you have and practical tips on eating, training, and supplementing for each type!  Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 2:20 - What Does "Body Type" Mean, and How Is It Defined? 4:58 - What Are the Three Main Body Types and Their Characteristics? 7:18 - How Can You Determine Your Specific Body Type? 8:57 - Does Knowing Your Body Type Matter for Health and Fitness? 15:21 - What Are Tailored Fitness and Diet Tips for Each of the Three Body Types? 23:03 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://muscleforlife.show/vip 25:52 - What Is the Ideal Training Routine for an Ectomorph Body Type? 33:37 - What Should a Mesomorph Eat? A Guide to Diet and Nutrition for Mesomorphs 38:30 - What Type of Training Is Most Effective for a Mesomorph? 42:39 - What Is the Best Eating and Diet Strategy for an Endomorph Body Type? 49:34 - What Kind of Supplements Are Recommended for an Endomorph to Achieve Optimal Health? Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching for personalized fitness guidance: https://muscleforlife.show/vip

In this installment of the Best of Muscle For Life, you’ll hear hand-picked clips from three popular MFL episodes: an interview with Eric Helms on the problems with staying too lean, a monologue on whether you should train for hypertrophy or hyperplasia, and book club episode on Titan by Ron Chernow. Some people—my favorite people—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 do at least a little better inside and outside the gym. That’s why I do “best of” episodes that contain a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from the more popular episodes I’ve published over the years. This way, you can learn interesting insights that you might have otherwise missed and find new episodes of the show to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Eric Helms on Trying To Stay Too Lean (What the Science Says) (Originally published 8/18/2021) Should You Train For Hypertrophy or Hyperplasia? (Originally published 10/4/2021) Book Club: Titan by Ron Chernow (Originally published 8/4/2017) And we’ll be starting with number one, Eric Helms on Trying To Stay Too Lean (What the Science Says). --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 3:18 - Eric Helms on Trying To Stay Too Lean (What the Science Says) 16:52 - My free meal planning tool: buylegion.com/mealplan 18:21 - Should You Train For Hypertrophy or Hyperplasia? 29:47 - Book Club: Titan by Ron Chernow --- Mentioned on the Show: Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free!

Gut health is a hot topic these days, and for good reason. Your gut isn’t just about digestion. It’s a key player in your overall health, and scientists are discovering fascinating links between the gut microbiome and mental health and even your body composition.  And that latter connection is the primary subject of this podcast episode. In this interview, Elisa Marroquin helps demystify the complex world of gut health and its role in influencing our body composition.  Dr. Marroquin is an Assistant Professor and the Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at TCU, and the gut microbiome’s effects on obesity and body composition is one of her main areas of research.  The connection between gut health and physique is not well understood by many, but with Elisa's expertise, you will gain insights into how you can leverage your gut bacteria for your health and fitness goals. Elisa and I chat about . . . Understanding the pivotal role of the gut microbiome in overall health and its intricate link to body composition (including how the gut influences responses to exercise). Energy balance and glycemic responses in relation to gut health. Navigating the marketing around microbiomes and probiotics, and practical tips for building a robust microbiome. The impact of hygiene and dietary habits, including artificial sweeteners and dietary diversity, on the gut microbiome. Strategies for rehabilitating an unhealthy gut microbiome and the potential for recovery at any age. And more . . . Ready to learn how you can take control of your gut health to optimize your body composition? Then press play and listen to this interview! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:41 - What is gut health, and how does the microbiome contribute to it? 2:53 - How does the microbiome influence different aspects of our health and physiology? 4:43 - How does the microbiome affect body composition? 10:52 - Can you explain the concept of "responders" and "non-responders" when it comes to certain exercises? How does the microbiome play into this? 13:54 - How does this new discovery align with the concept of energy balance? 15:00 - Can you go into more detail about what it means that some people extract more energy from food? 17:49 - How can glycemic responses indirectly affect our bodies? 20:22 - What are your thoughts on the marketing industry surrounding microbiomes and probiotics? 21:39 - New protein cookie: buylegion.com/cookie 24:02 - What are your thoughts on the marketing industry involving microbiomes and probiotics? 25:41 - Do you have any tips for building a healthy microbiome? 27:57 - What does eating a diverse range of foods mean for a healthy gut microbiome? 34:00 - Can you explain the importance of balanced hygiene and its role in preventing sickness? 36:04 - What are some of the negative consequences of excessive hygiene? 38:25 - How do artificial sweeteners affect the gut microbiome? 44:48 - Are there any foods that someone should eat almost every day to support their microbiome? 46:34 - What are your thoughts on probiotics? 57:25 - If someone has an unhealthy gut microbiome, what's the best way to recover? 01:01:30 - For people who didn't get a good start with their microbiome at an early age, is recovery still possible later in life? Is there a point when it's too late? 01:07:04 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on the Show: Try my new protein cookie! Go to https://buylegion.com/cookie and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! Elisa's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elisa_marroquin_phd/ Elisa's Twitter: https://twitter.com/elisa_mm_phd

“Don’t skip rest day!” That’s not a phrase you often hear, but there’s a valid argument that it should be if you want to boost your fitness and performance. The key to enhancing your recovery is not another supplement or a fancy gadget, but simply adequate rest. Quality rest isn't laziness; it's an often-overlooked investment in your wellbeing.  In this podcast, you’ll learn about data-backed restful activities and why common habits like TV or social media might not offer the restoration you need.  Tune in, and invest in your rest! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 0:25 - How much you rest isn’t all that matters 0:46 - What you do to relax is important! 2:10 - Using a basic Likert scale 3:38 - My new protein cookie: buylegion.com/cookie Mentioned on the Show: Try my new protein cookie! Go to https://buylegion.com/cookie and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

How should you train if you can’t progressively overload anymore?  What are my current training goals? Is walking or HIIT better for weight loss? In this episode, I take on these questions and more, sourced from my Instagram followers who participate in my regular Q&A posts. As always, these questions come directly from my Instagram followers, who take advantage of my weekly Q&As in my stories. If you have a question you're dying to have answered, make sure you follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness) and look out for the Q&A posts. Your question might just make it into a podcast episode! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:24 - What are your current training goals? 7:19 - Are sumo deadlifts bad for hypertrophy training? 8:43 - Best way to stay motivated? 8:58 - What’s the benefit of seated calf raise with less than body weight? 9:44 - Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You: www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz 10:30 - How do you find time to balance work family and gym? 11:13 - Can you rank the types of magnesium? 11:48 - Any advice on lower back pain? 15:03 - Does someone need to workout until they start feeling pain or soreness to be effective? 15:46 - Is it pointless to train after having 2-3 hours of sleep? 16:34 - What happens if when you can no longer progressively overload? 19:02 - Weights 5x per week plus cut, lost 3lbs in 3 weeks. Scan says 1kg fat gain and 1kg muscle loss. Is this possible? 20:30 - The lizard people control the world but who controls the lizard people? 20:55 - How to not be intimidated at the gym when starting out? 21:37 - Thoughts on walking more versus high-intensity interval training for weight loss? 24:15 - Do you think body positivity is affecting obesity? 24:55 - Need some videos or tips for HIIT cardio? 5 of my favorite HIIT protocols. 28:25 - Thoughts on glutamine? 29:18 - What is your favorite set/rep range to train in? 30:30 - Best way to deal with brain fog? 30:54 - I donate plasma twice a week will that affect muscle gains? Mentioned on the Show: Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You in Just 60 Seconds: http://www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz Legion’s Magnesium: www.buylegion.com/mag

If you want to maximize your physique through resistance training, you’re going to have to do more than just “lift heavy things.” This is especially true after your first year of lifting, when you’re no longer a true beginner.  By choosing the right exercises, making small technique tweaks, and tailoring your programming to your specific goals, you can make every workout more efficient and effective. That’s the topic of this interview with coach Kassem Hanson. In case you’re not familiar with him, Kassem is an educator, writer, and coach, whose unique training methods prioritize exercise selection and technique to maximize muscle growth.  He’s also the founder of N1, an educational resource and coaching service that specializes in completely individualized training programs and nutrition. In our conversation, Kassem and I discuss . . . The importance of exercise selection and modification in enhancing muscle and strength gains, making your training more productive Exercise tweaks and variations that can better target and stimulate specific muscle groups, including practical tips for training the quads, delts, biceps, triceps, and glutes Using cables and when cable machines beat free weights How to optimize quad activation in squats and hack squats, including technique modifications and equipment recommendations like wedges, slant boards, and footwear Programming considerations for hypertrophy, including the evolution of a training regimen as you gain experience And more . . . So, if you want to elevate and optimize your training, listen to this podcast with Kassem Hanson! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 6:46 - How can you modify your lower body training to make it better for a 2-day per week routine? 31:25 - Try Recharge today! Go to https://buylegion.com/recharge and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 33:40 - For elevating heels on a squat how should someone go about that? 42:30 - What would you rather use? Dumbbells or cables? 01:04:12 - What are your thoughts on using cables for biceps, triceps, and glutes versus dumbbells and free weights? 01:06:04 - What do you use for triceps? 01:10:57 - What about glutes? 01:23:34 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on the Show: Try Recharge today! Go to https://buylegion.com/recharge and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! Kassem’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coach_kassem/?hl=en Kassem’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/N1education

Has your progress stalled, or are you experiencing unexplained fatigue? It could be low energy availability. As we strive to push our physical limits, sometimes we might inadvertently fall into the trap of Low Energy Availability.  This can lead to a condition known as Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) which can severely hinder not just our performance but overall health. In this episode, I’ll dissect the science behind low energy availability and RED-S, and help you understand how you might be underfeeding your body despite intense training routines. You will learn about the symptoms of RED-S, its consequences, and how to prevent it. So tune in and learn how to balance your diet with your exercise and training and why it's essential to match your food intake with your energy expenditure. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:24 - What is low energy availability? 4:14 - What is your energy availability and how do we calculate it? 8:03 - Try Triumph today! Go to https://buylegion.com/triumph and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 18:21 - What would happen if you maintain a low energy availability for too long? What are RED-S symptoms? Mentioned on the Show: Try Triumph today! Go to https://buylegion.com/triumph and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

Could disrupting your sleep cycle on weekends sabotage your weight loss efforts?  Does fish oil supplementation play a significant role in muscle strength gains?  Can cooling your palms between sets actually boost your reps? In this episode, we'll explore the latest research studies that explore these intriguing questions. This podcast is another installment in my Research Review series of episodes, where I give you concise and practical takeaways from studies that I think are interesting and that can help us gain muscle and strength faster, lose fat faster, perform better athletically, feel better, live longer, or get and stay healthier.  There is a ton of scientific research that gets published every year, and even if you narrow your focus to fitness research, it would still take several lifetimes to unravel the hairball of studies on nutrition, training, supplementation, and related fields.  That's why my team and I put a lot of time into reviewing, dissecting, and describing scientific studies in articles, podcasts, and books.  Oh and if you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness). And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:19 - Can staying up on weekends affect weight loss? 5:46 - Can taking fish oil help with strength gains? 13:27 - My free quiz to answer all your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz 14:57 - Can cooling your palms in-between reps improve reps? Mentioned on the Show: Take this free quiz to get science-based answers to all of your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz

What if fitness was about more than just aesthetics?  What if we viewed sport not just as a game, but as a transformative power in society, and training as a tool for resilience and durability?  These are just a few of the themes and questions Kelly Starrett unpacks in this podcast. In case you’re not familiar with Kelly, he’s a Doctor of Physical Therapy, renowned speaker, and a New York Times bestselling author, whose book Becoming a Supple Leopard made him into the biggest mobility guru in the world. In our conversation, Kelly and I delve into . . . The essential role of training for more than just aesthetics and how personal experiences led him to emphasize resilience and durability The transformative power of sport in society and the dangers of early sports specialization in young athletes The often undervalued psychoemotional components of coaching and the surprising sleep disruption side-effects of COVID-19 Debunking the sleep deprivation myth in successful people and advocating for a shift towards whole foods for improved performance and health The vital importance of communal eating in fostering unity and its profound influence on team culture The practicality and scalability of fitness practices, with a focus on creating daily routines that improve overall well-being The alarming decline in outdoor activities among children and the potential health hazards of this trend And more . . . So, if you're ready to elevate your health, durability, and longevity, don't miss this conversation with Kelly Starrett! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 10:07 - The role of sports in society and how to transform its perception 41:06 - The vital signs of health and the importance of benchmarks for progress 38:31 - Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 59:29 - The importance of small changes and consistency for long-term success 01:02:49 - Where to find Kelly Starrett's work and more resources Mentioned on the Show: Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! Kelly’s new book Built to Move: https://www.amazon.com/Built-Move-Essential-Habits-Freely/dp/B0B9T7CWHG/?tag=mflweb-20 Kelly’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/sanfranciscocrossfit Kelly’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thereadystate/ Kelly’s Website: https://thereadystate.com/ Becoming a Supple Leopard by Kelly Starrett: https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Supple-Leopard-2nd-Performance/dp/1628600837?tag=mflweb-20

Do you want to optimize your skills and unlock your full potential?  Daniel Coyle's "The Little Book of Talent" gives us a roadmap to nurturing and enhancing our innate abilities. This book isn’t about the theory of talent. Instead, it's a highly practical guide on how to nurture and hone your abilities to reach new levels of achievement. In this podcast, I’m sharing my top 10 insights from the book.  “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 whether the book is likely to be up your alley or not. Alright, let’s get to the takeaways. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe and leave a comment! 1:57 - Talent begin ignition 2:16 - Steal it! 3:01 - Key to practice and the concept of reach 4:08 - Engraving the blueprint of the skill on your mind 4:49 - Daily Practice snacks vs weekly practice 5:06 - Slow practice and the magnifying glass 5:19 - The first perfect rep 5:47 - Exhaustion is the enemy 6:08 - Exaggerate it! 6:35 - Solo practice and the sweet spot 7:02 - The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-little-black-book-of-workout-motivation/ Mentioned on the Show: The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation is a bestselling fitness book that helps you overcome the mental blocks that are keeping you unmotivated, unhappy, and unhealthy: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-little-black-book-of-workout-motivation/

What's the best workout split? Is high cholesterol a problem even if you're in shape? Should you incorporate cardio while you're bulking? In this episode, I take on these questions and more, sourced from my Instagram followers who participate in my regular Q&A posts. As always, these questions come directly from my Instagram followers, who take advantage of my weekly Q&As in my stories. If you have a question you're dying to have answered, make sure you follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness) and look out for the Q&A posts. Your question might just make it into a podcast episode! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:26 - Thoughts on Andrew Tate? 2:08 - As long as you do same sets per week does it matter if you hit body parts once or twice? 3:57 - You recommended Die with Zero. Do you have any other recommendations? 4:12 - I have high blood pressure and want to get back into strength training. Is it safe to do? 4:49 - Is a cycle desk a good choice to get in daily steps? 6:12 - Effective lower chest suggestions? 6:47 - Any remedies for uneven strength on the left and right side? 8:00 - How often should I take sets to failure? 15:17 - My free meal planning tool: buylegion.com/mealplan 16:03 - Opinion on barbell pads being used for back squats? 16:42 - Should I be progressively overloading while cutting or keep my RPE high? 18:18 - Cutting while on TRT in deficit is different than cutting normally? 20:32 - Is there any evidence to the legs up on the wall for relaxation being raved about? 20:53 - Hydration - do you have a rule? Does seltzer count? How many millimeters per kilogram? 21:26 - Do you stop walking/cardio when you are clean bulking? 22:11 - Do you consider high cholesterol an issue when you are in shape? 22:58 - Favorite workout split (for both general all-around training and specialization routines)? Mentioned on the Show: Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free!

In this podcast, I interview Nicole, a mother who had been struggling with her fitness journey until she found my one-on-one coaching service.  With the help of my book and her coach, Jamie, she managed to redefine her body, learned about proper nutrition, and built a consistent fitness routine that helped her transform her life. Before she found my program, Nicole relied on guidance from people at the gym with no formal coaching. After gaining weight and struggling to make progress, she realized she needed a structured approach to her training.  She was initially skeptical of online coaching but gave it a shot.  In 60 weeks of coaching, she’s lost 8 inches from her waist and 15% body fat while dramatically increasing her key lifts, drastically improving her body composition and strength.  Nicole’s story is not just about physical transformation. It’s also about changing her relationship with food, understanding the importance of nutrition, the challenge of adjusting to a higher protein diet, and the benefits she experienced from lean bulking.  Tune in to hear about Nicole's inspiring transformation and the key lessons she learned along the way. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 4:54 - Where did you start on your fitness journey? 11:27 - When you were bulking, did you notice any benefits in how you were feeling? 16:15 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip 18:40 - What was your diet like before you started your journey? 24:22 - When you were reading the book, did you not have a nutrition routine? Did that only change when you started the coaching program? 34:45 - Is there anything you wish you had known before you started your fitness journey? 37:16 Has there been anything that has been crucial to your success that you weren't expecting? 39:56 - Was it a tough adjustment  to start eating more protein? 41:32 - Is there anything else that I didn’t ask that maybe you wanted to discuss? Mentioned on the show:  Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip

Upper lower split routines are a go-to for many fitness enthusiasts due to their simplicity, flexibility, and effectiveness.  By separating workouts into two types - upper-body and lower-body, these routines allow for a comprehensive, efficient training regimen. However, these routines need to be programmed correctly, focusing on the right exercises, sets, and reps to prevent overtraining or injuries. In this episode, we dive deep into the world of upper lower split routines. You’ll learn what they are, why they're beneficial, and how they make it easy to train all muscle groups twice per week without overextending yourself. Additionally, I’ll walk you through the best 3-, 4-, and 5-day upper lower split routines for gaining muscle and strength.  If you’re looking to enhance your workout and see more results, this episode is a must-listen! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:13 - What is an Upper and Lower split routine? 7:46 - Why can an upper and lower split routine make it easy to train all muscle groups twice per week? 17:08 - Why upper and lower split routines allow for plenty of rest 19:16 - Why is it important to wait 48 hours before you train a muscle group again? 20:19 - Try Pulse today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 22:29 - The best 4-day upper and lower split workout routine 33:53 - The best 3-day upper and lower split workout routine 36:40 - The best 5-day upper and lower split workout routine Mentioned on the Show: Try Pulse today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

In this installment of the Best of Muscle For Life, you’ll hear hand-picked clips from three popular MFL episodes: an interview with “Knees-Over-Toes-Guy” Ben Patrick on fixing painful and dysfunctional knees, a monologue and practical guide to muscle protein synthesis, and a motivational episode on the Law of Large Numbers and its relation to luck. Some people—my favorite people—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 do at least a little better inside and outside the gym. That’s why I do “best of” episodes that contain a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from the more popular episodes I’ve published over the years. This way, you can learn interesting insights that you might have otherwise missed and find new episodes of the show to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: “Knees-Over-Toes-Guy” Ben Patrick on Fixing Painful and Dysfunctional Knees (Originally published 7/7/2021) The Definitive (And Practical) Guide to Muscle Protein Synthesis (Originally published 8/3/2020) Motivation Monday: Why the Law of Large Numbers > Luck (Originally published 5/28/2018) And we’ll be starting with number one, “Knees-Over-Toes-Guy” Ben Patrick on Fixing Painful and Dysfunctional Knees. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 3:24 - “Knees-Over-Toes-Guy” Ben Patrick on Fixing Painful and Dysfunctional Knees 15:49 - Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You: www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz 16:37 - The Definitive (And Practical) Guide to Muscle Protein Synthesis 26:53 - Motivation Monday: Why the Law of Large Numbers > Luck Mentioned on the Show: Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You in Just 60 Seconds: http://www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz

If you want to not only get fit, but stay fit, you need to know both consistency and sustainability. But how do you make fitness a sustainable part of your life? And how do you maintain balanced nutrition while staying active?  These are some of the questions Jordan Syatt tackles in our conversation. Jordan is a world record powerlifter, Gary Vaynerchuk’s personal trainer, and the owner of Syatt Fitness. His down-to-earth approach to fitness and nutrition has made him a much-loved figure in the fitness community, and he shares his wealth of knowledge with us in this episode. In our conversation, Jordan and I discuss . . . Making fitness a sustainable part of your life Determining what is too much and what is too little in fitness The role of high-intensity work in a balanced fitness routine The benefits of high-intensity cardio in conjunction with weightlifting Effective kettlebell swing loads for beginners His philosophy on nutrition and tips for achieving balance And more . . . So, if you're ready to make your fitness routine more sustainable and improve your nutrition, don't miss this conversation with Jordan Syatt! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 10:37 - How to make fitness more sustainable? 13:39 - What is too much and what is too little? 24:43 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip 26:24 - What are your thoughts on high-intensity work? 30:19 - Can high-intensity cardio help with working out with weights? 35:40 - For people who want to try kettlebell swings, what kind of load are you working with? 40:15 - What is your take on nutrition? 01:03:54 - Are there any other quick tips for balance with nutrition? 01:10:13 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip  Jordan’s Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jordansyatt Jordan’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/syattfitness/?hl=en Jordan’s Podcast: http://hyperurl.co/qfk6kz Jordan’s Website: https://www.syattfitness.com/

Weekends are often seen as a time to relax, unwind, and break away from the daily routine.  Unfortunately, this often leads to overeating and weight gain. But does it have to be this way? In this episode, I’ll give you strategies that can help you maintain your health and fitness goals without sacrificing the enjoyment of your weekends. I’ll share 5 simple, yet effective tips to avoid weekend weight gain. If you're struggling with keeping your diet on track over the weekend or if you're just curious about the topic, this episode is for you. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 2:51 - Tip #1 - Include fun activities 3:18 - Tip #2 - Don’t drink too much alcohol 4:08 - Tip #3 -Take some time to relax on the weekends 4:46 - Tip#4 - Skip breakfast on the weekends or eat it? 6:30 - Tip #5 - Eat moderately when eating out 11:52 - My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ Mentioned on the Show: My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/

Is working out with machines enough or do you need free weights?  How do you deal with accumulated fatigue? Is the war on seed oil justified?  What's the best espresso machine for your morning kickstart? These are just a handful of the questions I’m answering in this Q&A episode. As always, these questions come directly from my Instagram followers, who take advantage of my weekly Q&As in my stories. If you have a burning question, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness) and keep an eye out for these Q&A opportunities. Your question might just make it into a podcast episode! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:18 - Is working out using only machines enough? 3:02 - When is Legion going to offer an amino supplement? 3:59 - Caught a cold on my de-load week how long should I rest? 5:04 - I’m trying to quit my work email addiction any tips? 5:16 - Thoughts on the recent study with cadmium and lead in dark chocolate? 6:42 - Are you planning on writing beyond thinner leaner stronger? 8:01 - What’s the deal with oats? 8:39 - Lunges or leg press? 9:19 - When should you incorporate joint supplements? 10:17 - Is there any evidence that eating large meals before bed is bad? 12:46 - Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You: www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz 14:13 - Do you still advocate working fasted lifting and cardio for stubborn fat? 16:39 - Client wants to go into surplus but doesn’t want to go to the gym, they only have 8’lb dumbbells what now? 17:55 - Is there an espresso machine you recommend? 19:16 - What is a topic in fitness that you use to believe very strongly on but not anymore? 28:13 - How do you feel about the decline bench press? 28:48 - Why go with a wider grip with OHP than the traditional narrower grip? 29:44 - The war on seed oil continues are you avoiding it? If so what are you replacing it with? 30:58 - How do you deal with accumulated fatigue? Mentioned on the Show: Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You in Just 60 Seconds: http://www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz

Have you ever struggled with emotional eating or food cravings from stress?  Many of us have. They can be two of the biggest hurdles in any weight loss journey.  Part of the problem is people lack practical strategies for dealing with these obstacles. I wanted to bring Dr. Allan Bacon onto the podcast to help remedy that. In case you’re not familiar with him, Allan is a certified personal trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine, a certified USA powerlifting, physique, and bodybuilding coach, and a certified nutritionist. He has also been formulating supplements professionally for over a decade.  Specializing in personalized fitness and nutrition programming, Allan’s coaching experience extends from the average Joe to Arnold Classic competitors and American record-holding weightlifters. So, he knows how to work with people of all types and get results. In our conversation, Allan and I discuss . . . The concept of emotional eating and how it differs from physical hunger Practical tools and tips for controlling cravings and managing emotional eating How to handle common emotional eating triggers and dealing with unsupportive friends or family Common life stressors that lead to emotional eating and positive ways to manage stress effectively The impact of emotional eating and stress on weight loss journeys and the importance of self-empathy and understanding And more . . . So, if you're looking for effective ways to manage emotional eating and beat cravings and stress-related barriers to your weight loss goals, don't miss this conversation with Dr. Allan Bacon! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 3:43 - What is emotional eating? 7:12 - What are some other tips that can help people deal with emotional eating? 8:50 - What are some common triggers? 13:26 - How do you deal with outside influences when they don't agree with your lifestyle? 21:47 - What are some common life stressors that you help your clients with? 31:11 - BOGO 50% Off! buylegion.com 32:51 - What are some positive ways people can deal with stress? 38:19 - What are some practical tools to manage emotional hunger and cravings? 01:02:20 - What are your thoughts on waiting 15 minutes before indulging? 01:07:02 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on the Show: Buy one supplement get one 50% off during my big July 4th sale! Plus, get a free $20 gift card on orders over $99. Go to buylegion.com to save now! Use coupon code MUSCLE to get double reward points! Allan’s Instagram: www.instagram.com/drallanbacon/ Allan’s Website: www.mauiathletics.com

Vitamins and minerals are critical for our overall health, yet deficiencies and insufficiencies are surprisingly common. But what's the difference between a deficiency and an insufficiency? How do these issues impact our body? Most importantly, how can we fix them? In this episode, we’ll explore these concepts in detail and provide insight into the five most common vitamin and mineral issues: Potassium, Vitamin D, Vitamin K, Magnesium, and Zinc. If you've been wondering if you might be falling short on these key nutrients, or if you're just curious about the topic, this is the episode for you. Tune in as we uncover the hidden impact of deficiencies and insufficiencies, and provide practical tips to ensure your body is getting the micronutrients it needs. Understanding these principles can be a game changer for your health and wellbeing, so don’t miss out! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:46 - What is the difference between deficiencies and insufficiencies? 9:05 - What are the two ways insufficiencies harm the body? 13:22 - My new Vitamin D & K Supplement: https://buylegion.com/vitamindk 17:06 - Potassium and insufficiencies 20:36 - Vitamin D insufficiencies 22:18 - Vitamin K insufficiencies 27:47 - Magnesium insufficiencies 32:03 - Zinc insufficiencies Mentioned on the Show: Get my new Vitamin D & K supplement risk-free today! Go to https://buylegion.com/vitamindk and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

Is the behind-the-neck press the secret to well-developed delts?  Does cardio actually boost muscle growth, rather than hindering hypertrophy?  Are we becoming "desensitized" to obesity and what’re the repercussions?  In this episode, we'll explore the latest scientific studies that shed light on these questions. This podcast is another installment in my Research Review series of episodes, where I give you concise and practical takeaways from studies that I think are interesting and that can help us gain muscle and strength faster, lose fat faster, perform better athletically, feel better, live longer, or get and stay healthier.  There is a ton of scientific research that gets published every year, and even if you narrow your focus to fitness research, it would still take several lifetimes to unravel the hairball of studies on nutrition, training, supplementation, and related fields.  That's why my team and I put a lot of time into reviewing, dissecting, and describing scientific studies in articles, podcasts, and books.  Oh and if you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness). And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 2:33 - Is it safe to do the behind-the-neck press? Is it effective? 7:20 - Can cardio help with muscle growth? 13:50 - My free quiz to answer all your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz 15:31 - The normalization of obesity and the body positivity movement Mentioned on the Show: Take this free quiz to get science-based answers to all of your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz

Understanding the psychology of dieting is crucial for long-term weight loss and improved health.  In this episode, I interview fitness expert, New York Times bestselling author, and nutrition advisor for LeBron James and Arnold Schwarzenegger, Adam Bornstein, about diet psychology and sustainable weight loss, which is the subject of his new book, You Can't Screw This Up. With over two decades in the industry, Adam has witnessed countless struggles people face when trying to improve their health, despite an abundance of resources and information at their disposal.  In this interview, he breaks down these challenges and offers practical strategies to navigate them successfully. In our conversation, Adam and I discuss . . . The personal connection and motivation behind his new book The psychological barriers to effective dieting and how to overcome them The truth about meal planning and its role in achieving sustainable health goals The concept of "minimum effective dose" in training and why more is not always better Practical strategies for creating meal boundaries and incorporating takeout food effectively in your diet And more . . . So, if you're ready to understand dieting better and set yourself up for sustainable weight loss, tune in to this episode with Adam Bornstein! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 4:19 - What is the personal connection to "You Can't Screw This Up"? 7:57 - Is dieting the 20% that gives you the 80% in results? 29:22 - What is your take on meal planning? 27:41 - BOGO 50% Off during my July 4th sale! https://buylegion.com/ 35:31 - What are some tools that can help make meal boundaries? 43:34 - How can you make takeout food work in a diet? 53:31 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on the Show: Buy one supplement get one 50% off during my big July 4th sale! Plus, get a free $20 gift card on orders over $99. Go to buylegion.com to save now! Use coupon code MUSCLE to get double reward points! Adam Bornstein's Book You Can't Screw This Up: https://www.amazon.com/You-Cant-Screw-This-Up/dp/0063230577/?tag=mflweb-20 Adam's Instagram: www.instagram.com/bornfitness Adam's Website: www.bornfitness.com

How much is enough? When it comes to wealth, many of us chase the idea of accumulating as much as possible.  However, Bill Perkins' Die With Zero offers a different perspective: optimizing your wealth to maximize your life experiences. This book isn't just a radical rethink of conventional wisdom on wealth and retirement; it's a practical guide to making sure your money serves the purpose of enriching your life to the fullest. In this podcast, I’m sharing my top 10 insights from the book.  “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 whether the book is likely to be up your alley or not. Alright, let’s get to the takeaways. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe and leave a comment! 4:15 - What do you really want out of this life? 4:34 - Making the most of your money 5:50 - Finding the sweet spot 6:03 - Maximize enjoyment 6:24 - The purpose of money 6:40 - Health and its experiences 6:53 - The golden years 7:13 - The Heffalump movie experience 7:52 - The window of opportunity 8:05 - The net worth peak 8:58 - BOGO 50% Off during my July 4th sale! https://buylegion.com/ Mentioned on the Show: Buy one supplement get one 50% off during my big July 4th sale! Plus, get a free $20 gift card on orders over $99. Go to buylegion.com to save now! Use coupon code MUSCLE to get double reward points!

Do you deal with rest-day guilt? What’s with the marketing of essential amino acids? How can you start waking up earlier? Can HIIT replace the “10,000 steps rule”? How do you calculate your cutting macros if you’re nursing? These are just some of the questions I’m answering in this Q&A episode. As always, these questions come directly from my Instagram followers, who take advantage of my weekly Q&As in my stories. If you have a burning question, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness) and keep an eye out for these Q&A opportunities. Your question might just make it into a podcast episode! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:34 - What is the most you ever benched? 2:50 - Why do people market essential amino acids? 3:13 - Did your philosophy change from 4-6 reps to 8-10 reps? 5:20 - What are the first five steps newbies should take for weight loss and health? 6:55 - What are some ways to become more articulate? 9:07 - Will you ever make an electrolyte powder? 10:55 - I feel guilty for skipping workouts when sick or on off days. How do I deal with this? 11:57 - Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You: www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz 12:43 - My knees are cracking when I squat what should I do? 13:51 - Are below the knee rack pulls a good replacement for deadlifts if you have lower back pain? 14:26 - How do you keep your partner motivated? 14:56 - Best country in the world outside the US? 15:18 - How many workouts per week during a cut? 16:20 - Any recommendations on walking pads or foldable treadmill? 17:27 - Can consuming connective tissue in meat increase collagen levels? 17:48 - How is your high volume calf training going? 19:47 - Got any suggestions on how to wake up earlier? 20:41 - You’re not going to like this, but performance tees please? 22:18 - Can HIIT replace the 10k steps rule? 22:55 - What made you want to write the fourth edition of BLS and what part of the 3rd edition did you not like? 24:42 - How did your testosterone levels test come out? 26:05 - What is the secret? 26:16 - How do you increase your midi-chlorians? 26:38 - How would you calculate deficit macros while nursing? --- Mentioned on the Show: Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You in Just 60 Seconds: http://www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz

Aggressive dieting often has a negative connotation, but does it actually work for weight loss and muscle maintenance?  To delve into this topic and other aspects of nutrition science, I interview Martin MacDonald in this episode. Martin is a Clinical Performance Nutritionist, a senior lecturer at the Mac-Nutrition Uni (an evidence-based online nutrition course), and a renowned speaker in the realm of nutrition science. With his deep knowledge of nutrition science and experience in the field, Martin shares his perspectives on dieting and nutrition in this episode. In our conversation, Martin and I discuss . . . The concept of aggressive dieting and the evidence in its favor for weight loss and maintenance The impact of traditional calorie-restricted diets on muscle loss (and how to recover it) How to calculate your maximum calorie deficit The challenges of aggressive dieting and how to adopt a flexible approach The myths around muscle loss during weight loss and the reality behind it The negative effects of aggressive dieting and calorie deficits on bone health, fertility, and obsessive tendencies Misconceptions about maintaining a larger calorie deficit The benefits of aggressive dieting for developing better eating habits The concept of "sugar addiction" and strategies to diminish the desire for high-sugar and high-fat foods And more . . . So, if you're looking to understand aggressive dieting better and explore the field of nutrition science, be sure to listen to this conversation with Martin MacDonald! --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 3:38 - What is aggressive dieting? 21:54 - Where can people find your calculator? 29:10 - Can an aggressive diet help your relationship with food? 32:39 - Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 40:35 - What is mac-nutrition uni? 45:17 - Who is Mac Nutrition Uni aimed for? Is it for practitioners? 51:46 - Where can people find you and your work? -- Mentioned on the Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! Mac-Nutrition Uni: www.mac-nutritionuni.com Martin’s Instagram: www.instagram.com/martinnutrition Martin’s Podcast: Not Another Nutrition Podcast

Many gym-goers want to know if using marijuana can interfere with their gains or negatively impact their progress. However, the controversial ban of American sprinter, Sha’Carri Richardson, from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics due to a positive marijuana test also ignited a global debate about whether weed can be performance-enhancing. In this episode, we take a deep dive into the scientific research surrounding marijuana and its potential impacts on athletic performance, muscle growth, strength, and endurance.  We'll discuss what marijuana is and evaluate its potential benefits and drawbacks in the context of athletic performance and bodybuilding. Whether you're an athlete, fitness enthusiast, or someone interested in the science of fitness, this episode will provide you with evidence-based insights into the complex relationship between marijuana and fitness. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:27 - What type of performance effects does marijuana cause? 3:59 - How does marijuana affect strength? 6:58 - Can marijuana help improve muscle growth? 9:20 - Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 11:50 - Can marijuana reduce pain? 15:38 - How does marijuana help anxiety? --- Mentioned on the Show: Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

In this installment of the Best of Muscle For Life, you’ll hear hand-picked clips from three popular MFL episodes: an interview with Dan John on quick, efficient strength training workouts, a monologue on whether taking naps can help you gain muscle and strength faster, and a motivational episode on doing the real work and developing skill over “hacks” and shortcuts.  Some people—my favorite people—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 do at least a little better inside and outside the gym. That’s why I do “best of” episodes that contain a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from the more popular episodes I’ve published over the years. This way, you can learn interesting insights that you might have otherwise missed and find new episodes of the show to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Dan John on “Easy Strength” For Quick, Efficient Workouts That Really Work (Originally published 8/11/2021) Can Naps Help You Gain Muscle and Strength Faster? (Originally published 9/10/2021) Motivation Monday: “Secrets” Don’t Work Unless You’ve Worked for Them (Originally published 3/26/2018) And we’ll be starting with number one, Dan John on “Easy Strength” For Quick, Efficient Workouts That Really Work. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 3:26 - Dan John on “Easy Strength” For Quick, Efficient Workouts That Really Work 16:05 - My free meal planning tool: buylegion.com/mealplan 17:28 - Can Naps Help You Gain Muscle and Strength Faster? 25:39 - Motivation Monday: “Secrets” Don’t Work Unless You’ve Worked for Them Mentioned on the Show: Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free!

What do “rest ethic,” goofing off, and Artificial Intelligence have in common?  This episode of the podcast is a bit different, but I think you’re going to enjoy it. In this interview, Kevin Kelly unwraps the art of living excellently in a world steered by technology.  Our discussion explores the intersections of AI, creativity, work, productivity, and even how rest plays a vital role in our lives. In case you’re not familiar with him, Kevin is the co-founder of Wired Magazine, influential writer, renowned futurist, and author of the new book Excellent Advice For Living.  I wanted to get him on the podcast because this book is absolutely chock-full of practical, easily-digestible nuggets of advice for living a more fulfilling life. And as a man who has spent decades envisioning the future, he has a unique perspective compared to other guests I’ve had on the show. This conversation covers a variety of topics such as . . . Kevin's motivation for writing Excellent Advice for Living The importance of balance between work and rest The role of AI in our lives and how it can reshape work Non-traditional views on success and fulfilling work And more . . . Whether you're seeking to gain control over your time, foster your creativity, or ponder the exciting implications of AI, you don't want to miss this discussion.  Tune in and let me know if it sparks your curiosity! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 2:04 - What made you want to write this book (Excellent Advice For Living)? 6:45 - What is a rest ethic? 8:45 - Why do you think it's really important to goof off? 14:08 - Do you think it's hard enough to find something that you love doing and also make a living out of it? 26:52 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip  29:37 - What are your thoughts on AI? 34:11 - How important do you think it is to start using AI? 46:22 - What are examples of doing things that are not aimed at success? Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: ⁠https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip Kevin’s Book Excellent Advice For Living: https://www.amazon.com/Excellent-Advice-Living-Wisdom-Earlier/dp/0593654528/?tag=mflweb-20

When the gym isn't an option, how do you stay in shape?  In this podcast, I’m sharing practical, science-backed strategies for keeping your fitness on track anywhere, anytime.  From enhancing your daily steps to nutritional tips, mastering home exercises, and even implementing a standing desk, you’re going to gain a new perspective on fitness that you can adopt no matter where you are.  Tune in to level up your fitness adaptability! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 0:23 - It’s easier to maintain than to gain 1:22 - 10,000 Daily Steps 4:39 - Push ups and Pullups 5:38 - Sprints 7:01 - Handstand Pushups 7:53 - Pistol Squat 8:43 - Mile Time 9:29 - Rope Jumps 9:56 - Plank Times 10:09 - Flexibility 11:10 - Rucking 11:37 - The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-little-black-book-of-workout-motivation/ Mentioned on the Show: The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation is a bestselling fitness book that helps you overcome the mental blocks that are keeping you unmotivated, unhappy, and unhealthy: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-little-black-book-of-workout-motivation/

The world of anabolic steroids often seems shrouded in mystery and controversy.  In this episode, seasoned sports medicine and exercise scientist Dr. Guillermo Escalante aims to dispel some of those myths and clarify the complex topic of steroid use in bodybuilding and the health and fitness space. Together, we delve deep into understanding anabolic steroids, focusing on their potential implications, responsible usage, and strategies to mitigate associated risks.  Specifically, Dr. Escalante stresses the importance of taking an evidence-based approach to steroid usage. In case you’re not famiiliar with him, Dr. Escalante is a Professor of Kinesiology and Dean Fellow for the College of Natural Sciences at California State University San Bernardino. He has authored over 52 peer-reviewed publications, and regularly presents at regional, national, and international conferences on his research. He has also been a competitive bodybuilder and coach. In this conversation, Dr. Escalante and I discuss . . . What anabolic steroids are and their role in bodybuilding How steroids can be used responsibly while minimizing health risks The "least effective dose" approach to steroid usage The importance of routine health checks for steroid users Finding the right time to retire as an enhanced athlete Balancing effectiveness and safety in steroid use Common misconceptions and myths surrounding steroid usage And more . . . Whether you're curious about the science of anabolic steroids or concerned about potential health implications, this interview provides a balanced and informed perspective on responsible usage. Join us as we navigate the world of anabolic steroids with Dr. Guillermo Escalante! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 5:10 - What is happening to all these bodybuilders that are suddenly dying? and if someone decides to use anabolic steroids how can we mitigate the risks? 11:42 - Were the deaths of all these athletes due to heart problems? 12:22 - Why is having a bigger heart and thicker ventricular walls are not a good thing? 13:36 - Is this more a correlation than causation? 17:09 - Are risks with steroid use only apparent in high dosage use? 24:52 - Why can you take these testosterone derivatives and use them with testosterone? Why don’t they just take more testosterone? 30:15 - Do lifestyle factors affect the way steroids impact the body? 32:42 - Try Triumph today! Go to https://buylegion.com/triumph and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 35:05 - Is there a way to monitor your genetics to see if steroids are a risk factor? 40:31 - Is it okay to use steroids temporarily to reach full genetic potential and then stop? 48:39 - What are some other ways to mitigate risk from using anabolic steroids? 57:12 - Should I be monitoring my health if I'm taking exogenous testosterone? 59:16 - Should you start with the lowest dose to mitigate the risks of anabolic steroids? 63:36 - Is it hard to come off these drugs? 01:08:26- What is post-cycle therapy and how that can mitigate risks? 01:11:05 - What is the point of post-cycle therapy? 01:23:23 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on the Show: Try Triumph today! Go to https://buylegion.com/triumph and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! Guillermo’s website: https://doctorgfit.com/ Guillermo’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doctorgfit/

Ever been baffled by uneven abs? Do you feel weaker during your period?  Can you enhance fat loss in your legs? What’re the pros and cons of fat grips? In this Q&A episode, we delve into a medley of topics including hypertrophy versus strength training for fat loss, deloading, squatting with long femurs, and much more. As always, these questions come directly from my Instagram followers, who take advantage of my weekly Q&As in my stories. If you have a burning question, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness) and keep an eye out for these Q&A opportunities. Your question might just make it into a podcast episode! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 2:00 - What are you most afraid of? 2:27 - What is your opinion on fat grips? 3:49 - My core feels weak around the monthly. Is that normal? 4:25 - My abs are finally here but they are not symmetrical what can I do? 9:48 - Best source of information for current events? 10:58 - Do you enjoy eating a bunch of protein and then dutch ovening yourself? 11:10 - My free quiz to answer all your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz 11:57 - How do you typically deload? 13:28 - What is your new year resolution for 2023? 14:15 - What book are you reading right now? 15:47 - What did you think about the US and Russia’s prisoners exchange? 16:19 - Is hypertrophy training better for fat loss than strength training? 16:49 - Tricep pushdown underhand or overhand grip? 17:11 - Heels lift forward lean when squatting due to long femurs what is the best solution? 17:46 - Can I combine Legion’s Genesis with Legion’s Whey? 19:07 - How to lose fat from the legs? 19:34 - Is every session planned? Mentioned on the Show: Take this free quiz to get science-based answers to all of your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz

Creatine is one of the most researched supplements in the fitness industry, yet myths and misconceptions still abound.  Is it safe for teenagers? Can endurance athletes benefit from it? Should you cycle it?  If these are the questions you've been pondering, you've come to the right place. In this episode, you’ll get answer to these questions and I’ll delve deeper into the myriad benefits of creatine. Whether you're a seasoned athlete or a fitness beginner, press play to learn how creatine supplements can help your fitness journey and get guidance on how to take it properly.  Timestamps:0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 0:55 - How does creatine work? 2:15 - How is creatine made? 3:32 - Which form of creatine is best? 4:52 - Can creatine expire? 5:18 - Is creatine bad for you? 8:32 - Does creatine need to be a powder or a capsule? 9:28 - Try Recharge today! Go to https://buylegion.com/recharge and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 11:40 - Should I take creatine when I’m cutting? 14:24 - Is it okay for teenagers to take creatine? 16:24 - Is it a good idea for endurance athletes to supplement creatine? 17:45 - When is the best time in the day to take creatine? 18:25 - Do I have to take creatine every day? 19:00 - Should you cycle creatine? 19:51 - How effective is creatine? Is it really worth taking?Mentioned on the Show: Try Recharge today! Go to https://buylegion.com/recharge and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! Ep. #872: Darren Candow on the Latest Research on Creatine Supplementation: https://legionathletics.com/muscle-for-life-episode-872-darren-candow-interview/

What if you could train smarter, not harder? That’s the promise of auto-regulation, which you can use to increase autonomy and individualize your program, enhancing gains while staying injury-free. In this episode, we have fitness expert Luke Tulloch breaking down the concept of auto-regulation in resistance training. This approach tailors workouts to your physical and mental readiness, ensuring optimal results. Luke Tulloch is an online trainer and fitness educator with an in-depth understanding of exercise science. He uses his knowledge to help fitness professionals become better coaches by breaking down complex topics and teaching them in a simple way, and helping other personal trainers become more confident through education. Of course, he also knows how to help individuals make the most out of their workouts, and in this conversation, Luke and I discuss: The definition of auto-regulation in resistance training and how it increases autonomy and individualizes workouts. Practical tips for modifying your training based on auto-regulation for enjoyable and improved results. The correct implementation of deloading focusing on different body parts. How to avoid potential mistakes in implementing auto-regulation. The importance of strategic programming for maximizing progress. Auto-regulating exercise selection and set intensity. How to develop the skill of understanding when you're close to failure and how many reps you have left. Common mistakes people make with auto-regulation. The role of technology and structure in training programs. And more . . . If you're looking to optimize your training and make the most of your time in the gym, this podcast will provide practical insights you can start implementing right away. Listen in to delve into the world of auto-regulation with Luke Tulloch! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 05:11 - What is auto-regulation? 08:11 - Tips for modifying workouts based on auto-regulation. 11:28 - Implementing deloading for different muscle groups. 14:46 - Common mistakes with auto-regulation and how to avoid them. 24:57 - Importance of strategic workout programming for progress. 27:41 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip 30:06 - Auto-regulating exercise selection and set intensity. 35:14 - Developing skills for recognizing your proximity to failure. 39:52 - Addressing other common mistakes in auto-regulation. 42:58 - The role of technology in auto-regulation. 54:00 - Where can you find Luke Tulloch and his work? Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip Luke’s website: https://www.luketulloch.com/ Luke’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_luketulloch/?hl=en

A topic that has piqued the interest of many gym-goers, and especially men who want defined, plate-of-armor pecs, is the lower chest. In the pursuit of a well-rounded, strong, and aesthetic chest, the lower chest often comes into discussion. However, its existence and importance are subjects of debate and confusion.  In this episode, I’ll bring clarity to the concept and explore the best ways to improve the lower chest area. Can the lower chest be emphasized in our training? And if so, what exercises work best for it?  If you've been pondering these questions, this episode holds the answers. Tune in as we delve into the intricacies of lower chest workouts, providing you with practical guidance for your training regimen.Timestamps:0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:16 - Is there such a thing as the lower chest? 8:02 - What is the best way to improve the lower chest area? 16:26 - Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You: ⁠www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz⁠ 17:13 - The best exercises for the lower chestMentioned on the Show:Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You in Just 60 Seconds: ⁠http://www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz⁠ ⁠Should You Incline Bench Press to Grow Your Upper Chest?⁠ ⁠How to Create the Ultimate Upper Chest Workout⁠

Just as life challenges us with limited time, resources, and information, excellence demands a strategy beyond innate talent and colossal effort.  That's where Ron Friedman's Decoding Greatness comes into play, offering a new approach: deciphering greatness through reverse engineering the triumphs of others.  This book isn't just a collection of thought-provoking ideas; it's a practical toolbox filled with applicable tactics for your life's journey.  In this podcast, I’m sharing my top 10 insights from the book.  “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 whether the book is likely to be up your alley or not. Alright, let’s get to the takeaways. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe and leave a comment! 4:21 - The 10 best parts of Decoding Greatness 8:25 - My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ --- Mentioned on the Show: My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/

Does protein before bed impact your sleep? How do you prevent muscle breakdown if you can only train fasted in the morning before breakfast? Will training 5 days per week give better results than 4 days per week? Are gluten allergies and intolerance real, or just another health fad? How long can someone use the program in Bigger Leaner Stronger and still make progress? All of that and more in this Q&A podcast. Over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:43 - Does eating a large portion of protein affect sleep quality? 2:13 - How long until people forget about Liver King? 4:49 - How to minimize muscle breakdown for someone who does intermittent fasting but can only work out in the morning? 6:54 - Thoughts about the future of crypto? 9:26 - Should I strength train 4 or 5 days a week for best results? 13:16 - My free meal planning tool: buylegion.com/mealplan 14:39 - Is creatine consumption needed every day? 15:12 - Have your personal views affected your business? 16:13 - Any ideas on a one-day workout routine when life gets rough? 18:12 - Is gluten allergy a fad or is it actually real? 19:52 - Do you believe that a high amount of carbs is a requirement for muscle preservation? 21:24 - When doing a unilateral exercise do you rest between each side or after you do both? 23:26 - Best chest exercises to fix chest asymmetry? 24:02 - How long can I use Bigger Leaner Stronger? 28:25 - Do you see yourself taking HRT on a therapeutic level after hitting 40+? Mentioned on the Show: Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free!

What is hybrid training?  Well, that's exactly what you will learn about in this podcast interview with Dr. Alyssa Olenick.  At its core, hybrid training (also known as concurrent training in the scientific literature) is a fusion of strength and cardiovascular training.  Many people feel these types of training are at odds, but in this episode, you’re going to learn how hybrid training is not only possible, but can be complimenting, helping you excel in both strength and endurance. In case you’re not familiar with Alyssa, she’s an Exercise Physiologist, sports nutritionist, weight lifter, and ultra runner. And with her strong academic background, she’s dedicated herself to both the practical and theoretical sides of fitness, helping thousands of clients crush both their lifting goals and their race finish lines.  Her unique perspective combines the rigors of scientific research with practical, hands-on coaching experience. In chat, Alyssa and I discuss . . . The concept of hybrid training, blending strength and endurance training, and why heavy lifting isn’t enough and doesn’t “count” as cardio Misconceptions surrounding the interference effect, debunking the “cardio kills gains” myth and exploring how evidence-based research supports the integration of cardio into strength training routines for enhanced results Differentiating the benefits of strength training and cardiovascular exercise, explaining why both are essential for a balanced, effective training regimen The correlation between cardiovascular health and quality of life, and how a developed aerobic system can amplify strength training and overall physical performance How to turn cardio “exercise” into a training system with progression Practical advice on combining cardiovascular and resistance training for optimal results, including tips on protein intake, carb periodization, and effective fatigue management Personal experiences and insights into maintaining muscle and losing fat through cardio, while balancing the intensity of strength training And more . . . If you're intrigued by the idea of becoming both stronger and fitter simultaneously, or if you're simply looking for an innovative approach to mix up your current fitness program, then this podcast is for you.  Listen in to explore the world of hybrid training with Alyssa Olenick! --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 3:16 - What are your thoughts on hybrid training? Is endurance training not effective for muscle growth compared to strength training? 16:55 - Do you get enough cardio from just strength training alone? 35:42 - Try Pulse today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 37:53 - Can cardio help improve my strength training? 32:30 - How much cardio does it take to see a dip in performance with strength training? 44:01 - Is it okay to do cardio before or after your strength training workout? 52:38 - Is an hour maybe two hours enough per week to get all the benefits from cardio? 1:21:37 - Where can people find you and your work? --- Mentioned on the Show: Try Pulse today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! Alyssa’s website: https://doclyssfitness.com/ Alyssa’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doclyssfitness/ Alyssa’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW4CCAMyceAtaGVKhpUqcfQ The Messy Middle Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-messy-middle-podcast/id1528851577

The allure of testosterone booster supplements is obvious.  They’re a perennially popular topic because the promises are highly enticing, from giving you a surge of energy, to enhancing muscle growth, speeding up fat loss, and even aiding in quicker recovery post-workout. People also claim these supplements improve your sleep, uplift your mood, and even boost your sex drive. The purported benefits are so vast, these products often seem like a bargain, leading many to believe that even if they delivered just half of what's promised, it would still be worth the investment. So, I thought it was high time to record an updated episode on the current state of testosterone boosters.  In this episode, we're going to explore some of the most popular supplements currently available in the market that are reputed to increase testosterone levels.  Tune in because we'll discuss creatine, D-Aspartic Acid, ashwagandha, tongkat ali, zinc, boron, and more. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:30 - What is a testosterone booster? How does it differ from testosterone replacement therapy (TRT)? 3:29 - What are some specific supplements that boost testosterone? 7:01 - What is D-Aspartic acid? 11:45 - What is ashwagandha? 15:15 - Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 18:21 - What is fenugreek? 23:06 What is tribulus terrestris? 24:20 - What is tongkat ali? 26:25 - Can zinc improve testosterone levels? 28:24 - What is boron? Mentioned on the Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

In this installment of the Best of Muscle For Life, you’ll hear hand-picked clips from three popular MFL episodes: an interview with Nick, who used my coaching program to lose 19 pounds and 11% body fat in 90 days, a monologue on whether the benefits of deadlifting outweigh its risks, and a book club episode on Band of Brothers by Stephen E. Ambrose.  Some people—my favorite people—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 do at least a little better inside and outside the gym. That’s why I do “best of” episodes that contain a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from the more popular episodes I’ve published over the years. This way, you can learn interesting insights that you might have otherwise missed and find new episodes of the show to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: How Legion Coaching Helped Nick Lose 19 Pounds & 11% Body Fat In Just 90 Days (Originally published 7/11/2018) Is Deadlifting Worth The Risk? (Originally published 10/25/2021) Book Club: Band of Brothers by Stephen E. Ambrose (Originally published 8/11/2017) And we’ll be starting with number one, How Legion Coaching Helped Nick Lose 19 Pounds and 11% Body Fat in Just 90 Days. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 3:44 - How Legion Coaching Helped Nick Lose 19 Pounds & 11% Body Fat In Just 90 Days 13:57 - My free quiz to answer all your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz 14:38 - Is Deadlifting Worth The Risk? 28:57 - Book Club: Band of Brothers by Stephen E. Ambrose Mentioned on the Show: Take this free quiz to get science-based answers to all of your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz

Most diets, especially fad diets, are about restriction and what you can’t eat.  Of course, losing weight requires being in a calorie deficit, but what if there were specific foods you could eat more of that actually boost fat loss? That’s the idea behind Dr. William Li’s new anti-diet book, Eat to Beat Your Diet, which explores the relationship between body fat and metabolism, and why the food choices we make matter. In this episode, you’ll learn how specific foods can help burn excess body fat, why body fat plays a crucial role in our health and how it influences our hormones, the importance of micronutrients, the benefits of various vegetables, the impact of dietary choices on overall health, and a lot more.  In case you’re not familiar with Dr. Li, he’s an internationally renowned physician, scientist, and author of the New York Times bestseller Eat to Beat Disease, which I interviewed him about previously on the podcast. He’s also the president and medical director of the Angiogenesis Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization that works to promote medical innovation and breakthrough technology to disrupt disease and improve world health.  In our metabolic masterclass, Dr. Li and I discuss . . . The crucial relationship between metabolism and overall health and the role our body fat plays in it Challenging conventional wisdom about "fast" or "slow" metabolism The role of specific foods in burning excess body fat The importance of hormones, muscle gain, and the four phases of metabolism in our lifespan Groundbreaking and surprising studies on human metabolism and their practical implications The significance of food choices and micronutrients, and their impact on metabolism And more . . . So, if you want to gain a better understanding of your metabolism and why your food choices matter, as well as specific foods you can eat more of to enhance your metabolic health, you’re going to enjoy this interview with Dr. Li! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:30 - Why did you write this book? 2:43 - How do you define dieting? 4:18 What are some discoveries you made while researching more into metabolism? 12:49 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip 14:27 - What do you mean that calories are not all the same? 18:38 - How do the calories in broccoli and mushrooms fight off unhealthy body fat? 39:56 - Can muscle gain impact metabolism? 42:08 - By staying active and eating enough protein do my nutritional choices even matter? 51:51 - What are your thoughts on supplementation? And how can someone benefit from supplements? 01:00:06 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: ⁠https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip ⁠⁠Dr. Li’s Website⁠: ⁠https://drwilliamli.com/⁠ Dr. Li’s Eat to Beat Your Diet: https://www.amazon.com/Eat-Beat-Your-Diet-Activate/dp/1538753901/?tag=mflweb-20

Some people say they “don’t have time” to exercise, but watch an hour of Netflix every night.  Or they buy produce and watch it slowly wither in their fridge.  Or spend time looking for that game-changing supplement while only getting 5 hours of sleep per night.  Listen to this episode to find the motivation to start, develop habits, and ultimately win at your fitness journey. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 0:54 - My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ --- Mentioned on the Show: My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/

How do you go on vacation and enjoy yourself without losing progress or gaining body fat? How often should you adjust your calories while bulking or cutting?  How can you maintain your physique without counting macros or calories? Is it better to get 6 hours of sleep or get 5 hours of sleep to fit in a workout? Is one full-body workout per week enough to maintain muscle? All of that and more in this Q&A podcast. Over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:55 - Counting macros leads me back to disordered eating. How can I maintain my physique? 8:02 - Taking a week off for vacation will I lose or hinder progress? 10:45 - How come non-contributing taxpayers are allowed to vote? 11:39 - 50% off all protein powders! www.buylegion.com 13:50 - Would you suggest 6+ hours of sleep or 5 hours of sleep and a morning workout? 15:55 - Do you advise the usage of creatine for all weight levels and fitness goals? 16:56 - How do I keep myself accountable? 18:10 - How often do you update your calories when you’re cutting or bulking? 19:12 - Will Legion ever get new apparel? 19:46 - Is one full-body workout per week enough to maintain muscle? 21:32 - Once we have to swap meat for bugs what would be your bug of choice? 21:56 - Why does one of my thighs look smaller than the other? 22:28 - Can’t sleep during a calorie deficit? 24:42 - How to stop being afraid of asking for help? 24:58 - Thoughts on these uneducated popular fitspos making their own line of supplements? 30:54 - Why didn’t you call the sequel to Bigger Leaner Stronger to Biggerer Leanerer Strongerer? 31:25 - What is the current book you are reading? --- Mentioned on the Show: Get 50% off all protein powders during my BOGO sale! Go to buylegion.com and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on any non-sale items or get double reward points!

Will changing up your workouts result in better muscle gains?  Or is it better to keep your training program static and consistent, so you’re doing the same lifts and exercises week after week, month after month?  In other words, does introducing novelty improve hypertrophy or does consistency trump all else?  Many people are on the hunt for the “best,” most-scientifically-optimized program and as a result, constantly change their training regimen for the next best thing. This is called program hopping, and it’s generally something you want to avoid. On the one hand, tweaking training variables can be a great way to keep things fresh and interesting so you enjoy your workouts. On the other hand, too much variability can make it hard to ensure you’re making progress. In this podcast, I chat with scientist and friend Dr. Bill Campbell about changing up your training program.  Specifically, we cover a recent study that looked at resistance training variables and how tweaking them affects rate of muscle gain compared to keeping workouts static. And then we dive into practical advice for implementing both consistency and variability in your training. In case you’re not familiar with Dr. Campbell, he’s a repeat guest on the podcast, and a professor of Exercise Science and the Director of the Performance & Physique Enhancement Laboratory at the University of South Florida, who’s also published more than 150 scientific papers. He also has a research review in which he examines scientific papers and breaks them down into simple, actionable takeaways.  So, if you want to learn whether changing up your workouts will enhance or worsen your progress, what the latest science says on the matter, and how to do it correctly, listen to this episode!  --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 2:46 - When should I change my program, what should I change, and why? 16:11 - Check out my new Sucrosomial Magnesium! https://buylegion.com/mag 17:41 - What was this study about in your research review? 41:18 - What's your advice on making changes to your program and its variability? 484:52 - Are there some exercises that you shouldn't change in your program? 50:09 - Are there any other considerations when changing your program? 58:44 - Where can people find you and your work? --- Mentioned on the Show: My new Sucrosomial Magnesium essential mineral supplements is here! Check it out: https://buylegion.com/mag. Grab a bottle here and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points: https://buylegion.com/mag Bill Campbell’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/billcampbellphd/ Bill’s website: https://www.billcampbellphd.com/

You can find countless ways to track your health, especially if you buy any of the latest gizmos and gadgets in the fitness wearables space.  But most health markers aren’t worth keeping an eye on.  With the “quantified self” movement on the rise in recent years, fitness wearable manufacturers and marketers will attempt to sell you on the benefits of all the health metrics you can track. The truth is many health markers simply don’t matter. And some of these health indicators can even be actively misleading, as in the case of recovery scores produced by different fitness wearables, usually based primarily on heart rate variability. In this podcast, I share 5 health markers that will allow you to monitor your health and ensure you're in good shape. I believe these 5 metrics constitute the 20% of all the things you could track, which produce 80% of the benefits or give you at least 80% of the overall picture of your health. So, listen to this episode to learn the 5 health metrics that are actually worth tracking. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 2:43 - Blood pressure and its health metrics. 6:56 - Body composition and why you should be measuring it. 15:10 - How to measure your resting heart rate. 16:39 - Check out my new Sucrosomial Magnesium! https://buylegion.com/mag 19:59 - Blood sugar and how to measure it. 25:30 - Why should you measure your cholesterol and triglyceride levels? --- Mentioned on the Show: My new Sucrosomial Magnesium essential mineral supplements is here! Check it out: https://buylegion.com/mag Get our 100% natural Sucrosomial Magnesium supplement with a clinically effective dose of a scientifically proven form of magnesium that supports athletic performance, mood, sleep, and bone and cardiovascular health. Grab a bottle here and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points: https://buylegion.com/mag

Can drop sets help you gain muscle and strength? Is the sumo deadlift “cheating” compared to conventional deadlifts? Is willpower limited and how do your beliefs affect it? I’m discussing the latest scientific studies on these questions. Listen now to dive into the research! This podcast is another installment in my Research Review series of episodes, where I give you concise and practical takeaways from studies that I think are interesting and that can help us gain muscle and strength faster, lose fat faster, perform better athletically, feel better, live longer, or get and stay healthier.  There is a ton of scientific research that gets published every year, and even if you narrow your focus to fitness research, it would still take several lifetimes to unravel the hairball of studies on nutrition, training, supplementation, and related fields.  That's why my team and I put a lot of time into reviewing, dissecting, and describing scientific studies in articles, podcasts, and books.  Oh and if you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness). And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:59 - Should you be doing drop sets? 10:42 - Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You: www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz 11:28 - Is the sumo deadlift easier than the conventional deadlift? 18-:00 - What is the relationship between mindset and fatigue? --- Mentioned on the Show: Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You in Just 60 Seconds: ⁠http://www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz⁠

People can be quite creative in the ways they stifle their own progress and hold themselves back from getting what they want. From self-sabotage to negative thinking, these roadblocks (which most people don’t even know exist) are what really prevent people from reaching fulfillment in their personal and professional lives. It’s not a lack of desire or smarts. In his new book, Do It, David Nurse describes these mindset obstacles as Action Archetypes. To help unpack these challenges and provide actionable insights, I interview David in this podcast. In case you’re not familiar with him, David is not only a former pro basketball player, life optimization coach, and a repeat guest on my podcast, but he’s a bestselling author, and acclaimed speaker, named by Real Leaders as a Top 50 keynote speaker (and he’s the youngest speaker in the list to boot). In our discussion, David and I chat about everything from what Action Archetypes are and which ones he’s discovered, to dealing with internalized failure and building self-esteem. So, if you're looking for insights into the secret reasons holding you back and effective strategies to overcome these obstacles and achieve your dreams, listen to this interview! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 01:48 - What is the title of the book and why did you write this book? 5:36 - What are some of the main action archetypes you’ve come across? 11:45 - What’s another archetype? Why do people internalize failure? 32:12 - Midroll Ad 34:22 - How smart do we need to be in order to achieve the goals we need to achieve? 52:26 - What are your thoughts on building a healthy self-esteem? 60:40 - Where can people find you and your work?   Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip Sam’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sammillerscience/ Sam’s website: http://www.sammillerscience.com/ Sam’s Book: www.metabolismmadesimple.com David’s Book Do It: The Life-Changing Power of Taking Action - https://www.amazon.com/Do-Life-Changing-Power-Taking-Action/dp/1119853702/?tag=mflweb-20

The number one most requested product of my sports nutrition company, Legion, is something I refuse to sell. That product is BCAAs (branched-chain amino acids), and it’s one of the most popular supplements in the body composition space. Many people claim that BCAA supplements are essential for muscle growth, improve immunity, and even help with fat loss. In this podcast, I’ll explain why BCAAs are actually worthless and how the science used to sell these supplements is often misrepresented or even fake. So, click play and stay tuned as we explore the world of BCAAs, discuss their perceived benefits, and uncover the reasons why you might want to skip them altogether. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 3:32 - What are BCAAs? 7:32 - What studies show that BCAAs show significant muscle growth? 18:07 - Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 20:42 - Do BCAAs reduce fatigue? 24:18 - BCAA’s and recovery 25:40 - Can training in a fasted state with BCAAs increase muscle growth? 30:08 - What are some good alternatives to BCAAs? Mentioned on the Show: Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

How can you reduce water retention? Are seed oils as bad as “they” say? What am I doing to heal my biceps tendinitis? How important is the mind-muscle connection? Should you eat white or whole wheat carbs while bulking? All of that and more in this Q&A podcast. Over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:30 - What are ways you combat water retention? 5:12 - Where do you get the memes you post? 6:00 - Are seed oils really that bad for you? Or is it just another fad? 6:45 - What have you been doing to help the biceps tendon healing process? 18:05 - How important is the mind-muscle connection? 18:14 - My free meal planning tool: buylegion.com/mealplan 21:50 - White versus whole wheat carbs on a bulk? 24:55 - Should I take a week off if I have a sore throat or lung infection? 26:10 - What is the latest conspiracy theory you believe in? 26:30 - How many reps and sets for increasing bone density? 28:10 - What are your thoughts on alcohol consumption? --- Mentioned on the Show: Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free!

Metabolism can be a nebulous topic. Most people know that their metabolism is intertwined with their health, but people’s metabolisms aren’t just “fast” or “slow.” They’re adaptive systems that depend on a multitude of variables, including environment, nutrition, genetics, stress, training, past experience, and more. To help make sense of it all and offer practical ways to apply our understanding, I interview Sam Miller in this podcast. In case you’re not familiar with Sam, he’s an Amazon best-selling author with over 15 years of experience as a health, fitness, and nutrition coach, helping coaches and health professionals improve their clients’ results. As an educator, podcaster, certified nutritionist, and licensed, board-certified health practitioner, he shares simple, strategic methods for physique and health transformation. And because he recently penned a book called, Metabolism Made Simple, he’s the perfect guest for today’s topic. In our metabolic deep dive, Sam and I discuss . . . The crucial relationship between metabolism and overall health The influence of genetics and past experiences on our current metabolic health The significance of non-exercise activity (NEAT) and strategies to boost metabolism The role of mindset, realistic expectations, and consistency in improving metabolic health Why being in a calorie deficit should be viewed as a phase rather than a lifestyle How to incorporate biofeedback into your lifestyle for better dieting outcomes The importance of micronutrients and their impact on metabolism And more... So, if you're looking for effective strategies to adjust your lifestyle and help you enhance your metabolic health more efficiently, be sure to listen to this interview with Sam Miller! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:55 - What is metabolism and how does our metabolism relate to our health? 5:49 - Can my past or genetics affect my metabolism in the present? 18:49 - Can you go more in-depth with non-exercise activity? 27:24 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip 30:10 - What are some things we can do to improve our metabolism? 34:01 - How do you like to set those phases up? 37:22 - Why should being in a calorie deficit be a phase rather than a lifestyle? 42:37 - What is biofeedback? 45:16 - How does biofeedback affect dieting? 55:51 - Can a deficiency in micronutrients affect metabolism? 01:07:19 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip Sam’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sammillerscience/ Sam’s website: http://www.sammillerscience.com/ Sam’s Book: www.metabolismmadesimple.com

In this podcast, I’ll give you 10 simple, yet powerful insights that will help you maximize your gym time, prevent injury, and improve your performance. These training tips cover everything from myths about behind-the-neck pulldowns to exploring my favorite underrated exercises. They'll quickly equip you with valuable knowledge to level up your fitness game and optimize your workouts. Tune in and let me know your favorite training tip! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 00:30 - Why are behind-the-neck pulldowns a bad idea? 1:00 - Does the barbell squat irritate your back? 1:32 - Are side raises bothering your shoulders? 2:00 - Calf training tips 2:35 - Are you tipping too far forward when you squat? 2:45 - What are unilateral exercises good for? 4:00 - What grip should you use for the bench press? 4:22 - Can a weightlifting belt reduce the risk of injury? 6:10 - Is it a good idea to implement a partial range of motion training? 11:48 - What are some underrated exercises? 12:35 - My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ Mentioned on the Show: My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/

In this installment of the Best of Muscle For Life, you’ll hear hand-picked clips from three popular MFL episodes: an interview with Dr. WIlliam Li on how food can help fight disease, a monologue on whether you should take testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), and a motivational episode for when you’re having an awful workout.  Some people—my favorite people—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 do at least a little better inside and outside the gym. That’s why I do “best of” episodes that contain a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from the more popular episodes I’ve published over the years. This way, you can learn interesting insights that you might have otherwise missed and find new episodes of the show to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Dr. William Li on How to Beat Disease With Food (Originally published 9/15/2021) Is Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) For You? (Originally published 12/6/2021) Motivation Monday: So, You're Having a Shitty Workout… (Originally published 9/18/2017) And we’ll be starting with number one, Dr. WIlliam Li on how to beat disease with food. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 3:25 - Dr. William Li on How to Beat Disease With Food 18:00 - Is Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) For You? 26:26 - My free quiz to answer all your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz 27:31 - Motivation Monday: So, You're Having a Shitty Workout… --- Mentioned on the Show: Take this free quiz to get science-based answers to all of your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz

Diet breaks have become more popular in the evidence-based community over the past few years. The strategy is purported not just to improve your results during a cut, but actually make dieting easier. But is the science so clear-cut? In this interview, Menno Henselmans and I discuss the scientific literature on diet breaks, including a new study in which he was involved.  Menno has been on my podcast many times, but in case you’re not familiar with him, he’s a former business consultant turned international public speaker, educator, writer, published scientist, and physique coach who’s passionate about helping serious athletes attain their ideal physiques. In this interview, Menno and I chat about . . . Why diet breaks have become so popular in the evidence-based space in recent years How his new diet break study was designed and conducted and its results  The reasons why adding maintenance periods to a cut probably won’t “trick” your body and mitigate the negative side effects of a calorie deficit Why diet breaks are probably a waste of time, just make your diets take longer, and what you should do instead Protein-sparing modified fasts and when they’re useful and who might benefit from them How to add in extremely low-calorie days to a cut (the opposite of refeeds) and why you might want to Why very short bulks don’t work (but mini-cuts do) And more . . . So if you want to learn diet breaks and what the latest science says about their utility, give this podcast a listen! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 15:01 - Is it okay to cut for 8 months straight? and should I incorporate breaks? 24:24 - Why is it important to let off the breaks in exercise? 32:39 - Save up to 50% during our Spring Sale! www.buylegion.com 34:20 - Is it okay to have little maintenance periods? 39:43 - Is it true that when you go from a cut or maintenance into a calorie surplus you don’t notice all the benefits right away? 47:10 -  Is there a general rule of thumb for the number of exposures to unhealthy foods? 48:48 - Are there simple techniques to introduce healthy foods into your diet? 53:50 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on the Show: Save up to 50% during our Spring Sale! Go to buylegion.com and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on any non-sale items or get double reward points! Menno’s Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmO2dykYM3nlb5BtsXxp9ZQ Menno’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mennohenselmans Menno’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/menno.henselmans/

Weight loss supplements are a controversial topic. A lot of evidence-based people claim that all fat loss supplements are bunk. And while I agree the vast majority of weight loss supplements out there are useless, an objective review of the scientific literature does turn up certain ingredients that can help you lose fat faster. The problem with most products that contain those ingredients is marketing. Unfortunately, many companies overstate or outright lie about their products’ effectiveness.  Today, we'll be discussing the seven best supplements for weight loss, as well as three common ones you should avoid.  So, press play and let me know your thoughts! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 2:50 - Is it necessary to take weight loss supplements? 7:13 - Why would it be necessary to take weight loss supplements?  7:57 - Are weight loss supplements effective? 12:21 - Which weight loss supplements do you recommend? 14:05 - Save up to 50% during our Spring Sale! www.buylegion.com 28:44 - Which weight loss supplements should we stay away from? Mentioned on the Show: Save up to 50% during our Spring Sale! Go to buylegion.com and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on any non-sale items or get double reward points!

Can you be both underweight and skinny fat? How do you fix it? If you’ve just had a baby, can you still workout? Should you make up missed workouts on rest days? Is it ok for your back to bend during deadlifts? Are Nordic curls worth doing? All of that and more in this Q&A podcast. Over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:32 - Do you eat any liver or organ meats? 2:00 - What is the ideal number of exercises for a one hour workout? 3:16 - I just had a baby, can I still workout when not getting enough sleep? 6:09 - Should I stick to the conventional or sumo deadlift to gain more strength? 7:22 - If I missed my last workout should I make it up on a rest day? 8:07 - What are your thoughts on Nordic curls? 9:18 - What are your thoughts on adduction machines? 11:17 - What are the best strength training exercises for improving your vertical jump? 12:24 - Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You: www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz 13:12 - Did you vote? 13:56 - Is any curvature of your back acceptable with deadlifts? 14:49 - Can you be underweight and skinny fat? 19:06 -  What are the best exercises and rep ranges for calf growth? 23:20 - What are the best books for starting a new business? --- Mentioned on the Show: Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You in Just 60 Seconds: http://www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz

Losing weight can be a challenging and frustrating experience for many people. While the fundamentals aren’t complicated, they require a significant amount of time, effort, and discipline. However, there are several lifestyle "hacks" that can help make the process of fat loss easier and more sustainable. These are small, simple changes that you can make to your daily routine that can have a big impact on your weight loss journey.  In this podcast, Paul Revelia and I explore some of the most effective lifestyle changes and habits for easier fat loss that you can start implementing today.  In case you’re not familiar with Paul, he’s a natural bodybuilder and fitness coach, and the founder and CEO of ProPhysique, a coaching and consulting company that helps individuals achieve their fitness and body transformation goals. With over a decade of experience in the fitness industry, Paul has worked with a diverse range of clients and is a well-known figure in the natural bodybuilding community, with a large presence on Youtube in particular. In this interview, Paul and I discuss . . . The relationship between body fat and body image The dangers of “cheat days” and what you should do instead The importance of mindset, realistic expectations, and planning ahead when eating out How to include more cardio, even if you’re a busy parent Why you should try to find a community for support towards your goals And more . . . So, if you're looking for strategies to adjust your lifestyle and help you reach your goals faster and more easily, listen to this interview! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 08:14 - How to get shredded in 6 hours? 15:55 - What tips could you share to help integrate into my cuts? 22:33 - What’s your advice for fat loss when it comes to setting the right expectations? 33:58 - Is community an important aspect of a better lifestyle? 36:01 - How do you help people through the difficulties of people close to them that aren’t supportive? 38:25 - Save up to 50% during our Spring Sale! www.buylegion.com 40:08 - Have you faced problems where people don’t want to plan and track what they eat? 45:08 - What are your thoughts on cheat meals? 48:58 - Can you elaborate on re-feed days and diet breaks? 47:40 - What are your thoughts on cardio and speeding up fat loss? 57:56 - What are your thoughts on eating out? 01:05:48 - Any advice for busy parents? 01:14:18 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on the Show:Save up to 50% during our Spring Sale! Go to ⁠buylegion.com⁠ and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on any non-sale items or get double reward points! ⁠Paul’s Instagram⁠: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/paulrevelia/?hl=en⁠ ⁠Paul’s Youtube⁠: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@PaulRevelia⁠ Paul’s Podcast "The Pro Physique Code": https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-prophysique-code/id1532902456

Life can be compared to an IQ test. It’s a series of difficult problems that you need to solve with limited time, resources, and information.  Winning in life requires avoiding catastrophic moves that forfeit all your previous hard work.  That’s why books like The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking are worth reading. It provides profound ideas that, if embraced, can significantly improve your decision-making skills. The book is highly practical, offering concrete examples of how to apply the information in daily life.  In this podcast, I’m sharing my top 10 key takeaways.  “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 whether the book is likely to be up your alley or not. Alright, let’s get to the takeaways. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe and leave a comment! 9:47 - Why did you like this book? 11:41 - What are your takeaways? 13:55 - Save up to 50% during our Spring Sale! www.buylegion.com --- Mentioned on the Show: Save up to 50% during our Spring Sale! Go to buylegion.com and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on any non-sale items or get double reward points!

Can ice baths and massages boost your recovery? If you’re not building muscle, do you need to change your routine or just work harder at your current program? Can lifting actually make you smarter? I’m discussing the latest scientific studies on these questions. Listen now to dive into the science! This podcast is another installment in my Research Review series of episodes, where I give you concise and practical takeaways from studies that I think are interesting and that can help us gain muscle and strength faster, lose fat faster, perform better athletically, feel better, live longer, or get and stay healthier.  There is a ton of scientific research that gets published every year, and even if you narrow your focus to fitness research, it would still take several lifetimes to unravel the hairball of studies on nutrition, training, supplementation, and related fields.  That's why my team and I put a lot of time into reviewing, dissecting, and describing scientific studies in articles, podcasts, and books.  Oh and if you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness). And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:57 - Can Ice baths and massages speed up recovery? 6:50 - Do I need to change my strength training program or work harder with my current program? 15:05 - My free meal planning tool: buylegion.com/mealplan 16:30 - Mental health benefits from weightlifting --- Mentioned on the Show: Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free!

There’s more to strength training than building bigger biceps or a bigger booty. While many people start their fitness journey with the goal of improving their physique, the benefits of resistance training go far beyond looks. From improving bone density to reducing the risk of chronic diseases, strength training can help you lead a healthier, longer, and more fulfilling life. To talk about the non-muscle related benefits of lifting weights, I invited Austin Current back on the podcast. In our first chat, Austin and I talked about his book Science of Strength Training, which is a visual encyclopedia and comprehensive resource that dives into anatomy and the physiology of muscle growth. If you’re not familiar with Austin, not only is he an educator and author, but he’s a coach and co-founder of Physique Development, a coaching collective that works with everyday fitness folks and competitors alike. In this interview, Austin and I discuss . . . The “other” benefits of progressive resistance training including improving bone health, metabolic health, cardiovascular health, mental health, and mobility The brain health benefits of training, including cognitive abilities, mental sharpness, and reducing depression and anxiety Minimizing the risk of various diseases, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers The importance of maintaining fitness habits and avoiding “extreme” thinking and mindsets Compensating for modern conveniences that lead to sedentary living, and how to get started with easy and enjoyable exercise routines How physical activity affects our quality of life as we age And more . . . So, if you’re looking to learn about the non-aesthetic benefits of strength training, listen to this episode and let me know your thoughts! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 2:35 - What are some benefits of strength training besides aesthetic reasons? 11:30 - What is brain health and how does strength training relate to it? 31:22 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip 33:46 - How does strength train compare to other types of training? 49:51 - Why do you prefer to do yoga? 53:30 - What are your thoughts on stronger people having longevity? 1:23:45 - is there anything you would like to add? 1:28:37 - Where can we find you and your work? Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip Austin’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/austincurrent_/ Physique Development: https://physiquedevelopment.com/

There are various ways to loosely track your body composition changes over time, like taking progress pictures or measuring your waist.  But if you want to be a little more rigorous or just have more data on how your body fat levels ae changing, you can use skinfold calipers. While no body fat measurement method is foolproof, calipers can give you a fairly accurate reading if you know what you’re doing. So in this podcast, you’re going to learn how to properly use skinfold calipers to measure your body fat percentage.  Listen and let me know what you think! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 2:26 - Try Pulse today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 4:31 - What are skin fold calipers? 5:16 - Are skinfold calipers accurate? 15:28 - How do I use calipers? 21:07 - What are the different types of measurements you can take? 25:22 - What are the different methods of reading and estimating body fat percentage? 35:59 - Which calipers should I buy? Mentioned on the Show: Try Pulse today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

How should you deal with workout slumps? Is reverse pyramid training better than standard pyramid training? Should you do cardio while bulking? Are ashwagandha and tongkat ali supplements worth taking? All of that and more in this Q&A podcast. Over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:40 - What are your thoughts on plasma donations to pay for Legion products? 2:09 - Does your carb intake and fat intake matter when you are on a weight loss plan? 6:00 - What is better for progression, reverse pyramid training or standard pyramid training? 11:20 - What are your thoughts on metabolic eating? 12:47 - Do you have a favorite song on your playlist? 14:21 - Is retinol okay to use? Will it have adverse effects on my training? 15:22 - Do magnesium supplements help with sleep? 16:13 - What are your thoughts on Elon Musk and Twitter? 18:03 - Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You: www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz 18:51 - Do you still get workout slumps? 29:51 - Does walking provide the same health benefits of cardio? 31:22 - What’s the update on your Legion probiotic? 32:26 - Should I prioritize training or sleep when sleep deprived? 34:31 - How does alcohol affect building muscle? 35:33 - What are your personal and fitness goals for 2023? 41:12 - How useful is cardio during a bulk? 42:37 - What is the update on BLS 4th edition? 44:24 - Do you have any advice for getting picked up as a new author? 45:59 - What are your thoughts on ashwagandha and tongkat ali?  47:23 - What are your thoughts on myo-reps? Mentioned on the Show: Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You in Just 60 Seconds: http://www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz

There’s a lot of confusion surrounding the topic of flexibility and a lot of conflicting advice.  Is stretching necessary? Should you be working on mobility during your workouts? Some people say strength training itself provides all the flexibility you need, and any additional stretching should be at your discretion.  Others suggest that skipping foam rollers, massage guns, and band-work is not only going to impair your performance, but put you at risk of injury. To help clarify some of the kerfuffle, Dr. Stacie Barber joins me on the podcast for an interview all about flexibility and mobility. In case you’re not familiar with Stacie, she has a Doctor of Physical Therapy from Duke and is the founder and owner of The Physio Fix, which offers physical therapy, training, and classes to help everyone from professional athletes and Olympians to fitness newbies feel and move better. And as a former collegiate gymnast and current Olympic Weightlifter, Stacie knows the challenges faced by people who lift heavy weights. In this interview, Stacie and I discuss . . . - The difference between passive and active flexibility - Whether stretching prevents injury - Common mobility issues for squats, deadlifts, bench presses, and more, and how to fix them - Jefferson curls and Copenhagen planks - The rise in tendinopathy and why you should train at end ranges for tendon and joint health - The utility of resistance bands and other mobility-focused gadgets like massage guns and foam rollers  - And a lot more . . . So whether you're dealing with tight, painful muscle groups or just want to learn about the science of improving your mobility, give this interview a listen! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 4:48 - Should I be stretching? 12:06 - Is it normal to have tight muscles?  21:37 - Try Recharge today! Go to https://buylegion.com/recharge and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 23:59 - What are some common mobility restrictions in certain exercises? 36:38 - Should your knees be in front of your toes when or far from your knees when squatting? 43:46 - Are there some other tips or exercises you recommend to include in workout routines? 46:41 - What are your thoughts on stretching accessories such as bands, foam rollers, and  percussion guns? 51:19 - Do massage guns help alleviate tendon pain or muscle tightness? 60:18 - What are your thoughts on exercise bands? 64:13 - Where can we find you? Mentioned on the Show: Try Recharge today! Go to https://buylegion.com/recharge and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! Stacie’s Instagram: https://instagram.com/thephysiofix The Physio Fix: https://thephysiofix.com/

If you start noticing these things, you know you’re on the right track. For example, you know you’re getting good at this fitness stuff when the disappointment of skipping a workout stings more than the struggle to motivate yourself to do one.  And when you notice that you're making far fewer excuses about how you eat and exercise than you used to.  Press play to hear this motivational episode on the things you start noticing as you adopt a healthier lifestyle. What are the signs you noticed?                 --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 0:54 - My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ --- Mentioned on the Show: My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/

In this installment of the Best of Muscle For Life, you’ll hear hand-picked clips from three popular MFL episodes: an interview with Menno Henselmans on the science of self-control and willpower, a Says You episode on eating less than 1,200 calories per day, and a motivational episode on the power of habit.  Some people—my favorite people—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 do at least a little better inside and outside the gym. That’s why I do “best of” episodes that contain a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from the more popular episodes I’ve published over the years. This way, you can learn interesting insights that you might have otherwise missed and find new episodes of the show to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Menno Henselmans on the Science of Self-Control (Originally published 10/6/2021) Says You! Eating Less than 1,200 Calories Per Day (Originally published 10/1/2021) Motivation Monday: The Power of Habit (Originally published 5/7/2018) And we’ll be starting with number one, Menno Henselmans on the Science of Self-Control. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 4:10 - Menno Henselmans on the Science of Self-Control 14:53 - My free quiz to answer all your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz 16:01 - Says You! Eating Less than 1,200 Calories Per Day 21:05 - Motivation Monday: The Power of Habit Mentioned on the Show: Take this free quiz to get science-based answers to all of your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz

How does strength training differ from hypertrophy training? How much overlap is there?  In other words, will strength training get you bigger? Likewise, will hypertrophy training make you stronger? If you want to maximize strength gains, how should your training program look? Can you build a healthy, muscular physique with just strength training or do you also need accessory movements? And if you are training more like a powerlifter, how much volume is necessary to get stronger? These are common questions I get about strength versus hypertrophy training, and in this podcast, I invited Dr. Brad Schoenfeld to dive into the science of training for strength compared to lifting with the goal of gaining muscle size.  He’s the perfect guest for the topic, because he was recently involved a narrative review of the science of maximizing strength.  Brad practically needs no introduction, but in case you’re not familiar with him, he’s an internationally renowned fitness expert, author, educator, lecturer, and researcher, who’s published over 200 peer-reviewed research articles on exercise and sports nutrition. He’s truly an authority on all things related to body composition, hypertrophy, fat loss, and natural bodybuilding. In this interview, Brad and I discuss . . . The role of rep ranges for achieving strength goals and how training with heavier and lighter loads may have additive effects Why 1RM calculators don’t always accurately predict your true strength The usefulness of machines compared to free weights Compound versus isolation exercises and how to adjust your training to your specific circumstances and goals Whether deadlifts are overrated or underrated for hypertrophy How specificity is often overemphasized in strength training “Strength endurance” and how it’s more practical for everyday activities than maximal strength Set intensity and training to failure The role of age in strength training and how your age factors into your programing And a lot more . . . So whether you're a seasoned lifter or just starting, tune in to learn how to optimize your training for strength and hypertrophy goals, and let me know your thoughts!  --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 2:43 - What is the difference between getting strong and having bigger muscles? 31:07 - Save up to 30% on Legion Health Supplements this week only! buylegion.com 32:17 - What is set intensity and proximity to muscular failure? 46:12 - What are your thoughts on strength training as you get older? 51:00 - What are your thoughts on the one rep max test and how necessary are they? 54:17 - Where can people find you and your work?  --- Mentioned on the Show: Go to buylegion.com and save 20% to 30% during my Health Supplement sale this week only! Use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on any non-sale items or get double reward points! Brad’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradschoenfeldphd/?hl=en Brad’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/BradSchoenfeld Brad’s Textbook: Science and Development of Muscle Hypertrophy: https://www.amazon.com/Science-Development-Muscle-Hypertrophy-Schoenfeld/dp/1492597678/?tag=mflweb-20 Brad’s Book: Max Muscle Plan: https://www.amazon.com/M-X-Muscle-Plan-2-0/dp/171820714X/?tag=mflweb-20

If you’re trying to lose weight, there’s nothing more frustrating than stepping on the scale and seeing the same number for days or weeks on end. It's a feeling almost everyone can relate to.  Many people hit a weight loss plateau at some point in their journey. And the good news is that there are simple solutions to help you break through. In this podcast, you’ll learn common reasons why weight loss stalls and practical tips to help you overcome them. With these strategies, you’ll know exactly how to beat weight loss plateaus and get back on track towards your goals. Listen and let me know your thoughts! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 3:16 - When do you know that you have stopped losing weight? 9:08 - How does water retention affect weight loss? 17:07 - How do I plan and track food accurately? 21:27 - Save up to 30% on Legion Health Supplements this week only! buylegion.com 22:37 - How can I have cheat meals and continue losing weight? 33:39 - How much exercise do I need to keep losing weight? 37:32 - Why am I burning fewer calories? Mentioned on the Show: Go to buylegion.com and save 20% to 30% during my Health Supplement sale this week only! Use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on any non-sale items or get double reward points!

Is a glass of wine every day harmful if you account for the calories? What books have had a lasting impact on me? What are my favorite front delt exercises? Is watching porn unhealthy? Can you use machines instead of free weights? Is it ok to cut for 5 months? What happens after you reach your genetic potential? All of that and more in this Q&A podcast. Over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:34 - Is a glass of wine okay every night so long as I count the calories? 5:09 - If you have reached your maximum muscle genetic potential, what’s the point of pursuing more? 16:24 - Is watching porn unhealthy? Why? 17:20 - Can you make a “day in the life” video? 25:09 - My free meal planning tool: buylegion.com/mealplan 26:36 - Is it a bad idea to do the chest press with equipment rather than free weights? 29:29 - What are your favorite exercises for front delts? 30:36 - If I’m maintaining but still losing weight, how would I adjust my macros? 32:15 - What are some books that left a permanent impact on the way you think? 34:52 - Am I inferior for clinging to bro splits? 35:53 - How should I decide between the Thinner Leaner Stronger 3, 4, and 5 day split? 39:43 - What are your thoughts on masculinity these days? 40:19 - What made you decide to build a home from scratch? 47:58 - If I wanted to go on a slower cut for 5 months, is it okay to be in a calorie deficit for that long? --- Mentioned on the Show: Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free!

In this podcast, I interview Liz, who nearly gave up on reaching her fitness goals, but joined my one-on-one coaching program and lost 38 pounds while getting stronger than ever. And in her own words, it was “easier” than any other program she tried. That’s saying something because before finding my work, Liz struggled with body image from a young age. She spent decades (and thousands of dollars) on bunk programs, pills, books, and fad diets. She yo-yo dieted herself into losing and gaining the same 25 pounds over and over again. Understandably, she was skeptical of my book and coaching program, but took the leap as a last ditch effort before giving up on her goals. And she’s glad she did, because she finally learned how to take control of her health with flexible dieting, lose fat for good, and get stronger than she’s ever been. And she managed to do it in her 50s, with nothing but a home gym, and while facing several health conditions like hypothyroidism, arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, and even dental surgeries. In this episode, you’ll hear about Liz’s journey as she discusses the benefits of having a coach, what made Legion different from other programs she tried, the life-changing freedom of a flexible dieting plan, and the power of consistency over perfection. And now she just wants to inspire at least one other person to take the leap and change their own life. So, if you are looking for inspiration and motivation on your own health journey, this episode is for you. Tune in to hear Liz's story! --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 5:47 - Where were you at in your fitness journey before you found my work? 14:07 - Did you experience any challenges? 26:03 - How did you deal with having surgeries while doing the program? 27:51 - How do you like training at home? 30:12 - What was different about flexible dieting versus regular calorie counting? 32:46 - What stood out to you about Legion that made you want to try the program? 36:19 - My One-on-One Coaching Service: www.buylegion.com/coaching 37:59 - What are your fitness goals? 41:54 - How has your thyroid condition impacted your fitness journey? 57:08 - Is there anything else you would like to add? --- Mentioned on the show: My One-on-One Coaching Service: www.buylegion.com/coaching

Long-term relationships are a lot like a garden. If you fail to water it (or, consciously do the “right things”), it can wither. The good news is there are easy ways to improve your relationship by adding or changing just a few key behaviors. If you want a practical, evidence-based book that aims to improve communication, conflict management, trust, and intimacy for couples seeking to strengthen their romantic relationship, you should read The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work by John M. Gottman and Nan Silver. In this podcast, I’m sharing my top 10 key takeaways. “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 whether the book is likely to be up your alley or not. Alright, let’s get to the takeaways. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe and leave a comment! 7:43 - Try Triton today! Go to https://buylegion.com/triton and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! --- Mentioned on the Show: Try Triton today! Go to https://buylegion.com/triton and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

Is erythritol bad for you? A new study has been making waves, claiming that this commonly used natural, zero-calorie sweetener could increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. However, as with many health-related headlines, the media has been quick to jump on the sensationalist bandwagon. So, should we be worried about erythritol? Or is this just another case of misleading information for the sake of advertising clicks? Listen to this podcast to separate fact from fiction. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:20 - What is erythritol? 2:38 - Is erythritol safe? 10:55 - Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You: www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz 15:41 - What are your thoughts on erythritol? Mentioned on the Show: Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You in Just 60 Seconds: http://www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz

One weird trick to improve your gut health, reduce bloating, and improve digestion? Listen to this podcast interview. That’s the trick. That’s because in it, I interview Marianna Moore, who offers practical tips on how to really influence your gut health. Hint: it’s not greens powders or supplements. The truth is gut health is a lot more complicated than many people (especially on social media) would have you believe, but in this podcast, you’ll learn things you can implement in your own life right away. In case you’re not familiar with Marianna, she has a Masters in nutrition (and focused on gut health during her education), and regularly posts healthy recipes and realistic meal prepping tips on instagram, as well as educational fitness and gut health content on TikTok. She’s also the co-host of the Fitness Stuff Podcast, along with Tony Coffey, who I also recently had on the show. In this interview, Marianna and I discuss . . . How to determine if you have poor gut health “Good” versus “bad” bacteria in your gut and why they matter Different types of fiber, why it’s beneficial, and how much of it you should eat The importance of a diverse diet and how to actually implement one The role of stress in digestion The gut-brain connection, the influence of the gut on mental health, the enteric nervous system, and why the gut is sometimes called the “second brain” Considerations for when to seek out a prebiotic supplement, and the utility of probiotics and greens supplements And more . . . So, if you’re interested in learning about gut health and getting advice on the best ways to effectively improve it, listen to this podcast and let me know your thoughts! Timestamps 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 6:24 - What is gut health? What are indications of good or poor gut health? 8:37 - What is good and bad bacteria? 13:19 - What are your thoughts on supplements for bloating? 20:40 - What are the common reasons healthy people get bloated and what can they do about it? 33:47 - What is the difference between soluble and insoluble fiber? 36:10 - Want 125 quick, easy, and delicious “fitness friendly” recipes? Get The Shredded Chef: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-shredded-chef/ 39:22 - What is the connection between gut health and mental health? 58:05 - What are some specific tips for improving gut health? 1:03:18 - What are your thoughts on fermented food? 1:05:50 - Where can we find you and your work? Mentioned on the Show: Want 125 quick, easy, and delicious “fitness friendly” recipes? Get The Shredded Chef: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-shredded-chef/ Marianna’s Podcast Fitness Stuff (For Normal People): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fitness-stuff-for-normal-people/id1627638588 Marianna’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariannas_pantry/?hl=en Marianna’s TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mariannas_pantry?lang=en

Imagine if there was a gym that blared a siren when people didn’t re-rack their weights or wipe down their equipment. Or a gym that celebrated your fitness wins. Would you go to a gym like that? Listen to this podcast to hear what I’m talking about and let me know your thoughts! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 0:54 - Get 30% Off My Fat Burners! buylegion.com Mentioned on the Show: Get 30% Off Legion Fat Burners, Phoenix and Forge! Go to buylegion.com and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on any non-sale items or get double reward points!

Is sugar ruining your health? Is a high sugar diet worse for you than eating lot of saturated fat? Have we been blaming fat for problems caused by sugar? Find out in this podcast. 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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . “High sugar intake is worse on your health than going over that magic threshold of 10% saturated fats. People seem to blame fat for what the sugar does.” Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 3:11 - What is the effect of sugar intake on health? 13:36 - My free quiz to answer all your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz 14:25 - How does high sugar intake affect cardiovascular health? 21:02 - What is your sugar intake recommendation? Mentioned on the Show: Take this free quiz to get science-based answers to all of your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz

Do you wear an Oura Ring, Whoop Band, FitBit, Apple Watch, or other fitness tracker, or ever thought about getting one? Advances in technology and people’s desire to take their health and fitness into their own hands have made wearable fitness devices more popular than ever. These tools claim to offer us unprecedented levels of insight into our health and well-being, but how accurate are these devices when it comes to tracking your heart rate, step count, total daily energy expenditure, sleep, stress, or recovery? Are these gadgets really that useful? Paul Hough returns to the podcast to discuss the topic of wearable fitness technology and the “quantified self” movement. In case you’re not familiar with Paul, he’s a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science at Oxford Brookes University in the UK and has published several studies in academic journals. He’s also a fellow author, and his new textbook, Advanced Personal Training, which aims to turn science into applicable practice for personal trainers. And on the hands-on side, he’s worked with elite-level athletes in tennis and Formula One. In this interview, Paul and I discuss . . . The “quantified self” and what wearable tech can tell you about your health The accuracy of these gadgets and how useful they really are What these devices are good at (and what they’re not good at) How tracking can be counterproductive and the importance of considering why you're monitoring Heart Rate Variability (HRV): who should track it and why And more . . . So, if you’re interested in wearable fitness devices and want to learn whether you should buy one, listen to this podcast and let me know what you think! Timestamps 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 3:53 - Is it important to track our health with health & fitness trackers? 12:27 - What are your thoughts on health & fitness trackers? 43:30 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip 46:18 - How well do health & fitness trackers measure recovery and stress? 52:54 - Who should we track HRV and why? 1:03:30 - Is there anything you would like to add? 1:06:04 - Where can we find you and your work? Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip Paul Hough’s website: www.exerciseandsportscience.com Paul’s textbook Advanced Personal Training: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09HXGDLNT/?tag=mflweb-20 Paul’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_h0ugh/ Paul’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/the_hough

Looking for a dietary supplement that can help you lose fat, build muscle, and improve your overall health? Many people claim CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) is the answer. CLA is a widely popular supplement in fitness circles and advocates believe it provides numerous health benefits. From promoting muscle growth to aiding fat loss, and even reducing the risk of metabolic and cardiovascular disorders, CLA seems like a wonder supplement. Is it too good to be true? In this episode, we'll explore the evidence surrounding the benefits and risks of CLA. Is it really free of side effects? Is there enough reliable evidence to back the proponents’ claims? Listen to this podcast to find out! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:54 - What is conjugated linoleic acid? 11:13 - Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 13:49 - Does CLA benefit muscle building? 16:29 - What are the effects of CLA on insulin sensitivity? 18:45 - Can CLA boost performance? 20:09 - What are the effects of CLA on cardiovascular health? Mentioned on the Show: Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

What’s the best cardio if you only have 10 minutes? Is drinking diet soda ok in moderation? What do I think about the 5:2 diet? Can you train heavy while also preparing for long-distance runs? What are my thoughts on biohacking? Are there different health effects between high-fat and high-carb diets while in a deficit? All of that and more in this Q&A podcast. Over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:44 - What are your thoughts on Only Fans? 2:06 - Is diet soda okay in moderation? 6:03 - Are some people more carb tolerant? 8:04 - Do you foam roll? 9:39 - How is your calf training going? 12:22 - What investments do you think will have the greatest return during this recession? 15:05 - My free meal planning tool: buylegion.com/mealplan 16:33 - What is the best alternative to squats? 17:01 - What are your thoughts on biohacking? 17:43 - Do you always track macros or do you eat more intuitively? 20:40 - If you only have ten minutes for cardio, after lifting, do you recommend HIIT or LISS? 22:28 - What are your thoughts on the 5:2 diet? 24:30 - Are there any differences in health between high carb/fat diet when on a calorie deficit? 25:31 - Is it okay to train heavy weights while preparing for long distance runs? 27:52 - Who is the best world leader to have lived in history? Mentioned on the Show: Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free!

Most people know newbies can gain muscle and lose fat at the same time, but can intermediate or advanced lifters accomplish a body recomposition? In other words, if you’re already fit, can you optimize your body composition by building muscle and losing fat simultaneously, or do you have to cycle through bulks and cuts? More importantly, how do you actually do a body recomp? Is there a difference between recomping and bulking or cutting, and what are the key factors and variables to adjust if you want to build muscle while burning fat? To help answer these questions, I tagged in my friend and scientist, Chris Barakat, who’s actually published research on this topic. If you’re not familiar with Chris, he’s a published scientist, educator, coach, and natural bodybuilder, and he’s a repeat guest on the podcast for good reason. His years of developing his book smarts along with his practical knowledge of gym know-how means he knows how to get results while also having something interesting to say, and I always learn something new in our chats. In this interview, Chris and I discuss . . . What a recomp is, and whether more trained individuals can build muscle while losing fat Who should aim for a recomp and how to do so (as both a beginner and more advanced trainee) Common mistakes that prevent people from recomping The signs you’re recomping effectively and how to track it How to adjust your training volume and rep ranges while in a deficit and why Strategies for advanced lifters to recomp What to expect in terms of strength loss while cutting (and how to know when to make an adjustment) And more . . . So, if you’re interested in learning about body recomposition in intermediate and advanced lifters, and the best ways to ensure you’re recomping effectively, listen to this podcast and let me know your thoughts! Timestamps 0:00 - Try Pulse today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 4:41 - How should body comp training look like for intermediate lifters? 26:22 - How should people approach recomp if they are no longer hyper responsive to training? 33:17 - What about rep ranges? 45:00 - What are your thoughts on traditional recomp methods? 52:28 - Why do people get stronger when they gain body weight? 59:58 -  Can muscles be more responsive with proper training? 1:01:53 - Where can we find you? Mentioned on the Show: Try Pulse today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! Chris Barakat’s Website: https://schoolofgainz.com/ Chris Barakat’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christopher.barakat/ The Ultimate Guide to Body Recomposition (listen to the podcast for a special promo code!): https://www.schoolofgainz.com/digital-products/the-ultimate-guide-to-body-recomposition

My Book Club series is back! These are my top 10 key takeaways from Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive by Noah J. Goldstein, Steve J. Martin, and Robert Cialdini. “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 whether the book is likely to be up your alley or not. Alright, let’s get to the takeaways. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe and leave a comment! 4:26 - Decision fatigue. 5:09 - Devote training time on errors and how those errors can be avoided. 7:20 - Argue against your self interest. 7:38 - Search others for their virtues. 8:00 - Point out potential losses. 8:27 - Have product and company names that are easy to read and pronounce. 8:50 - Give gifts that are significant, unexpected, and personalized. 9:11 - My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ 11:10 - Commitment and consistency based strategies. 11:43 - Free the consumer from previous commitment. 12:17 - Mysterious influences. --- Mentioned on the Show: My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/

In this installment of the Best of Muscle For Life, you’ll hear hand-picked clips from three popular MFL episodes: an interview with Jordan Syatt on building a healthy relationship with food, a monologue on the importance of volume versus intensity for gaining muscle, and a book club episode on Walter Isaacson’s Benjamin Franklin. Some people—my favorite people—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 do at least a little better inside and outside the gym. That’s why I do “best of” episodes that contain a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from the more popular episodes I’ve published over the years. This way, you can learn interesting insights that you might have otherwise missed and find new episodes of the show to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Jordan Syatt on Developing a Healthy Relationship With Food (Originally published 10/13/2021) Is Volume or Intensity More Important for Building Muscle? (Originally published 8/30/2021) Book Club: Benjamin Franklin - An American Life (Originally published 9/22/2017) And we’ll be starting with number one, Jordan Syatt on Developing a Healthy Relationship With Food. -- Timestamps: 0:00 - Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You: www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz 3:44 - Jordan Syatt on Developing a Healthy Relationship With Food 12:06 - Is Volume or Intensity More Important for Building Muscle? 22:03 - Book Club: Benjamin Franklin - An American Life -- Mentioned on the Show: Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You in Just 60 Seconds: http://www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz

In this podcast, I interview Emily, who read my book Thinner Leaner Stronger and joined my one-on-one coaching program to take her health into her own hands, lose 25 pounds, and get leaner and stronger than ever before. Before she found my work, she was 175 pounds and felt skinny fat. She didn’t feel like she knew what she was doing, especially when it came to nutrition, and was spinning her wheels. As a result, she decided to invest in herself, join my coaching program, and now she’s transformed herself into a lean, strong, and confident person. After a 3-month cut, she dropped 25 pounds, 10% body fat, and now she maintains around 160 pounds with a completely overhauled body composition. And the best part is she realized that once she had the knowledge, she had the power to make a change. Despite dealing with disordered eating in the past, she learned about what it really takes to lose weight without feeling hungry, fixed her relationship with food, and gained the confidence to know she can get results on command. So in this episode you’re going to learn how Emily navigated challenges like preparing for an ultramarathon while strength training and dropping body fat, what she learned about protein and why she changed her vegetarian diet, how she avoided derailing her progress while on vacation or during cheat meals, and more. So, if you're looking for motivation and inspiration, make sure to tune in to this episode. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip 5:23 - Where were you with your fitness journey before you found Legion coaching? 9:28 - What was your body composition like when you started our coaching program? 10:58 - How did your body composition change over your coaching period? 16:14 - Did you stay vegetarian while doing the coaching program? 22:12 - How was your coaching experience? 25:10 - Is there anything else about nutrition that surprised you? 32:12 - What was your diet like during their coaching program? 43:51 - What did your work schedule look like while you were getting coached? 49:10 - Is there anything you would like to add? --- Mentioned on the show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip

Want to know the most common fitness-related regret? I’ve worked with tens of thousands of people over the years, and the answer is pretty clear: not starting sooner. So, don't let fear and lack of motivation hold you back any longer. In this podcast, you’ll learn how even small changes in your routine can lead to major results. The impact of simple habits like strength training, walking, eating vegetables, reducing sugar intake, and even drinking water is surprisingly large. Press play and discover the secrets to becoming part of the top percentile of fit and healthy Americans. Get ready to transform your life and reach your fitness goals with ease. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 3:31 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip --- Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip

How can you break the habit of eating sweets? Should you sacrifice sleep to workout? Why haven’t I started taking steroids? Is training 6 days per week too much? What’s my business motivation and how would I deal with a huge financial failure? All of that and more in this Q&A podcast. Over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - My free quiz to answer all your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz 3:35 - What would you do if all of your money went into a project you worked on and failed? 15:05 - Is there anything in Thinner Leaner Stronger that you feel differently about now? 18:15 - How should I schedule my workouts as a beginner? 21:19 - What are your thoughts on upper and lower workouts six days a week? 23:33 - Can we consume creatine when not working out for a week? 25:39 - What are your thoughts on a post lifting 10 minute cardio finisher, 3 times per week? 26:48 - Who do you think will win, Russia or Ukraine? 27:10 - Who shot first, Han or Greedo? 28:21 - Besides your business, how do you invest your money? 31:48 - Should you reduce volume and weight during your sets by 20% to preserve strength in a cut? 34:07 - Why haven’t you used steroids if you have reached your peak strength? 38:13 - What is some advice to stop eating sweets? 38:55 - As a mom, is it better to sacrifice sleep to workout? 40:29 - Why don’t your calves grow despite your training? 42:46 - Besides your family, what is your motivation in business? --- Mentioned on the Show: Take this free quiz to get science-based answers to all of your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you start eating and just can't seem to stop? Well, you're not alone. Binge eating can be a frustrating and defeating experience for many of us. It can quickly set us back in our health and fitness journey, especially when it comes to reaching our body composition goals. And even if you don't struggle with binge eating disorder, you may still find yourself overeating a bit too much a bit too often. So, whether you’re dealing with true bingeing or not, in this episode, I’m serving up 10 science-based tips to help you stop binge eating, improve your relationship with food, and take control of your eating habits. Sit back, relax, and let's dive in!" --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 4:34 - What is binge eating? 9:51 - What causes binge eating? 13:10 - Avoid restricting diets 14:56 - How does skipping meals cause binge eating? 18:50 - Avoid tempting foods 20:23 - Fill up on fewer calories 23:52 - Exercise 25:15 - Drink water 27:19 - Eat mindfully 29:25 - Manage stress 31:38 - Spend time with people 32:09 - Eat more protein 34:33 - What do I do when I binge eat? --- Mentioned on the Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

If you want to get into great shape and stay that way, this is the last exercise advice you’ll ever need. In this podcast, I’m giving you the ultimate strength training plan for men. You’re going to learn about volume and intensity, what drives muscle growth, progressive overload, and what you need to focus on to keep gaining muscle and strength. I also offer a “magic” formula you can use for your own training programming. This podcast is the final installments in which I’m sharing an excerpt from the audiobook version of the latest fourth edition of my bestselling book, Bigger Leaner Stronger. In case you’re not familiar with it, Bigger Leaner Stronger is a fitness book for men who want to gain muscle, lose fat, and get healthy faster than they ever thought possible. In this episode, I’m sharing chapter 12, which is all about creating the best strength training plan possible. And if you like what you hear in this selection, you’re sure to enjoy the rest of the audiobook. Let’s get to it! --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Get the BLS audiobook: https://geni.us/AefbLX 4:24 - The Ultimate Strength Training Plan for Men --- Mentioned on the Show: Bigger Leaner Stronger Audiobook: https://geni.us/AefbLX BLS eBook: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/bigger-leaner-stronger/

What advice would I give to my younger self? Well, I recently went through a previous episode of the podcast in which I answered this question and wanted to make some updates. So, without further ado, this is my updated advice to my younger self. Listen to this podcast and let me know what you think! What advice would you give your past self? --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 3:31 - My free meal planning tool: buylegion.com/mealplan --- Mentioned on the Show: Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free!

There’s a weight loss drug revolution happening right now. Medicines containing semaglutide (like Ozempic and Wegovy) used to treat diabetes have recently gained FDA approval for obesity, and many people are turning to drugs to help them lose weight. Weight loss drugs aren’t new—previous medications like fen-phen turned out to be dangerous, and even taken off the market. However, these newer drugs appear much safer and even more effective. So, are these medications the solution to the obesity epidemic, an unfair “easy-out” for people who need to learn to eat less and move more, or just the latest attempt by Big Pharma to cash-in on a problem created by Big Food? To help discuss the matter, I invited friend and obesity specialist Dr. Spencer Nadolsky back onto the podcast. In case you’re not familiar with Spencer, he’s a Board Certified Family Medicine Physician, author of “The Fat Loss Prescription,” and a Diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine. He knows his stuff when it comes to hormones, fat loss, and yes, memes (which you can find all over his instagram). He’s also been on the podcast before to talk about PCOS, thyroid health, and heart disease. In this interview, Spencer and I discuss . . . Why some people can’t seem to lose weight with diet and exercise The latest weight loss drugs and how effective they are How GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) receptor agonists like semaglutide work and help people lose weight The disadvantages and side effects of weight loss drugs Who should and shouldn’t take these medicines and who might have trouble coming off the drugs What really causes obesity (genetics versus environment) The role of Big Food in the obesity epidemic and how to fix the problem And more . . . So, if you’re interested in learning about the latest science in the weight loss drug field, or have ever scoffed at the idea of someone taking a weight loss medicine when diet and exercise alone should work, listen to this podcast and let me know your thoughts! --- Timestamps 0:00 - Try Fortify today! Go to https://buylegion.com/fortify and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 6:21 - What are the most popular obesity medicines and how effective are they? 18:01 - Should an overweight person try obesity medicines first if they haven’t tried fundamental lifestyle changes? 20:58 - Why wouldn’t you consider these drugs for just anyone? 25:18 - Can this medicine help some people rewire their habits? 29:48 - What are the driving factors of obesity? 41:13 - What are your thoughts on big food companies and their responsibility with obesity? 46:17 - Where can we find you? --- Mentioned on the Show: Try Fortify today! Go to https://buylegion.com/fortify and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! Spencer’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drnadolsky/ Spencer’s TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drspencer

Have you ever heard that some people just don’t have the genetics to get big and strong? Or that you need to change exercises frequently to make progress? Or that exercise is a bad way to lose fat? There are numerous exercise myths out there, and in this podcast, you’re going to learn about the worst offenders. In this podcast, I’m sharing an excerpt from the audiobook version of the latest fourth edition of my bestselling book, Bigger Leaner Stronger. In case you’re not familiar with it, Bigger Leaner Stronger is a fitness book for men who want to gain muscle, lose fat, and get healthy faster than they ever thought possible. In this episode, I’m sharing chapter 11, which is all about the biggest exercise myths and mistakes that derail many people’s progress. You’re going to learn about genetics, body recomposition, whether you need to do isolation exercises, and a lot more. And if you like what you hear in this selection, you’re sure to enjoy the rest of the audiobook. Let’s get to it! --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Get the BLS audiobook: https://geni.us/AefbLX 4:37 - The 10 Absolute Worst Diet Myths and Mistakes --- Mentioned on the Show: Bigger Leaner Stronger Audiobook: https://geni.us/AefbLX BLS eBook: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/bigger-leaner-stronger/

Are home saunas worth it? Should you wear a glucose monitor? What are my thoughts on the Liver King scandal? Tips on reducing muscle soreness and beating a strength plateau. Why am I not more jacked? Do hip thrusts live up to the hype? All of that and more in this Q&A podcast. Over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You: www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz 2:34 - What do you and your wife use for birth control? 6:15 - Is a home sauna worth it? 10:40 - What tips do you have for busting through strength plateaus? 12:10 - I love working out but struggle with calorie intake. Do you have any tips? 15:42 - Are hip thrusts overrated or are they worth the hype? 17:04 - What are your thoughts on the Liver King? 20:28 - What does science say about NAC and glycine supplementation? 21:34 - Will you make bug protein powder? 23:12 - How do I determine the amount of fish oil I need to take? 26:08 - Squats hurt my lower back, is it my form or am I lifting too heavy? 27:57 - Why are you not more jacked? 35:05 - Are morning workouts better than evening workouts? 35:41 - Why are you doing 3 sets vs 4 sets? 37:47 - Does a Green supplement cover all my micro nutrient needs? 38:19 - What are your thoughts on glucose monitors? 40:11 - What is the maximum number of squats and deadlift sets you should do in a week to allow rest in the lower back? 40:35 - Are regular dips better than the dip machine? 41:48 - Is fast food two times a week bad? 42:31 - How can I reduce muscle soreness? --- Mentioned on the Show: Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You in Just 60 Seconds: http://www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz

Is calories in versus calories out “bad science”? Are all calories the same? Will dieting damage your metabolism? Do you have to eat big to get big? Does sugar make you fat and unhealthy? Does eating carbs at night cause weight gain? Answers to all those questions and more in this podcast. In this podcast, I’m sharing an excerpt from the audiobook version of the latest fourth edition of my bestselling book, Bigger Leaner Stronger. In case you’re not familiar with it, Bigger Leaner Stronger is a fitness book for men who want to gain muscle, lose fat, and get healthy faster than they ever thought possible. In this episode, I’m sharing chapter 7, which is all about the biggest diet myths and mistakes that derail many people’s progress. You’re going to learn about calories in and calories out, the myth that carbs and sugars make you fat and unhealthy, clean eating, and a lot more. And if you like what you hear in this selection, you’re sure to enjoy the rest of the audiobook. Let’s get to it! --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Get the BLS audiobook: https://geni.us/AefbLX 10:44 - The 10 Absolute Worst Diet Myths and Mistakes --- Mentioned on the Show: Bigger Leaner Stronger Audiobook: https://geni.us/AefbLX BLS eBook: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/bigger-leaner-stronger/

Is weight gain during menopause unavoidable? Most women gain weight during menopause, but does menopause actually cause fat gain? What changes occur in the body that make it easier to pack on the pounds during this hormonal shift? How can you prevent weight gain during menopause and how can you lose the belly fat gained while going through it? You’re going to learn all that and more in this podcast. Press play to listen to the science of menopause and weight gain. Timestamps: 0:00 - Try Phoenix today! Go to https://buylegion.com/phoenix and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 3:39 - What is the connection between menopause and weight gain? 5:08 - What factors do hormones play in weight gain? 13:26 - Does age cause weight gain? 27:37 - How can I lose fat that was gained while going through menopause? Mentioned on the Show: Try Phoenix today! Go to https://buylegion.com/phoenix and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

In this installment of the Best of Muscle For Life, you’ll hear hand-picked clips from three popular MFL episodes: an interview with Brad Schoenfeld on the science of time-efficient training, a monologue on the “best” workout split for gaining muscle, and a Motivation Monday episode on how the Stockdale Paradox can change your life. Some people—my favorite people—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 do at least a little better inside and outside the gym. That’s why I do “best of” episodes that contain a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from the more popular episodes I’ve published over the years. This way, you can learn interesting insights that you might have otherwise missed and find new episodes of the show to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Brad Schoenfeld on the Science of Time-Efficient Training (Originally published 9/22/2021) The “Best” Workout Split for Gaining Muscle (Originally published 9/20/2021) Motivation Monday: How the Stockdale Paradox Can Change Your Life (Originally published 4/23/2018) And we’ll be starting with number one, Brad Schoenfeld on the Science of Time-Efficient Training. --- Timestamps: 0:00 -  My free meal planning tool: buylegion.com/mealplan 4:43 - Brad Schoenfeld on the Science of Time-Efficient Training 20:51 - The “Best” Workout Split for Gaining Muscle 30:11 - Motivation Monday: How the Stockdale Paradox Can Change Your Life --- Mentioned on the Show: Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free!

It’s not news that the fitness industry is filled with misinformation. Whether it’s coming from supplement peddlers spewing pseudoscience or fake natties touting the benefits of living like a hunter-gatherer, the fitness space can be tough to navigate (and especially for newcomers). Who can you trust and who makes an effort to seem trustworthy, but is really just wanting to sell you something? That’s why my guest, Tony Coffey of Train Bloom, and I are discussing in this podcast interview. Tony is a coach, educator, public speaker, and a prominent voice in the evidence-based fitness space on social media, which is why we’re proud to have him as a Legion Athlete. It’s also why he’s the perfect guest to discuss fitness red flags as a lot of what’s wrong with the fitness industry is disseminated on social media. In this interview, Tony and I discuss . . . “Red flags” and “green flags” when it comes to fitness influencers The rise of social media, why it’s so easy to find misinformation, and the difficulty in finding reliable information The problem with absolutism The importance of looking at counter arguments and being open to changing your mind The growth of evidence-based fitness and “abstract surfers” and “PubMedders” And more . . . So, if you’re interested in learning about what’s wrong with the fitness industry and how to navigate the social media landscape to find reliable people to follow and content to consume, check out this podcast and let me know your thoughts! Timestamps 0:00 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip 16:15 - What are some red flags you see on social media? 45:49 - What are some red flags around fat loss? Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip Tony’s Website: trainbloom.com Tony’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trainbloom/ Tony’s TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@trainbloom

Whether you're squatting the bar or a pile of plates, if you're in the gym, you deserve to be there. To take up space. To take up time. Anyone who tries to make you feel otherwise can choke on a rusty spoon. Listen to this podcast for a bit of motivational inspiration! --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 2:48 - Want 125 quick, easy, and delicious “fitness friendly” recipes? Get The Shredded Chef: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-shredded-chef/ --- Mentioned on the Show: Want 125 quick, easy, and delicious “fitness friendly” recipes? Get The Shredded Chef: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-shredded-chef/

What’s my favorite type of cardio? Should you take cold showers after your workouts? My advice for starting a business. When is Legion’s energy drink coming? How much sodium should you eat? Tips for reading on your phone. Is popcorn a healthy snack? All that and more in this Q&A podcast. Over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - My free meal planning tool: buylegion.com/mealplan 3:46 - What are you thoughts on cold showers after workouts? 5:17 - Where do you see humanity in 100 years in the future? 6:45 - Where do you get your fitness knowledge? 7:30 - How does using beer and wine in cooking affect the calories in cooking if alcohol gets burned off? 8:26 - Is there any chance you could remove sunflower lecithin from Legion supplements? 9:21 - What were your steps to reach financial freedom? 17:58 - House of the Dragon or The Rings of Power? 18:57 - How should a man find a decent woman in this messed up world? 20:11 - What is your sodium intake recommendation? 20:48 - When will you release a Legion energy drink? 21:36 - What is your favorite type of car? 23:57 - Is popcorn a horrible snack? 24:10 - What is your favorite type of cardio? 26:24 - What does your hair routine look like? 26:40 - What are some tips for reading your phone without straining your neck or eyes? 27:00 - How do I start a business? --- Mentioned on the Show: Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free!

Can you live longer by changing the way you eat? There are many claims out there about intermittent fasting and its impact on health and longevity. Some people say you can extend your lifespan just by rearranging the time window of when you eat every day. Is that true, though? What does science say about fasting in humans and its effects on how long you’ll live? Rather than examining this myself, I invited an intermittent fasting expert, Dr. Grant Tinsley, to explore the topic. Grant has been on the podcast before to discuss body fat measurement techniques, but as a scientist who’s been involved in many time-restricted feeding studies on athletes, he’s the perfect guest for this topic. Grant is an Associate Professor at Texas Tech University, the Director of the Energy Balance & Body Composition Laboratory, and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and Certified Sports Nutritionist (CISSN). He has over 150 peer-reviewed journal articles and abstracts, with his major research interests being sports nutrition strategies, body composition assessment techniques, and intermittent fasting in active populations. Grant and I chat about . . . The role of mTOR, AMPK, and sirtuins in aging Metabolic age versus chronological age Rodent metabolism and why we can't apply research in animals to humans Autophagy, how long it takes to ramp up with fasting, and whether it matters Who should try fasting and who could potentially benefit Fasting's effects on muscle retention And more . . . So, if you’re interested in the science of fasting’s effects on longevity and how seriously you should take bold claims about lifespan and time-restricted feeding, check out this podcast and let me know your thoughts! --- Timestamps 0:00 - Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 5:45 - Is intermittent fasting essential for overall health and longevity? 10:11 - What are some of the things that people are looking at in research and are being extrapolated into humans? 16:05 - What are your thoughts on the validity of metabolic aging? 22:36 - What are the benefits of fasting? 25:44 - What are some reasons I should consider fasting? 27:26 - What are your thoughts on fasting increasing longevity? 35:23 - How long do you have to fast for to make a meaningful health difference? 41:25 - Does fasting cause muscle loss? 49:03 - What are your thoughts on the importance of minimizing mTOR to maximize longevity? 1:01:30 - Where can people find you? --- Mentioned on the Show: Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! Grant’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grant_tinsley_phd Grant’s Website: www.granttinsley.com

Mushroom supplements are more popular than ever. For really the last couple of years more and more influential people have been claiming that these supplements offer a wide range of benefits including improving your cardiovascular, metabolic, and brain health, reducing your risk of disease and dysfunction, improving athletic performance, and much more. But not everyone is so gung-ho about them. Fungi skeptics claim that the benefits of these supplements are often oversold and are not scientifically proven. Instead, they're based more just on folk wisdom rather than hard evidence. So in this podcast, you’re going to hear evidence-based answers. We’re going to talk about who is right, or at least who is more right than wrong given the current weight of the total evidence available to us. And I’ll be covering several types of popular mushroom supplements, including reishi, turkey tail, shiitake, chaga, lion's mane, and cordyceps. So tune in! Timestamps: 0:00 - Try Pulse today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 3:26 - What are the benefits of the reishi mushroom? 7:11 - What are the benefits of turkey tail mushroom supplements? 8:10 - Do shiitake mushrooms have any health benefits? 8:57 - What are the benefits of the chaga mushroom? 10:23 - What are the benefits of lion's mane mushroom supplements? 11:55 - Are cordyceps mushrooms beneficial? Mentioned on the Show: Try Pulse today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

I’ve long recommended limiting your saturated fat intake to no more than 10% of your total daily calories. Some people disagree with this, though. In fact, a popular position these days is that saturated fat is a “superfood” and you can eat as much as you want if it’s from certain unprocessed foods. Is that true? What does science say? Does saturated fat cause cardiovascular disease? Is saturated fat from unprocessed food like meat and dairy “good” or “bad”? Find out in this podcast. 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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . Saturated fat in unprocessed foods like beef and dairy is healthy. Timestamps: 0:00 - Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You: www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz 4:31 - What are saturated fats? 5:42 - Are saturated fats a cause of cardiovascular disease? 21:14 - Is it dangerous to consume saturated fats? 22:24 - What are your thoughts on LDLC and cardiovascular disease? Mentioned on the Show: Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You in Just 60 Seconds: http://www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz

In this podcast, I interview Fernando, who read my book Bigger Leaner Stronger and joined my one-on-one coaching program to take his health into his own hands, lose over 55 pounds, and get leaner and stronger than ever before. The improvements to his physique are obvious, but more importantly, Fernando built a more resilient body that made him capable of not only playing with his kids, but taking up mountain biking and avoiding injury. And what he learned about nutrition not only fixed his relationship with food, but allows him to adjust his diet to his needs and get results on command. This is his story. Before finding my work, Fernando was over 230 pounds, sedentary, and so out of shape that he couldn’t play with his kids. That was the trigger that motivated him to finally make a change. He read my book Bigger Leaner Stronger and joined my coaching program, and over the next year, made dramatic improvements to his physique, health, and mindset. In this interview, Fernando and I chat about . . . How he fixed his relationship with food How he strategized cheat meals to not derail his progress became in control of his health How he used his fitness not only to avoid previous everyday pains, but avoid future injuries How he used fitness to take up a new, active hobby, not just to look good Trusting the process, enjoying the journey, and learning to be good enough (not perfect) And more . . . So if you’re looking for a jolt of inspiration and like motivational stories, definitely listen to this episode. Timestamps: 0:00 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip 12:29 - When did you decide to make a change? 14:29 - What were your numbers after following Bigger Leaner Stronger and joining our coaching program? 20:11 - What’s your weekly workout routine? 22:46 - How did my program change your relationship with food? 32:20 - How did you avoid hunger when you were cutting? 39:13 - Did you have any cheat meals? 42:22 - Did anything surprise you with your transformation? 51:42 - Is there anything else you’d like to add? Mentioned on the show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip

Some people will feed your fears and mock your missteps. Let them. Let them see you take a stand anyway and overcome the odds. Listen to this podcast for a bit of motivational inspiration! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 2:48 - Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You: www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz Mentioned on the Show: Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You in Just 60 Seconds: http://www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz

Why are calves so hard to grow? Are cool downs necessary? Can Bulgarian split squats replace barbell squats? When will I do a live, in-person meet-and-greet? Why do some people find the carnivore diet so helpful? How can you maintain progress while on an international vacation? All that and more in this Q&A podcast. Over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - My free quiz to answer all your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz 1:54 - Boxers or briefs? 2:15 - Why are your workouts so boring? 5:12 - Is experimenting with testosterone worth it? 7:48 - Cable flyes or dips? 8:09 - Why are calves so hard to grow? 10:29 - How can I pay you back for changing my life? 11:20 - How important are cool downs? Can I skip them? 12:29 - Why did you jack up the price of your protein powder? 14:39 - Should a 145 pound man with 14% body fat lifting for the first time start with a bulk or a cut? 19:03 - Does the progressive overload principle apply to accessory exercises? 21:24 - What can I do to maintain my progress while on an international vacation? 22:16 - Would you ever do a U.S. meet and greet “tour” of some sort? 23:09 - Why do you think the carnivore diet has so many positive testimonials if it’s mostly bs? 24:33 - When is Bigger Leaner Stronger Vol. 4 coming out? 26:44 - Are Bulgarian split squats a permanent substitute for the barbell back squat? 27:23 - How should you incorporate a 1 rep max into your routine? 28:51 - Would you do 4-6 reps even for isolation exercises? 30:23 - Is it common that 10 reps of deadlift feels like hell in Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger? --- Mentioned on the Show: Take this free quiz to get science-based answers to all of your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz

Whether you realize it or not, you’re operating according to a worldview. Your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are all influenced by how you make sense of the world, and so, that worldview determines your quality of life. If that concept sounds interesting, and if you enjoyed my previous philosophical conversations with my friend Pat Flynn, you’re going to enjoy this podcast. Pat is a repeat guest not only because I find our discussions entertaining, but I’ve gotten great feedback from listeners who like hearing about these deeper, philosophical topics we wade through. Plus, I believe examining these “big” questions can help us live a better life. Not only is Pat a fitness guru with an expertise in kettlebells, but he’s an author, philosopher, and host of multiple podcasters. Specifically, his Philosophy For the People podcast aims to breakdown difficult ideas and make them more accessible, so he’s the perfect guest to discuss these health-adjacent topics. In our discussion, we talk about . . . What a worldview is and why it matters The fallacy of Bulverism Personal responsibility and how much can you change your worldview The problem of evil and whether suffering is necessary How to make sense of scenarios involving “dueling experts” And a lot more . . . So, if you’ve never thought much about your worldview, want to learn more about what it is and why it matters, or if any of this just makes you curious, listen to this podcast! Timestamps: 0:00 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip 4:43 - What are your thoughts on worldviews and how that impacts our quality of life? 11:06 - How do you define a worldview? 12:34 - What’s the difference between polytheism and pantheism? 33:00 - Do you need to believe in an ultimate meaning to life to do the “right thing” and to be a “good person”? 46:59 - How much is someone’s worldview a reflection of who they are? 58:12 - What are your thoughts when something bad happens to someone? Do you think they did something to cause that? 1:02:22 - If something bad randomly happens to you, how do you interpret that? 1:03:38 - Is there anything else you would like to add? 1:05:33 - Do you have any resources for people who are new to all of this? Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip Philosophy For the People podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/philosophy-for-the-people/id1639532152 The Pat Flynn Show: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pat-flynn-show/id1253261458 Chronicles of Strength: https://www.chroniclesofstrength.com/

Let’s talk about a controversial condition: adrenal fatigue. This term describes a syndrome that people supposedly suffer from in response to prolonged stress. Long-term stress puts undue strain on your adrenal glands, which can cause them to stop functioning correctly, causing lethargy and other negative effects on your health and body composition. This sounds like a plausible theory, but it’s highly controversial in the medical world, primarily because there is no explicit scientific evidence that adrenal fatigue exists. And so in this podcast, I’m going to look at the broader body of research on adrenal function and fatigue. Let's see what we can learn about this theory of adrenal fatigue and whether it’s worthy of further consideration. Timestamps: 0:00 - My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ 3:37 - What is adrenal fatigue? 6:05 - What are symptoms of adrenal fatigue? 8:03 - Is adrenal fatigue real? 14:19 - What are your final thoughts on adrenal fatigue? Mentioned on the Show: My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/

I hope you and yours are relishing many moments of joyous merriment, reveling in all of their pine-scented butter-lubed and tinsel-laden glory. In this podcast, I’m wishing you a merry Christmas and happy holidays, and laying out all of the wondrous gifts I’m planning to bring next year. So, press play to hear about new flavors of Pulse, Recharge, Whey+, and more, new tools on my blog, new podcasts, new books, and more! And also because this really cannot be said enough, thank you. Bless your cotton socks for your support this year. Oh and don't count calories today. Not on Christmas. Feast, drink, and hug your loved ones. Timestamps: 0:00 - A holiday message 4:16 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! Mentioned on the Show: Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe!

In this installment of the Best of Muscle For Life, you’ll hear hand-picked clips from three popular MFL episodes: an interview with Austin Current on the science of strength training, a monologue on how to easily and accurately calculate your body fat percentage, and a Motivation Monday episode on getting fired up for your workouts. Some people—my favorite people—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 do at least a little better inside and outside the gym. That’s why I do “best of” episodes that contain a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from the more popular episodes I’ve published over the years. This way, you can learn interesting insights that you might have otherwise missed and find new episodes of the show to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Austin Current on Understanding the Science of Strength Training (Originally published 9/1/2021) How to Calculate Your Body Fat Percentage Easily & Accurately (Originally published 6/3/2019) Motivation Monday: 6 Reasons to Get Fired Up For Your Workout (Originally published 4/16/2018) And we’ll be starting with number one, Austin Current on Understanding the Science of Strength Training. Timestamps: 0:00 -  My free meal planning tool: buylegion.com/mealplan 5:24 - Austin Current on Understanding the Science of Strength Training 20:16 - How to Calculate Your Body Fat Percentage Easily & Accurately 31:17 - Motivation Monday: 6 Reasons to Get Fired Up For Your Workout Mentioned on the Show: Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free!

I’m often asked about how to make time for fitness when life gets in the way. It’s an especially common question from new parents looking for tips on getting fit or maintaining fitness. Life can be especially hectic for new parents and your health and gym time often take a backseat when your schedule feels out of control. So, this podcast is chockfull of practical tips for staying healthy, rested, and in shape not just as a parent, but as a busy person in general. I’m interviewing Ben Coomber, who’s not only a fitness professional, coach, nutritionist, educator, and father, but also a podcaster, motivational speaker, and all-around driven guy who runs several of his own businesses. He also just wrote a book that offers a step-by-step formula for transforming your life and finding more fulfillment and success regardless of how busy you are. Ben first appeared on my podcast in 2015, and in his triumphant return, we discuss . . . His new book How to Live an Awesome Life and what he felt he could uniquely contribute to the self-help genre The importance of making time for yourself and finding inspiration Navigating family, a demanding job, and your own health His experience with long covid Why it’s necessary to adjust your fitness expectations after having kids Tips for meal prepping with young children Dealing with sub-optimal sleep And more . . . So, if you’re a busy person who’s looking for ways to improve your health, optimize your schedule, or just find a way to get fit, you’re going to enjoy this discussion! Press play and let me know your thoughts! Timestamps 0:00 - Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 7:23 - Can you tell us about your new book? 9:19 - What are some of the tools in the book? 13:35 - Are there things that you’ve subtracted in your life that have made a significant difference? 17:41 - What do you find inspiring in life? 19:20 - Do you struggle with forcing yourself to do things you enjoy or is it easier to keep working more? 20:51 - What time of the day are you the most creative? 24:42 - What happened when you got COVID? 34:59 -  How do you stay fit when you have kids? 52:53 - Is there anything you would like to add? 56:07 - What does your meal plan look like for you? 1:03:12 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on the Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! Ben’s Website: https://bencoomber.com/ Ben’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenCoomber Ben’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bencoomber/

Who else can vividly remember the satisfaction of the moment when you realized that your warm-up sets used to be your working sets? Or that you don’t have to choose between looks and health and can just train for both? In this podcast, I’m sharing some fun fitness wins that will help you remember how far you’ve come in your fitness journey and help keep you motivated. Listen and let me know what you think! --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 2:48 - Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You: www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz --- Mentioned on the Show: Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You in Just 60 Seconds: http://www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz

What’s the best rep range for newbies? Should you do long fasts? How do sleep problems affect muscle gain and fat loss? How often should you refeed while cutting? How can women be healthy while minimizing weight gain during pregnancy? All that and more in this Q&A podcast. Over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Join my podcast giveaway! http://muscleforlife.show/giveaway 2:09 - What is your motivation to keep training since your strength gain has drastically slowed down? 7:16 - Would you recommend 8 to12 or 4 to 6 reps for slim newbies during the first steps? 14:19 - What are your thoughts on long fasts done regularly for 48 hours or longer? 16:26 - How often should refeed days happen? 19:32 - Does sleep apnea have a big effect on muscle gain and fat loss or is it minimal? 20:30 - How can women be healthy and minimize weight gain during pregnancy? 21:17 - Do I need specific gym shoes or do running shoes work? 21:52 - What are some of the signs your body needs to reverse diet? --- Mentioned on the Show: I’m giving away over $1,000 worth of prizes to commemorate the 1,000th episode of Muscle For Life! Join the giveaway here: http://muscleforlife.show/giveaway

How little training can you get away with while still making progress or at least maintaining what you’ve already built? There’s been a recent trend in the fitness space that more training volume is better. That’s great if you have lots of time to train, but not everyone wants to spend as much time as possible in the gym. In fact, many people want to know how to optimize their training so they can get more out of less. So, how little training can they get away with? The answer is that it’s less than many people think, and that’s what you’re going to learn about in this podcast. Returning to the podcast is John North, and we’re discussing minimalist training and time-efficient workouts. In case you’re not familiar with John, he and I have been working together behind the scenes for years on articles, books, podcasts, and other content. In fact, he’s the Director of Content for Legion. He’s also completed over 100 triathlons and cross-country, cycling, and adventure races, has squatted and deadlifted over 400 pounds and bench pressed over 300 pounds, and has researched and written for over a dozen organizations, including the National Institutes of Health. So he walks the walk and know a thing or two about both endurance and strength training, and helping people get into the best shape of their lives. In our discussion about minimalist training programs, we chat about . . . Quality versus quantity when it comes to your workouts The “minimum effective dose” of training depending on your goals and experience level How to program short workouts and create effective minimalist programs Training frequency and splitting up longer workouts into shorter daily sessions How much training is needed to maintain your physique And more . . . So, if you’re curious about how much training you really need to do to make progress or just maintain your size and strength, and how to program minimal workouts, you’re going to enjoy this podcast! --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Join my podcast giveaway! http://muscleforlife.show/giveaway 6:10 - Could you do 15-30 minutes of strength training per day and still produce decent results? 13:18 - Is there significant benefits to training seven 15 minute strength training workouts as opposed to doing two or three longer strength training workouts? 20:17 - What is that threshold range? 35:09 - How would you program shorter workouts? 39:28 - If you’re working out 3 days per week, do you recommend a full-body or split routine? 1:02:36 - Is there anything you would like to add? 1:18:54 - Where can people find your work? --- Mentioned on the show: I’m giving away over $1,000 worth of prizes to commemorate the 1,000th episode of Muscle For Life! Join the giveaway here: http://muscleforlife.show/giveaway

Refined oils (and especially vegetable and seed oils) have become a big part of the Western diet, and they’re generating a lot of controversy these days. Especially on social media, many people are saying that these oils are one of the driving factors in the large increase in various diseases like cancer, diabetes, and obesity. Do we need to eliminate refined oils from our diet altogether? If we don't, are we imperiling our health and dramatically increasing our risk of various types of disease and dysfunction? This podcast is my evidence-based answer to those types of claims and to the questions that more and more people are asking me these days about these oils. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Join my podcast giveaway! www.muscleforlife.show/giveaway 2:16 - What are refined oils? 3:20 - What happens to our body when we eat refined oils? 8:58 - How do refined oils oxidize when you cook them? 11:24 - What are the cardiovascular effects of refined oils? 13:19 - What are trans fat? 15:48 - What is your position on refined oils? --- Mentioned on the Show: I’m giving away over $1,000 worth of prizes to commemorate the 1,000th episode of Muscle For Life! Join the giveaway here: www.muscleforlife.show/giveaway

Is reverse pyramid training (RPT) the best way to periodize training for most people? What are the pros and cons compared to the double progression and linear progression schemes I recommend in my books? In what circumstances would I recommend reverse pyramid training instead? Find out in this podcast. 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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . Reverse pyramid training is better than double progression and linear progression and is the best way to periodize your training. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Join my podcast giveaway! http://muscleforlife.show/giveaway 3:08 - What is reverse pyramid training? 10:58 - What are the benefits of reverse pyramid training? 19:52 - What are the downsides of reverse pyramid training? 32:26 - What are your final thoughts on reverse pyramid training? --- Mentioned on the Show: I’m giving away over $1,000 worth of prizes to commemorate the 1,000th episode of Muscle For Life! Join the giveaway here: http://muscleforlife.show/giveaway

In this podcast, I interview Enrique, who read my book Bigger Leaner Stronger and joined my VIP one-on-one coaching program to take all the guesswork out of his training and nutrition and get leaner and stronger than ever before. And here’s the kicker: he also managed to quit smoking and excessive drinking. As a result, Enrique is now fitter and healthier at 40 years old than he was at 25. In fact, Enrique has enjoyed the coaching program so much and gotten so much out of it, he’s stayed on as a client since 2016 for the accountability. Before finding my work, Enrique’s party lifestyle caught up with him in his 30s, and he was overweight and out of shape. But once he read my book, got over the simplicity, and began following the program, he made such fast progress that he was motivated to take it to the next level and hire one of my coaches. In the next 4 months, he went from squatting just the barbell to squatting his bodyweight, all while losing 45 pounds. In this interview, Enrique and I chat about . . . What motivated him to finally get in shape How he got down to 8% body fat without going hungry How his meal plan took all the unnecessary thinking out of his daily life (while still allowing him to enjoy food) How being part of the coaching program motivated him to quit drinking and smoking How he navigated a shoulder injury to keep making progress And more . . . So if you’re looking for a jolt of inspiration and like motivational stories, definitely listen to this episode. Timestamps: 0:00 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip 3:05 - What was your health and fitness journey like before you started the program? 8:52 - How was the muscle growth and strength building experience? 10:43 - What helped you the most with being consistent in the kitchen and in the gym? 20:20 - Were you aggressive with your calorie deficit? 27:11 - How did you overcome bad lifestyle habits? 32:59 - Where was your strength before the coaching program? 33:29 - What did your workout schedule look like? 35:57 - Have you had any significant obstacles during your training? 41:15 - How was the transition from training by yourself to training with a personal coach? 45:34 - How has it been since you restarted the program? 50:19 - What are your fitness plans? Mentioned on the show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip

Decades of psychological research has demonstrated that we construct our worldview based on what we pay attention to, not what is. Want to see for yourself? Try the simple experiment I share in this podcast and you’ll see we have far more control over our emotions than we often think. In fact, we can “turn on” positivity almost on command by simply controlling our attention. Listen to this podcast and let me know what you think! --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 2:48 - My free quiz to answer all your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz --- Mentioned on the Show: Take this free quiz to get science-based answers to all of your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz

What’s my favorite workout split? Is maintenance worth it or should you cut and bulk until you reach your goal? When should you start using a weightlifting belt? When will I release a kids multivitamin? Is plant protein as good as whey? What’s the difference between training and exercise? All that and more in this Q&A podcast. Over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Save up to 30% during our Black Friday Sale! https://buylegion.com/ 3:22 - Is Legion’s Plant+ just as effective as Whey+? 11:23 - What is your favorite workout split and what is your current workout split? 20:59 - When does it get better? 21:20 -  Will you release toddler/kids multivitamins soon? 22:21 - When should I start using a weightlifting belt? 25:30 - Do you believe in maintenance phases when you are cutting 60-80 pounds? 32:10 - What is your best tip for younger lifters? 32:49 - How do you differentiate training and exercise? --- Mentioned on the Show: Save up to 30% during our Black Friday Sale! Go to buylegion.com and use coupon code MUSCLE to save even more or get double reward points!

Do people respond differently to the same training? How big of a range is there? Is there such a thing as a non-responder? How can you know if you’re a high-responder or low-responder (hardgainer) to training? How should your starting point affect your workout programming? If you’ve ever wondered these things or had similar questions, you’re in good company, because they’re things I’m often asked. You’re also going to enjoy this podcast because I’m interviewing Chris Barakat all about individual responses to training. In our discussion, we chat about . . . What a high-responder is and what being one means for total muscular potential Individual training response differences in the scientific literature and in studies he was directly involved in How inconsistency holds back gains despite being “advanced” in training years Signs to look for if you're wondering about your training potential Individual differences in strength endurance How starting points should be taken into account with your training program And more . . . If you’re not familiar with Chris, he’s a published scientist, educator, coach, and natural bodybuilder, and he’s a repeat guest on the podcast for good reason. His years of developing his book smarts along with his practical knowledge of gym know-how means he knows how to get results while also having something interesting to say, and I always learn something new in our chats. So, if you want to learn about the variation in individual responses to training and how to apply that knowledge to your own programming, listen to this podcast! Timestamps 0:00 - Save up to 30% during our Black Friday Sale! https://buylegion.com/ 5:04 - What does it mean to be a hard gainer or a high responder to strength training? 19:55 - What’s the cause of some people getting weaker and smaller when training? 29:56 - Can someone’s genetic potential be so low that they can’t gain muscle and strength? 32:39 - What are the signs that you are a high or low responder? 43:35 - Should our strength starting points be taken into account when looking for a training program? 59:32 - Anything else you would like to add? 1:02:54 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on the Show: Save up to 30% during our Black Friday Sale! Go to buylegion.com and use coupon code MUSCLE to save even more or get double reward points! Chris Barakat’s Website: https://schoolofgainz.com/ Chris Barakat’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christopher.barakat/

Do you have or know someone who has diastasis recti? This is when the abdominal muscles separate, which causes abdominal pain, abdominal weakness, and visual abnormalities. It’s especially prevalent during the late stages of pregnancy and childbirth, and while this condition can resolve itself and often does, at least partially, there are things you can do to accelerate the process or complete the process if it has been a while and your abs have not gone back to normal, they have not fully closed. So in this podcast, you’re going to learn what diastasis recti is, how to check for it, and how to correct it. I'm also going to share some excellent exercises you can do to help fix it, as well as a six week training program, and more. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Save up to 30% during our Black Friday Sale! https://buylegion.com/ 3:20 - What is diastasis recti? 4:59 - How do you know if you have diastasis recti? 7:19 - How can you fix diastasis recti? 8:48 - What are some things that help correct this? 13:18 - What are some breathing and pelvic floor exercises that help? 16:41 - How do you turn those exercises into a workout routine? 18:35 - What are some exercises that help with diastasis recti after child birth? 21:09 - Can diet help with recovery? --- Mentioned on the Show: Save up to 30% during our Black Friday Sale! Go to buylegion.com and use coupon code MUSCLE to save even more or get double reward points!

In this installment of the Best of Muscle For Life, you’ll hear hand-picked clips from three popular MFL episodes: an interview with Dr. Spencer Nadolsky on improving thyroid health and function, a chapter from the audiobook of Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger about the “almost nearly perfect” diet, and a Book Club episode on The Magic of Thinking Big. Some people—my favorite people—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 do at least a little better inside and outside the gym. That’s why I do “best of” episodes that contain a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from the more popular episodes I’ve published over the years. This way, you can learn interesting insights that you might have otherwise missed and find new episodes of the show to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Dr. Spencer Nadolsky on Improving Thyroid Health and Function (Originally published 7/24/2020) The Almost Nearly Perfect Diet (Originally published 10/12/2020) Book Club: The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz (Originally published 10/13/2017) And we’ll be starting with number one, Dr. Spencer Nadolsky on Improving Thyroid Health and Function. Timestamps: 0:00 - Save up to 30% during our Black Friday Sale! https://buylegion.com/ 5:51 - Dr. Spencer Nadolsky on Improving Thyroid Health and Function 18:43 - The Almost Nearly Perfect Diet 28:36 - Book Club: The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz Mentioned on the Show: Save up to 30% during our Black Friday Sale! Go to buylegion.com and use coupon code MUSCLE to save even more or get double reward points!

I’m often asked about training shoes. For example, is it worth investing in weightlifting shoes with an elevated heel for squats? Should you deadlift in those shoes, or is it better to pull barefoot? What about minimalist, “barefoot-style” shoes? And to be honest, fitness footwear isn’t something I’ve spent a lot of time looking into, so I wanted to invite an expert in the field onto the podcast to discuss the topic. That’s why Jake Boly is joining me for an interview in this episode, to not only explain the differences between fitness shoes, why they matter, and what to look for in a pair gym shoes based on your training, but to also give specific model recommendations. In case you’re not familiar with Jake, he’s the founder of That Fit Friend, a site dedicated to testing and reviewing the best training shoes and apparel, and creating content to help people make informed buying decisions. A lot of review content out there is nothing more than undercover marketing and paid advertising, but Jake actually runs the gear through the ringer and puts it to the test in real-life both inside and outside the gym, so he can give a genuine, useful review of its performance. In this interview, Jake and I talk about . . . What to look for in a training shoe The different types of shoes, including different materials and construction and how they impact performance and durability Who should use weightlifting shoes What heel drop is, why it matters, and how it affects your squats and deadlifts Barefoot training and "barefoot" style shoes Specific recommendations of models to check out Signs you might not have the right pair of shoes And more . . . So if you want to learn what to look for in a pair of shoes for the gym or other types of training, listen to this interview! Timestamps 0:00 - Save up to 30% during our Black Friday Sale! https://buylegion.com/ 6:54 - What should we be looking for in training shoes? 12:55 - Have you reviewed any shoes that are the best for certain training exercises? 22:41 - Do we need proper weight lifting shoes? Does it really make a difference? 28:46 - Are there any other benefits to wearing weightlifting shoes? 39:36 - What are your thoughts on weightlifting with no shoes? 45:43 - Is there any truth to the marketing of running shoes? 48:03 - What are common signs that your running shoes aren’t right for you? 49:53 - Are shin splints caused by shoe type? 1:02:50 - Is there anything else you would like to add? 1:04:35 - Where can people find you? 1:05:27 - Are there any shoes or companies that are terrible? 1:07:54 - Are there any popular shoes that you don’t recommend? Mentioned on the Show: Save up to 30% during our Black Friday Sale! Go to buylegion.com and use coupon code MUSCLE to save even more or get double reward points! Jake’s website: thatfitfriend.com Jake’s Youtube channel: https://youtube.com/jakebolytraining/ Jake’s Instagram: https://instagram.com/jake_boly/

Is the morning the best time to lift weights? What does the research say about training in the evening instead? How big of a difference is there in muscle growth and performance between early morning and night workouts? What role does personal preference play? I’ll answer all these questions and more in this podcast. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 5:19 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip --- Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip

How lean can you get without cardio? Are farmer’s walks beneficial? When will Legion be in retail stores? How much fat should you eat every day? Should you get blood work done or check your testosterone levels? Can you use a neutral grip on the dumbbell bench press? Should you do fulcrum deadlifts? All that and more in this Q&A podcast. Over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - My free meal planning tool: buylegion.com/mealplan 2:50 - Why is birthday cake Legion Whey + so damn tasty? 4:06 - Is it important to get testosterone tested when you’re young for future comparison? 6:27 - It’s been four weeks and I’ve lost eight pounds on the scale. Why can’t I see the difference in the mirror? 8:53 - On dumbbell press, flat, and incline, should I do neutral grip or pronated? 9:36 - What is the recommended daily fat intake? 10:20 - What are your thoughts on farmers walks? Are they beneficial enough to add to my program? 10:55 - When will Legion supplements be sold in stores? 14:19 - What are your thoughts on fulcrum deadlifts? Are they worth it or are they just another fad? 15:07 - Do you ever do pull ups or calisthenics as part of your training? 15:41 - What is the best way to deadlift without hitting your junk at the top of the exercise? 16:00 - My uncle got triple vaccinated and shortly after became a cuckold. Is that correlation or causation? 16:23 - What is the ideal rest period between sets for hypertrophy? 18:19 - How low can you get body fat percentage with good diet and training with no cardio? --- Mentioned on the Show: Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free!

Does training at different muscle lengths affect how quickly the muscles grow? In this interview, Menno Henselmans and I discuss new research on stretch-mediated hypertrophy and the role muscle lengths play in combination with mechanical tension. This is something Mike Israetel and I briefly touched on in our recent interview on partial reps versus full-ROM training, but in this discussion, Menno and I talk about the latest science of resistance training at long muscle lengths, including a new meta-analysis that isn’t published yet. Menno has been on my podcast many times on my podcast, but in case you’re not familiar with him, he’s a former business consultant turned international public speaker, educator, writer, published scientist, and physique coach who’s passionate about helping serious athletes attain their ideal physiques. In this interview, Menno and I talk about . . . What stretch-mediated hypertrophy is, possible mechanisms behind it, and whether you should modify your training to incorporate more of it Active tension versus passive tension The actual reason why full-ROM training is effective Specific guidance on how to modify and tweak exercises for more loaded stretching  (including Bayesian curls, flyes, leg extension tips, and “skull-overs”) Static stretching between sets (its effects and whether you should do it) And more . . . So if you want to learn what the science says about training at longer muscle lengths, and how to incorporate more stretch-mediated hypertrophy in your program, definitely check out this interview! --- Timestamps 0:00 - My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ 4:22 - What is stretch-mediated hypertrophy? 6:28 - What is passive tension and active tension? 11:00 - Can muscles get longer, not just bigger? 15:34 - What are your thoughts on modifying full range of motion training? 28:06 - Are there modifications to exercises that can make them more efficient? 42:21 - What are your thoughts on different height positions for flyes? 45:03 - Can you explain skull overs? 48:17 - Are there any other modifications you want to cover? 50:15 - Does the position of the wrists affect pec activation? 58:22 - Where can we find you? -- Mentioned on the Show: My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ Menno’s Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmO2dykYM3nlb5BtsXxp9ZQ Menno’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mennohenselmans Menno’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/menno.henselmans/

You may have heard of the Smolov squat program, which is a high-volume, high-frequency specialization routine intended to boost your squat fast. It’s also supremely difficult. So, is it worth the effort, or is it just an exercise in masochism? In this podcast, you’re going to learn what the Smolov program is, whether you should try it, how to do the program correctly if you do want to give it a shot, and more. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You: www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz 1:59 - What is the Smolov program? 3:18 - Who shouldn’t do the Smolov program? 5:36 - How does the Smolov program work? 9:06 - What does the Smolov training program look like? 19:08 - Will this help you build muscle? 20:10 - How effective is the Smolov program? 20:39 - What is the Smolov Junior training program? 21:08 - Can you train other body parts while following the Smolov program? 24:19 - How do you do the calculations to follow the program? -- Mentioned on the Show: Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You in Just 60 Seconds: http://www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz

Some people claim eating fruit is a problem because modern fruit is very different from the fruit humans were eating thousands of years ago. Not only is modern fruit larger and more sugary, they say, but now we’re eating a much larger quantity and variety of fruit than we ever did. This is contributing to obesity and other diseases. Is there any truth to these claims? Is modern fruit that different from ancient fruit? Does it matter? Find out in this podcast. 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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . Modern fruit is a problem because it’s very different from the fruit humans were eating thousands of years ago. Modern fruit is contributing to obesity and other types of disease. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Check out my new probiotic, Biome! https://buylegion.com/biome 2:35 - Is fruit bad for you? 4:06 - Is there too much sugar in modern fruits? --- Mentioned on the Show: My new probiotic, Biome, is here! Check it out: https://buylegion.com/biome Biome is the only 100% natural probiotic supplement with clinically effective doses of 4 scientifically proven ingredients for improving the health and function of your digestive system, including your gut barrier, and promoting a leaner body composition. Grab a bottle here: https://buylegion.com/biome

What’s the best way to end a cut once you’ve reached your body fat goal? Should you slowly ramp up calories and reap the purported benefits of a reverse diet, or is that a waste of time or worse, potentially negative? Is it better to increase your calorie intake right to maintenance, or will that result in gaining back the fat you lost due to metabolic adaptation? There’s been a bit of controversy in the fitness space in recent years over reverse dieting. In fact, it’s something I’ve changed my mind about over the years as the research panned out. In this interview, I chat with Cody McBroom about the science of reverse dieting and when it makes sense for everyday fitness folks. Because while there’s no denying the usefulness of science and fitness research, real life isn’t a laboratory. Unscientific methods can still prove useful, and sometimes for surprising reasons. So what does the science say about reverse dieting, and how does that compare with the practical utility of slowly increasing calories after a cut? Cody is a repeat-guest on my show, but in case you’re not familiar with him, he’s the CEO and founder of the Tailored Coaching Method, a lifestyle training and nutrition coaching company (that also coaches how to coach), and host of the Tailored Life podcast. In other words, Cody not only has a background in evidence-based fitness, but also years of in-the-trenches experience working with clients and figuring out what works and what doesn’t in the real world. In this interview, Cody and I talk about . . . What reverse dieting is, the purported benefits, and what science says about it How a slow increase in calories can affect dietary compliance and self control when ending a cut How people respond differently to eating more food Who can benefit from a reverse diet, why, and whether you should do one Reverse diets versus recovery diets The negative effects of calorie deficits and how to know if it’s time to reverse diet And more . . . So, if you want to learn what science says about reverse dieting, how reverse dieting pans out in the real world, whether you should reverse diet, and a lot more, don’t skip this episode! --- Timestamps 0:00 - Try Triton today! Go to https://buylegion.com/triton and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 12:15 - What are your thoughts on reverse dieting? 43:02 - How lean do you need to get before you start running into issues? 51:58 - Have you worked with people that can slowly increase their maintenance calories over time and maintain their body composition? --- Mentioned on the Show: Try Triton today! Go to https://buylegion.com/triton and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! The Tailored Life Podcast: https://tailoredcoachingmethod.com/podcast/ Cody McBroom’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cody.boomboom/ Cody’s website: https://tailoredcoachingmethod.com/

Do 95% of diets fail, or is the problem dieters? Does counting calories give you an eating disorder? Is it possible to be in a calorie deficit for years without losing weight? In this podcast, you’re going to hear a bunch of common, bad diet takes. Listen to this podcast and let me know your thoughts! What bad diet takes have you heard? --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 3:44 - Try Recharge today! Go to https://buylegion.com/recharge and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! --- Mentioned on the Show: Try Recharge today! Go to https://buylegion.com/recharge and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

Should women use different rep ranges from men? What’re the best hamstring exercises? Should women use heavier weights? What’s my skin care routine and why is my workout playlist so good? How much protein you can absorb and digest in one meal? Should you take EAAs? How do I maintain energy levels throughout the day? Is setian a good source of protein? All that and more in this Q&A podcast. Over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - My free quiz to answer all your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz 2:44 - Why are you doing 8-10 reps instead of 4? 6:18 - In TLS you suggest 8-10 reps at 70% of 1RM. Is there a problem with women doing 4-6 reps? 8:00 - When should I start cutting and start lean bulking? 9:15 - What are the most effective mass building exercises for hamstrings? 9:30 - How is your playlist so awesome? 9:48 - Have you dealt with acne? 12:25 - How many midgets can you incapacitate in a UFC ring before they overcame you? 12:50 - How much protein can your body take at once? 13:37 - Is Legion developing a monkey pox vaccine? 14:01 - Do you directly train the lateral head of the triceps or just the long head? 14:26 - Is it okay to get around half of daily protein intake from protein powder? 15:03 - Are squat shoes a good investment for a strength athlete? 15:31 - Is it necessary to take essential amino acids if you are taking protein shakes before and after your workouts? 16:27 - How do you personally maintain energy throughout the day? 20:21 - Is seitan a good source of protein? 21:39 - Can you please reiterate your stance on intermittent fasting and what are the best Legion supplements to assist? 24:17 - Until when is 4-6 reps viable for muscle building? 25:38 - What is the gold ratio for muscle size proportions? 27:02 - Out of 100, how messed up is the world right now? 27:49 - Why do you include how much BCAA’s are in your Whey+ if you don’t believe they have much benefit? -- Mentioned on the Show: Take this free quiz to get science-based answers to all of your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz

In this podcast, I chat with scientist and friend Dr. Bill Campbell about training volume. There’s a recent trend in the fitness space that more volume is always better. Is that always true, though? And if you do want to increase your volume, what’s the best way to do it? You’re going to learn all that and more in this interview. In case you’re not familiar with Dr. Campbell, he’s a professor of Exercise Science and the Director of the Performance & Physique Enhancement Laboratory at the University of South Florida, who’s also published more than 150 scientific papers. He also recently started a research review in which he examines scientific papers and breaks them down into simple, actionable takeaways. In other words, Dr. Campbell has long been behind the scenes, conducting research on practical, fitness-related matters and helping people apply the latest findings to get us more jacked. In this interview, Bill and I talk about . . . The right way to count volume (sets, tonnage, etc.) The practical limits of increasing volume (and how to increase volume the right way) The utility of “test days” and training to failure every so often The drawbacks of training to failure (especially for athletes) Why rest times between sets matter How to count indirect volume for muscle groups And more . . . So, if you want to learn what the latest science says about training volume and if you should adjust your workout programming, don’t miss this episode! --- Timestamps 0:00 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip 5:29 - Can you tell us about your research review? 9:11 - Where can people find that? 9:36 - Does more volume help you build more muscle? 15:07 - What are some of the drawbacks of the tonnage method? 18:24 - What are your thoughts on the studies that conclude that more and more volume is better? 28:04 - In this study, were there instances where the individualized leg grew more than the non individualized leg? 30:03 - What are your thoughts on increasing volume relative to where you’re at? Is there a ceiling to potential muscle growth that volume can stimulate? 36:29 - At what point is it not practical to increase volume per week? 41:44 - Why do you suggest training to around 3 reps left as opposed to training to failure? 48:59 - What are your thoughts on shorter rest times in between sets to save time? 51:49 - Why do we need to rest for 3 minutes in between hard sets? 54:18  - What is a good method to increasing volume and why would a person want to? 58:13 - Can you elaborate on decreasing and increasing volume? 1:00:47 - How should people choose between a direct or indirect volume training program? 1:08:03 - Is there anything you would like to mention? 1:10:58 - Where can we find you and your work? --- Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip Bill Campbell’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/billcampbellphd/ Bill’s website: https://www.billcampbellphd.com/

Did you know that people with stronger forearms live longer? It’s true. Grip strength is associated with lower all-cause mortality. A stronger grip is also vital for progressing on pushing and pulling exercises like the bench press, overhead press, and any type of deadlift. Of course, strong forearms look nice, too. You can have great biceps, triceps, and shoulders, but it's just not complete if your forearms aren't also up to the mark. So in this podcast, I'm going to teach you everything you know about working out your forearms. I'm going to share some of my favorite forearm exercises and some example workout programming so that you can put this information into use right away. So press play and start building some “Popeye” forearms! :) Timestamps: 0:00 - Save up to 40% during our Halloween Sale! https://buylegion.com/ 2:43 - What kind of muscle is the forearm? 3:33 - Why do we want strong flexors and extensors? 6:14 - What are the benefits of strong forearms? 7:01 - How should I train my forearms? 8:21 - What are some forearm exercises? 11:35 - How do we take those exercises and turn them into a workout program? 16:21 - Are there any forearm workout tools or equipment? Mentioned on the Show: Save up to 40% during our Halloween Sale! Go to buylegion.com and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on any non-sale items or get double reward points!

In this installment of the Best of Muscle For Life, you’ll hear hand-picked clips from three popular MFL episodes: an interview with Alan Aragon on the science of healthy eating, a monologue on fish oil supplementation, and a motivational episode on what it really takes to be tough. Some people—my favorite people—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 do at least a little better inside and outside the gym. That’s why I do “best of” episodes that contain a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from the more popular episodes I’ve published over the years. This way, you can learn interesting insights that you might have otherwise missed and find new episodes of the show to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Alan Aragon on the Real Science of “Healthy Eating” (Originally published 2/17/2021) This Is the Definitive Guide to Fish Oil Supplementation (Originally published 6/1/2020) Motivation Monday: The Real Secret to Toughness (Probably Isn't What You Think) (Originally published 3/19/2018) And we’ll be starting with number one, Alan Aragon on the Real Science of “Healthy Eating.” --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Save up to 40% during our Halloween Sale! https://buylegion.com/ 4:50 - Alan Aragon on the Real Science of “Healthy Eating” 18:49 - This Is the Definitive Guide to Fish Oil Supplementation 28:14 - Motivation Monday: The Real Secret to Toughness (Probably Isn't What You Think) --- Mentioned on the Show: Save up to 40% during our Halloween Sale! Go to buylegion.com and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on any non-sale items or get double reward points!

In this podcast, I interview Luke, who read my book Bigger Leaner Stronger and did 6 months of Legion’s VIP one-on-one coaching program to finally dial in his training and nutrition, improve his body composition, and get leaner and stronger than ever before. And the best part is he did it while spending less time in the gym, simplifying his fitness regimen, and learning to love the lifestyle. Now, he not only enjoys his training, but looks forward to it every day. Enjoyment is the secret to consistency, which will help Luke continue to make progress and maintain his physique for the rest of his life. Before finding my work, Luke had a “skinny fat” look and spent 2 or 3 hours in the gym per day. But through educating himself with my book and following the program of his coach, Nick, he was able to get down to 8% body fat, and get stronger than he’s ever been. In this interview, Luke and I chat about . . . How he cut his training time in half while drastically increasing his strength His cardio routine (even though he doesn’t like cardio) The importance of learning to rest more between sets How he adjusted his training to navigate lagging muscle groups and joint tightness and injuries How he learned about nutrition and how he adjusted to eating appropriately sized portions and meals How he learned to love the fitness lifestyle and look forward to his training And more . . . So if you’re looking for a jolt of inspiration and like motivational stories, definitely listen to this episode. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Save up to 40% during our Halloween Sale! www.buylegion.com 3:29 - Where were you on your fitness journey before you found my work? Where are you now? 7:13 - What was your body composition before and after my program? 13:51 - Did you find your new way of training more enjoyable? 22:41 - Which stretches did you find most helpful? 25:47 - What is a safety bar squat? 28:24 - Were there any obstacles in your training? 34:53 - What was the quality of the food you were eating before and during my program? 42:16 - How many pounds did you lose when you cut and how long did it take? 43:57 - What was your go-to cheat meal? 48:05  - What are your fitness plans now? --- Mentioned on the show: Save up to 40% during our Halloween Sale! Go to buylegion.com and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on any non-sale items or get double reward points! Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip

In this podcast, you’re going to learn some very simple health “hacks” you can do right away and start benefiting from immediately. These tips actually work and can make a big difference in your health and well-being. Listen to this podcast and let me know your thoughts! Do you have any of your own hacks? Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 3:44 - The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-little-black-book-of-workout-motivation/ Mentioned on the Show: The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation is a bestselling fitness book that helps you overcome the mental blocks that are keeping you unmotivated, unhappy, and unhealthy: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-little-black-book-of-workout-motivation/

Is coolsculpting legit? Is rest-pause training beneficial? Does casein before bed help with fat loss? Are there any side lateral raise alternatives? Should you build your metabolism before cutting? What’s the best way to deal with “off,” nonproductive days and a lack of motivation? Is there any truth to the idea of vegetables or whole grains being harmful to health? All that and more in this Q&A podcast. Over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - My free meal planning tool: buylegion.com/mealplan 2:49 - Is coolsculpting real? 3:56 - Is there any merit to the carnivore diet claims? 5:42 - What are your favorite shoes for lifting? 7:31 - Is casein before bed good for weight loss? 12:00 - Is rest-pause training good for your shoulders? 13:27 - Can you make more fun flavors of your plant protein? 14:18 - Can you take Recharge with Pulse? 14:49 - What are some movement patterns for side delts? 16:20 - What are your thoughts on the no vegetables and whole grain thinking? 17:51 - Should I start cutting or build my metabolism first? 21:39 - How do you address off days when you’re not motivated or productive at work? --- Mentioned on the Show: Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free!

We’ve all seen the half- or even quarter-squatter in the gym. Maybe you even used to be one of them. And then you may have learned about using a full range of motion, made amends for your sins, and started squatting to parallel (or even ass to grass). Well, what if partial reps actually weren’t so bad after all? What if there was a way to do them that maximized their effectiveness? What if partials could actually be more effective than full ROM training? That’s what I’m talking about in this interview with Dr. Mike Israetel. In case you’re not familiar with Dr. Mike, he’s a repeat guest on my podcast for good reason.  Not only does he have a science background with a PhD in Sport Physiology, but he’s the co-founder of Renaissance Periodization, a successful blog, coaching program, and fitness platform, so he’s worked with thousands of people and definitely knows how to get results. In our discussion, Mike and I chat about . . . What a “full” range of motion is and the pros and cons of partial reps The good and bad reasons to do partials Why effective partials aren't the kind you most often see bodybuilders doing Stretch-mediated hypertrophy and the proper way to do partial reps How to incorporate partial reps in your training and judge their effectiveness Which exercises are best for doing partials And more . . . So, if you’re curious about why you might want to try partial reps and how’d you go about trying them and assessing their effectiveness, listen to this podcast and let me know what you think! --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Try Triumph today! Go to https://buylegion.com/triumph and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 0:36 - Is it always necessary to use full range of motion? 13:10 - What are some reasons not to use partials? 23:50 - How much volume would be reasonable? 25:27 - Do you find yourself doing partial range of motion on an exercise because the full range of motion is less effective? 40:31 - How do I incorporate partial work into my training? 46:35 - What are your thoughts on duration? 55:17 - Which exercises work well with partials? 1:14:31 - Where can people find you and your work? --- Mentioned on the show: Try Triumph today! Go to https://buylegion.com/triumph and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! Mike’s Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/renaissanceperiodization RP Nutrition Coach Certification: https://info.rpstrength.com/rp-cnc-lvl-1-in-session/

Ignoring your rear delts is a mistake. Many lifters don’t give much thought to training their rear deltoids because out of sight usually means out of mind. However, training your rear delts properly will not only makes your shoulders look better, it may also reduce your risk of injury and improve your athletic performance. So, it’s time for your rear delts to get their due, and I’m going to help. In this podcast, you’ll learn what the rear delts are, why it’s important to train them, four tips to make your rear delt training as effective as possible, and the best rear delt exercises for size and strength. Listen to this podcast to learn what lean bulking is and how to lean bulk correctly, including how to start bulking, how to make a lean bulking meal plan, how to train while bulking, and more! --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Try Fortify today! Go to https://buylegion.com/fortify and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 3:52 - What are rear delts? 6:49 - What are the common mistakes that people make when training their shoulders? 8:25 - Rear delt exercise selection 10:08 - How much volume should you do for your rear delts? 11:52 - How do you progress on rear delt exercises? 15:07 - What are your favorite exercises for training rear delts? --- Mentioned on the Show: Try Fortify today! Go to https://buylegion.com/fortify and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

Some people believe veganism is the future and that it’s inevitable. Will the vegan diet eventually become the most popular diet in the world? Whether it’s due to animal products becoming too expensive or just no longer being available, it’s certainly a possibility. In this podcast, I’m going to address that potential future and why I don’t think the vegan diet will become more popular any time soon. 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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . A vegan diet will (and should) become the dominant diet in the world. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You: www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz 1:48 - What are your thoughts on vegan eating? 3:04 - Will veganism become the dominant diet? --- Mentioned on the Show: Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You in Just 60 Seconds: http://www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz

The fundamental question of “what should we do with our lives and why?” is an interesting one. With life being finite, I’ve long been fascinated with how to make the most of my time. How can we create more satisfying, meaningful, and fulfilling lives? What types of goals should we aim to achieve? Taking care of our bodies and minds through fitness is one avenue, but there’s more to life than muscles. And so I’m excited to share today’s podcast, which is an interview I recorded with Ben Nemtin all about this topic. In case you’re not familiar with Ben, he’s the #1 New York Times best-selling author of What Do You Want To Do Before You Die? and his new book, The Bucket List Journal, is a practical guidebook for turning your goals and dreams into reality. He’s also the co-founder of The Buried Life movement, and is recognized as one of the World’s Best Motivational Speakers, having delivered over 500 keynotes to brands and Fortune 500 companies around the globe. His work has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show, CNN, NBC, FOX, ABC, CBS, and more. In our discussion, Ben and I chat about . . . The value of surrounding yourself with people who inspire you What a “buried life” is and the importance of living authentically to yourself The power of putting your desires on paper The primary reasons people don’t pursue their personal goals Ways to create accountability and how to overcoming fear Using mortality to think about life and motivate yourself The importance of friends and staying in touch with loved ones How to take care of your mental health How to live without regret And more . . . So, if you’re curious about how to foster a more meaningful, satisfying, and fulfilling life, listen to this podcast and let me know what you think! --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip 5:05 - Why did you write this book? 13:02 - What did you learn about yourself through this journey? 15:52 - How do you make time to enjoy your hobbies when you’re trapped in the day-to-day of life? 23:49 - How do you overcome fears? 31:05 - What do you think of the perspective of looking at failures as lessons as oppose to defeat? 37:18 - What is your advice to people who get overwhelmed about future goals? 41:39 - Are there experiences that stand out that were surprisingly meaningful? 48:49 - What is the mental health tool kit? 58:32 - What meaningful experiences changed your life? 1:08:55 - Where can people find you and your work? --- Mentioned on the show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip The Bucket List Journal - https://writeyourlist.com/ Ben’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bennemtin/ Ben’s website: www.bennemtin.com

I’m sharing a collection of simple life “hacks” you can do right now that will improve your happiness, health, success, and well-being. “Hacks” are usually bunk, but these ones actually work and can make a big difference in your life. Listen to this podcast and let me know your thoughts! Do you have any of your own hacks? --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 3:44 - My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ --- Mentioned on the Show: My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/

How can you lose as much fat as possible for an event or vacation a month away? How should you build up to a PR attempt? How can you find your passion? Are sumo deadlifts “cheating?” Should teenagers track calories? Does intermittent fasting improve insulin sensitivity? Lifting advice for people who have to wear suits. All that and more in this Q&A podcast. Over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - My free quiz to answer all your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz 2:04 - Is it true that IF improves insulin sensitivity, and hence, reduces estrogen levels in men? 3:10 - What do you think is causing massive bodybuilder death rates? 3:32 - What is the best full body workout for training 2 times a week? 5:35 - Do you have any lifting advice for people who have to wear suits? Legs are getting too big from squats. 7:05 - Do you have any tips on getting a girlfriend? 9:39 - As a teen, should I track calories as accurately as possible or just focus on whole foods? 10:31 - Is it better to have breakfast before or after training in the morning? 10:52 - If I miss a day of working out, should I make that day up at the end of the week? 11:38 - Are Legion products in the UK? 11:53 - Should I lower the weight and keep more mind muscle connection or should I keep progressively overloading? 12:59 - How do you like Florida vs D.C.? 15:23 - How many reps and sets do I need to perform on the way up to a PR attempt? 16:05 - What are your thoughts on sumo deadlifts? Do you consider them cheating? 16:49 - How do I do a mini cut for a beach vacation one month away? 18:32 - Should I focus on weight lifting or cardio if all I want to do is lose weight? 19:22 - I only have 30 to 60 minutes a day to work out, what should I prioritize? 20:02 - What is some advice on finding something that you are passionate about? 21:03 - What books or Legion products are you most proud of? 24:22 - What is your favorite breakfast? 24:49 - Can I build muscle without calorie tracking? 26:26 - How important is protein timing? --- Mentioned on the Show: Take this free quiz to get science-based answers to all of your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz

There’s something comforting about knowing exactly what, when, and how much you’re going to eat every day. You never have to think about food, and you’re guaranteed results whether you’re cutting, maintaining, or bulking. That’s the beauty of meal planning. On the other hand, weighing, tracking, planning, preparing, and packaging all of your meals for the day (or week) in advance is very tedious. Is there an easier way? There is, and you’re going to learn all about it in this podcast. Joining me on this podcast is John North, and we’re discussing how to eat without tracking your macros or every gram of food while still improving your body composition and achieving your goals. In case you’re not familiar with John, he and I have been working together behind the scenes for years on articles, books, podcasts, and other content. In fact, he’s the Director of Content for Legion. He’s also completed over 100 triathlons and cross-country, cycling, and adventure races, has squatted and deadlifted over 400 pounds and bench pressed over 300 pounds, and has researched and written for over a dozen organizations, including the National Institutes of Health. So he walks the walk and know a thing or two about helping people get into the best shape of their lives. In our discussion about meal planning, we chat about . . . The basic principles of setting up a meal plan Who should and shouldn’t follow a meal plan Consistency versus precision when it comes to food Why its not necessary to be perfectly accurate with your food intake Strategies for easily reducing your calories without tracking your food A “training wheels” approach to eating “outside of the spreadsheet” And more . . . So, if you’re curious about how to eat and make progress in your fitness without weighing all your food, tracking it, and planning all of your meals, you’re going to enjoy the strategies and tips in this podcast! --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 6:09 - Should I use meal planning tools? 9:57 - How do I set up a basic meal plan? 14:44 - What are your guidelines with flexible dieting? 16:15 - What are your diet guidelines when cutting? 17:31 - Do you think it's good to follow a meal plan every so often? --- Mentioned on the show: Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

This episode is all about lean bulking and how to do it correctly. Many people take the “dirty bulk” route, which results often results in gaining weight too quickly, unnecessary fat gain, having to cut too soon, and spinning their wheels. In this podcast, you’ll learn how to set up your diet and your training to maximize muscle growth while minimizing fat gain. Listen to this podcast to learn what lean bulking is and how to lean bulk correctly, including how to start bulking, how to make a lean bulking meal plan, how to train while bulking, and more! Timestamps: 0:00 - Try Pulse today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 2:51 - What is lean bulking? 5:42 - What are the two main methods of bulking? 9:40 - Why do people choose to dirty bulk? 17:00 - How can I start lean bulking? 21:22 - How do I meal plan while lean bulking? 25:17 - How should I train while lean bulking? Mentioned on the Show: Try Pulse today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

In this installment of the Best of Muscle For Life, you’ll hear hand-picked clips from three popular MFL episodes: an interview with Eric Helms on natural bodybuilding, a monologue on getting back in the gym after a long break from training, and a motivational episode with my top tips on increasing productivity. Some people—my favorite people—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 do at least a little better inside and outside the gym. That’s why I do “best of” episodes that contain a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from the more popular episodes I’ve published over the years. This way, you can learn interesting insights that you might have otherwise missed and find new episodes of the show to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Eric Helms on the Art and Science of Succeeding in Natural Bodybuilding (Originally published 7/8/2020) How to Get Back Into Weightlifting After a Break from the Gym (With a Training Program!) (Originally published 6/15/2020) Motivation Monday: My 5 Best Tips for Increasing Productivity (Originally published 8/21/2017) And we’ll be starting with number one, Eric Helms on the Art and Science of Succeeding in Natural Bodybuilding. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - My free meal planning tool: buylegion.com/mealplan 5:07 - Eric Helms on the Art and Science of Succeeding in Natural Bodybuilding 18:52 - How to Get Back Into Weightlifting After a Break from the Gym (With a Training Program!) 29:22 - Motivation Monday: My 5 Best Tips for Increasing Productivity --- Mentioned on the Show: Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free!

Paul Hough joins me to talk about high-intensity interval training (HIIT). I’ve written about HIIT plenty before, but I wanted to get Paul on the podcast to do a deeper dive on the subject. And HIIT is the subject of one of the chapters in his new textbook, Advanced Personal Training, which aims to turn science into applicable practice for personal trainers. So in this episode we’re chatting all about what HIIT is, how to do it correctly, and even whether you should do it at all. In case you’re not familiar with Paul, I recently shared a webinar I recorded with him for students at Oxford Brookes University in the UK, where Paul is a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science. Not only is he a fellow author, but he’s worked with elite-level athletes in tennis and Formula One, and published several studies in academic journals. In our discussion, we chat about . . . What HIIT is (and how to test if you're actually doing a high intensity) Different types of HIIT (and what systems they stress) and their benefits The importance of exercise selection for HIIT Heart rate and when it's appropriate to use and when to use RPE Why you need to regulate intensity (and not just go all-out during every interval) The Afterburn effect and why HIIT isn't "special" for fat loss How HIIT can affect appetite Exercise "snacks" (what they are and the benefits - it’s not food) And more . . . So, if you’re curious about HIIT and want to know more about it, you’re going to enjoy this podcast! --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip 8:34 - What is high intensity interval training, is it the best way to lose fat? 10:58 - Do you correlate exercise intensity to how heavy your breathing is? 14:42 - Is HIIT better for burning calories? 17:40 - How much HIIT do I need to do to be equal to a 30 or 60 minute jog? 19:34 - Does HIIT have more recovery demands on my body? 23:46 - Can you clarify between type 4 and type 6? 28:12 - How does heart rate relate to how hard you’re training? 46:10 - What are your thoughts on everyone including HIIT into their workout routines? 1:04:33 - What is the exercise snacking concept? 1:16:43 - Where can we find you and your work? --- Mentioned on the show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip Paul Hough’s website: www.exerciseandsportscience.com Paul’s textbook Advanced Personal Training: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09HXGDLNT/?tag=mflweb-20 Paul’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_h0ugh/ Paul’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/the_hough

I’m offering a slew of diet and exercise “hacks” that will immediately boost your results. “Hacks” are usually hogwash, but in this case, I’m sharing simple tips and tweaks that can make a big difference in your nutrition and training. Listen to this podcast and let me know your thoughts! Timestamps: 0:00 - Want 125 quick, easy, and delicious “fitness friendly” recipes? Get The Shredded Chef: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-shredded-chef/ 3:47 - What are some diet hacks? 6:43 - What are some exercise hacks? Mentioned on the Show: Want 125 quick, easy, and delicious “fitness friendly” recipes? Get The Shredded Chef - https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-shredded-chef/

Can you successfully cut without counting calories or macros? What are my thoughts on intermittent fasting? Is MSG bad for you? How do you gain strength without size? What’s a reasonable amount of “incompete” protein in your diet? Should you eat fewer calories on rest days? All that and more in this Q&A podcast. This podcast is a Q&A, but it’s a bit different from the kind you’ll typically find here on Muscle For Life. In my usual Q&A episodes, I take a question from email or Instagram and then fully answer it in an episode of the podcast every week. However, over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You: www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz 2:13 - Is it possible to go from 16% to 10% body fat without counting macros ? 3:26 - Should we weigh food raw? Does that apply to every food? 3:57 - Favorite overhead tricep movement? 4:04 - Should I separate my cardio sessions from weights? Can I just do cardio after lifting? 4:46 - What are your plans for the recession now that we are through COVID? 5:53 - My form is better with 6-8 reps. Is that still a good rep range for compound lifts? 6:59 - What are your thoughts on intermittent fasting? 7:36 - What is your favorite Whey+ and Pulse flavor? 8:01 - Of total daily protein intake, what do you consider an acceptable amount from incomplete protein sources? 8:53 - Is walking an effective way to lose weight? 9:17 - Do I have to eat less calories on rest days, as my total daily expenditure would be lower? 11:21 - You usually preach 4-6 reps for gaining strength, are you just adding size now? 14:29 - How can I gain strength without size? 15:13 - Best non fitness book you’ve read recently? 16:18 - How bad is MSG for you actually? 17:13 - Would you rather be stuck in an elevator with a tarot reader or a flat earther? 17:45 - I’m a forty year old woman who has never strength trained. Is it too late to gain muscle and strength? --- Mentioned on the Show: Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You in Just 60 Seconds: http://www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz

I’ve had various non-fitness related discussions with my pal Sal Di Stefano (of Mind Pump Media fame) here on the Muscle For Life podcast, but this time we’re combining topics. In this interview, Sal and I chat about the intersection of culture, politics, and health and fitness, and how fear is used to manipulate people. Sound interesting? I don’t want to spoil the discussion, but we cover all sorts of subjects like propaganda in the fitness industry and controlling people with misinformation, toxic masculinity, claims about protein and the environment, veganism, the "body acceptance" movement, government and “conspiracy theories,” and we even speculate on what the future of fitness culture and manipulation in fitness industry might look like. In case you’re not familiar with Sal, he’s a co-host of Mind Pump Media, one of the top fitness podcasts out there. He’s also an author, coach, and repeat guest on my podcast for good reason. While we love to chat about fitness, we also enjoy our conversational jaunts into history, politics, culture, and economics. So, if any of this sounds interesting to you, listen to this podcast and let me know what you think! Oh and beware some of the topics are a bit controversial. So before getting up in arms, remember the discussion is just for fun. :) --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Save 20% on my Phoenix fat-burner! Go to https://buylegion.com/phoenix and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points. 9:44 - How do you feel about the progress of misinformation in the fitness industry? 29:03 - Do you think there are good intentions behind misinformation? 42:23 - What are your thoughts about the “noble lies” of the media? 50:15  - What are your thoughts on people who think our conversion is all a conspiracy theory? 1:07:07 - What are your predictions for the next 10 years? 1:09:41 - Do you think we’re going to see a continued trend in America of “living in two different countries?” 1:15:54 - Where can we find you and your work? --- Mentioned on the show: Save 20% on my Phoenix fat-burner! Go to https://buylegion.com/phoenix and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points. Dr. Greg Brown on the Science of Transgender Women in Sports: https://legionathletics.com/transgender-sports-controversy/ Sal’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/mindpumpsal Mind Pump Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mind-pump-raw-fitness-truth/id954100822?mt=2

I’m discussing the latest scientific studies on the ways mental fatigue impacts athletic performance, whether caffeine suppresses your appetite, if knee sleeves benefit your performance, and how weightlifting affects visceral fat loss. Listen now to dive into the science! This podcast is another installment in my Research Roundup series of episodes, where I give you concise and practical takeaways from studies that I think are interesting and that can help us gain muscle and strength faster, lose fat faster, perform better athletically, feel better, live longer, or get and stay healthier. There is a ton of scientific research that gets published every year, and even if you narrow your focus to fitness research, it would still take several lifetimes to unravel the hairball of studies on nutrition, training, supplementation, and related fields. That's why my team and I put a lot of time into reviewing, dissecting, and describing scientific studies in articles, podcasts, and books. Oh and if you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness). And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps: 0:00 - Save 20% on my Triton fish oil! Go to https://buylegion.com/triton and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points. 3:28 - Does mental fatigue impact athletic performance? 18:27 - What are the effects of knee sleeves? 21:42 - How do you reduce visceral fat? 25:11 - Does caffeine have an impact on appetite? Mentioned on the Show: Save 20% on my Triton fish oil! Go to https://buylegion.com/triton and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points. My favorite weightlifting cues: https://legionathletics.com/weightlifting-cues/

Did early humans have a better, more nutritious diet than we do? That’s the idea behind popular “ancestral eating” diets like paleo and primal. The pitch appeals to people who believe “caveman” hunter-gatherers were stronger, faster, more robust, and just plain healthier than our modern-day selves. Is that true, though? Should we be eating like our ancient ancestors, avoiding more modern foods like grains, dairy, and other processed foods? Will it help us live longer or shed fat effortlessly? In this podcast, I’ll answer these questions and address the topic of “evolutionarily-consistent” eating and dieting. 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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . What are your thoughts on evolutionarily consistent dieting, including those who claim you can get every nutrient necessary for optimal human health from animals, organ meats, fruit, and honey? --- Timestamps: 0:00 - My free quiz to answer all your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz 4:11 What is evolutionary consistent dieting? 6:15 - Were cavemen healthier? 16:41 - What are the benefits of evolutionary dieting? --- Mentioned on the Show: Take this free quiz to get science-based answers to all of your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz

There’s no doubt steroids can help you get bigger, leaner, and stronger, but they’re not exactly safe. They're also stigmatized, which is why many people who use them do so in secret. So why do people use steroids? How effective are steroids and how safe are they? What are the risks of steroids? Can you just do one cycle to get the benefits without the side effects? What’s the best way to come off of steroids and what’s it like to stop taking them? Are they addictive? These are just some of the questions I ask Greg Doucette in this interview. In case you’re not familiar with him, Greg is an IFBB Pro Bodybuilder, world record-holding powerlifter, coach, author, and Youtuber with over 1.5 million subscribers who’s been open about his steroid use over the years. Because I’ve never used these performance enhancing and muscle building drugs, I thought it would be interesting to chat with someone who has. In this podcast, we discuss . . . Perspectives on who should use steroids and who has "the right" to The risks and effectiveness of steroids Why genetics matter even when it comes to steroids The psychology of coming off steroids and how to do it right Why you can't take just one cycle of steroids as a “cheat code” Why some people downplay the risks of steroids And more . . . So if you’re interested in learning about the pros and cons of steroids and what it’s like to come off of these drugs, listen to this interview! --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip 6:35 - What are your thoughts on the transparency of using steroids? 15:08 - What are the risks and benefits of taking steroids? 18:55 - Can you train less intensely and get a nice physique when taking steroids? 24:41 - Is it important for our body chemistry to be compatible with the steroids we take? 28:04 - What has your steroid journey looked like? Why HRT? 32:41 - Do you think people can take steroids for just one cycle? 35:11 - What are your thoughts on people who disagree with the risks of taking steroids? 39:26 - How do you handle the negative comments online? 45:53 - What is the proper way to come off of steroids? 48:54 - Where can you find you and your work? --- Mentioned on the show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip Greg’s Website: www.gregdoucette.com Greg’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLqH-U2TXzj1h7lyYQZLNQQ Greg’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregdoucetteifbbpro/?hl=en

Have you ever garbaged down enough food to sedate an elephant and then worried that you’ve botched your diet? Have you ever skipped a workout or five for whatever reason and then despaired that you’ve derailed your progress? We all have. But none of that actually matters. Listen to this podcast to find out how you can fail over and over in fitness and still succeed. I think you’ll enjoy this episode! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 2:48 - My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ Mentioned on the Show: My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/

Will cutting “waste” your newbie gains? Is adrenal fatigue real? Are knee sleeves necessary? Do I ever get bored of my workout routine? Should you take every set to failure? Can foam rolling help muscle growth? Should you increase energy flux? All that and more in this Q&A podcast. This podcast is a Q&A, but it’s a bit different from the kind you’ll typically find here on Muscle For Life. In my usual Q&A episodes, I take a question from email or Instagram and then fully answer it in an episode of the podcast every week. However, over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - My free meal planning tool: buylegion.com/mealplan 3:11 - Does cutting make our body less responsive to training? 5:21 - What is best, 4x10 reps or 3x4-6 reps? 12:19 - Do you get bored of your workout routine? 12:58 - Do you have any advice for sleep apnea? 13:43 - What were your calories on your last cut? 15:15 - Do you consider knee sleeves necessary for squatting? 15:46  - Is it possible to plateau in a weight loss journey if you don't eat enough protein? 16:12 - Should I be bracing my muscles when I’m lifting or should I be loose and tensionless? 17:41 - Is it good or bad to take every set to failure? 19:31 - Why can’t we all stop hating each other and just get along? 20:18 - Is adrenal fatigue a real thing? 21:25 - What are your thoughts on occasionally training for a pump because I enjoy it? 22:09 - Can cold showers after a workout blunt inflammation response? 23:06 - What are your thoughts on energy flux? 27:36 - Does foam rolling after a workout help with muscle growth? --- Mentioned on the Show: Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free!

Steve MagnessHave we been thinking about real toughness the wrong way? How can we reliably and practically build our resilience beyond “just pushing through” to overcome challenges? These are the questions Steve Hall explores in his latest book, Do Hard Things, and it’s what we talk about in this interview. This book is Steve’s attempt to help athletes, parents, business leaders, and everyone in between navigate life’s difficult moments. Gritting your teeth and pushing through the pain aren't always the best approaches, and Steve has explored the science and psychology behind real resilience and shares it in this book. He provides a roadmap for dealing with life’s challenges and achieving high performance that makes us happier, more successful, and better people. In case you’re not familiar with Steve, he’s a performance scientist and expert who coaches both Olympic athletes and executives. He’s also the author of many books, including Peak Performance (with Brad Stulberg), The Passion Paradox, and The Science of Running. All this is why he’s been on my podcast before, and why I was excited to have him back on. In our discussion, we chat about . . . Being creative, writing books, and boredom Misattribution of physiological signals How to change negative self talk and “create space” Why you should do hard things to cultivate inner strength Balancing doing hard things with recovery And more . . . So if you’re interested in flipping the script on what it means to be resilient, you don’t want to miss this interview! Timestamps: 0:00 - The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-little-black-book-of-workout-motivation/ 4:35 - Do you like to work on one project at a time or several projects? 6:56 - What are your thoughts on doing creative work when you’re bored? 11:10 - What are some tips for getting into the creative mindset? 16:47 - Why did you want to write a book on this topic? 20:30 - What are some of the tools to handle life’s challenges? 31:56 - Can you give us examples of how you can change negative self talk to positive? 40:42 - What are your thoughts on doing hard things and experiencing discomfort? 45:14 - What are your thoughts on balancing relaxation and doing hard things? 59:20 - Where can we find you and your work? Mentioned on the show: The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation is a bestselling fitness book that helps you overcome the mental blocks that are keeping you unmotivated, unhappy, and unhealthy: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-little-black-book-of-workout-motivation/ Do Hard Things: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09GRDXXCP/?tag=mflweb-20 Steve’s Website: www.stevemagness.com Steve’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/stevemagness Steve’s Instagram: www.instagram.com/stevemagness

Can adding a minimal amount of walking enhance your results by 50%? Does ginseng boost testosterone? Do artificial sweeteners enhance or inhibit weight loss? What type of lifting cues work best? I’m covering the latest research on these topics in this podcast. This podcast is another installment in my Research Roundup series of episodes, where I give you concise and practical takeaways from studies that I think are interesting and that can help us gain muscle and strength faster, lose fat faster, perform better athletically, feel better, live longer, or get and stay healthier. There is a ton of scientific research that gets published every year, and even if you narrow your focus to fitness research, it would still take several lifetimes to unravel the hairball of studies on nutrition, training, supplementation, and related fields. That's why my team and I put a lot of time into reviewing, dissecting, and describing scientific studies in articles, podcasts, and books. Oh and if you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness). And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps 0:00 - Save up to 30% during our big Labor Day Sale! https://buylegion.com/ 2:39 - Can boosting your step count make your cardio workouts more effective? 9:03 - How can weight lifting cues help during training? 13:20 - What are the effects of artificial sweeteners? 19:13 - Does ginseng boost testosterone? Mentioned on the Show: Save up to 30% during our big Labor Day Sale! Go to buylegion.com and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on any non-sale items or get double reward points! My favorite weightlifting cues: https://legionathletics.com/weightlifting-cues/

In this installment of the Best of Muscle For Life, you’ll hear hand-picked clips from three popular MFL episodes: an interview with Kyle Hunt on “powerbuilding” for getting bigger and stronger, a monologue on beating food cravings, and a book club episode with my top takeaways from Peak Performance. Some people—my favorite people—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 do at least a little better inside and outside the gym. That’s why I do “best of” episodes that contain a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from the more popular episodes I’ve published over the years. This way, you can learn interesting insights that you might have otherwise missed and find new episodes of the show to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Kyle Hunt on Using “Powerbuilding” to Get Bigger and Stronger (Originally published 6/29/2020) How to Beat Food Cravings and Stick to Your Diet (Originally published 7/1/2020) Book Club: Peak Performance by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness (Originally published 9/29/2017) And we’ll be starting with number one, Kyle Hunt on Using “Powerbuilding” to Get Bigger and Stronger. Timestamps: 0:00 - Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You: www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz 1:36 - Kyle Hunt on Using “Powerbuilding” to Get Bigger and Stronger 10:55 - How to Beat Food Cravings and Stick to Your Diet 19:06 - Book Club: Peak Performance by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness Mentioned on the Show: Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You in Just 60 Seconds: http://www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz

This podcast is a bit different because rather than interviewing a guest, I’m sharing an interview of me. Specifically, I recorded a webinar for students at Oxford Brookes University in the UK, in which I shared business advice for students who wish to start a health or fitness business or for fitness professionals who wish to grow their existing business. I was interviewed by professor Paul Hough, a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science at the university. Not only is he a fellow author, but he’s worked with elite-level athletes in tennis and Formula One, and published several studies in academic journals. In our discussion, we chat about . . . Writing books (and why you need to enjoy it if you're going to do it) How to use content marketing to help people The time management structure I use for projects and my daily schedule My system for taking notes on what I read How I deal with procrastination My favorite part of being an entrepreneur Marketing, "micro yeses,” and how to price your goods and services And more . . . So, if you have your own health and fitness business or are interested in starting one, or you’re just curious to hear a bit of my story and about the business side of my work, you’re going to enjoy this podcast! Timestamps: 0:00 - Save up to 30% during our big Labor Day Sale! https://buylegion.com/ 7:23 - What do you attribute the success of your first book to? 14:35 - Do you think there is pressure for new trainers to write books? 24:00 - What time management strategies do you use to manage all the projects you’re involved with? 37:24 - Do you ever procrastinate? 40:10 - Do you use a calendar or a to-do list? 44:31 - What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur? 51:12 - When you say that your supplements aren’t necessary, is it to be different or is it a philosophy you’re passionate about? 57:50 - How do you place monetary value on your servicing when establishing a business? How do you place yourself competitively without undervaluing yourself? Mentioned on the show: Save up to 30% during our big Labor Day Sale! Go to buylegion.com and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on any non-sale items or get double reward points!

One of the most controversial topics in fitness is whether you should allow your knees to go over your toes during the squat. Some say that allowing your knees to extend beyond your toes will cause knee pain and injury, while others say preventing your knees from traveling forward is the real problem. Who’s right and what does science say about this topic? Listen to this podcast to learn the answer, along with my tips on how to squat safely and keep your knees healthy and pain-free! --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 3:16 - Why is knees over toes when squatting highly debated? 8:17 - What are some tips to avoid knee pain when squatting? --- Mentioned on the Show: Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

What’s my daily supplement regimen? How long does it take to go from skinny to jacked? How can you stay motivated during a long period of weight loss? What’s better, LISS or HIIT? Is it worth going to a chiropractor? Is 10,000 steps per day a good walking goal? All that and more in this Q&A podcast. This podcast is a Q&A, but it’s a bit different from the kind you’ll typically find here on Muscle For Life. In my usual Q&A episodes, I take a question from email or Instagram and then fully answer it in an episode of the podcast every week. However, over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - My free quiz to answer all your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz 1:48 - What was wrong with your shoulders and how did you fix it? 6:33 - How many of your supplements do you take daily? 10:01 - How many years will it take me to get from skinny to jacked? 10:21 - What are your thoughts on Elon Musk buying Twitter? 10:52 - What is your favorite razor for shaving? 11:22 - What is the best way to keep motivation when on a weight loss journey? 13:20 - Is LISS cardio better than HIIT for losing weight? 14:23 - What are your thoughts on Carnivore MD? 15:44 - Is it normal to feel more sore after workouts during a cutting phase? 16:51 - What are your thoughts on 10k steps a day? 17:14 - Are you still trying to learn German? 18:41 - Are chiropractors worth it for gym goers? 19:18 - Does intermittent fasting reduce testosterone for young young men? --- Mentioned on the Show: Take this free quiz to get science-based answers to all of your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz

In this podcast, I interview Josh, who I coached through his weight loss journey to lose 50 pounds, get in the best shape of his life, and learn the skills and habits to stay that way for life. Josh has always struggled with his weight. He was one of the biggest kids in his class ever since grade school and stayed that way until he was a teenager. Eventually he lost some weight, but because he didn’t know the fundamentals of energy balance, macronutrients, and strength training, he kept rebounding when his home life got busier, his job got more stressful, or when he just became complacent and reverted to old habits. Well, one day at the gym (where Josh and I met and became friends), he asked me to just tell him what to eat to lose weight. Without explaining any of the science, I gave him a dead simple plan of a calorie range and a protein target. He was shocked at the simplicity. But he followed the plan and immediately started seeing results. Since then, he’s worked with my team to go from 250 pounds down to 200 pounds, and his relationship with food has completely changed. He no longer views delicious, calorie-dense junk foods as rewards for cardio, gets “hangry,” or binges. And best of all, he’s been able to maintain his new physique and feel great in his clothes. So in this interview, Josh and I chat about his story of how he finally got in shape, and learned how to prevent rebound weight gain, maintain habits while busy with family life and work, and change the way he views food and nutrition. If you’re looking for a jolt of inspiration and like motivational stories, definitely listen to this episode! Timestamps: 0:00 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip 7:15 - What has your fitness journey been like since we met? 25:23 - How has your relationship with food changed? 33:39 - Have you noticed benefits in other areas in your life? 45:53 - What is next in your fitness journey? 47:51 - How have you dealt with cravings? Mentioned on the show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip Legion Whey+ Protein Powder: Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

What's the best training program if you have minimal time? Does foam rolling enhance recovery? Are activity trackers accurate enough to help you estimate calories burned? Do rack pulls (partial deadlifts) help you get stronger? I’m covering the latest research on these topics is in this podcast. This podcast is another installment in my Research Roundup series of episodes, where I give you concise and practical takeaways from studies that I think are interesting and that can help us gain muscle and strength faster, lose fat faster, perform better athletically, feel better, live longer, or get and stay healthier. There is a ton of scientific research that gets published every year, and even if you narrow your focus to fitness research, it would still take several lifetimes to unravel the hairball of studies on nutrition, training, supplementation, and related fields. That's why my team and I put a lot of time into reviewing, dissecting, and describing scientific studies in articles, podcasts, and books. Oh and if you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness). And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. --- Timestamps 0:00 - The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-little-black-book-of-workout-motivation/ 4:02 - How do you make the most of training if you have little time? 15:42 - How can partial range of motion deadlift training help you get stronger? 23:50 - Does foam rolling help your muscles recover after training? 27:57 - Are activity trackers an accurate way to estimate calorie expenditure? --- Mentioned on the Show: The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation is a bestselling fitness book that helps you overcome the mental blocks that are keeping you unmotivated, unhappy, and unhealthy: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-little-black-book-of-workout-motivation/

The bench press is a staple of strength training and hypertrophy programs. However, some people claim that it’s dangerous and that its benefits aren’t worth the risks, especially for the shoulders. Is that true though? Is the bench press an injury waiting to happen? In this podcast, I’ll answer that and provide my tips for bench pressing as safely and effectively as possible. 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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . The risks posed to the shoulders outweigh the benefits of the bench press. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - My free meal planning tool: buylegion.com/mealplan 2:46 - What is the barbell bench press? 4:21 - What are the downsides and risks of bench pressing? 6:31 - How do you bench press correctly? 12:33 - How should I program bench pressing into my training? 21:35 - What are some tips to bench press without creating shoulder pain? --- Mentioned on the Show: Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free!

Breathing might sound like a boring topic. It’s our most basic biological function, and something we do unconsciously every day. So, it may seem shocking that a book with the title Breath could become a New York Times bestseller. The reality is breathing is a lot more fascinating than many people realize, and how you do it can have drastic effects on your health. That’s something James Nestor (the author of Breath) discovered while researching his book, which explores how humans have lost the ability to breathe properly and how it affects our health in various ways, including snoring, sleep apnea, asthma, autoimmune disease, and allergies. And all that is why I invited James onto the podcast to discuss this often-ignored aspect of everyday life and how we can change our breathing habits to improve our lives. In this interview, James and I discuss . . . Why you’re probably a mouth breather (even if you think you’re not) How breathing affects sleep and what you can do to fix snoring Resonant, coherent breathing and how it affects mental and physical health Tips on how to breathe and what to do in between sets in the gym And more . . . In case you’re not familiar with James, he’s an author and journalist who has written for Scientific American, Outside Magazine, BBC, The New York Times, The Atlantic, National Public Radio, and more. So, if you're at all curious how your breathing technique is affecting your health, and what you can do to improve your breathing patterns, sleep, and more, don’t miss this podcast! --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Try Recharge today! Go to https://buylegion.com/recharge and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 4:06 - What inspired you to write the book Breath? 5:17 - Why are we the worst breathers? 10:22 - What are some of the negative effects of bad breathing habits? 12:03 - Can you explain “mouth taping”? 14:32 - How does mouth tapping while sleeping affect sleep cycles and stress levels? 16:16 - Can we train ourselves to breathe better? 19:04 - Do you recommend any breathing routines? 20:41: - What do you mean by breathing at a slower rhythm 25:01 - Can you explain some mouth taping techniques? 28:57 - Are there some symptoms of mouth breathing during your sleep? 31:39 - How to deal with tape adhesive? 41:52 - Is there anything you would like to add? 47:26 - Do breathing techniques benefit recovery during workouts? 50:57 - Where can we find you and your work? --- Mentioned on the show: Try Recharge today! Go to https://buylegion.com/recharge and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! Breath: https://www.amazon.com/Breath-New-Science-Lost-Art/dp/0735213615/?tag=mflweb-20 James Nestor’s Website: www.mrjamesnestor.com

Many people believe a lot of different things can make them fat. Common culprits are stress, bad gut bacteria, hormones, genetics, slow metabolisms, insulin, large plates and bowls, alcohol, and even undereating. So what’s the real cause? What actually makes people fat? You’re going to find out in this podcast. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 1:30 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip

How can dead hangs reduce shoulder pain? Is genetic testing worth it for health purposes? How can you get biceps veins and increase vascularity? Are there limits to progressive overload? Should you use a sauna before or after training? Does cryotherapy improve recovery? How can you stay satiated while on a diet? How can you model healthy behavior for kids? All that and more in this Q&A podcast. This podcast is a Q&A, but it’s a bit different from the kind you’ll typically find here on Muscle For Life. In my usual Q&A episodes, I take a question from email or Instagram and then fully answer it in an episode of the podcast every week. However, over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps: 0:00 - Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You: www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz 2:02 - Why is Legion’s Casein+ the only thing I taste while having covid? 2:52 - Do you recommend genetic testing for health reasons? 5:11 - Is vegan protein a source of vegetables? 7:48 - What are your thoughts on the Will Smith and Chris Rock incident? 8:18 - What do you think your shoulder pain was a result of? 11:39 - How can I feel full during a calorie deficit? 15:54 - Is there a limit to progressive overload? 17:08 - Do you have any advice for modeling healthy behaviors for kids? 18:56 - Do you recommend any fat burners that actually work? 20:17 - How to increase bicep veins and visual vascularity? 20:52 - Does cryotherapy work? 22:52 - What are your predictions for the year 2030? 23:06 - What are your most recommended history books? 25:05 - Should I use the sauna before or after workout? 25:25 - If you could only choose one Legion product what would it be? 23:44 - Should I take Pulse before all my workouts or just lifting? 27:07 - What do you love most about your wife? Mentioned on the Show: Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You in Just 60 Seconds: http://www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz

Whether you have lagging or weak muscle groups, or just want to focus your efforts and grow certain body parts faster than others, specialization routines can help you. These specialization training blocks involve prioritizing specific muscle groups to get them to grow faster while maintaining your size and strength in other muscle groups. In this episode, Steve Hall offers tips and guidance everyone can use if they’re interested in trying a specialization routine. In our discussion, Steve and I discuss . . . What specialization routines are and when it's appropriate to try a specialization routine Examples of how specialization routine might look Whether you can prioritize more than one muscle group at once How exercise selection and rep ranges play a role in specialization routines Duration of specialization training blocks And more . . . In case you’re not familiar with Steve, he’s a competitive natural bodybuilder and the founder of Revive Stronger, where he uses his decade-plus of experience in the gym to coach his clients. He’s also a fellow podcaster, hosting the Revive Stronger Podcast, on which he shares evidence-based bodybuilding content. So, if you've ever wondered about whether you should try a specialization routine or how you’d program your own to grow certain muscle groups faster, you’re going to enjoy this podcast! --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Try Pulse today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 7:20 - What are specialization routines? 10:15 - Why can’t you just grow all your muscles together? 15:30 - Can a decade of specialization training get you to your best physique ever? 20:41 - When do you suggest starting specialization training? 24:20 - Why can’t I maximize the growth of every muscle? 29:33 - How much upper body training can I do without the wheels falling off? 32:06 - What are examples of a specialization routine? 38:00 - Can I specialize a pair of muscle groups when training? 55:14 - What should my rep ranges look like with specialization training? 1:05:42 - What are your thoughts on duration? 1:11:40 - Where can we find you and your work? --- Mentioned on the show: Try Pulse today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! Steve’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revivestronger Steve’s Website: https://revivestronger.com/

These are my key takeaways and notes from Gary Chapman’s The Five Love Languages. “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 is 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 whether the book is likely to be up your alley or not. Alright, let’s get to the takeaways. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 4:28 - Triumph Male & Female are 25% off this week only! Go to buylegion.com/triumph and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on anything else you order or get double reward points! --- Mentioned on the Show: Triumph Male & Female are 25% off this week only! Go to buylegion.com/triumph and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on anything else you order or get double reward points!

In this installment of the Best of Muscle For Life, you’ll hear hand-picked clips from three popular MFL episodes: an interview with Dr. Susan Kleiner on “power eating” and sports nutrition, a monologue on how fast you can “safely” lose body fat, and a motivational piece explaining why I took cold showers every day for a year. Some people—my favorite people—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 do at least a little better inside and outside the gym. That’s why I do “best of” episodes that contain a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from the more popular episodes I’ve published over the years. This way, you can learn interesting insights that you might have otherwise missed and find new episodes of the show to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Dr. Susan Kleiner on “Power Eating” for Optimal Athletic Performance (Originally published 7/15/2020) How Fast Can You "Safely" Lose Fat (Before Losing Muscle)? (Originally published 9/18/2020) Motivation Monday: I Took A Cold Shower (Almost) Every Day for a Year. Here’s What Happened. (Originally published 3/12/2018) And we’ll be starting with number one, Susan Kleiner on “Power Eating” for Optimal Athletic Performance. Timestamps: 0:00 - My free quiz to answer all your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz 4:31 - Dr. Susan Kleiner on “Power Eating” for Optimal Athletic Performance 20:09 - How Fast Can You "Safely" Lose Fat (Before Losing Muscle)? 31:31 - Motivation Monday: I Took A Cold Shower (Almost) Every Day for a Year. Here’s What Happened. Mentioned on the Show: Take this free quiz to get science-based answers to all of your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz

Are all body fat scales equally inaccurate? Are some accurate enough to actually be useful when tracking our body composition? That’s what Dr. Grant Tinsley wanted to test in the latest study out of his lab, and he’s discussing the surprising results in this interview. Many fitness enthusiasts want to track their body fat levels and body composition to keep tabs on their progress and ensure their training and diet are on the right track. So it’s no surprise that many have been tempted to buy relatively inexpensive body fat scales and home devices that claim they can assess your body composition just by stepping on a scale or holding special electrodes. I’ve never recommended these devices due to their inaccuracy, but are some bio-electrical impedance analysis (BIA) devices good enough to actually help people keep track of their body composition? That’s exactly what Dr. Grant Tinsley wanted to find out and what he and his team put to the test in their latest study. Grant and his colleagues bought some of the most popular BIA devices off of Amazon and compared their results with current gold-standard methods and expensive devices to determine how useful these tools really are. So, how accurate are BIA body fat scales, why do some work better than others, can they actually be useful for tracking your body composition, and how can you get consistent and accurate readings with them? You’re going to find out in this podcast. In case you’re not familiar with Grant, he’s an Associate Professor at Texas Tech University, the Director of the Energy Balance & Body Composition Laboratory, and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and Certified Sports Nutritionist (CISSN). He has over 150 peer-reviewed journal articles and abstracts, with his major research interests being sports nutrition strategies, body composition assessment techniques, and intermittent fasting in active populations. So, he’s the perfect guest to talk all about body composition measurement and discuss his new research on BIA devices. Press play to listen to our discussion! --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Try Pulse today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 4:30 - What is body composition and how accurately do home devices assess that? 21:09 - Do you recommend these devices? 30:17 - Did you come across any useful devices doing your experiments? 35:04 - What are other methods to accurately calculate body composition at home? 46:23 - What is three dimensional optimal imaging? 47:37 - What are your thoughts on the expensive machines found at gyms? 51:01 - What is the accuracy of the army body fat equation? 56:31 - What are some controlled factors we can practice for consistent readings? 59:08 - Where can we find you and your work? --- Mentioned on the show: Try Pulse today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! Grant’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grant_tinsley_phd Grant’s Website: www.granttinsley.com Pre-registered study: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05026697

Do women actually prefer dad bods? Is it ok to bend your back on deadlifts? What’s the best way to lose visceral fat? Do electrical muscle stimulators work? Can a high-protein diet lower your testosterone? Who do I idolize? When can kids start lifting? All that and more in this Q&A podcast. This podcast is a Q&A, but it’s a bit different from the kind you’ll typically find here on Muscle For Life. In my usual Q&A episodes, I take a question from email or Instagram and then fully answer it in an episode of the podcast every week. However, over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps: 0:00 - Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 4:13 - Do women prefer ”dad bods”? 6:06 - Do you have any advice for 24 year olds that want to achieve greatness in their lives? 6:48 - Who do you look up to? 7:25 - Is it okay to bend your back a little when doing deadlifts? 9:09 - Do you use any recreational drugs? 10:12 - What is a good age for a kid to start weight training? 11:28 - What is the best way to lose visceral fat? 12:29 - Should I train a muscle group once or twice a week? 15:44 - Is it true that a high protein diet lowers your testosterone? 17:34 - How do I know if I’m not a beginner anymore? 18:29 - Are electrical muscle stimulators worth it? 18:44 - Are steroids for pussies? Mentioned on the Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

Remote voluntary contraction sounds like technical mumbo jumbo, but is actually a pretty simple concept to understand and very practical. You'll immediately be able to use this whenever your next workout is to perform better in the gym. What's more, you’ll be able to use remote voluntary contraction regardless of your programming and you won't have to make any programming changes. You can keep doing the exercises that you always do and train exactly the way that you are training, but by including this remote voluntary contraction technique in your training, you’re going to be stronger. So what is remote voluntary contraction, how does it work, how effective is it, and how can you use it in your training? You’re going to find out in this podcast. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip 3:20 - What is remote voluntary contraction? 7:37 - Why does remote voluntary contraction work? 9:52 - How big of a difference will this make? 11:46 - How do I implement remote voluntary contraction into my training? --- Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip

Does hyperventilating between sets help you get more reps? Does using exercise variations help you gain muscle and strength faster? Can low-carb dieting actually reduce your testosterone levels? Are expensive forms of creatine actually effective? Answers from the latest research on these topics is in this podcast. This podcast is another installment in my Research Roundup series of episodes, where I give you concise and practical takeaways from studies that I think are interesting and that can help us gain muscle and strength faster, lose fat faster, perform better athletically, feel better, live longer, or get and stay healthier. There is a ton of scientific research that gets published every year, and even if you narrow your focus to fitness research, it would still take several lifetimes to unravel the hairball of studies on nutrition, training, supplementation, and related fields. That's why my team and I put a lot of time into reviewing, dissecting, and describing scientific studies in articles, podcasts, and books. Oh and if you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness). And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. --- Timestamps 0:00 - Which of my books is right for you? Take my quiz and find out: www.muscleforlife.show/bookquiz 2:40 - Does exercise variation cause more muscle growth? 8:44 - Can hyperventilating between sets boost performance? 12:20 - What is the most cost effective form of creatine? 15:44 - Does a low carb, high protein diet affect testosterone levels in healthy men? --- Mentioned on the Show: Find the Perfect Mike Matthews Book and Program for You in Just 60 Seconds: http://www.muscleforlife.show/bookquiz

Kyle Hunt and Mike Matthews talk shop about business and marketing, what it’s like writing books, how they decide what books to read and why, how they efficiently get the most out of those books and put the information they learn to use, and more. This podcast is a low-key discussion with my buddy Kyle Hunt where we share a “behind the scenes” look at the process of writing, revising, publishing, and marketing books, how we pick and choose books to read, how we take notes and learn from those books, and more. Specifically, we chat about . . . The “sausage process” of writing books and what it’s like working with editors How we revise and update books to take them from “minimum viable product” to masterwork How we decide what books to read (and how we take notes) Publishing books and marketing them The “magic” of finding the right timing for a business or idea And more . . . In case you’re not familiar with Kyle, he’s a repeat podcast guest and author of several books, including Bodybuilding For Beginners and Strength Training For Beginners. He’s also a competitive powerlifter, coach, owner of Hunt Fitness, and podcaster, who’s the host of The Absolute Strength Podcast, which I’ve been a guest on a number of times. So, if you’re at all curious about what it takes to write a book, what the research and editing process looks like, or just want to hear two authors chat about business, marketing, and writing, I think you’ll enjoy this podcast! Press play and let me know what you think! --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Try Fortify risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/fortify and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 5:25 - With so many projects you want to do, how do you choose the next one? 9:31 - How do you know when a product is done? 11:02 - How do you choose books to read? 13:16 - Do you like ebooks or physical books and why? 27:20 - Do you read one book at a time? 32:06 - Where can people find you and your work? 32:31 - Are you working on a new book? 36:21 - How important is timing when it comes to business? --- Mentioned on the show: Try Fortify risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/fortify and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! Kyle Hunt’s Absolute Strength Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-absolute-strength-podcast/id1146086687 Kyle Hunt’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/huntfitness/

What’s my go-to evening snack? Should you try “fat freezing?” How do you fix butt wink? How long will it take to get down to 10% body fat? How much does muscle boost your TDEE? All that and more in this Q&A podcast. This podcast is a Q&A, but it’s a bit different from the kind you’ll typically find here on Muscle For Life. In my usual Q&A episodes, I take a question from email or Instagram and then fully answer it in an episode of the podcast every week. However, over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Try Pulse today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points 5:05 - Should I avoid cheat meals while cutting? 6:09 - Should you subtract calories that your body doesn’t process? 7:03 - How long should it take me to go from 15% body fat to 10%? 8:11 - Do you need to take beta-alanine everyday for it to be effective? 8:38 - Are you a whore? 8:56 - What is your go to late night snack? 9:32 - How many hours do you workout a week? 10:37 - What are your thoughts on butt wink while squatting? 11:15 Do you recommend giving children multivitamins? Which ones do you recommend? 12:04 - What are your thoughts on fat freezing? 12:40 - How long do I need to sit outside of Legion headquarters and honk until I got free Pulse? 12:58 - Should I drink a gallon of water everyday? 13:24 - Which is better, a fabric or leather living belt? 13:56 - Are cold showers after training good or bad? How long should they be? 14:51 - Do you have tips for a successful blog? 18:27 - What is the best leg session? 19:03 - How much of an effect does muscle have on total daily expenditure? 20:18 - Which of your books are you most proud of? 21:51 - Should I use lean body mass or scale weight when trying to workout marcos? --- Mentioned on the Show: Try Pulse today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

Many people are afraid of losing muscle, especially when they can't train. The good news is it takes a lot longer to lose muscle when you stop training than many people think. And the even better news is if you do lose actual muscle tissue, there’s something called muscle memory.  In this podcast, I’m going to describe what this phenomenon is, how it works physiologically, and how you can take advantage of it. Can we actually use muscle memory to “hack” muscle building by purposely de-training? You’re going to find out in this podcast. --- Timestamps 0:00 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip 4:01 - What is muscle memory? 5:45 - How does muscle memory work? 12:44 - Can we use muscle memory to hack muscle building and grow faster? --- Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip

Is the high-bar squat more effective than the front squat for targeting your quads? Or does the front squat beat the high-bar back squat? What does research say about these variations of the squat and how they affect muscle activation? 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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . “The high-bar back squat is better for targeting the quads than the front squat.” --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Which of my books is right for you? Take my quiz and find out: www.muscleforlife.show/bookquiz 2:37 - What is the high bar back squat? 4:13 - What is the front squat?  5:27 - What are the benefits of front squat? 8:31 - What are the key takeaways? --- Mentioned on the Show:  Find the Perfect Mike Matthews Book and Program for You in Just 60 Seconds: http://www.muscleforlife.show/bookquiz

In this podcast, I interview Jose, who used the information he learned through my articles, podcasts, and my book Muscle For Life, to finally overcome his bingeing and purging eating disorder, start losing weight the right way, and get healthy and fit. In fact, Jose successfully lost 120 pounds while getting stronger and reversing several conditions, including pre-diabetes and high blood pressure.  Before finding my work, Jose was close to 300 pounds, and had tried various diets and weight loss hacks, including keto, Atkins, acupuncture, and even hypnosis. Nothing stuck, and nothing worked for him. He felt lost with his health and struggled with a bingeing and purging eating disorder and was even hospitalized for it at one point. Luckily, Jose started to find good information online by following some Legion athletes on Instagram, and once he saw transformations of people who had accomplished his dream—of going from fat to fit—everything changed. He finally saw it was possible to reach his goal. He continued following Legion and read my content to build an educated foundation, and started making progress. I wanted to bring Jose on the show because there isn’t a lot of content out there featuring men with eating disorders, and if his story can help even one other person, then it was worth it. So this is Jose’s story of all the obstacles he ran into on his fitness journey, and how he finally overcame his eating disorder and learned what it takes to really get fit and lose weight for good. If you’re looking for a jolt of inspiration and like motivational stories, definitely listen to this episode. Timestamps: 0:00 - Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 4:17 - What has your fitness journey looked like? 26:35 - How has your relationship with food changed? 39:17 - What changes did you make to break your plateau? 1:00:44 - Where can we find you? Mentioned on the show:  Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! Muscle For Life: https://legionathletics.com/muscle-for-life-book/ Jose’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jose.gomez.13/

What’s wrong with slow cutting? If you’re low on protein, but already hit your calorie target, should you stop eating? How can you prevent muscle loss while on vacation? Should you lift your head off the bench while pressing? What’s the most effective type of cardio for sports? All that and more in this Q&A podcast. This podcast is a Q&A, but it’s a bit different from the kind you’ll typically find here on Muscle For Life. In my usual Q&A episodes, I take a question from email or Instagram and then fully answer it in an episode of the podcast every week. However, over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Try Pulse today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points 3:16 - Is there a downside to slow fat loss? 4:17 - Do you have any tips to minimize or prevent muscle loss while on vacation? 8:11 - Should you lower your macros as you decrease bodyweight in a cutting cycle? 10:19 - Would you squat barefoot if your gym allowed it? 10:42 - Do you have doubts about the war on Ukraine?  11:50 - Should I lift my head while benching? 12:52 - Which type of cardio is most effective for increasing stamina for sports? 13:48 - Should I continue using creatine while cutting? 14:01 - What do you think is the best form of government? 15:14 - Which pulse flavor do you recommend for someone who thinks most are too sweet? 15:48 - What book had the most significant impact on you life? 16:27 -What is the best way to see if I have gained muscle? 17:21 - Is WWIII about to start? 18:04 - If I’m under my protein but hit my calories for the day while cutting, should I stop eating? --- Mentioned on the Show: Try Pulse today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

Many people want to know how we can get a better world. I want to know how we can deserve a better world. And I know that starts with giving far more to others than we take. More consideration. More service. More love. Because the person who lives on the emotion and effort of others–the sponge, the freeloader, the deadbeat–is really a consumer of human life, no better than a cannibal or parasite. Listen to this podcast for some motivational inspiration on the concept of give and take. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 3:15 - Energy Surge and Performance Surge are two new supplements to augment Pulse for an even better pre-workout stack: https://muscleforlife.show/epstack --- Mentioned on the Show: Energy Surge and Performance Surge are designed to be added to Pulse for even more energy, focus, strength, and endurance for an even better pre-workout supplement. Check them out here: https://muscleforlife.show/estack https://muscleforlife.show/pstack https://muscleforlife.show/epstack https://muscleforlife.show/esurge https://muscleforlife.show/psurge https://buylegion.com

Does aging cause weight gain? Can you train glutes (or any muscle group) every day? What are my secrets to a happy marriage? How do I handle sleepless nights? All that and more in this Q&A podcast. This podcast is a Q&A, but it’s a bit different from the kind you’ll typically find here on Muscle For Life. In my usual Q&A episodes, I take a question from email or Instagram and then fully answer it in an episode of the podcast every week. However, over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip 4:16 - What is the secret to a happy marriage? 8:02 - How intense should exercise be during a cutting phase? 10:21 - is age independent of diet and exercise a reason for weight gain? 11:50 - How do you deal with sleepless nights? 14:30 - Do you have tips to get better sleep while cutting? 18:58 - What oil do you like cooking with and why? 19:27 - Do you have a degree? 25:30 - Do you eat the same thing daily? Who does the cooking at home? 27:28 - What blood panel metric do you find most valuable for overall health? 28:06- What are your thoughts on Carnivore MD’s animal based diet? 28:37 - How do I get my wife to start tracking food? 29:42 - Will daily cardio during a bulk phase affect strength and gains? 31:26 - Is there any value in temporarily maintaining after bulking and before cutting? 31:49 - What is the best way for a newbie to progress doing a pull up? 32:03 - How soon do you lose muscle when you stop training? 32:57 - What percentage of fat do we need daily? 34:04 - Do you think the US and China will have a war in the next 100 years? 35:19 - Can I train my glutes everyday? --- Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip

In this podcast, I’m interviewing Legion Athlete Zach Coen all about meal planning and meal prepping. I don’t mean the basics like figuring out your calories or macros, but planning out delicious meals and practical tips on making healthy foods tastier and easier to prepare. In case you’re not familiar with Zach, he’s a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist who shares recipes, educational nutrition content, and meal planning tips on his TikTok and Instagram accounts, which have over one million followers. Zach’s content is all about incorporating foods you actually enjoy into your meal plan and making food planning and prepping simple and fun so you can stay on track and make progress with your fitness, all without breaking the bank. In our chat, we discuss . . . Practical tips for snacking and incorporating more vegetables into your diet Tips on making your own versions of store-bought items and prepared foods Crafty shopping tips so you can save money (including Zach’s favorite affordable protein sources) How to save time with meal prepping and how to get started with it Crockpot cooking Fitness-friendly desserts (and what to avoid) Creating an abundance mindset and what to do if you're having trouble with moderation Fitting fast food into a meal plan And more . . . So if you’ve ever wondered about healthy, high-protein snacks you can add into your meal plan, how to spice up your macro-friendly mals, or the best way to prepare your meals for the week, you’re going to enjoy this episode. Press play and let me know what you think!   Timestamps: 0:00 - Want 125 quick, easy, and delicious “fitness friendly” recipes? Get The Shredded Chef: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-shredded-chef/ 5:37 - What are some high protein, low calorie snacks and meal prep ideas? 7:43 - What’s your go-to recipe these days?  9:47 - What kind of dairy products do you eat?  13:56 - What are some ways to make vegetables more enjoyable to eat? 17:40 - Do you recommend any soup recipes? 18:25 - What are some grocery shopping tips to save money? 19:53 - Do you buy prepackaged food or do you make everything from scratch? 21:25 - How can we make protein more affordable? 22:17 - How can we save time prepping meals? 23:32 - What are some of your favorite crock pot recipes? 25:10 - How can we satisfy our sweet tooth in a healthy, low calorie weight?  35:59 - What are some ways to fix factors that impact our relationship with food? 43:04 - Are there other tips you want to add? 45:11 - What is a good place to start for people that are new to meal prepping? 47:13 - What are your thoughts on fast food and staying fit? 48:23 - What are some successful patterns you see work for people? 50:00 - Where can we find you and your work? Mentioned on the show:  Want 125 quick, easy, and delicious “fitness friendly” recipes? Get The Shredded Chef - https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-shredded-chef/ Zach’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zachcoen/ Zach’s Patreon: www.patreon.com/zachcoen

All of the following is based on the studies I’m covering in this podcast: Want to live longer? Walk more. Want to boost your mood, energy, and mental acuity? Get extra sleep. Want to perform better in the gym? Take betaine. Want to retain your muscle while losing fat? Don’t follow the OMAD diet. Want to improve your agility and sports performance? Go with unilateral exercises over bilateral ones. This podcast is another installment in my Research Roundup series of episodes, where I give you concise and practical takeaways from studies that I think are interesting and that can help us gain muscle and strength faster, lose fat faster, perform better athletically, feel better, live longer, or get and stay healthier. There is a ton of scientific research that gets published every year, and even if you narrow your focus to fitness research, it would still take several lifetimes to unravel the hairball of studies on nutrition, training, supplementation, and related fields. That's why my team and I put a lot of time into reviewing, dissecting, and describing scientific studies in articles, podcasts, and books. Oh and if you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness). And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps 0:00 - Try Triton risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/triton and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 3:33 - Can sleeping longer improve mental and physical performance? 7:27 - Do unilateral exercises improve athletic performance more than bilateral exercises? 11:49 - What are the benefits of walking? 14:46 - Can betaine boost athletic performance? 19:00 - What are the effects of eating one meal a day? Mentioned on the Show: Try Triton risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/triton and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

Most people think cardio is the best type of exercise for losing weight. While it’s true that cardio can help you lose fat and that you should do cardio for its health benefits, strength training is often unfairly criticized as ineffective when it comes to losing weight. For example, many people say strength training doesn’t burn enough calories to matter, which isn’t exactly true. Others say that while strength training can help you build and maintain muscle, that doesn’t make weight loss easier, which isn’t true. This podcast covers everything you need to know about using strength training effectively for losing fat as quickly as possible. Timestamps: 0:00 - New chocolate peanut butter protein bars are here! Try them risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/proteinbar and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 11:56 - Is strength training good for weight loss? 14:14 - What is the best way to maximize fat loss while strength training? 17:05 -What exercises do you recommend? Mentioned on the Show: New chocolate peanut butter protein bars are here! Try them risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/proteinbar and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

In this installment of the Best of Muscle For Life, you’ll hear hand-picked morsels from three popular MFL episodes: an interview with Maria who got fit while raising three kids and how she stays fit in her 50s, a monologue on whether you should still do cardio if you lift weights, and a motivational piece called “In Filth It Will Be Found.” Some people—my favorite people—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 do at least a little better inside and outside the gym. That’s why I do “best of” episodes that contain a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from the more popular episodes I’ve published over the years. This way, you can learn interesting insights that you might have otherwise missed and find new episodes of the show to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: How Maria Got Fit with 3 Kids and Stays Lean In Her 50s (Originally published 5/29/2020) Should You Do Cardio If You Lift Weights? Science Says Yes and Here's Why (Originally published 7/6/2020) Motivation Monday: In Filth It Will Be Found (Originally published 11/26/2018) And we’ll be starting with number one, how Maria got fit with 3 kids and stays lean in her 50s. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Which of my books is right for you? Take my quiz and find out: www.muscleforlife.show/bookquiz 4:01 - How Maria Got Fit with 3 Kids and Stays Lean In Her 50s 14:12 - Should You Do Cardio If You Lift Weights? Science Says Yes and Here's Why 26:44 - Motivation Monday: In Filth It Will Be Found --- Mentioned on the Show: Find the Perfect Mike Matthews Book and Program for You in Just 60 Seconds: http://www.muscleforlife.show/bookquiz

I’m often asked about Olympic weightlifting. Specifically, I’m asked about lifts like the clean and jerk, snatch, and power clean, and how to incorporate them into a more general strength training or even bodybuilding program. Should you even include Olympic-style lifts? What are the benefits of Olympic weightlifting? Can it increase your power, speed, explosiveness, and athleticism? Is it dangerous? All that and more in this podcast. I wanted to get an Olympic weightlifting expert on the podcast to help answer these questions. So, I tagged in Greg Everett, owner of Catalyst Athletics, which is a USA Weightlifting National Champion team and a huge educational resource for Olympic weightlifting content. Not only is Greg an accomplished Olympic weightlifter himself, but he’s a coach at the world championship level. He’s also an author of a dozen books, including Olympic Weightlifting, the world’s best-selling book on the subject. So I was happy to have him join me for an interview. In this podcast you’ll learn about . . . What Olympic lifting is and how it differs from strength training, bodybuilding, and powerlifting Reason to do Olympic weightlifting (and who shouldn't do it) How to learn the Olympic lifts and how to get started with it How Olympic lifting affects explosiveness and athleticism Olympic lifting’s safety and danger compared to basic compounds (and what to do to avoid injuries) Programming considerations (and how to progress) Body fat percentage sweet spots for performance And more . . . So if you’ve ever wondered about Olympic weightlifting, what you might be missing by not doing any Olympic lifts, and how to get started with Olympic-style weightlifting, listen to this episode. I think you’re going to enjoy it! Timestamps: 0:00 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip 5:03 - What is Olympic weightlifting? 7:23 - What are your thoughts on Olympic weightlifting and athleticism? 9:34 - How can people benefit from Olympic training? 13:43 - How can we start Olympic training? 16:51 - What are some safety tips for Olympic weightlifting? 19:51 - What is the best way to learn Olympic training? 24:24 - What are some Olympic training workouts? 27:49 - What is the relationship between intensity and volume? 33:38 - Do women and men recover differently? 35:41 - How can we work these exercises into our routine? 51:47 - What body composition is best for Olympic training? 53:57 - Where can we find you and your work? Mentioned on the show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip Catalyst Athletics: catalystathletics.com Greg’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catalystathletics/

There's no shame in admitting that at least 50% of the reason you exercise is that you have a “complicated” relationship with carbs or a sweet tooth and don't want to get fat. Or that you literally can’t afford to gain weight because then you’d have to buy a new wardrobe. Or that you want a good excuse to buy a new one. No matter how zany your reasons may seem to others, if you can use them to fire your fitness furnace, there’s no shame in exploiting them to the fullest. Listen to this podcast for a bit of motivational inspiration! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the podcast wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe to the show! 2:48 - Save up to 25% during my July 4th sale! https://buylegion.com/ Mentioned on the Show: Go to buylegion.com and save up to 25% during my big July 4th sale! Use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on any non-sale items or get double reward points!

What is “ancestral eating” and is it a healthy way to eat? Should we be eating the same foods our ancient ancestors did? 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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling “ancestral eating.” That is, eating like our ancient ancestors. Timestamps: 0:00 - Save up to 25% during my July 4th sale! https://buylegion.com/ 2:44 - What is ancestral eating? 6:07 - What is the scientific evidence on ancestral eating? Mentioned on the Show: Go to buylegion.com and save up to 25% during my big July 4th sale! Use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on any non-sale items or get double reward points!

Many people get started on their nutrition journeys being told they need to eliminate certain foods, or even entire food groups. In turn, this can cause guilt when you do stray from “the one true diet” and you can end up creating an unhealthy relationship with food, or worse, full-blown disordered eating.  If you’re familiar with my work, you know that you can lose weight and achieve your goals without completely eliminating foods. The key is moderation and doing most things right most of the time. That’s how you make sustainable progress long-term without crashing and burning or bingeing.  And so, part of the solution to helping more people get healthier is education. That’s why I write my books and that’s why Jordan Syatt and Mike Vacanti wrote their new book, Eat It!: The Most Sustainable Diet and Workout Ever Made: Burn Fat, Get Strong, and Enjoy Your Favorite Foods Guilt Free. In it, they break down nutrition myths and diet fads, how to eat sustainably (both with and without tracking macros), and even provide simple strength training programs for both men and women just getting started on their fitness journeys.  In case you’re not familiar with Jordan Syatt and Mike Vacanti, they’ve both been on the podcast before. They’re Gary Vaynerchuk's personal trainers and have their own online coaching businesses (Syatt Fitness and On the Regimen, respectively) where they’ve helped thousands of people build better bodies and get healthier. They also host their own How to Become a Personal Trainer podcast.  In the interview, Jordan, Mike, and I discuss . . .  The trials and tribulations of writing Eat It! and the origin of the title  The different styles of dieting taught in the book  The concept of “shame” and whether it’s productive towards getting healthy  Practical tips to feel less hungry  And more . . .  So if you want to learn about how to eliminate the feeling of guilt in your diet and lose weight and get stronger sustainably, you’re going to enjoy this episode!  Timestamps:  0:00 - Save up to 25% during my July 4th sale! https://buylegion.com/  5:48 - When is your new book out? 5:57 - What was the process of writing your book like?  13:01 - What is the title of your book?  16:17 - What are your thoughts on feeling guilty for yourself when having an unhealthy lifestyle?  24:28 - What type of dieting are you teaching in your book?  26:49 - If someone isn’t used to tracking food, what do you think is the best method for them?  32:54 -What is your approach when it comes to calories vs macros and does it matter if the person’s goal is muscle gain or fat loss?  38:19 - What are some tips that work for being less hungry when cutting?  1:00:22 - What kind of training do you focus on in your book?  1:07:13 - Where can people pre order your book?  Mentioned on the Show:  Go to buylegion.com and save up to 25% during my big July 4th sale! Use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on any non-sale items or get double reward points!  Jordan and Mike’s book Eat It!: https://www.amazon.com/Eat-Sustainable-Workout-Strong-Favorite/dp/0063015005/?tag=mflweb-20

How much alcohol can you drink while cutting and still lose weight? Should you still train if your HRV score says to rest? How long should you rest between sets during a deload? All that and more in this Q&A podcast. This podcast is a Q&A, but it’s a bit different from the kind you’ll typically find here on Muscle For Life. In my usual Q&A episodes, I take a question from email or Instagram and then fully answer it in an episode of the podcast every week. However, over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps: 0:00 - Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 3:47 - What are your thoughts on drinking alcohol when on a diet to lose weight? 4:26 - What is a healthy choice of sauce for chicken or other foods? 4:54 - How long should I cut for? 7:13 - Do you have to pause for a certain amount of time after finishing a bottle of Phoenix? 9:11 - How did you overcome acne when you were ages 15-20? 10:49 - If your HRV score says to rest but you feel okay, should you train? 13:10 - How do I overcome nonstop hunger? 14:37 - Is there a certain rep range or volume to use when cutting? 17:13 - Do I need direct or indirect volume for deadlifts? 17:37 - Should I dedicate my extra gym days to core workouts? 21:28 - Is resting time during deload 3-4 minuets? 21:58 - Should my hamstrings hurt after doing deadlifts? 22:30 - Is 15 oz of red meat bad for you? 22:49 - Any tips on combining strength training and marathon preparation? Mentioned on the Show: Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

I’m going to give you the TLDR for the latest studies on topics like cardio’s effects on muscle and strength gain, body recomposition, pre-workout meals, how creatine affects cognition, and how browsing social media can make you weaker. This podcast is another installment in my Research Roundup series of episodes, where I give you concise and practical takeaways from studies that I think are interesting and that can help us gain muscle and strength faster, lose fat faster, perform better athletically, feel better, live longer, or get and stay healthier. There is a ton of scientific research that gets published every year, and even if you narrow your focus to fitness research, it would still take several lifetimes to unravel the hairball of studies on nutrition, training, supplementation, and related fields. That's why my team and I put a lot of time into reviewing, dissecting, and describing scientific studies in articles, podcasts, and books. In today's episode, I'm tackling studies on whether glute “activation” exercises boost glute growth, how effective the 5:2 diet is for preserving muscle while you diet, whether vitamin D can actually help prevent injury, and how well blood flow restriction training works for building muscle. Press play if you want to learn the answers to those questions. Oh and if you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness). And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps: 0:00 - My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ 4:01 - Does cardio kill muscle gain and strength? 9:22 - How can I gain muscle and lose a lot of fat at the same time? 17:08 - Are pre-wokout meals helpful for strength training? 22:49 - Does creatine make you smarter? 25:59 - Does scrolling through social media while training make you weaker? Mentioned on the Show: My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/

In this episode, I’m analyzing trends in the fitness industry and peering into the crystal ball with Joe Vennare to speculate on the future of health and wellness. Joe is a great guest to interview about these topics because he’s the co-founder of Fitt Insider, a platform that offers industry news and analysis of the business side of fitness and wellness. Specifically, Fitt Insider helps industry operators stay informed, make better decisions, and seize opportunities (especially in regards to startups and investments) through a weekly newsletter, podcast, and jobs board. Joe is a content strategist who’s been in the industry for more than a decade and leads Fitt Insider’s research and media efforts. I wanted to get him on the show because Fitt Insider’s goal is closely aligned with my own: to help millions of people live healthier, happier, better lives. By being a resource to help startups grow and advancing the conversation around wellness itself, Joe and his team can help facilitate massive change in the industry. In our chat, Joe and I talk about . . . Trends in fitness industry including wearables and subscriptions, and where technology and personalization may be headed in the future Offering legitimate value versus using “sexy” marketing to make money Virtual reality’s role in fitness The gamification of apps and services Surprising wins and flops in the fitness space How the supplement industry has changed and where it might go in the future And more . . . So if you want to learn about the business side of fitness and how the industry has changed over time and where it may be headed in the future, you’re going to enjoy this discussion! Timestamps: 0:00 - My free quiz to answer all your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz 2:57 - What are some of the most interesting things you’ve seen in this industry and where do you think things are headed? 8:20 - What are some new, upcoming trends that you see on the business side of the fitness industry? 17:44 - How much of that is legitimate value versus complicated marketing? 25:32 - What are your thoughts on new technological tools for health and fitness? 31:50 - What is gamification? 36:50 - Is VR coming to the fitness world? 40:57 - What are some surprising business wins or losses you’ve seen in the fitness industry? 1:00:01 - What are your thoughts on the future on supplementation? Mentioned on the show: Take this free quiz to get science-based answers to all of your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz Fitt Insider: https://insider.fitt.co/ Joe’s Twitter: ​​https://twitter.com/JoeVennare

Naivety can be bliss. Remember when you discovered just how many calories are in a tablespoon of peanut butter and how small or proper tablespoon really is? Or the moment you realized that losing “only” one pound per week is actually a win? Or that you still have to watch your calories and macros when you’re bulking or you just get fat? Listen to hear more (funny) fitness disappointments in this podcast! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 2:48 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip

Is TRT getting too trendy? How do I manage my work and time as a parent of young kids? How can you stay in a calorie deficit while going to social dinners? Can keto optimize your hormones? All that and more in this Q&A podcast. This podcast is a Q&A, but it’s a bit different from the kind you’ll typically find here on Muscle For Life. In my usual Q&A episodes, I take a question from email or Instagram and then fully answer it in an episode of the podcast every week. However, over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps 0:00 - My free meal planning tool: buylegion.com/mealplan 2:41 - What are your thoughts on tattoos? 3:37 - Do you think that TRT is getting too trendy? 5:27 - What is missing in the fitness industry? 6:37 - Do seated dumbbell/barbell presses work the core as much as standing overhead dumbbell/barbell presses? 7:23 - How can I maintain a calorie deficit when social dinners are constantly on my schedule? 9:36 - How much do you love listening to me talk about horses? 10:02 - How can I maintain my goal and strong mindset while cutting? 11:23 - How do you manage all that you do while having kids? 14:17 - What is the recommendation on warm up weights vs set weights? 16:31 - What are your thoughts on keto in terms of hormonal optimization and preservation? Mentioned on the Show: Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free!

If you’ve ever wondered what effects the menstrual cycle has on fitness, and how you can take advantage of your monthly cycle when it comes to body composition and training, you’ve come to the right place. Whether you’ve wondered for yourself, for your significant other, or even just a friend or client, this is something many people have asked about. How can you work around your menstrual cycle, and is there a way to optimize your diet and training around the different phases of your cycle? You’re going to learn the answers to these questions and more in this interview with Astrid Naranjo. There’s no doubt women have to deal some unique challenges compared to men, and one of those is their monthly period and its effects on body weight, mood, energy levels, hunger, cravings, and more. As someone who’s never experienced menstruation firsthand or the hormonal changes in my own body, I thought it would be good to bring someone on the podcast who has. Specifically, I wanted to chat with Astrid, who’s not only coached tons of women and helped them navigate the trials and tribulations of eating and training during their menstrual cycles, but also specializes in sports nutrition, creating healthier relationships with food, and PCOS. Astrid is a Clinician Dietitian and Nutritionist and has a Master’s Degree in Nutrition and Dietetics Practice from Bond University, along with a Bachelor’s Degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from the Central University of Venezuela. She’s one of the most well-known Accredited Practicing Dietitians (APD) on social media. In our chat, Astrid and I talk about . . . What the menstrual cycle is and how it can affect your body weight, energy, and more during the different phases Whether you should adjust your macros and overall calorie intake during different phases of your cycle How to respond to weight fluctuations, energy levels, and dietary struggles What drives cravings and how you can incorporate emotional eating into your meal plan Periodizing your training during your cycle and different types of deloads (not just lowering the volume or weight on the bar) Facts and myths about PCOS How oral contraceptives (birth control) affect your hormones and cycle And more . . . So if you want to learn how your menstrual cycle affects your fitness and how you can customize your eating and training to work with your cycle (or if you even need to), listen to this podcast! Timestamps: 0:00 - Try Pulse Mojito risk-free! Go to buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 7:48 - What is the menstrual cycle? 16:38 - What are your thoughts on not weighing yourself on the final week of your menstrual cycle? 21:40 - is it necessary to change your macro breakdown based on where you are with your cycle? 26:14 - is it helpful to eat less carbohydrates and more fat as you get further along in your cycle? 29:12 - Does metabolic rate change during a menstrual cycle? 33:30 - What is your approach to fat loss phase during a menstrual cycle? 39:55 - What are menstrual cravings driven by? 43:35 - Should women periodize their training around their menstrual cycle? 58:25 - What is PCOS and what are the best ways to deal with it? 1:06:16 - What are your thoughts on oral contraceptives? 1:09:52 - Is there anything else you would like to share? 1:13:43 - Where can we find you? Mentioned on the show: Try our new Pulse flavor Mojito risk-free! Go to buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! Astrid’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/antidiet_dietitian/

What does a weightlifting belt do and how do you use one? Should you use one and on what exercises? How do you wear one correctly and what should you look for when picking a belt? All that and more in this podcast. Some people claim that a weightlifting belt is essential for avoiding injury—almost like wearing a seatbelt in the car. Other people though, they say that the safety benefits are completely overblown, and the only good reason to wear a belt is to lift more weight. Still others say that weightlifting belts are really just crutches and that they encourage you to try to do more than you should. A belt can help you lift more weight in the short-term, but it's going to increase your risk of injury and maybe even make you weaker in the long run. So in this podcast, you are going to learn what science has to say about these conflicting opinions and whether you can benefit from a weightlifting belt. Timestamps: 0:00 - Try Recharge risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/recharge and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 3:31 - What is a weightlifting belt? 4:33 - What does a weightlifting belt do? 7:31 - Does wearing a weightlifting belt improve workout safety? 8:41 - How do you use a weightlifting belt properly? 15:32 - How do I find the best weightlifting belt? 22:28 - What are your favorite brands of weightlifting belts? Mentioned on the Show: Try Recharge risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/recharge and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

Should you be doing full-body workouts? What habits will not only help you lose body fat, but keep it off for good? What can we learn from Elon Musk? Some people—my favorite people—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 do at least a little better inside and outside the gym. That’s why I do “best of” episodes that contain a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from the more popular episodes I’ve published over the years. This way, you can learn interesting insights that you might have otherwise missed and find new episodes of the show to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Menno Henselmans on the Benefits of Full-Body Workouts (Originally published 7/31/2020) 10 Habits of People Who Lose Weight and Keep It Off (Originally published 7/17/2020) Book Club: Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance (Originally published 9/1/2017) And we’ll be starting with number one, Menno Henselmans on the benefits of full-body workouts. Timestamps: 0:00 - Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You: www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz 2:25 - Menno Henselmans on the Benefits of Full-Body Workouts 12:51 - 10 Habits of People Who Lose Weight and Keep It Off 20:09 - Book Club: Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance Mentioned on the Show: Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You in Just 60 Seconds: http://www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz

This podcast is going to get dark. And graphic. This episode is a cautionary tale of just how grim it can get in the throes of disordered eating, anorexia, and mental illness. But it’s also a tale of hope, because my guest Jake tells his story of how he came out the other side of his eating disorder with a newfound respect for his fitness, and a far healthier body and mind to show for it. Before finding my work, Jake developed body dysmorphia and an eating disorder. He was diagnosed with anorexia at the age of 17, hospitalized, and relapsed a number of times. In this interview, Jake tells his story of what it was like navigating his mental illness and eating disorder, losing his college tennis scholarships, dealing with refeeding syndrome, and more. Things could’ve ended very poorly for Jake, but luckily things turned around for him. When he found The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation, he was able to change his relationship with fitness (and even his performance in school). Now he’s been able to find what works for him with his training and diet, and not go down a bad path like before. I wanted to bring Jake on the show because while his exact story isn’t commonplace, perhaps it can be motivating for anyone who’s taken a misstep in their life or fallen on dark times. After all, everyone has their own demons they're battling and can overcome. So if you’re looking for a jolt of inspiration and like motivational stories, definitely listen to this episode. Timestamps: 0:00 - The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-little-black-book-of-workout-motivation/ 4:09 - Where were you on your journey before you found my work and where are you now? 55:11 - How did you find your fitness regimen? 1:03:15 - How did you come across The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation? 1:26:24 - What is your perspective on personal responsibility? 1:37:01 - Is there anything else you would like to share? Mentioned on the show: The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation is a bestselling fitness book that helps you overcome the mental blocks that are keeping you unmotivated, unhappy, and unhealthy: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-little-black-book-of-workout-motivation/

Do glute activation exercises actually work? Is the 5:2 diet worse for muscle retention than a continuous calorie deficit? Does vitamin D supplementation protect you against injury? Can blood flow restriction training help you gain muscle just as effectively as traditional training? I’m going to give you the TLDR for the latest studies on these topics. This podcast is another installment in my Research Roundup series of episodes, where I give you concise and practical takeaways from studies that I think are interesting and that can help us gain muscle and strength faster, lose fat faster, perform better athletically, feel better, live longer, or get and stay healthier. There is a ton of scientific research that gets published every year, and even if you narrow your focus to fitness research, it would still take several lifetimes to unravel the hairball of studies on nutrition, training, supplementation, and related fields. That's why my team and I put a lot of time into reviewing, dissecting, and describing scientific studies in articles, podcasts, and books. In today's episode, I'm tackling studies on whether glute “activation” exercises boost glute growth, how effective the 5:2 diet is for preserving muscle while you diet, whether vitamin D can actually help prevent injury, and how well blood flow restriction training works for building muscle. Press play if you want to learn the answers to those questions. Oh and if you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness). And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps 0:00 - Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 4:20 - Do glute activation exercises boost glutei activation when you squat? 8:59 - How effective is the 5:2 diet? 14:44 - What are the benefits of Vitamin D? 19:06 - How can blood flow restriction training help you gain muscle? Mentioned on the Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

Do cold showers do anything? How long does it take to reach your genetic muscle potential? Should you count the calories from vegetables? How many sets should you do for your arms? All that and more in this Q&A podcast. This podcast is a Q&A, but it’s a bit different from the kind you’ll typically find here on Muscle For Life. In my usual Q&A episodes, I take a question from email or Instagram and then fully answer it in an episode of the podcast every week. However, over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps 0:00 - Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You: www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz 2:31 - What is the best temperature to shower in? 4:27 - What are your thoughts on trendy electrolyte drinks? 9:06 - Is decline bench press a waste of time? 9:51 - What are the benefits of creatine for women? 11:33 - Do vegetarians need collagen? 12:12 - What is the proper rep tempo? 14:47 - What is the best magnesium supplement? 15:42 - Should I count my cruciferous vegetables? 16:40 - How many direct biceps/tricep exercises are necessary in a PPL program? 18:37 - Do you use collars on leg press? 18:49 - How long would it take for someone to reach their genetic muscle potential? Mentioned on the Show: Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You in Just 60 Seconds: http://www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz

What’s the best way to build a beach-ready, bikini body? What are the most important muscle groups to train, and how can you organize your workout split to ensure you’ll reach your goal as quickly as possible? Holly Baxter explains how to achieve a developed, lean physique in this podcast. Most women aren’t planning to ever step on stage as part of a bikini or physique competition. However, some version of that general look is a common goal of many women who have started training and lifting weights in the gym. If you’ve ever wondered how to build a bikini-ready body, you’re going to enjoy this podcast. In it, Holly Baxter explains what it takes to build a bikini body, including training tips, exercise selection, and more. In case you’re not familiar with Holly, she’s an educator, coach, nutritionist, and Accredited Practicing Dietitian (ADP) with a Masters in Dietetics. Her academic career has also translated into competitive success. She’s a two time world level champion fitness model in the Natural Universe and Natural Olympia competitions, and has pro status with the WBFF. She’s won various naturally bodybuilding competitions in the IFBB, OCB, and more. She’s also a co-founder of the Carbon Diet Coach as well as Team Biolayne with Layne Norton. In our chat, Holly and I talk about . . . The best exercises for glute activation and development The importance of warmups and how to do them effectively Whether chest work is important for a beach-body look (and how much to do) How she builds a training program (including how she counts weekly muscle group volume) Shoulder development tips The “best” workout splits, rep ranges, and training frequency And more . . . So if you want to learn how to build a “Hollywood” babe body, and what it takes to develop the muscle groups most women care more about, listen to this podcast! Timestamps: 0:00 - Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 6:07 - What kind of training do women need in preparation for a bikini competition? 10:05 - What are your thoughts on the effects of squats? 14:38 - What is your warm up routine? 16:48 - Did you have a simpler routine before? 19:58 - How do you like to structure your warmup sets? 22:38 - What are your thoughts on intensity discipline? 38:44 - How important is chest work for a bikini competition? 39:20 - What are some of your favorite exercises to do? 40:37 - What volume do you recommend for lower body exercises? 45:50 - Do you program your workouts to be both indirect and direct? 49:50 - What are some exercises that improve shoulder development? 59:23 -  Is there anything else you would like to share? 1:01:56 - What do you recommend for workout splits? 1:06:31 - Where can we find you? Mentioned on the show: Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! Holly’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollytbaxter

Many people say the best diet and exercise regimens are the ones you can stick to. This is true insofar as compliance is concerned, but it misses a crucial caveat: efficacy. No matter how well you stick to a diet or exercise routine that doesn’t work, you’re nowhere. The goldilocks zone, then, is the overlap between what you can stick with and what works. And while that territory is larger than you might think, there are boundaries. Some people try to snub such “tough fitness truths” for more comforting myths and fictions, but the sooner you can find, accept, and adapt to them, the sooner you can get on the glide path to your best body ever. Listen to this podcast for ten of these fitness truths! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 3:00 -  Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://muscleforlife.show/vip Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://muscleforlife.show/vip

Is eating 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day more than necessary? Don’t some studies say eating any more than 0.8 grams per pound is pointless? Why do I often recommend eating 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day? 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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . “1 g of protein per pound of bodyweight per day is more than necessary.” Timestamps: 0:00 - Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You: www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz 2:16 - What is protein and why does it matter? 3:39 - How much protein is needed to effectively gain muscle? 5:27 - Why should we have that amount of protein and why does that amount change? 7:03 - Where did you come up with those numbers? 11:37 - How much protein should we consume for health and longevity? Mentioned on the Show: Find the Perfect Strength Training Program for You in Just 60 Seconds: www.muscleforlife.show/trainingquiz

Have you ever tried to make a big change in your life, and instead of easing into it and slowly building up the necessary behaviors and habits, you dove headfirst towards the goal and went all-out? This is common and it often leads to disaster. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with having big goals, wanting to do things “right,” or giving something your best effort. However, trying to outperform and constantly chasing end goals is a recipe for burnout and never really feeling fulfilled. So, how do we find balance? Well, in this interview, I’m chatting with Brad Stulberg about a different approach—one he calls “groundedness” and which he has written about in his newest book, The Practice of Groundedness. Brad explains this concept in-depth in the interview, but “groundedness” is a way to harness your motivation and energy and help you become more process-oriented instead of end-goal driven, which can lead to improved well-being and outcomes. In case you’re not familiar with Brad, he’s a researcher, writer, and coach on well-being and what it takes to succeed. As an author, he’s been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, New Yorker, Sports Illustrated, and more. He helps executives, entrepreneurs, and athletes work on their mental game, improve their overall well-being, and achieve excellence. He’s also the coauthor of Peak Performance, a book I did a Book Club episode on in 2017. In our chat, Brad and I talk about . . . How to create an "internal dashboard" so you can stop chasing end results and outcomes How to discover and define your core values so you can enjoy the process more The role your environment plays in helping or hurting your groundedness practice Role-modeling behavior to loved ones rather than trying to convince others to change a behavior with you The power of acceptance and why it matters for lasting change Why patience actually gets you to your goals faster How to foster community and why it’s important for success And more . . . So if you want to build confidence, find more balance in your life, be happier, avoid burnout, and learn how to realize excellence and more sustainable success, you’re going to love this podcast! Timestamps: 0:00 - New Pulse flavor Strawberry Margarita is out now! Go to buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 5:39 - What is “groundedness”? 6:31 - Is the idea to tie it into some sense of purpose? 12:21 - What are your thoughts on finding core values? How did you figure out those things for yourself? 15:10 - What are some of the common barriers to groundedness? 19:41  - Do you have any advice on dealing with relationships that don’t support your core values? 23:38 - Why do you believe in no cell phones in the bedroom? 28:16 - How can people be more accepting of their own faults and problems? 44:17 - What does a positive community look like and how have you created that in your life? 55:07 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on the show: New Pulse flavor Strawberry Margarita is out now! Try Pulse risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! The Practice of Groundedness: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08PXVXGSM/?tag=mflweb-20 Brad’s website: www.bradstulberg.com Brad’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/BStulberg

Does caffeine boost your performance even if you’re a habitual coffee drinker? How does strength training influence fat burning? Can eating vegetables boost your recovery? How does the carnivore diet affect health markers? Will having a spotter boost your bench press? This is what the latest research says about these questions. This podcast is part of a new series I’m going to call Research Roundups. What is it going to be? Well, there is a ton of scientific research that gets published every year, and even if you narrow your focus to fitness research, it would still take several lifetimes to unravel the hairball of studies on nutrition, training, supplementation, and related fields. That's why my team and I put a lot of time into reviewing, dissecting, and describing scientific studies in articles, podcasts, and books. And while the principles of proper eating and exercising are relatively simple and fairly immutable at this point, new research can help us understand why the fundamentals work. They can help us understand how to better implement them, and how to get better results with them. And occasionally every so often there are new and better methods of eating, exercising, supplementing, and living to achieve our health and fitness goals faster. And so in this series of episodes, you’re going to learn about new research on various things related to building muscle, losing fat, getting healthy, improving wellbeing, and so on. In today's episode, I'm going to be talking about how lifting weights affects gene expression, whether caffeine boosts performance if you’re a regular coffee drinker, the health effects of the carnivore diet, and more. So listen if you want to learn the answers to those questions and more. Oh and if you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness). And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps 0:00 - My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ 3:56 - How does strength training burn fat and help you lose weight? 6:42 - Can eating cruciferous vegetables improve your muscle recovery? 9:13 - How does caffeine affect physical performance if you regularly drink coffee? 14:23 - Is the carnivore diet good for you? 18:05 - How can spotting improve bench press performance? Mentioned on the Show: My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/

How do you overcome a strength plateau? Does high-intensity cardio affect your hormones? Chinups versus pullups? What has been my greatest decision? All that and more in this podcast. This podcast is a Q&A, but it’s a bit different from the kind you’ll typically find here on Muscle For Life. In my usual Q&A episodes, I take a question from email or Instagram and then fully answer it in an episode of the podcast every week. However, over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps 0:00 - My free quiz to answer all your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz 2:27 - What do you do when your strength plateaus? 8:00 - Is Nitrosigine beneficial? 8:54 - Does HIIT training affect hormone levels? 10:02 - How can I increase sales as a newbie entrepreneur? 13:25 - Why is it difficult to eat for a lean bulk? 15:08 - What is the proper way to get back into training? 16:41 - When do we reduce calories when weight loss has stalled? 18:00 - Does eating very little fat have a negative impact on heath? 19:26 - Are there any benefits to taking Pulse on your off days? 20:06 - What is the best decision you’ve made in your life? 24:32 - Is wholemeal toast a nutritious carb? 25:04  - Are chin ups better than pull ups? Mentioned on the Show: Take this free quiz to get science-based answers to all of your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz

In this episode, Adam and I discuss the business and marketing side of the fitness industry in general, and more specifically, of his company, Mind Pump, including how they’ve continued to grow and what it takes to scale. Adam’s been on my podcast before, but in case you’re not familiar with him, he’s a host of Mind Pump, one of the biggest health and fitness podcasts around. He’s also a coach who’s worked with over 1,000 people, and taught other coaches how to be better leaders and sell their services. Adam’s built multiple successful businesses, so he knows a thing or two about how to build and scale one. In our chat, Adam and I talk about . . . Scarcity mindsets and fear of being judged by peers Why some people aren’t open and honest about business successes and struggles The Liver king marketing machine Social media strategy and the differences between various platforms (including Tiktok) The secret to finding meaningful work and not dreading your job The power of knowing when to say “no” to a business idea And more . . . So if you’re at all interested in entrepreneurship, business growth, or “how the sausage gets made” behind the scenes, you’re going to enjoy this podcast! Timestamps: 0:00 - Triumph Male & Female are 25% off this week only! Go to buylegion.com/triumph and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on anything else you order or get double reward points! 6:26 - Why don’t people have honest business conversations? 18:44 - What do you think of popular people who state false information on social media? 47:42 - How did you find the best delivery for your audience? 1:15:42 - What is the next level for you? 1:24:58 - Do you believe that enthusiasm is the secret to success? 1:40:04 - Where can we find you? Mentioned on the show: Triumph Male & Female are 25% off this week only! Go to buylegion.com/triumph and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on anything else you order or get double reward points! Mind Pump’s Free Resources: mindpumpfree.com

My Book Club series isn’t dead! These are the juiciest tidbits from William Zinsser’s On Writing Well, a book that’s always on my list of recommended books on writing. “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 whether the book is likely to be up your alley or not. Alright, let’s get to the takeaways. Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 4:28 - Triumph Male & Female are 25% off this week only! Go to buylegion.com/triumph and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on anything else you order or get double reward points! Mentioned on the Show: Triumph Male & Female are 25% off this week only! Go to buylegion.com/triumph and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on anything else you order or get double reward points!

Do artificial sweeteners sabotage your weight loss efforts? What are the benefits of cyclical dieting? How quickly do you lose muscle if you stop going to the gym? What does delayed gratification have to do with success? Some people—my favorite people—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 do at least a little better inside and outside the gym. That’s why I do “best of” episodes that contain a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from the more popular episodes I’ve published over the years. This way, you can learn interesting insights that you might have otherwise missed and find new episodes of the show to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Alan Aragon on Artificial Sweeteners, Refeeds, Protein Timing, and More! (Originally published 6/8/2020) How Fast Do You Lose Muscle When You Stop Working Out? (Originally published 7/12/2019) Motivation Monday: The Great Art of Sacrifice (Originally published 10/2/2017) And we’ll be starting with number one, Alan Aragon on artificial sweeteners, refeeds, protein timing, and more. Timestamps: 0:00 - My free meal planning tool: buylegion.com/mealplan 2:55 - Alan Aragon on Artificial Sweeteners, Refeeds, Protein Timing, and More! 17:24 - How Fast Do You Lose Muscle When You Stop Working Out? 23:22 - Motivation Monday: The Great Art of Sacrifice Mentioned on the Show: Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free!

In this podcast, I interview Anne-Marie, who did three months of Legion’s VIP one-on-one coaching program to get “unstuck” in her fitness journey, improve her body composition, and feel better and healthier at 45 than ever before. And the best part is she started my Thinner Leaner Stronger program in her 40s, so the lesson here is it’s never too late to get started. Anne-Marie had always been relatively fit, but before she found my work, she did a lot of running and didn’t know what to do in the weights section of the gym. Like many fitness folk who start without a plan, she wandered from machine to machine without much to show for it in terms of results. Then she read Thinner Leaner Stronger and things started to click. She finally knew what to do in the weight room and enjoyed tracking her lifts and seeing the progress over time. But like many other people in her shoes, there was a “missing piece” and she eventually got stuck in a training rut. It turns out that missing piece was nutrition and tracking her macros, which is why she decided to sign up or my VIP Coaching. Her coach taught her everything she needed to know and Anne-Marie immediately noticed the differences proper nutrition could make in her health and fitness. She made huge leaps in her body composition and even her sleep and mood have improved. Since then, Anne-Marie has gone on to start competing and she’s had a lot of success so far, which we’ll talk about in the interview. We also discuss her training history, how she planned workouts while caring for her young daughter, how proper training has changed her weight and body composition, her future competing plans, and more. So if you’re looking for a jolt of inspiration and like motivational stories, definitely listen to this episode. Timestamps: 0:00 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://muscleforlife.show/vip 5:24 - Where were you with your fitness before you found me and my work? 8:01 - What was your previous diet? 9:05 - Are you doing more strength training than before? 10:43 - How did you find me and my work? 17:32 - How has your weight changed? 20:18 - Did you feel any intimidation going to the gym? 21:50 - How long did it take for you to get comfortable at the gym? 22:31 -  How did you make time to workout 3 times a week when you first started? 30:03 - How was your diet and nutrition journey? 32:05 - How did your body react to higher protein intake? 39:24 -  What made you want to compete? 41:14 - How did you prepare for the competition? 43:35 - How did the two shows go? 46:59 - Have you learned anything interesting that you would like to share to other women that want to compete? 50:01 - How were you feeling going into the competition? 52:08 - What was it like after competing? 57:49 - Where can people find you? Mentioned on the show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://muscleforlife.show/vip Thinner Leaner Stronger: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/thinner-leaner-stronger/

I have some bad news for you. Unfortunately, many people in your life are not going to take your fitness seriously. The good news, though, is you can just shrug them off. You don't need their permission to take your fitness as seriously as you need to. You don't need to be ashamed to make time for it and defend that time. Without regular exercise and without regular strength training in particular, health and vitality inevitably decay. Your health and your vitality are not just parts of your life. They quite literally are your life. So by refusing to spend a few hours per week on your fitness, what you're basically saying is “I don't care about my life.” Listen to this podcast for a bit of workout motivation! Timestamps: 0:00 - Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 2:49 - The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-little-black-book-of-workout-motivation/ Mentioned on the Show: The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation is a bestselling fitness book that helps you overcome the mental blocks that are keeping you unmotivated, unhappy, and unhealthy: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-little-black-book-of-workout-motivation/

Does bench press grip width matter? How does collagen protein compare with whey even when it’s spiked with leucine? Are keto diets better for weight loss? Can Rhodiola rosea boost performance? Do pre-performance routines affect performance? This is what the latest research says about these questions. This podcast is part of a new series I’m going to call Research Roundups. What is it going to be? Well, there is a ton of scientific research that gets published every year, and even if you narrow your focus to fitness research, it would still take several lifetimes to unravel the hairball of studies on nutrition, training, supplementation, and related fields. That's why my team and I put a lot of time into reviewing, dissecting, and describing scientific studies in articles, podcasts, and books. And while the principles of proper eating and exercising are relatively simple and fairly immutable at this point, new research can help us understand why the fundamentals work. They can help us understand how to better implement them, and how to get better results with them. And occasionally every so often there are new and better methods of eating, exercising, supplementing, and living to achieve our health and fitness goals faster. And so in this series of episodes, you’re going to learn about new research on various things related to building muscle, losing fat, getting healthy, improving wellbeing, and so on. In today's episode, I'm going to be talking about the bench press grip, whether or not keto is better than normal dieting for weight loss, how pre-performance rituals can enhance your physical performance, and more. So listen if you want to learn the answers to those questions and more. Oh and if you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness). And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps 0:00 - Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free! 3:39 - How does bench press grip affect the muscles being trained? 6:58 - What influence does the keto diet have on body composition? 9:47 - How does collagen protein compare to whey? Why don’t you sell a collagen protein? 13:10 - What are the effects of Rhodiola rosea? 16:00 - What is the effectiveness of pre-performance routines? Mentioned on the Show: Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free!

If you’ve decided you want some help getting fit, finding a coach can be a daunting task. In these days with social media, the barrier to entry to becoming an online coach is lower than ever, and potential clients are left spoiled for choice. Too much choice can paradoxically leave us overwhelmed and exhausted, as we develop decision fatigue and unintentionally start tipping the scales towards maximizing instead of “satisficing.” Unfortunately, with so many potential coaches out there, there’s no shortage of bad coaches either. Or there may be plenty of “good” coaches that simply aren’t a good fit for you and your goals and needs. That’s why I’m talking with Jonathan Goodman in this interview all about how to find a coach worth hiring. Jonathan knows a lot about both good and bad trainers because his business is based on making coaches better at what they do. He created the first-ever certification for online fitness trainers, the Online Trainer Academy, which teaches online coaches how to earn more money and better serve their clients. Jonathan has also written several books on the topic, and is a host on the Online Trainer Show, a podcast full of advice for fitness professionals looking to build an online career. While I’ve built my own online coaching program, there are people for whom my program isn’t a good fit. So whether you want to work with my team or not, the information in this podcast can help you think about what you need in a trainer and start the process of finding a good one. In our conversation, Jonathan talks about  . . . Different places to look for a trainer (and what matters most in finding one) Trainer certifications and qualifications (what to look for and what to ignore) Red flags to watch out for when hiring a coach When you should fire a coach His new (free) tool for sending training programs to clients And more . . . So, if you want some advice on how to find a good coach for you, and don’t mind some marketing, business building, and entrepreneurship tangents along the way, listen to this podcast! Timestamps: 0:00 - Try Phoenix risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/phoenix and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 3:31 - How is it like working from home? 10:07 - How do you find a good trainer? 19:39 - Where can we find a trainer? 25:52 - Are a trainer’s qualifications and certifications important? 1:21:26 - What are some red flags when looking for a trainer? 1:28:27 - When should people consider finding a new coach? Mentioned on the Show: Try Phoenix risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/phoenix and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! QuickCoah: https://quickcoach.fit/ Online Trainer Academy: https://www.theptdc.com/ota Jonathan Goodman’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itscoachgoodman/?hl=en

Is three heavy sets of deadlifts too much? Why do I include three sets of deadlifts when other programs include just one heavy set of 5 reps? Do compound lifts in general cause central nervous system (CNS) fatigue? 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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . “3 heavy sets of deadlifts is too taxing. It should be 1 set of 5 like Starting Strength.” Timestamps: 0:00 - Try Fortify risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/fortify and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 4:08 - What is the central nervous system? 7:01 - What are the effects of deadlifting on your central nervous system? 8:23 - What does research say about deadlifting and central nervous system fatigue? 11:54 - Why do the most proven strength training programs only include one set of deadlifts per week? 13:21 - What are the deadlifting recommendations in your program? Mentioned on the Show: Try Fortify risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/fortify and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

What’s so special about barbell exercises? Why are they the basis of all the best strength training programs? Why can they help you gain whole body muscle and strength faster than anything else? I’m going to answer those questions and many others in this podcast, while also covering my favorite barbell exercises that I’m regularly including in my routine. The reality is you can replace almost all of the machines and other contraptions and toys you see people using in the gym with a barbell and some plates. In other words, you can greatly simplify your training with just a handful of these exercises, and you can do so safely without ever outgrowing them. So, listen to this podcast to learn the benefits of barbell training and my favorite barbell exercises for your whole body. Timestamps: 0:00 - Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free! 3:00 - What are the benefits of barbell exercises? 11:51 - What are some of your favorite barbell bench press exercises? 13:56 -  What are some of your favorite barbell back exercises? 16:26 - What are your favorite barbell shoulder exercises? 18:28 - What are your favorite barbell leg exercises? 21:01 - What are your favorite barbell arm exercises? 23:06 - What are some core barbell training exercises? Mentioned on the Show: Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free!

Aging is an inevitable part of life. But just because we get older doesn’t mean we have to stop doing the physical activities and sports we love, get injured, or accept the role of geriatric couch potato. That’s why I brought Dr. Kevin Stone onto the podcast to discuss athleticism, injury prevention and recovery, joint health, and staying fit as we age. Dr. Stone is a world-renowned expert in sports medicine and orthopaedics, and his work at The Stone Clinic as an orthopaedic surgeon and in the field of joint replacement and treatment has resulted in 50 patents and various publications, grants, and awards. He’s also the Chairman of the Stone Research Foundation, which is a non-profit that pushes forward the science of accelerating healing and treating injured joints. Beyond the operating room, Dr. Stone also has expertise and practical knowledge from working with athletes of all types and ages. He’s worked with the US Ski Team, the US Pro Ski Tour, the Marin Ballet, the Smuin Ballet, the Modern Pentathlon at the US Olympic Festival, and the US Olympic Training Center. And his new book, Play Forever, is all about staying injury-free and helping you do what you love until age 100 and beyond. In our discussion, Dr. Stone and I talk about . . . Listening to your body and knowing the difference between bad pain and soreness The field of stimulating the body to accelerate healing, particular in regards to joints "Joint nutrition" like lubrication, stem cells, and PRP (platelet-rich plasma) treatments How mindset impacts performance and injury Using injury to come back stronger Diet considerations while recovering from injury or surgery And more . . . So, if you want to learn about cutting-edge joint therapies, the science of joint health, and practical tips of how to stay fit and healthy as you age, you’re going to love this podcast! Timestamps: 0:00 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://muscleforlife.show/vip 6:20 - How can we mitigate the negative performance effects of aging? 7:40 - Does aging affect our natural ability to recover from training? 8:14 - How can we play at a level that is fun? 11:55 - How do you know when your body is telling you to stop working out? 15:38 - How do you balance recovery and working out every day? 17:04 - Can you explain lubrication, PRP, and stem cell derivative treatments? 21:17 - Would it make sense to have PRP treatments with healthy joints? 22:45 - Are there any food or supplements you like for joint health and joint function? 25:07 - How much water is enough and what is the proper way to drink water? 27:23 - What role does mindset play in the ability to recover from an injury? 30:33 - What are some signs you are developing arthritis? 33:23 - What are your thoughts about injuries affecting future performances? 35:25 - Do you have any diet tips when recovering from an injury? Is being in a calorie deficit harmful? 38:01 - Where can we find you? Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://www.muscleforlife.show/vip Play Forever: https://www.amazon.com/Play-Forever-Recover-Injury-Thrive/dp/1544526768/?tag=mflweb-20 The Stone Clinic: www.stoneclinic.com The Stone Research Foundation: www.stoneresearch.org

These fitness “white pills” are an antidote to dark days. They’re finding a bright spot, a break in the clouds, a spiritual salve to like, love, and rub all over ourselves. For example, you couldn't gain more than a pound or two of fat in an entire day of relentless feasting and imbibing, so don't fret over the occasional "cheat meal" gone awry. Even your worst won't visibly disturb your body composition, so just shrug it off and jog on. Timestamps: 0:00 -  Please leave a review of the show wherever you listen to podcasts and make sure to subscribe! 4:41 - My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ Mentioned on the Show: My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/

Are electrolyte and hydration supplements worth taking? Can they boost your performance, and prevent dehydration and muscle cramps, or are they a ripoff? The good news is electrolyte drinks, pills, and powders are well studied, and I’m going to dive into what the science says. Proponents and companies peddling these supplements claim you lose large amounts of electrolytes (like sodium, potassium, and magnesium) when you sweat, and your performance, mood, and overall health will quickly wane if you don’t replenish these vital minerals. Do you really need to refresh your electrolyte levels, though, or can you get everything you need from food? And when it comes to hydration, are there any benefits to drinking special, salty water? Listen to this podcast to find out! Timestamps: 0:00 - My free quiz to answer all your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz 2:40 - What are electrolytes/hydration supplements? 4:24 - Why do people take these supplements? 7:31 - Do electrolytes affect performance? 9:21 - What is the salty sweater claim? 15:58 - Can electrolytes cure or prevent muscle cramps? 20:28 - Do electrolytes help keep you hydrated? 24:02 Are electrolytes dangerous? 25:08 - What is the final take on electrolytes? Mentioned on the Show: Take this free quiz to get science-based answers to all of your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz

Are you bored of the same exercises, day after day in the gym? Kyle Hunt and I discuss often-overlooked and underrated exercises you can try next time you train to add some spice to your program while getting bigger and stronger. In this episode, repeat podcast guest Kyle Hunt and I talk about underrated exercises. It’s fairly common to bust myths and talk about overrated exercises you see many people doing in the gym, but we’re taking the opposite approach here. These are exercises that have value, but which a lot of people overlook or judge more harshly than they should. Whether you just don’t know about these movements, don’t do them because you heard they’re dangerous or ineffective, or if you’ve simply forgotten about them just because they’re not “popular” on social media, these exercises can benefit your programming and train your muscles in new ways. Specifically, Kyle and I chat about . . . Chest-supported rows and how they can help when you don’t have heavy dumbbells The value of handstand pushups and one-arm pressing The importance of “intensity discipline” and AMRAP sets Tips for safety bar squats, pistol squats, and good mornings Loaded carries (and how to program them) Trap-bar deadlifts and nordic hamstring curls Different types of pullovers (and what muscles they train and why you’d add them) And more . . . In case you’re not familiar with Kyle, he’s a competitive powerlifter, coach, author, and owner of Hunt Fitness, who’s worked with hundreds of powerlifters and bodybuilders alike. He’s also the host of The Absolute Strength Podcast, which I’ve been a guest on a number of times. So, if you want some new ideas on exercises you can incorporate to add some variety to your training while still training effectively (and hitting your muscles in different ways), you’re going to enjoy this podcast! Timestamps: 0:00 - Go to buylegion.com to save up to 30% on everything in our store this week only! Save big during our Spring Site Wide Sale! 5:56 - What are some underrated exercises? 7:41 - What is incline prone dumbbell rowing? 15:06 - What are your thoughts on intensity discipline? 17:45 - Handstand pushups 23:40 - What are your thoughts on the seated one arm overhead press? 24:49 - What are your thoughts on unilateral exercises? 27:20 - Safety bar squats 39:40 - Chinups for biceps 42:08 - Suitcase carries, farmers walks, and loaded carries 45:11 - How do loaded carries affect GPP (general physical preparedness)? How does GPP improve your performance? 49:28 - Good mornings 51:48 - Pistol squats 53:49 - How to program pistol squats 54:02 - Trap bar deadlifts 59:38 - Pendulum squats 1:01:29 - What are your thoughts on nordic hamstring curls? 1:04:37 - Pullovers 1:06:49 - What are your thoughts on dumbbell pullovers? 1:08:23 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on the Show: Our first big sale of the year is taking place at www.buylegion.com. Save up to 30% on everything in our store! Save big before we run out of stock! Kyle Hunt’s Absolute Strength Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-absolute-strength-podcast/id1146086687 Kyle Hunt’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/huntfitness/

If you have an injured arm, should you still do exercises with the non-injured arm? Is beet juice a good pre-workout? What’s a good grip for bench press? How do I get motivated for cardio? All that and more in this podcast. This podcast is a Q&A, but it’s a bit different from the kind you’ll typically find here on Muscle For Life. In my usual Q&A episodes, I take a question from email or Instagram and then fully answer it in an episode of the podcast every week. However, over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps 0:00 - Go to buylegion.com to save up to 30% on everything in our store this week only! Save big during our Spring Site Wide Sale! 3:36 - My shoulder is in a sling for 2 months, is it worth it to do single arm curls, shoulder raises, etc. with my good arm? 4:03 -  You hit 4 sets of 10 on a secondary exercise. Next time, should you go for 11-12 or move up in weight? 5:55 - Are straps needed when you get to a heavy weight on conventional deadlifts? 7:56 - What’s a good grip for the barbell bench press? 8:52 - I feel better with a low carb diet mentally, can I still grow? 9:14 - What’s your next move professionally? 12:40 - Can beet juice (powder) be a good pre workout? 13:20 - Cardio sucks, how do I get motivated to do a cardio session? 14:32 - What are your thoughts on teledildonics? 15:11 - At what age should your kid start lifting? What should they start off with if they show an interest in lifting? Mentioned on the Show: Our first big sale of the year is taking place at www.buylegion.com. Save up to 30% on everything in our store! Save big before we run out of stock!

Some people—my favorite people—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 do at least a little better inside and outside the gym. That’s why I do “best of” episodes that contain a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from the more popular episodes I’ve published over the years. This way, you can learn interesting insights that you might have otherwise missed and find new episodes of the show to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: How Jake Gained 20 Pounds of Muscle on My Bigger Leaner Stronger Program (Originally published 3/25/2019) Why Your Hip Flexors Are So Tight (and What to Do About It) (Originally published 3/20/2019) Motivation Monday: Are You a Fox or a Hedgehog? (Originally published 5/14/2018) And we’ll be starting with number one, how Jake gained 20 pounds of muscle on my Bigger Leaner Stronger program. Timestamps: 0:00 - My free quiz to answer all your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz 2:38 - How Jake Gained 20 Pounds of Muscle on My Bigger Leaner Stronger Program 11:05 - Why Your Hip Flexors Are So Tight (and What to Do About It) 17:39 - Motivation Monday: Are You a Fox or a Hedgehog? Mentioned on the Show: Take this free quiz to get science-based answers to all of your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz

In this podcast, I interview Jay, who read Bigger Leaner Stronger and used what he learned in my books and podcasts to turn his life around both physically and mentally. Not only has Jay lost over 50 pounds so far while getting stronger every week, but his mental health has radically improved. Jay is the perfect example of how getting in shape and taking control of your health can dramatically boost your mood and mindset. Before finding my work, Jay battled post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression, and even tried to take his own life. Luckily, he failed, and started to take baby steps towards improving his physical health, which dramatically affected his mental health. As Jay puts it in the interview, he doesn’t know if he’d be here if it wasn’t for using what he learned in Bigger Leaner Stronger to start nourishing his body with nutritious food and getting active with resistance training and cardio. Since then, Jay decided to sign up for my VIP coaching program and in this interview, Jay and I chat about his story, and the obstacles he’s navigated along the way, including how he eased into fitness with walks and bodyweight movements, how he overcame gym intimidation, how he stopped coping with alcohol, why he decided to sign up for coaching, how fitness has affected his mental state, and a lot more. So if you’re looking for a jolt of inspiration and like motivational stories, definitely listen to this episode. Timestamps: 0:00 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://buylegion.com/vip 7:32 - Where were you with your fitness before you found Legion and where are you now? 50:02 - How was your experience going through the program twice? 57:37 - How has your mental health improved? 1:09:37 - How do you differentiate if your body is warming up, rusty, or sore? 1:24:14 - Is there anything you would like to add? Mentioned on the show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://buylegion.com/vip Bigger Leaner Stronger: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/bigger-leaner-stronger/ The Shredded Chef: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-shredded-chef/ Muscle For Life: https://legionathletics.com/muscle-for-life-book/

Fitness isn't everything, but everything is harder if you aren't fit. And some days, the “fitness” work is internal, not external. Listen to learn why. Timestamps: 0:00 -  Please leave a review where you listen to podcasts and subscribe to the show! 1:21 - New Whey+ flavor Honey Cereal is out now! Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! Mentioned on the Show: New Whey+ flavor Honey Cereal is out now! Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

Are barefoot shoes worth it? My best tips for meal planning and prepping. What would I do as ruler of the world? What’s the one book to rule them all? All that and more in this podcast. This podcast is a Q&A, but it’s a bit different from the kind you’ll typically find here on Muscle For Life. In my usual Q&A episodes, I take a question from email or Instagram and then fully answer it in an episode of the podcast every week. However, over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps 0:00 - My free quiz to answer all your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz 2:01 - Why do I see women eating as much or more than me? 4:31 - Why don’t you mention anything about your thoughts on stretching in your books? 5:39 - If you were the absolute ruler of Earth, what changes would you make? 6:10 - What do you think about a 90% carnivore diet? 6:46 - Do you know of a place where one could live free from covid tyranny? 7:22 - Why are people still getting tested for Covid-19? 7:35 - Do barefoot shoes make a difference? 8:55 - What is your favorite book besides your own books? What would be your obsession if it wasn’t working out? 10:35 - Do you have any tips on being consistent with your meal plan and meal prepping? 14:27 - How should I respond to my boyfriend that keeps telling me to tone with lighter weights? 14:45 -  How is Legion Protein powder so good? Mentioned on the Show: Take this free quiz to get science-based answers to all of your diet questions: www.muscleforlife.show/dietquiz

Are we all drowning in dopamine without even realizing it? What are the effects of being bombarded with dopamine in the reward pathways of our brain, and more importantly, what can we do about it? My guest, Dr. Anna Lembke, a Stanford professor and expert in the neuroscience of addiction, is on today’s episode to talk all that, including “dopamine detoxing.” Not only is Anna a psychiatrist and clinician who helps patients overcome addiction of all types, Chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic, and Medical Director of Addiction Medicine at Stanford, but she’s also a best-selling author. Her latest book Dopamine Nation is a New York Times best-seller, chock-full of the science behind dopamine and impulsive overconsumption, as well as practical tips to reset our brains with a “dopamine detox.” And just in case you think the topic of addiction doesn’t apply to you, when’s the last time you tried to put down your smart phone for 24 hours (or longer)? In our discussion, addiction applies to more than just classic substances like alcohol and opioids. Anna and I discuss various behaviors we can develop “nefarious” relationships with, including watching Netflix and porn, playing video games, overindulging in junk food, and more. Specifically, we talk about . . . What dopamine is and its role in movement, pleasure, and addiction Dopamine fasting (and how it's not avoiding all pleasure, as commonly espoused) The debate of what "true" addiction is (think heroin vs. Netflix) and how addiction is treated Pornography addiction and practical ways to overcome it How to maintain balance and still experience pleasure without things getting out of control Mini-detoxes and how to use self-binding strategies to succeed in restraint Why doing challenging (or even painful) things can actually enhance dopamine production And more . . . So, if any of that piques your interest, or if you just want to know whether you should do a “dopamine detox,” and how to do one properly, listen to this podcast! Timestamps: 0:00 - Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 6:51 - What is a dopamine detox? 13:49 - What are you thoughts on addiction? 19:18 - What do those interventions look like? 24:08 - What are some strategies to stop an addiction? 31:20 - Are there any substances that you think are more addictive than others? 35:01 - What should someone do if they believe they are falling into addiction? 37:44 - Is there value in committing to dopamine detoxes? 39:41 - What are healthy sources of dopamine? 45:52 - Is there value in setting time for relaxation and boredom? Mentioned on the Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! Dopamine Nation: https://www.amazon.com/Dopamine-Nation-Finding-Balance-Indulgence/dp/152474672X/?tag=mflweb-20

Why is it that some people seem to eat whatever they want without putting on any body fat? Almost all of us know that person that just doesn’t put on body fat no matter how much they eat. And if you search the internet for 10,000 calorie challenges or #cheatday, you’ll see plenty of very fit folks eating huge amounts of food, without any body fat to show for it. What gives? While it seems like these people have some innate ability to eat without consequence, their bodies follow the same physiological rules as everyone else's. The real explanation boils down to their eating and exercise habits, including the ones you don’t see. In this podcast, I’ll answer why some people seem to be able to eat as much as they want without getting fatter. Press play and let me know what you think! Timestamps: 0:00 -  Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 4:20 - How can people eat whatever they want without gaining weight? 10:49 - Burning calories through digesting food 13:52 - Storing macronutrients as fat 20:07 - Moving more when you eat more 21:48 - Calorie absorption Mentioned on the Show: Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to www.buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

Why don’t I manipulate rep tempo in my programs like other strength and hypertrophy programs? 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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . “Why don’t you periodize rep tempo in your programs?” Timestamps: 0:00 - Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free! 3:09 - Why do your programs not include rep tempo manipulation? 9:17 - How relevant is explosive training to lifestyle bodybuilders? 13:22 - What do studies say about rep tempo? Mentioned on the Show: Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free!

In this podcast, I’m once again chatting with Alex Banayan, but this time, I fielded questions from my followers over on Instagram all about mindset, success, and achieving your dreams. In case you missed my first chat with Alex and you’re not familiar with him, his book The Third Door, which is all about his 7-year journey to interview some of the most successful people in the world, has made him the youngest bestselling business author in American history, and the book is a number one international bestseller. He’s been named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list and Business Insider’s “Most Powerful People Under 30,” and been featured in Fortune, CNBC, Businessweek, The Washington Post, MSNBC, Fox News, and NBC News. In this discussion, Alex and I talk about . . . How to deal with friends and family who are dismissive and negative about your goals and dreams The best way to deal with imposter syndrome (and why you shouldn’t worry about it) Why honesty and integrity matter more than you think His 30-day clarity challenge, which is a tool to gain awareness so you can plan where you’re going. (A description of the challenge is also linked in the show notes.) When quitting and giving up on a goal might be appropriate And more . . . So if you want to hear some of our thoughts on chasing your dreams and how to develop the mindset necessary for success, don’t miss this interview! And if you enjoyed the discussion, don’t forget to check out my first interview with Alex. Timestamps: 0:00 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://buylegion.com/vip 5:59 - How do you deal with friends and family that are not supportive of your goals? 17:03 - What about people that are always pessimistic? 40:00 - How do you deal with imposter syndrome? 55:46- Why does humanization matter? 1:00:02 - What are your thoughts on giving up on a goal? 1:11:00 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://buylegion.com/vip The Third Door: https://www.amazon.com/Third-Door-Uncover-Successful-Launched/dp/0804136661/?tag=mflweb-20 Alex Banayan’s website: https://thirddoorbook.com/ Alex’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexbanayan/ 30-Day Clarity Challenge: https://www.instagram.com/p/CZxiUzxv_St/

“Taking BCAAs in addition to eating plenty of protein is like watering your lawn . . . after a storm.” This episode is filled with similar, fun fitness analogies from my next book project. I’ll talk more about that later, but I wanted to share some of the material from that book. It’s just for fun, and I hope you’ll laugh a bit. Press play and let me know what you think! Timestamps: 0:00 -  Please leave a review and subscribe to the podcast! 6:27 - Want 125 quick, easy, and delicious “fitness friendly” recipes? Get The Shredded Chef: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-shredded-chef/ Mentioned on the Show: Want 125 quick, easy, and delicious “fitness friendly” recipes? Check out The Shredded Chef: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-shredded-chef/

What are the benefits of massage? Is the pec deck effective at all? Is CLA a dud supplement? Best foods for bulking? This podcast is a Q&A, but it’s a bit different from the kind you’ll typically find here on Muscle For Life. In my usual Q&A episodes, I take a question from email or Instagram and then fully answer it in an episode of the podcast every week. However, over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps 0:00 - Try Triton risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/triton and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 4:01 - What is your favorite cheat snack? 5:11 - How effective is the pec deck? 5:56 - What is a typical beginner training split? 9:08 - How are you? 9:45 - What are your thoughts on natural immunity? 10:06 - What do you think about collagen? 14:51 - What are your thoughts on massage? What are the benefits and how often should I get one? 15:51 - When talking about the number of reps, do you mean from technical failure or muscular failure? 19:05 - What do you think about CLA? 20:31 - How do I learn to hip hinge with no lower back pain? 21:35 - Are full-body workouts hard to recover from? 22:33 - What are your maintenance calories? 23:04 - What are the best foods for bulking? Mentioned on the Show: Try Triton risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/triton and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

In this podcast, I chat with scientist and friend Dr. Bill Campbell all about flexible dieting. Specifically, we discuss a study out of his lab that compared a flexible, IIFYM diet with a more rigid, meal plan approach. In case you’re not familiar with Dr. Campbell, he’s a professor of Exercise Science and the Director of the Performance & Physique Enhancement Laboratory at the University of South Florida, who’s also published more than 150 scientific papers. In other words, Dr. Campbell has long been behind the scenes, conducting research on practical, fitness-related matters that can be applied to get us more jacked. The study we’re discussing on flexible versus rigid dieting is no exception. Surprisingly, it’s the first comparison of IIFYM to rigid dieting with resistance-trained athletes as the subjects, which makes it especially applicable to fitness folks. In this episode, Dr. Campbell describes the study, the results, and his practical approach of protein-anchored flexible dieting. We also get into incorporating processed versus unprocessed foods in a flexible diet, fiber supplementation, post-diet weight regain, animal versus plant proteins, circadian rhythms, and a lot more. So, if you want to learn what the science says about flexible dieting and how it compares to following a meal plan, how processed food affects our eating habits, and how to avoid body fat overshoot after your diet, don’t miss this episode! Timestamps 0:00 - My pre-workout Pulse’s seasonal flavors Frosted Cranberry and Apple Cider are 20% off this week only! Go to buylegion.com/pulse to check them out and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on any non-sale items or get double reward points! 4:25 - Tell us about your findings on the study of flexible vs. rigid dieting. 10:47 - Would you expect the same results if someone was new to dieting? 19:02 - Will you experience more hunger if you lose more muscle while dieting? 24:05 - How much fat can I gain in one day? 25:10 - When is it appropriate to take a rigid approach vs taking a flexible approach? 30:36 -  How do we choose the right foods to hit our macros? 42:10 - What is your theory on eating around your circadian rhythm? 49:45 - What are your thoughts on supplementing with fiber? 52:20 - Is there anything else you would like to add? 53:41 - What is the best source of protein? 57:51 - Where can we find you and work? Mentioned on the Show: My pre-workout Pulse’s seasonal flavors Frosted Cranberry and Apple Cider are 20% off this week only! Go to buylegion.com/pulse to check them out and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on any non-sale items or get double reward points! Bill Campbell’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/billcampbellphd/

What is the healthiest diet in the world? That’s something I’m often asked, and a question many researchers have tried to answer. Unfortunately, many of the most popular answers aren’t the best ones. They’re either not quite accurate or ridiculously wrong, which is mostly a function of marketing. A lot of fad diets get attention because they are marketed well. Too many fad diets focus on restricting certain foods or food groups, instead of encouraging you to eat others. Often the restrictions are based on bad science, faulty logic, or marketing puffery. Luckily, the healthiest diet on the planet is quite simple, and I’m going to explain the handful of guidelines in this podcast. Timestamps: 0:00 - My pre-workout Pulse’s seasonal flavors Frosted Cranberry and Apple Cider are 20% off this week only! Go to buylegion.com/pulse to check them out and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on any non-sale items or get double reward points! 4:28 - What is a healthy diet? 5:41 - Is a vegan diet a healthy diet? 8:43 - Is a vegetarian diet healthy? 10:16 - Can you survive on the carnivore diet? 13:09 - What is the healthiest diet in the world? 16:35 - 10 steps to a maximally healthy diet Mentioned on the Show: My pre-workout Pulse’s seasonal flavors Frosted Cranberry and Apple Cider are 20% off this week only! Go to buylegion.com/pulse to check them out and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on any non-sale items or get double reward points!

Some people—my favorite people—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 do at least a little better inside and outside the gym. That’s why I do “best of” episodes that contain a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from the more popular episodes I’ve published over the years. This way, you can learn interesting insights that you might have otherwise missed and find new episodes of the show to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Ben Pakulski on Meditation, Consciousness, Focus, Spirituality, and More (Originally published 4/29/2019) The Easiest Cardio Workout You Can Do (That Actually Works) (Originally published 5/31/2018) Book Club: Alexander the Great by Philip Freeman  (Originally published 10/27/2017) And we’ll be starting with number one, Ben Pakulski on meditation, consciousness, focus, spirituality, and more. Timestamps: 0:00 - Try Triumph risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/triumph and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 4:11 - Ben Pakulski on Meditation, Consciousness, Focus, Spirituality, and More 11:48 - The Easiest Cardio Workout You Can Do (That Actually Works) 15:15 - Book Club: Alexander the Great by Philip Freeman Mentioned on the Show: Try Triumph risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/triumph and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

In this podcast, I interview Laurie, who did three months of Legion’s VIP one-on-one coaching program to get strong while improving her body composition. In fact, Laurie went from lifting just the bar on her squat and deadlift (and less than the bar on the bench press) to lifting more than double that on each lift with ease. And she did that all while losing 6 pounds and dropping nearly two pant sizes. Laurie had started to read Thinner Leaner Stronger, but was overwhelmed by nutrition and meal planning and didn’t really know what to do in the gym. She was following random workouts from influencers and didn’t have a set program to follow, which led to a lot of gym intimidation. Ultimately, she decided to get a coach to handle her training programming and macros and help overcome her fear. In this interview, Laurie and I chat about her story, and the obstacles she navigated along the way, including how she started meal planning and prepping and learned to eat without weighing everything, how she increased her protein intake, how she overcame gym intimidation, how much her body changed despite only losing 6 pounds, why it’s ok to work on your body and aim for self-improvement, what her long term plans are, and more. So if you’re looking for a jolt of inspiration and like motivational stories, definitely listen to this episode. Timestamps: 0:00 - Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://buylegion.com/vip 5:37 - Where were you at before you found my training program? 10:48 - What did your numbers look like before and after my program? 16:32 - When you started training, were you concerned about getting bulky? 17:20 - How did you get used to the amount of protein? 21:05 - How do you make your shakes tasty? 22:29 - Were you practicing portion control while training or were you weighing and measuring your food? 25:38 - Are you still cutting? 29:59 - How did you feel about gym intimidation when you first started and how do you feel about it now? 34:41 - Once you got into the routine, was it different from what you expected? 37:42 - What are your long term goals and short term goals? 39:02 - What are your thoughts on people who think you have an unhealthy relationship with working out? 46:32 - After our coaching program, did you feel confident in moving forward on your own? Mentioned on the show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://buylegion.com/vip Thinner Leaner Stronger: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/thinner-leaner-stronger/

The distinction between believed and checked facts is vital to good thinking. How many things do you know because of firsthand verification rather than secondhand instruction? The truth is many or even most of our assumptions about, well, just about everything are believed facts, not checked ones. While we only have time to check so many facts, serious problems arise when we can’t distinguish between believed and checked facts. When too many believed facts are misfiled as checked ones, and when we refuse to review and revise them no matter what we see or experience, or worse, when we carefully filter our observations and experiences to preserve our cognitive status quo, we can lose our ability to successfully navigate reality. There are various reasons we’re all prone to this thinking trap, but the desire to avoid uncertainty is likely a big one. “Yes” and “no” provide security and comfort whereas “maybe” and “probably” are slippery and treacherous. But they’re also a more accurate reflection of reality. And so if we want to interact with reality more effectively, we must strive to mentally interact with it more effectively, and that requires moving away from monochromatic thinking and toward polychromatic thinking. This cast of mind can be uncomfortable because it often entails accepting that we don’t know nearly as much as we’d like to think. But it also invites opportunity. Remember—there’s a word for the process of rethinking assumptions and reworking opinions: learning. Timestamps: 0:00 -  Please leave a review and subscribe to the podcast! 2:57 - My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ Mentioned on the Show: My award-winning fitness books for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/

Have only 30 minutes to train? How much caffeine do I consume per day? How did I meet my wife? Are hydration drinks overrated? What are the best marketing books? This podcast is a Q&A, but it’s a bit different from the kind you’ll typically find here on Muscle For Life. In my usual Q&A episodes, I take a question from email or Instagram and then fully answer it in an episode of the podcast every week. However, over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps 0:00 - Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free! 3:30 - How do you train when you only have 30 minutes? 5:29 - How did you and your wife meet? 6:26 - What is the best book on marketing for beginners? 6:45 - How long do you recommend a calorie deficit for? 7:59 - How much caffeine do you have every day? 9:22 - What are your thoughts on adding sets to BBLS? 11:10 - When is the BLS booster shot coming? 13:18 - What kind of weight gain do you experience during Christmas? 13:59 - How do you think we will leave this phase of COVID madness? 16:30 - What do you think about high intensity, high frequency, low volume similar to Ted Naiman’s PE diet? 17:43 - Are hydration drinks overrated? 18:51 - What is your go to chocolate? Mentioned on the Show: Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free!

If you enjoy my previous philosophical musings with my good buddy Pat Flynn, you’re going to enjoy this podcast. That’s because in it, Pat Flynn and I discuss the concept of scientism, “the Science” with a capital “S,” as well as epistemological questions like “how do we know what we know?” Pat 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 wade through. Plus, I believe the answers to these “big” questions like the ones we discuss in these philosophical tangent episodes (or at least the act of thinking about them) can help us live a better life. 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. In our discussion, we talk about . . . Science with a capital “S” and how we know what we “know” When and why to be skeptical of “the science” What scientism is and what science can and can’t tell us The concept of a “bully consensus” How we can use this information to make better choices And a lot more . . . So, if you want to learn what scientism is, why science isn’t always the answer to all questions, and how we really know what we know, listen to this podcast! Timestamps: 0:00 - New Recharge flavor Grape is out now! Try Recharge risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/recharge and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points 6:58 - Is the science behind the vaccine safe? Is what we think we know real? 26:45 - Why should I be skeptical about science? 30:53- How can we “know things” through science? 36:24 - Do you have examples of scientific research that has proved certainty or truth? 41:40 - What is the human relationship with science? 1:04:48 - Should we be skeptical of science or trust science? 1:23:33 - How can this information help us to make better choices in our lives? Mentioned on the Show: New Recharge flavor Grape is out now! Try Recharge risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/recharge and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! The Pat Flynn Show: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pat-flynn-show/id1253261458 Chronicles of Strength: https://www.chroniclesofstrength.com/

While there’s still no foolproof cure for Covid, the good news is research shows that if you’re a healthy person under the age of sixty, your chances of being hospitalized or killed by the disease are extremely low. Many people can rightly dismiss Covid as “just another respiratory virus.” However, what if they have an underlying health condition like diabetes, heart disease, or chronic bronchitis? Or, what if they’re healthy but want to make themselves as Covid-resistant as they possibly can? What can and should they do? Scientists have collected and analyzed a huge amount of data on Covid and have a good understanding of the major lifestyle factors that increase and decrease the risk of catching a bad case of the latest variant. In this podcast, I’m going to cover the top 9 tips to naturally reduce your risk of Covid. Timestamps: 0:00 - New Recharge flavor Grape is out now! Try Recharge risk-free today! Go to https://buylegion.com/recharge and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points 4:37 - Maintain a healthy weight 6:25 - Exercise 30 min a day 9:06 - Get enough sleep 11:11 - Drink less alcohol 13:08 - Reduce stress 17:41 - Quit smoking 18:05 - Eat well 20:49 - Spend time outdoors 22:48 - Take the right supplements Mentioned on the Show: New Recharge flavor Grape is out now! Try Recharge risk-free today! Go to https://buylegion.com/recharge and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points Take the Legion Diet Quiz to get specific advice about how many calories, how much of each macronutrient, and which foods you should eat to lose weight quickly: www.buylegion.com/dietquiz

Is “maingaining” or “gaintaining” better than lean bulking? 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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . You should “maingain” instead of lean bulk. Timestamps: 0:00 - Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free! 3:09 - What is maingaining? 5:43 - Is maingaining better than lean bulking? 12:53 - How do you get the most out of maingaining? 14:40 - Who is maingaining for? Mentioned on the Show: Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free!

When you really break it down, fitness is pretty simple. Want to gain muscle and get stronger? Lift heavy weights and make those weights heavier over time to keep making progress. Want to lose weight? Eat fewer calories than you burn by eating less, moving more, or both. However, dumbing it down to such simple tenets isn’t always helpful. For someone who’s very overweight, for example, blunt “eat less” advice isn’t necessarily the most motivating or even practical tip. Helping people requires a bit more nuance. And it often helps to hear from someone who has made it through that journey themselves rather than a trainer who’s never been a pound above ripped. Enter Ethan Suplee, who has had one of the most impressive transformations I’ve seen. I’ve had him on my podcast before to talk about his journey from over 500 pounds to jacked with abs. In case you’re not familiar with Ethan, he’s a Hollywood actor who’s appeared in quite a few blockbuster movies and hit T.V. shows including Mallrats, Without a Paddle, American History X, Cold Mountain, Remember the Titans, My Name Is Earl, Chasing Amy, and many more. Not only has Ethan walked the walk in terms of losing a lot of weight and keeping it off, but he’s using his celebrity and story to help spread the word about proper nutrition and training through his Instagram account and podcast, American Glutton. In our discussion, we talk about . . . Getting emotional eating under control The merits of the motto "food is fuel" The psychology of getting really lean and how to maintain weight loss Being afraid to eat more after losing weight Motivation to keep training once you reach your goals And a lot more . . . So, if you want to know what it’s really like to go from very overweight to lean, and what it takes to lose serious amounts of weight and keep it off, listen to this podcast! Timestamps: 0:00 - My fat-burners Phoenix and Forge are 25% off this week only! Go to buylegion.com and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on any non-sale items or get double reward points! 6:10 - How is training 6 days a week going for you? 6:57 - Have you added volume? 11:30 - How do you make someone want to change on their own? 16:35 - At what point did you decide to make a change and why? 22:42 - What was holding you back that stopped you from changing yourself? 26:57 - Would you say you were emotionally eating? If so, how did you get that under control? 23:52 - What had to change in order to live your life differently? 32:45 - What are your thoughts on people who disagree with labeling food as “just fuel”? 42:08 - Have you experienced any unique challenges? 48:05 - Was there ever a period where you started to gain weight back? 59:44 - What’s your motivation now? 1:06:03 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on the Show: My fat-burners Phoenix and Forge are 25% off this week only! Go to buylegion.com and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on any non-sale items or get double reward points! Ethan Suplee’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ethansuplee/?hl=en Ethan’s podcast American Glutton: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/american-glutton/id1490933138

Is exercise addiction real? Is it something to worry about? In general, the opposite is the problem here in America. Seventy-seven percent of Americans fail to reach the minimum recommended physical activity guidelines, while only about 0.5% of people can be classified as what we might call exercise addicts. However, the numbers change when you look at certain demographics. For example, when you look at “fitness people” specifically, exercise addiction is much more common according to a number of studies. So what is exercise addiction? Could you be addicted to exercise or maybe on the path to becoming addicted? What are the signs of exercise addictions? How do you know if you’re exercising too much? I answer all that and more in this podcast, so press play and dive in! Timestamps: 0:00 - My fat-burners Phoenix and Forge are 25% off this week only! Go to buylegion.com and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on any non-sale items or get double reward points! 3:55 - What is exercise addiction? 5:25 - What classifies you an addict? 7:16 - Why do you become addicted to exercise? 11:00 - What are the signs of exercise addiction? 13:04 - Do I have an exercise addiction? Mentioned on the Show: My fat-burners Phoenix and Forge are 25% off this week only! Go to buylegion.com and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on any non-sale items or get double reward points!

This podcast is a Q&A, but it’s a bit different from the kind you’ll typically find here on Muscle For Life. In my usual Q&A episodes, I take a question from email or Instagram and then fully answer it in an episode of the podcast every week. However, over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps 0:00 - Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free! 3:04 - What is the maximum amount of volume that can be done in a single workout? 4:29 - What are your thoughts on the anti-work movement and people demanding more from their employers? 5:55 - What are your hopes for 2022? 6:21 - How much do you have to maintain after reaching strength and physique goals? 6:50 - What is the proper tempo for calf exercises? 9:30 - Can you bulk for half the week and shred fat the other half? 10:12 - What are some ways to workout calves at home? 10:39 - Is there anything that can help speed up the healing of my wrist due to inflammation besides pausing workouts? Do you recommend any supplements? 11:12 - Do you have to take your post workout shake within 30 minutes? 12:20 - How much meat can you eat daily? 13:39 - Is the new frosted cranberry pulse flavor good? Mentioned on the Show: Want a free meal planning tool that figures out your calories, macros, and micros, and allows you to create custom meal plans for cutting, lean gaining, and maintaining in under 5 minutes? Go to https://buylegion.com/mealplan and download the tool for free!

This podcast is all about creatine. Specifically, I'm talking with Dr. Darren Candow about common questions regarding creatine, myths, and even some of the latest research on how creatine might even benefit people who aren’t looking to gain gobs of muscle or athletes looking to recover faster. While creatine isn’t a new subject for the podcast or my content in general, Dr. Darren Candow is a fantastic guest to dive deeper on the topic. That’s because he’s studied it directly in the field. Not only is Darren a professor at the University of Regina, but his research is focused on creatine and resistance training, and he’s produced 87 peer-reviewed studies and his work has been cited thousands of times. In other words, he knows a thing or two about science and evidence-based supplementation. In our discussion, we talk about . . . Whether creatine affects balding and hair loss How supplementation affects the body’s natural production of creatine Cognitive and brain health benefits of creatine Whether kids and teens should take it Creatin and kidney health Bloating and upset stomachs Why you should probably separate your caffeine and creatine consumption And a lot more . . . So, if you’re interested in learning more about one of the most-researched and best supplements we have available for getting fitter, stronger, and healthier, don’t miss this podcast! Timestamps: 0:00 - Get my best-selling books Bigger Leaner Stronger and Thinner Leaner Stronger for just 99 cents! This week only: https://legionathletics.com/products/on-sale/ 6:21 - What is creatine and what does it do to the body? 11:29 - Does creatine cause hair loss? 19:25 - If you take creatine will your body stop producing it naturally? 21:38 - How much creatine should I take when starting out? 23:19 - Does creatine increase cognitive benefits? 28:06 -  How much protein can I absorb in one sitting? 29:48 - Can children and teenagers take creatine? 33:42 - Can you combine creatine and caffeine? 39:50 - Is creatine better to take post workout? 42:46 - Does creatine cause bloating? 45:28 - What are some myths about how men and women react differently to creatine? 46:53 - Is creatine safe for the kidneys? 48:33 - Why are there many different forms of creatine? 51:43 - What can I do if creatine upsets my stomach? 52:37 - Is it okay to take creatine with food? 53:12 - Is creatine good for endurance training? 54:01 - How does creatine help with recovery? 56:02 - What are other common questions you get about creatine? 57:40 - Where can we find your work? Mentioned on the Show: Get my best-selling books Bigger Leaner Stronger and Thinner Leaner Stronger for just 99 cents! This week only: https://legionathletics.com/products/on-sale/ Dr. Candow’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.darrencandow/

This episode is part of a 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: 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 for the latest and greatest installment. Timestamps: 0:00 -  Please leave a review and subscribe to the podcast! 2:07 - Get my best-selling books Bigger Leaner Stronger and Thinner Leaner Stronger for just 99 cents! This week only: https://legionathletics.com/products/on-sale/ Mentioned on the Show: Get my best-selling books Bigger Leaner Stronger and Thinner Leaner Stronger for just 99 cents! This week only: https://legionathletics.com/products/on-sale/

Some people—my favorite people—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 do at least a little better inside and outside the gym. That’s why I do “best of” episodes that contain a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from the more popular episodes I’ve published over the years. This way, you can learn interesting insights that you might have otherwise missed and find new episodes of the show to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Dr. Mike Israetel on Breaking Through Muscle Gain Plateaus (Originally published 7/10/2019) Should You Use Supersets to Build Muscle Faster? What 18 Studies Say  (Originally published 6/6/2018) Motivation Monday: If You Can Change Your Body, You Can Change Your Life (Originally published 8/7/2017) And we’ll be starting with number one, Mike Israetel on breaking through muscle gain plateaus. Timestamps: 0:00 - Our (new and improved) protein bars are back! Try them risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/bar and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 3:55 - Dr. Mike Israetel on Breaking Through Muscle Gain Plateaus 11:47 - Should You Use Supersets to Build Muscle Faster? What 18 Studies Say 18:08 - Motivation Monday: If You Can Change Your Body, You Can Change Your Life Mentioned on the Show: Our (new and improved) protein bars are back! Try them risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/bar and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

In this podcast, I interview my good friend Neil Patel about his approach to goal setting. You may not know Neil, especially because he doesn’t appear on many podcasts, but he’s a true expert in the field of entrepreneurship and business. He’s a real marketing “guru” and the most successful of my close friends in business (and other aspects of life). Beyond his ad agency and SEO expertise, Neil is a New York Times Bestselling author, and he’s been called a top influencer by The Wall Street Journal, as well as a top 10 marketer by Forbes. He was even recognized as a top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 30 by President Obama and a top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 35 by the United Nations. The bottom line is Neil knows how to get results and help businesses grow, so he’s the ideal person to discuss the right ways to set big, yet achievable, goals. In our chat, we discuss . . . How to set big goals while staying realistic How to stay on track with long-term goals Staying motivated through passion and strategic rewards How to learn from mistakes and when to give up on a goal How to increase self-confidence And a lot more . . . So, if you’re at all interested in entrepreneurship, becoming good at marketing, or building a business, and you want to learn how to properly set goals and achieve success, listen to this podcast! Timestamps: 0:00 - Our (new and improved) protein bars are back! Try them risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/bar and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points 5:58 - How do you decide on which goals to pursue? 8:45 - How do you distinguish between thinking big or being delusional? 11:44 - Does excitement matter when setting goals or should you stay pragmatic? 14:41 - How do you stay motivated when you’re trying to reach your goals? 17:18 - What about giving up on goals when they aren’t feasible? 21:43 - Did you ever have a time where you questioned yourself in business? 24:00 - What are the big lessons you learned from your mistakes? 32:46 - Does your love of working interfere with your personal life? 36:40 - What are your thoughts on mitigating mistakes? 42:26 - When seeking advice, are there specific questions that you like to ask? 51:25 - What drives you to keep going? 54:31 - What is it about business that does it for you? Mentioned on the Show: Our (new and improved) protein bars are back! Try them risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/bar and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points Neil’s website: https://neilpatel.com/

Reading great health and fitness books is one of the most effective ways to learn how to build your best body ever and a body you can proud of. There are many fitness books out there, but we only have so much time and energy to give to reading. We want to make sure we pick the ones that will have the highest return on our investment. So which books should you read? In this podcast, I’m going to share the nine best fitness books of all time (as of February 2022, at least). So if you’re interested in getting at least a little bit better at losing fat, getting stronger, performing better, or getting healthier, this episode is for you. I’m going to share the books that have helped me do those things and that can help you as well. Timestamps: 0:00 - Our (new and improved) protein bars are back! Try them risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/bar and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points 4:24 - Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe 8:52 - Bigger Leaner Stronger by Mike Mathews 14:29 - Thinner Leaner Stronger by Mike Mathews 15:56 - A Guide To Flexible Dieting by Lyle McDonald 18:40 - Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success 21:32 - Muscle For Life by Mike Matthews 23:51 - Triathletes Training Bible by Joe Friel 26:33 - 5/3/1 by Jim Wendler 31:26 - Strength Training Anatomy by Frederic Delavier 31:23 - All About Powerlifting by Tim Henriques Mentioned on the Show: Our (new and improved) protein bars are back! Try them risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/bar and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points

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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . Your supplement contains “natural flavors,” but I heard that ingredient can be used to hide many very unnatural and unhealthy chemicals. Timestamps: 0:00 - Buy One Get One 50% off on Pulse Fruit Punch and Blue Raspberry! Go to buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on your first order or get double reward points on your order. 4:09 - What is the definition of a natural flavor according to the FDA? 5:08 - What is the definition of an artificial flavor according to the FDA? 5:42 - Are natural flavors used to hide unnatural and unhealthy chemicals? Mentioned on the Show: Buy One Get One 50% off on Pulse Fruit Punch and Blue Raspberry! Go to buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on your first order or get double reward points on your order.

In this podcast, I have a conversation with my friend David Nurse all about realizing your potential, achieving more than you thought was possible, and creating breakthroughs. This is something David knows about because he recently released a book called “Breakthrough,” which provides an actionable blueprint to increase your innovation and creativity on demand. David took what he learned about the habits and routines of the most successful NBA players and coaches to develop a framework for creating more breakthroughs in your life. In case you’re not familiar with David, not only is he a former pro basketball player life optimization coach, and a repeat guest on my podcast, but he’s a bestselling author, and acclaimed speaker, recently named by Real Leaders as a Top 50 keynote speaker (and he’s the youngest speaker int he list to boot). In this interview, we discuss . . . What breakthroughs are and the framework you can use to have them more frequently The value of competition Developing self-confidence The fear of failure How to break through limits and realize “potential” The self-made, lone-genius myth How to make personal connections and build a network And more . . . So, if you want to learn what “breakthroughs” are and how you can foster having more of them in your life, definitely check out this podcast! Timestamps: 0:00 - Buy One Get One 50% off on Pulse Fruit Punch and Blue Raspberry! Go to buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on your first order or get double reward points on your order. 4:53 - Why did you write this book 5:08 - What does a “breakthrough” mean? 18:48 - What do you mean by, “making completion your idol?” 22:04 - What are your thoughts on building self-confidence? 27:29 - What about fear of failure? 31:38 - How do you balance an “I don’t care what people think” mentality while still wanting feedback and challenges? 46:51 - What are your thoughts on being self-made? 1:01:01 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on the Show: Buy One Get One 50% off on Pulse Fruit Punch and Blue Raspberry! Go to buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% on your first order or get double reward points on your order. David Nurse’s Website: davidnurse.com

This episode is part of a 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: 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 for the latest and greatest installment. Timestamps: 0:00 - Try our new and improved protein bar! Go to https://buylegion.com/bar and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 3:30 - Please leave a review and subscribe to the podcast! Mentioned on the Show: Try our new and improved protein bar! Go to https://buylegion.com/bar and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

This podcast is a Q&A, but it’s a bit different from the kind you’ll typically find here on Muscle For Life. In my usual Q&A episodes, I take a question from email or Instagram and then fully answer it in an episode of the podcast every week. However, over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps 0:00 - Try Pulse Blood Orange today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 3:39 - Does microwaving have a negative effect on food? 4:44 - Are you worried about Omicron? 5:25 - Am I wrong for preferring 90 Degree squats over ass to grass? 6:32 - What are your thoughts on Bitcoin? 9:12 - What do you think about activity trackers like Apple Watch and Whoop? 14:47 - Any thoughts on the Liver King? 15:52 - Why did you do the dumbbell press before incline barbell press? 16:52 - How do you handle losing friends due to different views about the vaccine? 18:46 - If you have one piece of advice for a husband and wife about to start BLS and TLS,  what would it be? 19:07 - As the POTUS, your first task is to reduce obesity to 10% of the US population. How would you do it? 19:55 - Why don’t you build a massive home gym? 20:22 - How should I schedule training with sleep deprivation and a toddler? 22:20 - Any concerns with low testosterone during a cut phase? 23:36 - What do you think of Smolov training? 23:50 - Is Glutamine better pre or post-workout, or both? 24:43 - What are the most underrated exercises? 24:55 - Would you ever run for a political office? Mentioned on the Show: New Pulse flavor Blood Orange is out now! Try Pulse risk-free today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

If you listen to this podcast, you probably have some idea what macronutrients are, as well as micronutrients, like vitamin C or B12. What you may not know is plant foods contain even smaller organic compounds called phytonutrients. What are phytonutrients and why do they matter? Can you still thrive without eating them? What are the benefits of including more of them in your diet and which ones should you focus on? In this podcast interview, Dr. Dan Gubler answers those questions and a lot more. He gives a primer on phytonutrients, explains why you should care about them, and gives practical tips for incorporating more of the most important ones into your diet. If you’re not familiar with Dan, he’s a phytonutrient chemist and researcher whose work has been recognized with the DSA Visionary Award, the Schering-Plough Science and Innovation Award, the American Cancer Society Fellowship, the Eli Lilly Fellowship, and the Best Educator Award from Brigham Young University–Hawaii. He’s also the co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Brilliant, a supplement company that focuses on formulating products with bioactive plant compounds that can proactively help human health. In this interview, we discuss . . . What phytonutrients are and how they benefit our health Supplementation of phytonutrients versus getting them from food The relevance of phytonutrients to carnivore diet followers and plant-avoiders His favorite phytonutrient-rich foods The importance of standardization in supplements And more . . . So, if you want to learn what the research says about phytonutrients and what role these plant molecules play in our health, listen to this podcast! Timestamps: 0:00 - New Pulse flavor Blood Orange is out now! Try Pulse risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points 4:58 - What is a phytonutrient? 5:17 - How much does supplementation matter 10:06 - Cannabinoids 10:40 - Phytonutrients in food versus supplements 11:43 - Benzoxazinoids 15:25 - What benefits are clearly supported by the research and what is speculative? 18:59 - What does this mean for followers of the carnivore diet? 22:25 - Why you can't just supplement instead of eating fruits and vegetables 25:50 - Favorite phytonutrient-rich foods 29:46 - What is the proper dose of saffron? 30:43 - What phytonutrients are worth supplementing? 33:13 - The importance of standardization 37:40 - Rhodiola 38:36 - The future of phytonutrients 40:16 - How would you apply the 80/20 principle to phytonutrient intake? 44:13 - How to get foods that have sufficient nutrition 48:04 - What are the phytonutrient building blocks of a nutritious diet? 50:53 - Chloraphyl supplements 56:49 - Spices 59:20 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on the Show: New Pulse flavor Blood Orange is out now! Try Pulse risk-free today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! Dan Gubler’s Website: https://feelbrilliant.com/ Dr. Dan’s podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/discover-with-dr-dan-proactive-health/id1547289874 Dr. Dan’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drdangubler/?hl=en Dr. Dan’s TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drdangubler

This episode is part of a 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: 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 for the latest and greatest installment. Timestamps: 0:00 - Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points 2:50 - Please leave a review and subscribe to the podcast! Mentioned on the Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

This podcast is a Q&A, but it’s a bit different from the kind you’ll typically find here on Muscle For Life. In my usual Q&A episodes, I take a question from email or Instagram and then fully answer it in an episode of the podcast every week. However, over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps 0:00 - Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points 4:31 - Do you ever train at 6am? 6:49 - Where do you go for your daily news? 7:17 - Is it okay to consume 120 grams of whey protein and eat other whole foods to reach a total of 200 grams of protein per day? 10:00 - Where can I find friends that don’t completely support the vaccine narrative? 10:25 - How can you make your penis bigger? 10:35 - Does creatine cause or promote hair loss? 14:23 - What is the best advice you would give your younger self? 16:13 - Is COVID a conspiracy? 17:12 - What are your thoughts on Dr. John Jaquish’s X3 bar system? 19:17 - My joints aren’t great due to a previous accident and cortisone injections. What are some tips to train this way? 21:36 - BCAAS or EAAS? 22:34 - Generally speaking, what is the upper limit of protein you can digest per meal? 22:55 - When following the BLS program, how many “newbie” gains are lost during a deficit as opposed to a surplus? 23:33 - Which Legion protein is better for lactose intolerant people? 24:30 - When lean bulking, should you go to maintenance calories on rest days? 25:49 - What percentage of bodyweight should you look to gain per week on your first bulk? 26:27 - When do you think this COVID madness will be over? Mentioned on the Show: Try Whey+ risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/whey and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points

If you’ve ever wondered if you're making the most of your workouts, this podcast is for you. That’s because I’m chatting with Chris Barakat all about training quality versus quantity. There’s been a lot of discussion in the fitness space over the past few years about the relationship between volume and muscle growth. The more volume you do, the better your results, many people claim. Is that completely true, though? Are all sets and reps created equal? Or are there ways to maximize your results without adding more sets to your workout? Those are questions Chris Barakat is answering in this podcast. We discuss . . . The concept of volume quality and why more isn’t always better Rep effectiveness versus “junk” volume Specific signs your reps are high-quality How to “feel” your chest during the bench press And more . . . If you’re not familiar with Chris, he’s a published scientist, educator, coach, and natural bodybuilder, and he’s a repeat guest on the podcast for good reason. His years of developing his book smarts along with his practical knowledge of gym know-how means he knows how to get results while also having something interesting to say, and I always learn something new in our chats. So, if you want to learn what the latest research says about training volume and how you can evaluate and tweak your own training quality to get better results, listen to this podcast! Timestamps: 0:00 - Try Recharge risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/recharge and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points 5:34 - What research are you currently involved in? 10:42 - What did your peak week protocol look like? 13:18 - Volume quantity. Is more volume always better? What's the state of the research? 20:34 - Rep quality versus junk volume 22:18 - What are the signs you're recruiting your muscles well? 26:27 - Reducing junk volume 33:06 - Intentionality, psychology, and training intensity 38:44 - Paying attention to bar speed 44:12 - Other signs of good rep quality 45:54 - How do you "feel" bench press in your chest 48:55 - What's worked for you for quad growth? 53:45 - Have you experienced poor back squat performance when you don't train it despite increased quad growth? 58:14 - Dumbbell bench press vs barbell bench press 1:00:44 - How do you evaluate whether you should increase volume or pay more attention to your volume quality? 1:03:59 - What sort of novel stimulus can you add? 1:04:56 - What exercises load your muscles in a stretched position? 1:06:02 - Dumbbell pullover 1:13:57 - How will your growth volume be different from your muscle retention strategy during show prep? 1:15:18 - Where can people find your work? Mentioned on the Show: Try Recharge risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/recharge and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points Chris Barakat’s Website: https://schoolofgainz.com/ Chris Barakat’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christopher.barakat/

This episode is about the speed of your metabolism. Many people have reached out to me over the years who were struggling to lose weight and who thought this was due to a “slow” metabolism. Often the solutions offered involve taking special pills, following very restrictive diets, and pushing through punishing workouts. And when those strategies don’t work, these same people start believing it’s impossible to lose weight or keep it off. Others have complained to me that their metabolisms are so “fast” that they can’t gain weight effectively—the so-called hard-gainer. In this podcast, we’re going to talk about both of those scenarios. The good news is while some people do tend to burn more calories than others, no one’s metabolism is so “slow” or “fast” that they can’t improve their body composition or maintain the body they really want. So, listen to this episode to learn why! Timestamps: 0:00 - Try Phoenix risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/phoenix and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points! 4:56 - What is your metabolism? 7:27 - How do I measure my metabolism? 10:47 - Why is my metabolism slow? 19:20 - Do I have a fast metabolism? 25:50 - Can I increase my metabolic rate? 26:35 - How can I increase my metabolic rate right away? Mentioned on the Show: Try Phoenix risk-free today! Go to buylegion.com/phoenix and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points!

Some people—my favorite people—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 do at least a little better inside and outside the gym. That’s why I do “best of” episodes that contain a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from the more popular episodes I’ve published over the years. This way, you can learn interesting insights that you might have otherwise missed and find new episodes of the show to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Eric Helms on Supersets, Dropsets, Forced Reps, and More! (Originally published 7/5/2019) The Top 5 Proven Ways to Build Muscle Faster (Originally published 1/11/2018) Motivation Monday: The Great “Work-Life Balance” Dilemma (Originally published 4/2/2018) And we’ll be starting with number one, Eric Helms on supersets, dropsets, forced reps, and more. Timestamps: 0:00 - Try Pulse today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points 3:33 - Eric Helms on Supersets, Dropsets, Forced Reps, and More! 14:07 - The Top 5 Proven Ways to Build Muscle Faster 20:59 - Motivation Monday: The Great “Work-Life Balance” Dilemma Mentioned on the Show: Try Pulse today! Go to https://buylegion.com/pulse and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points

If you’ve paid any attention to what’s trending in the fitness space these days, you may have come across organ meats. Eating liver, kidneys, and heart seems to be on the uptrend in general, and is all the rage in certain corners of the internet. Claims about organ meats can vary wildly. Some people say organ meats are reservoirs of toxins and shouldn’t be consumed at all, while others claim you can not only survive by eating only organ meats, but actually enhance your health. Yes, if you hate veggies, you can make up for it by eating enough of the right organ meats, proponents claim. If you’re like me, you probably don’t eat any organ meats, and opt for more appetizing fare like chicken breast or steak. So what’s the real story here? Should we be incorporating organ meats into our diet? What value do they provide, how much of a difference can they make, and can we get those nutrients from more “normal” foods instead? To chat about this subject, I invited Chris Kresser back onto the podcast. In case you aren’t familiar with Chris, he’s one of the most well-known names in the world of Functional Medicine, a New York Times bestselling author, and the host of the popular Revolution Health Radio. I last had him on the show to talk about The Game Changers film, and I knew he would be a good guest this time around to talk about the nutritional value of organ meats. So, if you want to learn about what makes organ meats healthy, how you can incorporate them easily into your diet (and whether you should or need to), give this podcast a spin! Timestamps: 0:00 - Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points 12:27 - How big of a difference does it make to include organ meats in your diet? 15:54 - Can you reach vitamin A sufficiency through carotenoids? 18:17 - Can you get too much retinol? 19:26 - An easy way to eat liver 25:55 - Are there other ways to get the nutrients from organ meats? 28:48 - Choline 29:12 - Folate 29:44 - Legumes 29:57 - Vitamin B12 30:39 - Vitamin K2 35:36 - What are your thoughts about taking a well-formulated multivitamin versus trying to get all the key nutrients through food? 37:33 - Bone broth 40:03 - What do you think about plant avoidance? 58:45 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on the Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/ and use coupon code MUSCLE to save 20% or get double reward points Chris Kresser’s website: https://chriskresser.com/

In this episode, I’m talking about calf training and answering a question I often get about calf genetics. How much can genetics get in the way of calf development? This matters to me because I’ve always had small calves, and it’s a trait I seem to have inherited from my dad. Does that mean that no amount of calf raises will save my spindly lower legs, though? More and more research is coming out that calls the calf genetics theory into question. Tune in the learn more! Timestamps: 0:00 - Order my new fitness book Muscle For Life here: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/ 5:52 - Can you train your calves? 11:22 - What is the proper rep range and volume to optimize calf development? 14:25 - How do you find your best rep range? 16:43 - How do you grow your calves faster? Mentioned on the Show: Order my new fitness book Muscle For Life here: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/

This podcast is a Q&A, but it’s a bit different from the kind you’ll typically find here on Muscle For Life. In my usual Q&A episodes, I take a question from email or Instagram and then fully answer it in an episode of the podcast every week. However, over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps 0:00 - Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $13,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/ 2:53 - My partner just had a baby and I’m getting 3 hours of sleep a day. Should I deload for a few weeks? 4:11 - Does amending the order of your split majorly affect progress? 6:47 - Do you own NFTs? What’s your take on them? 7:14 - Do you drink alcohol or smoke weed? 8:00 - Do you spend much time on mobility outside of weight training? 8:42 - How to get Yuge thicc boi veins? My veins look like angel hair pasta. 9:10 - What’s your favorite Pulse flavor? 9:31 - Is it effective to alternate push/pull exercises in super sets to save recovery and total workout time? 10:46 - How do you personally de-stress after a rough day besides working out? 12:30 - What was the last video game you played/enjoyed? 13:12 - What are the 3 best movements to do when traveling with no gym access for equipment? 13:50 - Why do you change between different types of pull ups in your workouts? 16:12 - What should my RPE be before moving up in weight? 19:28 - Post and pre meal for cardio? 19:57 - What’s your favorite soup? 20:54 - What keeps you disciplined to keep prioritizing your physical health? 21:37 - Do you have any good baked oatmeal recipes? 22:11 - Any insight as to why sumo deadlifts anger my lower back vs conventional? 23:11 - By the time it’s 5pm and gym time on bad work days I want chocolate and my blanket. Wtd? 23:34 - How to deal with rejection? 24:47 -  Will specific muscles stop growing when they hit a certain size? Ie quads etc. Mentioned on the Show: Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $13,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/

This episode of the podcast is a bit different. That's because in this podcast, I chat with Alex Banayan about his book The Third Door, the journey he went on in the process of writing it, and what he learned along the way. We’ll get into the details in the interview, but Alex went on a seven-year quest to interview some of the world’s brightest, most successful people in order to learn how they broke through in their respective fields. It all started with the common existential crisis of “what do I want to do with my life” and his research led him down a road filled with life-changing interviews with Bill Gates, Quincy Jones, Steve Wozniak, Lady Gaga, Warren Buffett, Maya Angelou, Steven Spielberg, Jane Goodall, Larry King, and more (and some wild stories). Now if you're wondering why I thought this was worthy of a podcast, many of my followers are entrepreneurs, people who want to succeed more in their careers, or people who want to improve themselves in general. So while this interview isn’t directly fitness-related, I think you’ll find it interesting and useful. In our discussion, Alex and I talk about . . . How he “hacked” The Price Is Right to raise funds for his book idea How he managed to secure big-time interviews The mindset commonalities he found among famous, successful people The difference between fearlessness and courage Social media and the importance and relativity of money And more . . . If you’re not familiar with Alex, The Third Door has made him the youngest bestselling business author in American history, and the book is a number one international bestseller. He’s been named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list and Business Insider’s “Most Powerful People Under 30,” and been featured in Fortune, CNBC, Businessweek, The Washington Post, MSNBC, Fox News, and NBC News. So if you want to hear some of Alex’s wild stories from his journey and what he learned on his quest to study success, definitely check out this interview! Timestamps: 0:00 - Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $13,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/ 7:07 - What is the premise of the book? 13:01 - How Alex hacked The Price Is Right 15:21 - How did you get interviews with famous people? 17:16 - How successful people treat business 20:14 - The difference between fearlessness and courage 26:12 - What have you found fulfilling and is there anything you thought would be fulfilling that hasn't been? 31:50 - What you think you want and what you really want may not be the same 42:45 - Who is the third door for? 44:05 - Dealing with setbacks 51:48 - The opposite of success isn't failure 53:32 - What types of mistakes are acceptable to you? Mentioned on the Show: Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $13,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/ The Third Door: https://www.amazon.com/Third-Door-Uncover-Successful-Launched/dp/0804136661/?tag=mflweb-20 Alex Banayan’s website: https://thirddoorbook.com/ Alex’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexbanayan/

This podcast was inspired by a question from one of my followers on Instagram: “does the nutritional value of food change based on how it’s cooked?” For example, you may have heard that boiled or steamed vegetables leak nutrients out into the water. Or you may have heard that roasting food can actually boost nutrient absorption. So, do you need to consider cooking methods when meal prepping? How can you make food as nutritious as it can possibly be? Are there any other considerations in terms of how to cook your food? Listen to this podcast to find out! --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $12,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/ 4:46 - How does cooking affect food? 5:32 - Cooking with water 6:11 - What about grilling and broiling? 9:09 - Grilling tips 9:46 - Microwaving 11:24 - Baking and roasting 11:52 - Sauteing and stir frying 12:11 - Frying 14:04 - Key takeaways --- Mentioned on the Show: Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $13,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/

In this podcast, I’m sharing an excerpt from the audiobook version of my new book, Muscle For Life, which is releasing January 11th. Muscle For Life is currently on pre-order, and if you go to www.muscleforlifebook.com, you can learn about the big book launch bonanza that’s underway, where you can enter to win over $13,000 of awesome stuff. In this episode, I’m sharing chapter 10, which is all about strength training. You’ll learn why you should incorporate strength training into your fitness regimen and how to do it right. Let’s get to it! Audio excerpt courtesy of Simon & Schuster Audio from MUSCLE FOR LIFE by Michael Matthews, read by Chris Henry Coffey with the author. Copyright © 2022 by Waterbury Publications, Inc. Used with permission of Simon & Schuster, Inc. Timestamps: 0:00 - Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $13,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/ 3:01 - Chapter 10, The 5 Commandments of Successful Strength Training Mentioned on the Show: Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $13,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/

In this podcast, I’m sharing an excerpt from the audiobook version of my new book, Muscle For Life, which is releasing January 11th. Muscle For Life is currently on pre-order, and if you go to www.muscleforlifebook.com, you can learn about the big book launch bonanza that’s underway, where you can enter to win over $13,000 of awesome stuff. In this episode, I’m sharing chapter 7, which is the ultimate beginner’s guide to flexible dieting. It teaches you how to determine how many calories to eat based on your goals, how to turn those calories into macros for improving your body composition, and how to make meal plans (without using a scale!). Let’s get to it! Audio excerpt courtesy of Simon & Schuster Audio from MUSCLE FOR LIFE by Michael Matthews, read by Chris Henry Coffey with the author. Copyright © 2022 by Waterbury Publications, Inc. Used with permission of Simon & Schuster, Inc. Timestamps: 0:00 - Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $13,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/ 3:07 - Chapter 7, Welcome to the Easiest Diet in the World Mentioned on the Show: Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $13,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/

In this podcast, I’m sharing an excerpt from the audiobook version of my new book, Muscle For Life, which is releasing January 11th. Muscle For Life is currently on pre-order, and if you go to www.muscleforlifebook.com, you can learn about the big book launch bonanza that’s underway, where you can enter to win over $13,000 of awesome stuff. In this episode, I’m sharing chapter 5, which is all about mastering the “inner game” of fitness, and I’ll explain what I mean by that and then get into the details. You’ll learn how to hack your habits, willpower, and mindset so your fitness regimen feels like it’s on autopilot. Let’s get to it! Audio excerpt courtesy of Simon & Schuster Audio from MUSCLE FOR LIFE by Michael Matthews, read by Chris Henry Coffey with the author. Copyright © 2022 by Waterbury Publications, Inc. Used with permission of Simon & Schuster, Inc. Timestamps: 0:00 - Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $13,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/ 2:30 - Chapter 5, How to Master the “Inner Game” of Fitness Mentioned on the Show: Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $13,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/

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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . You say artificial sweeteners are potentially harmful and cite animal research. How does that apply to humans? Timestamps: 0:00 - Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $13,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/ 7:16 - Can artificial sweeteners be harmful to your health? 8:04 - What are some of the claims about artificial sweeteners? 14:41 - What about artificial sweeteners and cancer? 15:07 - Artificial sweeteners and headaches 15:50 - Artificial sweeteners and seizures 16:11 - Artificial sweeteners and gut health 23:22 - Conclusion 24:23 - Natural sweeteners Mentioned on the Show: Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $13,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/

In this podcast, I chat with Menno Henselmans again in what’s meant as a part two to our last podcast on the science of self-control and willpower. This time, we’re specifically talking about willpower as it relates to diet. The episode is chock-full of practical tips for improving your diet adherence, which can help you lose fat faster and more easily. This is something Menno is an expert on because he recently released a book called The Science of Self-Control, which is an evidence-based look at willpower that references over 500 scientific papers and distills it all down to actionable tips you can implement now. Menno’s book is designed to help anyone boost their self-control so that they can better stick to a diet, work smarter (not harder), and simply put, be the best version of themselves. And this time, we’re focusing solely on the dietary part of the book. In this interview, Menno explains why dieting is inherently difficult, ways to make it easier, how macronutrient composition, meal timing, and consistency can help (or hurt) adherence, cravings, the difference between satisfaction and satiety, tips for eating out and going off-plan, and a whole lot more. Menno has been a repeat guest on my podcast, but in case you’re not familiar with him, he’s a former business consultant turned international public speaker, educator, writer, published scientist, and physique coach who’s passionate about helping serious athletes attain their ideal physiques. So if you want to learn evidence-based tips to better stick to your diet, definitely check out this interview! Timestamps: 0:00 - Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $12,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/ 8:05 - Why is dieting difficult? 16:47 - Why do you only eat "healthy" foods with no junk? 19:15 - When do you feel a difference from your diet? 21:50 - What can we do to make dieting easier? 24:29 - Consistency is more important than "optimal" 26:05 - What are the key aspects of consistency that matter most? 27:19 - Are you always getting healthier when you get leaner? Is 15% body fat healthier than 10%? 29:59 - Does macronutrient composition matter in dieting? 32:45 - Why "if it fits your macros" with junk food isn't sustainable 35:27 - Can you satiate a craving? 38:40 - The order you eat foods has a significant effect on adherence 39:41 - Meal satisfaction 43:43 - Meal timing 44:37 - Tips for eating out 45:50 - Why you shouldn't save up calories by starving yourself before you go out to eat 48:53 - The satiety sweetspot 49:17 - The difference between craving pleasure (satisfaction) and satiety 52:15 - What should you do if you overeat one day? 56:14 - Where can people find your book on self-control and your other work? Mentioned on the Show: Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $12,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/ Menno’s new book: The Science of Self-Control - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0991FG9SC/?tag=mflweb-20 Menno’s website: https://mennohenselmans.com/

This podcast is about hormones and aging, and specifically, how much hormones affect body composition as you get older. In it, I’ll go through the most important hormones as they relate to body composition, how they change as we get older, and what we can do to maintain optimal hormone profiles relevant to our age. There’s no question that we can’t maintain as optimal a hormone profile at 45 as we can at 25, but as you’ll learn here, we can still maintain good enough hormones to gain muscle, lose fat, stay lean and fit, and feel great. The idea that our hormones crate as we get older and make it impossible to get and stay fit is very discouraging to many people. The good news is that’s mostly untrue. If we’re willing to do a few things consistently and do them well, we can keep our hormones in very healthy and effective ranges. Listen to this podcast to learn about hormones and how they affect body composition, especially as we age. Timestamps: 0:00 - Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $12,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/ 5:08 - These hormones most affect body composition 5:53 - How do these hormones affect body comp? 6:37 - Leptin 7:01 - Ghrelin 8:27 - Testosterone and estrogen 12:01 - Hormones do negatively affect body composition as we get older if we don't do anything to mitigate the changes 12:31 - How do we prevent our hormones from affecting us negatively? 13:46 - Leptin 14:20 - Ghrelin 14:54 - Growth hormone 16:05 - What effect does training have? 16:40 - Testosterone 17:57 - Do you need high levels of testosterone to get and stay in great shape? 20:01 - Estrogen Mentioned on the Show: Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $12,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/

I hope this podcast finds you in a mesmerizing holiday haze of holly jolly hearth and home, because here’s the deal with the winter festivities: They were a tough row to hoe in the Before Times and are even more so in these Quacky Quarantimes. There’s shopping, wrapping, baking, cooking, decorating, entertaining, eating, imbibing, friends you never see, family you’ve never liked, and a gimlet-eyed elf monitoring every minute and reporting every move to a schizoid list-making demi-god living on the frozen nipple of the globe with battalions of undying eldritch-gnomes and bionic beast-deer. Press play to hear more (plus, a psycho-delicious cookie recipe!). Timestamps: 0:00 - A holiday message 5:39 - Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $12,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/ Mentioned on the Show: Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $12,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/

In this podcast, I’m sharing my appearance on The Pat Flynn Show, in which I discussed easy fitness wins. These are simple changes you can make right now to start establishing a healthy lifestyle that you can stick to long-term. Many people try to jump straight into the deep end when they try to get fit and healthy. Grueling workouts with no days off, and extreme diets that deprive you of your favorite foods and leave you hungry and tired. The “all-in” method can work for some, but most people do better with the tiny-habit approach. That is, fostering small behavioral changes that you sustain and build on over time. So in this episode, I share some easy, simple changes you can make that can help build momentum and overcome the inertia that pulls you toward staying sedentary and unfit. Timestamps: 0:00 - Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $12,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/ 21:14 - Walking 29:24 - What's my motivation? 34:33 - Be flexible with your programming 39:59 - Perfection isn't necessary 42:26 - An easy diet win 45:43 - Food journal 47:10 - Replacing soda and sugar-sweetened beverages 49:48 - Increase your protein 52:43 - New book Muscle For Life Mentioned on the Show: Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $12,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/

In this podcast, I talk with Dr. Flint McGlaughlin about marketing, which is something he knows quite a bit about. In fact, I’ve known about Flint and followed his work for over a decade now, so this was a treat for me. In case you’re not familiar with him, Flint is an academic and business leader who served as the Director of Enterprise Research for Transforming Business at the University of Cambridge (UK) and is the founder of the MECLABS Institute, a marketing research institute dedicated to figuring out how people make choices and what influences those choices. Not only has Flint written and edited hundreds of articles and texts and won multiple awards, but he’s patented ten offer conversion-related heuristics, conducted large-scale research projects in partnership with companies like The New York Times, Google, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Royal Bank of Canada, and has lectured at conferences and universities around the world, including New York University, Columbia University, Oxford University. He has also delivered keynote addresses for companies such as Cisco Systems Inc., Microsoft, and Google. To put it mildly, this guy knows his stuff, and as you’ll hear in the interview, he’s also an extremely interesting guy. In our conversation, he talks about . . . The concept of "metanoia" or changing one's mind Individuation and becoming who you really are How marketing is the essence of entrepreneurship Why the skill of marketing should be your priority if you want to go into business The blinding power of self-interest And a lot more . . . We also talk about his book, The Marketer as Philosopher, which condenses his findings from 25 years of investigating why people make certain choices and take action. I read the book before the interview, and I really enjoyed it. In fact, it was one of the more enlightening marketing books I’ve ever read, and I’ve read quite a few. So if you’re interested in marketing or business, you definitely don’t want to miss this interview. --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $12,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/ 10:16 - Marketing and NFTs 13:02 - Instead of obsessing over doing the thing right, you have to do the right things 15:00 - Concept of individuation 18:41 - First principles approach 20:35 - What is a value proposition? 25:11 - Truth, beaty, and goodness are identical 26:09 - How do you spot “good”? 27:48 - What does “thriving” mean? 32:41 - How do you examine decision making and influence? 40:26 - What are the most destructive common entanglements? 53:45 - Your life is a message and you're the messenger 56:06 - People judge the person and whether they trust them in order to decide if they want the product 56:45 - What is the initial offering that creates trust? 1:00:04 - What is a brand? 1:02:29 - What do you mean by “individuation”? 1:17:34 - Why do you have to experience a conversion and be customer-centric to convince others in your marketing? --- Mentioned on the Show: Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $12,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/ MECLABS Institute: https://meclabs.com/ The Marketer as Philosopher Book: https://map.flintmcglaughlin.com/ Flint’s free online marketing course: https://meclabs.com/course/

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: Are peptides a safe and effective alternative to steroids? 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 0:00 - Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $12,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/ 5:26 - What are peptides? 7:16 - Why are peptides popular among bodybuilders? 9:07 - How effective are peptides at increasing HGH production? 11:56 - The biggest problem with peptides 12:25 - Are peptides safe? What are the side effects and long-term consequences? 13:21 - Are peptides effective and safe? 18:39 - How long do you have to use peptides? Mentioned on the Show: Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $12,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/

This podcast is a Q&A, but it’s a bit different from the kind you’ll typically find here on Muscle For Life. In my usual Q&A episodes, I take a question from email or Instagram and then fully answer it in an episode of the podcast every week. However, over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps 0:00 - Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $12,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/ 5:25 - Can you do video tutorials of all the exercises in your books? 6:39 - Does No Nut November really have benefits? 7:08 - Favorite cereal? 7:37 - Is yohimbine worth taking  if you’re over 10% body fat? 8:40 - How does CrossFit build good physiques with high volumes but no progressive overload? 12:36 - Would you rather get a cough or Bell's palsy? 13:24 - Opinion on Mentzer-style training? 18:07 - Thoughts on olympic weightlifting to build muscle? 19:09 - Would you consider steering Legion into politics? 19:38 - Should you eat the same amount of protein on non-training days? 20:07 - How do you know if you've reached your genetic potential? 21:29 - Is 1.5 g per lb of lean mass too much or is that more effective while in a surplus? 22:16 - Microgreens: magic or overrated? 22:46 - Is a temporary decrease in strength after a deload normal? 23:14 - Heavy pressing is crushing my shoulder joint health. What should I do? 24:23 - Remedies for burnout and losing motivation to eat while in a surplus? 25:11 - Have you been in modeling? 25:40 - Thoughts on MCT oil supplementation? 26:23 - Are the unvaccinated going to be the survivors of a new world or will they die in jail? 29:28 - Why do people bench press with their legs on the bench? 30:12 - BCAAs are still the top supplement recommendation by PTs. Why is that? 31:32 - What is your carbon footprint? Mentioned on the Show: Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $12,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/

Are we too comfortable? Do we complain too much? Modern life is filled with modern conveniences that are engineered to make life easier and more enjoyable. But what if these contemporary comforts masquerading as a panacea of pleasure are really a double-edged sword? What have we lost in the process of gaining comfort? Is there value in choosing to be uncomfortable and adding discomfort to our lives? What are the benefits? These are questions Michael Easter addresses in his book The Comfort Crisis, and in this interview. As he’ll explain in the podcast, he’s traveled all around the world and interviewed an interesting cast to learn why you should inject challenge into your life and not get too comfortable. In case you’re not familiar with Michael Easter, he’s not only an author, but a contributing editor at Men's Health magazine, columnist for Outside magazine, and professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His work can be found in Men's Journal, New York, Vice, Scientific American, and Esquire. So if you’re interested in hearing why Michael Easter chose to spend a month in the Arctic, what he gained from the experience, and how you can include more discomfort in your own life, you don’t want to miss this podcast! Timestamps: 0:00 - Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $12,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/ 6:20 - What is the "comfort crisis"? 7:31 - How does too much comfort harm us individually and collectively? 10:06 - Should we make things harder for ourselves? 11:15 - How do you introduce "productive discomfort" into your life? 15:22 - Boredom increases creativity. 18:27 - The effects of solitude. 19:57 - Did you learn something about yourself by being alone in the arctic? 22:46 - How much comfort is appropriate? 28:15 - Is it wrong to "savor" life? 33:57 - How long have the benefits stuck with you? 35:47 - What is misogi? 47:16 - Where can people find your work? Mentioned on the Show: Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $12,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/ The Comfort Crisis: https://www.amazon.com/Comfort-Crisis-Embrace-Discomfort-Reclaim/dp/0593138767/?tag=mflweb-20 Michael Easter’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michael_easter/ Michael Easter’s website: https://eastermichael.com/

So much fitness advice is framed like this: FACT CHECK LOSER. IF YOU CAN’T WAKE UP AT 3 AM AND DEADLIFT DOUBLE YOUR BODY WEIGHT FOR DOUBLES IN YOUR DRIVEWAY IN THE DEAD OF WINTER, UNFOLLOW ME ALREADY BECAUSE YOU’LL ALWAYS BE WEAK, FAT, AND PATHETIC. LGBFJBLFG!!!!!! I’ve shared plenty of tough love myself. Make excuses or make it go, “secrets” never work unless you work for them, train hard even when the motivation carcass is being picked by crows, whatever. Here, however, I want to talk to you in gentler tones about fitness. Why? Although fitness requires work and effort and sometimes feels like a stormy love affair that you just can’t quit, too much lectern-pounding bust-your-assery can hold you back and even burn you out. The key is balance, in knowing when to steam and when to stroll, when to brace up and bear down and when to back off and breathe. Go, go, go versus slow, slow, slow. And that balance is often hard to find in the fitness racket. Everywhere you turn there’s another hard-faced hardo bellowing about cooking up the suck and injecting it into your veins so you can earn the aftermath one sweat brick at a time. So, with grumpy mugs and slash-and-burn sermons in more-than-ample supply these days, I want to offer a counterpoint—a few gentle fitness reminders that acknowledge that sometimes you need to growl and gut it out, and sometimes you need to grin and give more leash. Press play to hear my advice! Timestamps: 0:00 - Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $12,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/ 3:18 - Intro 5:34 - Train at your own pace. 5:54 - It’s okay to feel like you don’t know what you’re doing. 6:13 - There is no one way to get fit. 6:32 - Even a little can go a long way. 6:50 - Sometimes you have to drag your draggy body through a spate of not-great workouts before you have a great one again. 7:08 - Some days are easier, and some are harder. 7:24 - Whether it's your first year or fourteenth, workouts will feel awful sometimes. 7:39 - You don’t have to hit a PR to have a fitness win. 7:56 - Comparing yourself to others is a sure way to feel lousy. 8:20 - Unswerving faith in the process isn't essential to performing the process. 8:41 - Whatever works for you is valid. 9:03 - Your motivation is an ocean. Mentioned on the Show: Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $12,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/

Some people—my favorite people—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 do at least a little better inside and outside the gym. That’s why I do “best of” episodes that contain a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from the more popular episodes I’ve published over the years. This way, you can learn interesting insights that you might have otherwise missed and find new episodes of the show to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Menno Henselmans on How Genetics Influence Muscle Building (Originally published 1/21/2017) How to Make Meal Plans That Work For Any Diet (Originally published 5/29/2019) My Top 5 Takeaways from Mastery by Robert Greene (Originally published 9/15/2017) And we’ll be starting with number one, Menno Henselmans on how genetics influence muscle building. Timestamps: 0:00 - Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $12,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/ 4:16 - Menno Henselman on How Genetics Influence Muscle Building 13:57 - How to Make Meal Plans That Work For Any Diet 23:13 - My Top 5 Takeaways from Mastery by Robert Greene Mentioned on the Show: Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $12,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/

Almost everyone knows someone who is unfit and lives an unhealthy lifestyle. In fact, chances are good that someone you care about or even a family member fits this description, whether they’re overweight, obese, a heavy drinker, smoker, or completely sedentary. So, it’s not too surprising that I’m often asked by people who have started their fitness journeys and seen the benefits of getting healthier, “how can I convince my friend/dad/wife/cousin to lose weight, start working out, or get fit?” Of course, we all want our loved ones to live long, healthy lives. But avoiding disease, dysfunction, and an early death aren’t enough. We want to see our closest friends and family thrive and live out the best version of themselves. And this is what I’m talking about on this podcast with Danny Matranga. We discuss the first step to helping someone else get fit, habit stacking, the importance of not giving “blanket” fitness advice, why you should be positive rather than critical, and a lot more. In case you’re not familiar with Danny, he’s a coach and owner of Core Coaching Method, an educator, and the host of his own podcast called Dynamic Dialogue. Danny knows all about not only helping people get fit, but making that process enjoyable, which is why he’s a great guest to talk about the best ways to encourage others to adopt healthier habits. So, if you’ve ever wanted to “convince” someone you care about to start working out, start dieting, lose weight, go to the gym with you, or just exercise enough to not be sedentary, you don’t want to miss this podcast! Timestamps: 0:00 - Pre-order my new fitness book now for a chance to win over $12,000 in splendid swag: https://www.muscleforlifebook.com/ 8:04 - How do you "convince" someone to start working out, diet, or live a healthier lifestyle? 9:16 - How many people are obese? 11:52 - What are the government recommendations for how much to move? 17:12 - What's the first step of encouraging someone to get started? 20:26 - What is habit stacking? 24:02 - Why you should be positive and encouraging rather than criticizing. 27:09 - Why you can't give the same advice to everyone. 35:44 - How has social media affected expectations of how much work it takes to get fit and healthier? 43:07 - What about people who aren't ready to make any changes yet? 48:09 - What about people with physical limitations or accessibility issues? 48:56 - Is a TRX useful? 1:01:28 - The formula for "convincing" others to get fit. 1:05:24 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on the Show: Danny Matranga’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danny.matranga/ Dynamic Dialogue Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/911641 My New Book Muscle For Life: https://muscleforlifebook.com/

In this podcast, I’m going to give an in-depth answer to a question I’ve been getting asked more and more frequently over the last 6 months: what’s my take on testosterone replacement therapy? When should you use TRT? Why would you start TRT? Is it safe? What are the benefits and what are the risks? One of the reasons I’ve been getting asked about TRT more often is that it’s getting more popular. So in this podcast, I’m going to talk about what TRT is, when is it clearly indicated, when is it less appropriate, and what you should consider if you’re thinking about starting (or have just started) TRT. If you’ve ever wondered what TRT is or whether you should consider starting it, you don’t want to miss this podcast! Timestamps: 4:46 - What is TRT? 5:31 - When is TRT given to men? 7:41 - Why do people take TRT? 9:11 - What effect does TRT have on testosterone levels and what are the benefits of TRT? 12:51 - What are the risks of TRT? 19:02 - What's my recommendation regarding TRT? 24:53 - How do you increase testosterone naturally? Mentioned on the Show: My New Book Muscle For Life: https://muscleforlifebook.com/

This podcast is a Q&A, but it’s a bit different from the kind you’ll typically find here on Muscle For Life. In my usual Q&A episodes, I take a question from email or Instagram and then fully answer it in an episode of the podcast every week. However, over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps 3:40 - Are explosive reps better for glute growth than normal or slower tempos? 6:23 - What is the most effective sales communication that resonates with me? 7:34 - Do you think there will be an economic collapse? 8:39 - How to naturally boost your testosterone 9:33 - Would you ever use a sun bed? 10:03 - Getting started seems hard 10:50 - Are you getting easier or cheaper distribution to the UK any time soon? 11:34 - How do you get rid of love handles? 12:39 - Does foam rolling help recovery? 13:45 - When shit hits the fan in the US, where are you going? 14:06 - Does masturbating stunt gains? 14:55 - Best mobility exercises 15:37 - Have you always had the same political views as now? 16:39 - Is fasting or keto beneficial for longevity? 18:31 - What exercises should be avoided with disc herniation? 19:12 - Have you ever shit yourself while squatting? 19:35 - How many 6 year olds could you beat in a fight? 20:40 - Do stomach vacuums flatten your belly? 20:59 - Is a Fitbit a good method of estimating your total daily energy expenditure? Mentioned on the Show: Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/

This podcast is all about sperm. That’s because I’m talking with Khaled Kteily about male fertility. The reason I thought this would make a good topic is it’s an aspect of health I haven’t really touched on before and male fertility isn’t something many people talk about. And what better person to speak about male fertility than the CEO of Legacy, a Harvard-backed company that offers at-home sperm testing, cryostorage (freezing your little swimmers for future use), and educational resources to help men understand and protect their fertility. In this episode, Khaled and I chat about how fertility is changing (and possible reasons why male fertility is on the decline), why it matters, what you can do to improve your fertility, how family planning is changing, what conception might look like in the future, and more. And even if you’ve already had kids (like me) or don’t plan on having kids, this podcast is worth a listen because you probably know someone who is trying to have kids or wants to have kids in the future. Not only is your fertility an important biomarker for overall health, but considering how common fertility problems are these days, it could be affecting someone you care about. So, if you want to learn all about male fertility and whether you should consider testing and freezing your sperm, definitely check out this podcast! Timestamps: 12:46 - How and why are thoughts about fertility changing? 16:17 - How is fertility measured? 17:49 - What factors are causing a decrease in male fertility? 22:45 - Do cell phones and radiation affect our sperm? 26:05 - How can people reduce exposure to harmful chemicals? 27:50 - What can you do to make your body more resilient to negative effects? 30:14 - What role does meat eating play in fertility? 31:38 - Family planning 38:21 - Does using younger eggs and sperm reduce the chances of things going wrong? 41:35 - What's the ideal age to test and freeze your sperm? 42:26 - Are there risks associated with IVF? 43:53 - Why do you think IVF will be preferred? 52:27 - Where can people find you online? 53:33 - Should you test your sperm even if you're not going to freeze your sperm? Mentioned on the Show: Legacy: https://givelegacy.com/ Legacy’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/givelegacyinc Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/

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: Does turkesterone safely and effectively boost muscle growth? 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 3:31 - What is turkesterone? 5:26 - What do companies selling turkesterone claim? 7:16 - What does human research say about ecdysteroids? 11:10 - How might these ecdysteroids work in the body? 12:41 - Are ecdysterone supplement labels accurate? 14:26 - What's my position on turkesterone? Mentioned on the Show: BLACK FRIDAY SALE! Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com

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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . Sugar is addictive in the same way that hard drugs like cocaine and heroin are. Timestamps: 5:11 - What do people mean when they say they're "addicted" to sugar? 6:48 - What is the argument for sugar addiction? 8:11 - What do scientific studies say about sugar addiction? 12:57 - Do rats show signs of withdrawal from sugar? 14:25 - Does sugar cause a similar neurochemical dopamine response to drugs? 15:33 - What does human research say about sugar addiction? Mentioned on the Show: BLACK FRIDAY SALE! Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/mike

In this podcast, I chat with scientist and friend Dr. Bill Campbell about a new study on rapid fat loss that came out of his lab. In case you’re not familiar with Dr. Campbell, he’s a professor of Exercise Science and the Director of the Performance & Physique Enhancement Laboratory at the University of South Florida, who’s also published more than 150 scientific papers. In other words, Dr. Campbell is busy conducting studies that test questions many of us have with answers we all want to know. His latest study on rapid fat loss is a prime example. While most of us want to strip away fat as quickly as possible, we also don’t want to lose our hard-earned muscle in the process. So the question is, how aggressive should we be during a cutting phase to maximize our fat loss benefits and minimize any negative consequences of being in a deficit. And that’s exactly what Dr. Campbell’s latest study looked at and the results actually changed his mind about rapid fat loss. In this episode, Dr. Campbell describes the study, the results, practical tips you can implement to lose fat as quickly as possible, and what future studies on this topic might look like. So, if you want to learn about the latest research on losing fat fast without shriveling into an atrophied raisin of your former self, don’t miss this episode! Press play and let me know what you think. Timestamps: 15:28 - Why did the study you conducted change your mind about rapid fat loss? 16:21 - How big of a deficit can you go into and for how long? 17:30 - What do you consider to be an aggressive deficit? 24:15 - What were the results of the study? 29:52 - What were the effects on RMR? 32:32 - How does this compare to protein-sparing modified fasts? What is a practical use for this rapid fat loss? 40:44 - What is the constrained energy model? 47:44 - What did training look like in your study? 49:10 - How was compliance among participants? 50:17 - How did people feel on the diet? 57:47 - Where would you implement this rapid fat loss in a cutting phase? At the beginning of a fat loss phase? Near the end? 1:02:02 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on the Show: Bill Campbell’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/billcampbellphd/ Building Your Ultimate Body: https://cleanhealth.edu.au/shop/bill-campbell-building-your-ultimate-body/ BLACK FRIDAY SALE! Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/

This podcast is a Q&A, but it’s a bit different from the kind you’ll typically find here on Muscle For Life. In my usual Q&A episodes, I take a question from email or Instagram and then fully answer it in an episode of the podcast every week. However, over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps 3:46 - Do you train abs in BBLS? 6:06 - What do you think about pyramid sets? 7:09 - Are you living your best life? 7:41 - Tips for making healthy food while dealing with budget/inflation issues. 8:55 - Tips for genetically challenged biceps? 10:45 - Best exercise for chest without having a bench? 11:09 - Pfizer, Moderna, or J&J? 11:29 - Should diet breaks be times to coincide with deloads? 12:33 - How much cardio should be done in a deficit? 13:00 - Should I avoid sex before working out? 13:23 - Does it make sense and is it safe to take creatine all year long? 13:42 - Are higher reps better for growing smaller muscle groups? 15:51 - How are Legion supplements tested for purity? 16:30 - How to handle sweaty crotch in gym? 16:54 - What would you tell Sal Di Stefano about his 15k in book sales 17:26 - Do you still believe those not getting vaccinated are bringing us closer to the abyss? Mentioned on the Show: BLACK FRIDAY SALE!  Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com

This podcast is a Q&A, but it’s a bit different from the kind you’ll typically find here on Muscle For Life. In my usual Q&A episodes, I take a question from email or Instagram and then fully answer it in an episode of the podcast every week. However, over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps 3:38 - Is decline bench press needed to build chest muscles? 4:46 - SARMS or steroids? Which is best? 4:58 - What're your tips for feeling the mind-muscle connection? 5:55 - Are good mornings worth programming in for legs? 6:36 - Is Mark Rippetoe a nice guy? 6:54 - If you're 50+ pounds overweight, how much protein should you eat? 7:34 - Should you weigh food raw or cooked for macro tracking? 7:46 - What is the release date for Smaller, Weaker, Sicker for Australians still under lockdown? 8:29 - How long do I need to wait after taking creatine to have caffeine or coffee? 8:51 - In Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger should you change rep range and set count while cutting? 9:17 - Prowler versus HIIT? 9:29 - Advice for people losing their jobs due to mandates? 10:11 - Advice for teens interested in business? 11:51 - Is Ashwagandha effective for relieving stress? 12:11 - How many years will it take a thin guy a body like yours? 12:44 - Do women really have to learn how to deadlift and bench press to see results from weight lifting? Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://buylegion.com/vip

In this podcast, Kyle Hunt and I discuss powerlifting. While I’ve written a bit about powerlifting in the past and done some powerlifting-style training myself, I wanted to get a true expert in the field onto the podcast to chat about it in a bit more detail. In case you’re not familiar with Kyle, he’s a competitive powerlifter, coach, author, and owner of Hunt Fitness, who’s worked with hundreds of powerlifters and bodybuilders alike. He’s also the host of The Absolute Strength Podcast, which I’ve been a guest on a couple of times, and he’s appeared on Muscle For Life twice before to discuss powerbuilding and bodybuilding for beginners. Even if you don’t aspire to be the world’s strongest lifter and have no intention of competing at a meet, powerlifting still has something to offer. At the very least, a powerlifting training block can help add some spice to your training life and keep things interesting. In this interview, Kyle Hunt addresses common misconceptions about powerlifting, technique tweaks, what a powerlifting routine might look like, equipment recommendations, why you should consider participating in a powerlifting meet, meet strategies, and a lot more. So, if you’re at all interested in trying powerlifting or just want to know more about what it is, this is a podcast you don’t want to miss! Timestamps: 8:07 - Who should do powerlifting? 15:00 - Why you shouldn't always be grinding out your sets. 17:27 - What are some common misconceptions about powerlifting 24:00 - How much of a difference does technique improvement make? Should you increase frequency? 29:41 - Why are heavy singles beneficial? 33:58 - What role does confidence play in your strength and performance? 35:56 - Attempt selection strategy. 37:15 - Should you go for the heaviest lift on your third attempt? 40:31 - How can someone get started with powerlifting? 43:12 - Why should you consider doing a powerlifting meet? 45:22 - Weight class discussion. 49:12 - Should you do cardio during a powerlifting program? 57:06 - What's a good program to get started with powerlifting? 59:41 - How do you assess one powerlifting program versus another? 1:04:40 - What type of weightlifting belt do you recommend? 1:06:10 - What shoes do you recommend? 1:15:53 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on the Show: Kyle’s Absolute Strength podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-absolute-strength-podcast/id1146086687 Kyle’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/huntfitness/ Kyle’s book Bodybuilding For Beginners: https://www.amazon.com/Bodybuilding-Beginners-12-Week-Program-Muscle/dp/1641523611/?tag=mflweb-20 Beginner’s Guide to Weight Lifting: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082MSZ2XM/?tag=mflweb-20 Strength Training For Beginners: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08BW24GQ8/?tag=mflweb-20 Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://buylegion.com/vip

This podcast is all about skipping workouts. When does it make more sense to skip a workout than to do a workout (or to swap the workout you were planning with another)? Sometimes you just don’t feel up to a workout due to lack of sleep, stress, soreness, or something else. If you’re warming up and your joints feel achy or your mind is wandering, and you feel like it’s not going to be a great workout, you have two choices. You can suck it up and continue. Good enough is great, after all. Or you can do the workout on another day. Which choice is better? In other words, does it pay to be flexible with our workout programming? Will it pay off in terms of better long-term results? Listen to this podcast to find out. Timestamps: 5:26 - What is flexible programming? 15:43 - What does the science say about autoregulation? 17:50 - What are the benefits of flexible programming? 19:56 - What are the downsides of flexible programming? 21:46 - How can we make flexible programming work? 23:39 - An example of how flexible programming might look. Mentioned on the Show: My New Book Muscle For Life: https://muscleforlifebook.com/

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. And so I got an idea: how about a “best of” series of podcasts that contains a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from my most popular episodes? This way, people who are new to the show can quickly determine if it’s for them or not, and those who enjoy what I’m doing but don’t have the time or inclination to listen to all of my stuff can still benefit from the discussions and find new episodes to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: What Can BCAAs Actually Do For You? (According to Science) (Originally published 7/13/2018) 8 Signs of Overtraining That Most People Don’t Know (Originally published 3/15/2019) Motivation Monday: An Ode to the Gym (Originally published 6/18/2018) And we’ll be starting with number one, what can BCAAs actually do for you? Timestamps: 2:47 - What Can BCAAs Actually Do For You? (According to Science) 13:44 - 8 Signs of Overtraining That Most People Don’t Know 21:49 - Motivation Monday: An Ode to the Gym Mentioned on the Show: Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/

In this podcast, I interview Chanel Collette all about her experience transitioning from a long-time physique competitor to embracing other forms of motivation in her training, and all of the mindset shifts and body image hurdles that come with that. Most people get into strength training and bodybuilding to achieve a certain look, whether it’s losing fat, building muscle, or both. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with training to look good, but once you have a few years of proper training under your belt, progress is so slow that it becomes unnoticeable. So how do you stay motivated and keep training fun once you’re no longer seeing changes in the mirror every week, month, or even year? That’s one of the topics I discuss in this podcast with Chanel. In case you’re not familiar with Chanel, she’s a former physique and wellness competitor who competed in various bikini shows and won Ms. Bikini Universe in 2014 and overall champion at Fitness Universe in 2016. She’s also a strength and conditioning coach, currently serving as the CEO and head coach of Audacious Athletes, who has helped thousands of people (and women in particular) get stronger, not smaller. We’re also glad to have her on board as a long-time Legion Athlete! In this episode, we discuss her history competing and how it led to a body image and scale weight-focused mindset, the psychology of being stage lean, how her concept of a “good physique” has changed, managing training stress, how she’s made training more fun and enjoyable, and a lot more. So if you want to learn how you can move beyond an image-focused training mindset and incorporate other forms of training motivation, definitely listen to this interview! Timestamps: 8:24 - What’s your history with training? Why did you start competing? 14:29 - The psychology of being stage lean. 18:39 - What has helped you deal with body image issues? 19:49 - Has your idea of a good physique or what you like to see in the mirror changed? 25:36 - What elements of your training motivate you? What do you pay attention to in terms of performance? 29:03 - What are your favorite unilateral exercises? 31:00 - Do you track reps in reserve (RIR)? 37:42 - Managing training stress. 41:07 - Now that you’re no longer competing, have you changed your training in ways to make it more enjoyable? Are you doing things in the gym you wouldn’t have before? 56:48 - Should you put accessory exercises near the beginning of your workout if they're not progressing? 1:04:33 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on the Show: Chanel’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chanelcollette/ Chanel’s website: chanelcollette.com Audacious Athletes: audaciousathletes.com Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/

This podcast is a Q&A, but it’s a bit different from the kind you’ll typically find here on Muscle For Life. In my usual Q&A episodes, I take a question from email or Instagram and then fully answer it in an episode of the podcast every week. However, over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps 6:21 - When should you consider TRT? 12:23 - When should you start using straps for conventional deadlifts? 15:23 - Are bands and bodyweight exercises a waste of time? 16:08 - Should you change macros or calories during a deload week? 17:27 - When should you move on from BLS to Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger? 20:54 - What do you think about vegetable and seed oils? Are they unhealthy? 21:43 - How should your diet look when you're sick? 22:54 - Should you use a weightlifting belt? 23:32 - Do you trust any politician? 23:49 - What body fat should you cut and bulk at? 24:11 - Who rules the world? 24:26 - Should you work out fasted? 25:01 - What's your advice for someone hooked on cardio? 26:53 - How do you keep staying a badass? 27:02 - Which is best: occlusion training or rest-pause? 27:43 - If you can't lift heavy, can you make up for it with more volume? 27:57 - Can I workout in the evening for fat loss? 28:09 - How do you make yourself eat when you're not hungry? 28:33 - Is the hex bar just as good as the barbell for deadlifts? 28:56 - Thoughts on glycerol monostearate supplementation? Is it worth taking? Mentioned on the Show: My New Book Muscle For Life: https://muscleforlifebook.com/

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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . Plant foods aren’t essential for optimal health. Timestamps: 2:59 - Are plant foods essential? 8:51 - Do you need to eat plant foods to survive? 10:53 - Why is vitamin C important? 12:53 - How do you get enough vitamin C with a carnivore diet? 14:45 - Is fiber necessary? 16:08 - What are phytonutrients and are they necessary? 17:40 - What are flavonoids and are they beneficial? Mentioned on the Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/mike

In this podcast, I interview Dr. Aaron Horschig all about lifting injuries, including injury prevention, treatment, and pain management. I thought Aaron would be the perfect guest for this topic because he has a book called Rebuilding Milo, which is all about fixing common lifting injuries, whether it’s knee pain, back pain, shoulder pain, elbow pain, you name it. Of course, when it comes to injuries, you can kick the can down the road by loading up on NSAIDs and slathering on Icy Hot, but to really deal with injuries and pain correctly, you need to assess and address the root cause, which Aaron helps you do through his book. In case you’re not familiar with Aaron, he’s the founder of SquatUniversity.com, has a doctorate in physical therapy, and has been involved in olympic weightlifting for over a decade as both a competitor and coach. So, he knows how to approach injury prevention and rehab from the perspective of someone who actually lifts and has experience with professional athletes. In this episode, we discuss injury prevention through technique refinement and load management, the importance of warm-ups, banded joint mobilization, rooting out the cause of pain, why you might not want to ice your injuries, and a lot more. So if you want to learn how to prevent lifting injuries and properly assess and address pain, listen to this interview! Timestamps: 5:40 - Why is your book called “Rebuilding Milo”? 14:34 - Tips for injury prevention and treatment. 16:39 - Why you need to learn proper technique. 17:25 - The importance of load management. 23:06 - The value of filming your lifts. 26:39 - Why warm-ups are more important than you realize. 28:09 - What is banded joint mobilization? 33:20 - How to fix hip impingement. 42:59 - How do you treat injuries? 43:16 - Should you ice your injuries? 50:48 - What else can we do to treat injuries? 56:05 - How to determine the cause of pain through screening. 1:00:51 - Assessing pain and injuries. Mentioned on the Show: Aaron’s book Rebuilding Milo: https://www.amazon.com/Rebuilding-Milo-Foundation-Enhancing-Performance/dp/1628604220/?tag=mflweb-20 Aaron’s website Squat University: ​​https://squatuniversity.com/ Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/mike

This podcast is a Q&A, but it’s a bit different from the kind you’ll typically find here on Muscle For Life. In my usual Q&A episodes, I take a question from email or Instagram and then fully answer it in an episode of the podcast every week. However, over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps 2:24 - Does it become harder to build muscle after age 35? 4:18 - Is the earth flat? 4:34 - Can you train for strength and hypertrophy while also improving cycling performance? 5:12 - What are your thoughts on vaccine lockdowns, masks, etc.? 5:55 - What’s your number one lesson learned in the fitness industry? 6:17 - You have the chance to make any person shit their pants at any moment in history: who and why? 6:41 - What’s your favorite cheat meal? 7:23 - Should I work out if I'm really sore? 8:02 - After a bulking phase, should you got to maintenance before cutting? 8:11 - What’s the best part of moving back to Florida? 8:31 - Is counting steps a viable method of determining activity level? 9:03 - What made you decide to pick up golf? 9:10 - How should you handle fitness while you're sick? 9:21 - Which do you prefer: lockdowns or taxes? 9:35 - What's your favorite scientific study? 10:08 - What’s your best advice for creating a scalable business? 10:46 - What event shaped your political views? Mentioned on the Show: Legion's Halloween Sale: https://buylegion.com/

In this podcast, I chat with my friend, Michael Chernow, about his new oatmeal and apparel business called Kreatures of Habit. In case you’re not familiar with Michael, he’s a trained chef and “serial entrepreneur” with repeat success in the restaurant industry, including The Meatball Shop (with 8 locations) and Seamore’s (a sustainable seafood restaurant). It’s clear Michael hasn’t just “gotten lucky,” but knows how to build effective brands and businesses, and I’ve had him on the podcast before to talk about entrepreneurship. And that’s why I wanted to get him back on the show to talk about this new endeavor. A direct-to-consumer oatmeal business is a horse of a different color from a restaurant, so I wanted to ask Michael how things are going and what inspired him to delve outside of his usual realm of restaurant entrepreneurship. In our discussion, we discuss the backstory of Kreatures of Habit, the importance and life-changing benefits of habits in general, money and financial freedom, the challenges he’s been facing with the new business, and a lot more. So if you want to learn all about the entrepreneurship process and what it’s like to start a new business that makes delicious oatmeal, listen to this interview! Timestamps: 7:13 - Why did you delve outside the realm of restaurants and your past success? 34:30 - How has the business been going? What challenges are you facing? 38:41 - What role does the apparel play? 47:03 - What’s the big vision? Where is this business in 10 years? 50:01 - Why you shouldn't chase money. 1:13:10 - Where can people find Kreatures of Habit? Mentioned on the Show: https://kreaturesofhabit.com/ Michael Chernow’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelchernow/ Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://buylegion.com/vip

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: Are deadlifts worth the risk? 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 5:22 - Are deadlifts a risky or dangerous exercise for your average lifter or lifestyle bodybuilder? 10:52 - What’s the best alternative to the conventional deadlift? Rack pulls. 11:22 - Do deadlifts hurt your biceps? 15:56 - Is deadlifting especially difficult to recover from? Is 3 sets too much? 16:25 - What is CNS fatigue? 18:42 - Why should you deadlift? What are the benefits of deadlifting? 20:37 - Can deadlifts affect your hormones like testosterone? 24:18 - Do you need to deadlift? Are deadlifts required? Mentioned on the Show: My New Book Muscle For Life: https://muscleforlifebook.com/ Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/

This podcast is a Q&A, but it’s a bit different from the kind you’ll typically find here on Muscle For Life. In my usual Q&A episodes, I take a question from email or Instagram and then fully answer it in an episode of the podcast every week. However, over on Instagram, I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. :) So if you want to ask me questions in my Instagram stories, follow me on Instagram (@muscleforlifefitness), and if I answer your question there, it might just make it onto an episode of the podcast! If you like this type of episode, let me know. Send me an email (mike@muscleforlife.com) or direct message me on Instagram. And if you don’t like it, let me know that too or how you think it could be better. Timestamps 4:09 - Republican or libertarian? 6:21 - Why am I getting stronger but I don't look bigger? 6:47 - Do you take every Legion supplement every day? 7:21 - Why do you do so much cardio? 8:49 - How do you improve recovery? 9:35 - Yay or nay to vaccine mandates? 10:19 - Did you catch covid? 11:35 - What exercises should you consider eliminating? 12:51 - Why do you lift your head while benching? 13:22 - What books are you currently reading? 14:10 - Lunges or step-ups? 14:23 - How can I make getting fit fun? 14:45 - Should you take a break from pre-workouts and fat-burners? 15:54 - Do a lot of women flirt with you? 17:53 - How many days per week do you train? Mentioned on the Show: Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/

In this podcast, I chat with Stan Efferding all about speed training. If you’re not familiar with speed training, it’s based on the concept of lifting lighter weights with maximum velocity in order to increase your speed when using heavier weights. Basically, it boils do to doing lighter work as fast as possible (while still using proper form, of course). Speed training is particularly useful for powerlifters looking to increase their totals. However, it’s also useful for people looking to try new things in the gym or maybe even squeeze out a bit more muscle and strength gain if they’ve already achieved the majority of their natural potential. And because I haven’t done speed training myself, I wanted to get an expert like Stan onto the podcast to help people who are interested in this type of training. In case you’re not familiar with Stan, he’s held two all-time raw world powerlifting records and is colloquially known as the “world’s strongest bodybuilder.” He’s more than just super-strong, though. He also knows how to help other people get results, which is why he’s worked with Hafthor Bjornsson, Ed Coan, Ben Smith, Flex Wheeler, and most recently, Jon Jones, a former UFC champion who holds many UFC records. In our discussion, Stan and I discuss what bar speed can tell you about muscle failure, the biggest things that can help your bar speed, the benefits of bodybuilding-style training and cardio on increasing bar speed, the concept of “overspeed,” and a whole lot more. So if you want to learn all about what bar speed is, why it matters, and practical tips for how you can boost yours, check out this interview! Timestamps: 6:14 - Why is speed training important? What has helped your speed training most? 9:33 - How does bar speed affect muscular failure? 15:59 - How can you increase the reps or sets you can do at a particular speed? 16:55 - What is general physical preparedness? 27:01 - How can you measure your bar speed without buying a bar speed device? 29:25 - At what point does the bar slow down in terms of reps in reserve? 35:31 - How can you incorporate speed training in your training program? Mentioned on the Show: Vertical Diet book: https://www.amazon.com/Vertical-Diet-Stan-Efferding/dp/1628601345/?tag=mflweb-20 Stan Efferding’s Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/stanefferding/ Stan Efferding’s website: https://stanefferding.com/ Stan Efferding’s Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/stanefferding Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/

“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 whether the book is likely to be up your alley or not. Alright, let’s get to the takeaways. Timestamps: 5:52 - What are the six different thinking hats? 8:46 -  Takeaway 1 - thinking is the ultimate human resource. 10:40 - Takeaway 2 16:10 - Takeaway 3 18:37 - Takeaway 4 19:59 - Takeaway 5 Mentioned on the Show: My New Book Muscle For Life: https://muscleforlifebook.com/ Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/

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. And so I got an idea: how about a “best of” series of podcasts that contains a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from my most popular episodes? This way, people who are new to the show can quickly determine if it’s for them or not, and those who enjoy what I’m doing but don’t have the time or inclination to listen to all of my stuff can still benefit from the discussions and find new episodes to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Mark Rippetoe on the Right (and Wrong) Ways to Squat (Originally published 4/6/2018) What Do I REALLY Think About People on Steroids? (Originally published 7/7/2017) Motivation Monday: The Number-One Reason to Read (Is Not What You Think) (Originally published 10/15/2018) And we’ll be starting with number one, Mark Rippetoe on the right (and wrong) ways to squat. Timestamps: 3:30 - Mark Rippetoe on the Right (and Wrong) Ways to Squat 8:43 - What Do I REALLY Think About People on Steroids? 14:14 - Motivation Monday: The Number-One Reason to Read (Is Not What You Think) Mentioned on the Show: My New Book Muscle For Life: https://muscleforlifebook.com/

In this podcast, Jordan Syatt and I chat about building a healthy relationship with food. Have you ever felt anxious about going off your diet by going out to eat? Or nervous about going on vacation because you’re afraid you’ll lose all of your hard-earned progress and gain gobs of fat? If so, you might need to improve your relationship with food. In this interview, Jordan explains what a healthy (and unhealthy) relationship with food is, why it matters, how to develop good food habits, how to avoid restricting and bingeing cycles, and more. In case you’re not familiar with Jordan, he holds several powerlifting records, has a Bachelors of Science in Health & Behavior Science, and hosts his own successful podcast called The Jordan Syatt Mini-Podcast. He’s also a strength and nutrition coach (with clients like Gary Vaynerchuk), and has a lot of experience with the personal points of coaching people and helping them adopt healthier, sustainable lifestyles. In other words, he’s spent a lot of time thinking about people’s relationship with food and how to improve it with positive habits that last. So if you want to learn all about what a healthy relationship with food is and how you can improve yours, listen to this interview! Timestamps: 8:30 - What is a healthy relationship with food and why does it matter? 21:12 - What are good habits that develop a healthy relationship with food? 40:22 - How do you avoid the problem of changing your food choices during dieting? How do you avoid overeating when you switch back to normal foods from zero-calorie diet foods? Mentioned on the Show: Jordan Syatt’s Podcast: http://hyperurl.co/qfk6kz Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/mike

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: Should you do very high-rep, “finisher” sets in your workouts? 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 4:01 - Why do some people recommend including very high-rep sets in your training? 6:08 - What do I think about very high-rep training? 7:17 - Why do I not recommend high-rep training? 9:36 - Are very high-rep sets effective for gaining muscle? 11:53 - Does getting a pump matter? Do very high-rep sets give you a better pump? 13:50 - Who should do very high-rep training? Mentioned on the Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/mike

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 does menopause affect fitness? How does it affect diet and training? What can you do to mitigate the effects of menopause? 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 4:02 - How does menopause affect fitness? 8:04 - What role do hormones play? 11:33 - What can women do to manage menopause? 13:49 - Dietary tips for menopausal women. 14:57 - Eat phytoestrogen-containing foods. 16:00 - Exercise and menopause. 19:40 - The importance of patience. Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://buylegion.com/vip Muscle For Life: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LDYT3PP/

In this podcast, I chat with Menno Henselmans all about the science of self-control and willpower. Menno just released a book called The Science of Self-Control, which is an evidence-based look at willpower and how to be more productive. This isn’t your typical self-help book either, filled with anecdote and fluff. It’s more like a textbook in the sense that it references over 500 scientific papers while giving you practical tips on boosting your self-control. Menno’s book will help anyone understand what self-control is, and how you can boost yours so that you can better stick to a diet, work smarter (not harder), and simply put, be better. In this interview, Menno and I discuss the two-system theory of self-control, the causes of willpower depletion, simple tips to boost your focus (including taking imaginary breaks!), and a whole lot more, only scratching the surface of what’s in his book. Menno has been a repeat guest on my podcast, but in case you’re not familiar with him, he’s a former business consultant turned international public speaker, educator, writer, published scientist, and physique coach who’s passionate about helping serious athletes attain their ideal physiques. He’s also on the Scientific Advisory Board of my sports nutrition company, Legion. So if you want to learn about the science of self-control and how we can use scientific research to boost our willpower and be more productive, check out this interview! Timestamps: 6:26 - What inspired you to write The Science of Self-Control? 11:17 - What is 2 system theory and why is it important to understanding self-control? 23:38 - Practical tips for improving self-control. 28:11 - What are evidence-based ways to get through boredom? 35:48 - How do you structure your day? 48:14 - The best length for a nap. 50:22 - The power of imaginary breaks. Mentioned on the Show: Menno’s new book: The Science of Self-Control - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0991FG9SC/?tag=mflweb-20 Menno’s website: https://mennohenselmans.com/ Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://buylegion.com/vip

This podcast is going to cover a technical aspect of muscle building. I’m discussing which is more important for getting bigger and stronger: hypertrophy or hyperplasia? What do those words even mean? Well, hypertrophy is when your muscle cells get bigger, and hyperplasia is when the number of muscle cells increases. Scientists aren’t sure whether hyperplasia even happens in humans, but “believers” contend that both hypertrophy and hyperplasia contribute to muscle growth. Thus, according to them, you should train to produce both of these phenomena to gain muscle as quickly as possible. Focusing on hypertrophy or hyperplasia would change how you train, so this topic has practical applications I’m going to break down for you in this podcast. Timestamps: 4:27 - What is hypertrophy? 4:46 - What are the components of muscle? 4:56 - What is myofibrilar hypertrophy? 5:16 - What is muscle hyperplasia? 5:37 - Does hyperplasia happen in humans? 7:16 - Does hyperplasia exist? 8:10 - How do you induce hyperplasia in animals? 9:26 - What does the science say about hyperplasia in humans? 16:56 - How do we cause hypertrophy? 18:28 - Why does training near failure produce hypertrophy? 19:06 - What about hyperplasia and training? 20:12 - Does stretching cause hyperplasia? Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://buylegion.com/vip

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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . You should never eat fewer than a certain number of calories per day (like 1,200, 1,500 or 1,800). Timestamps: 2:01 - What happens when you eat less than 1200 calories? 2:38 - Is there a universal calorie minimum? Is there a minimum amount of calories you should eat? 4:42 - How low should you drop calories while cutting? 6:28 - Can you develop nutritional deficiencies with a low-calorie diet? Mentioned on the Show: My Calorie Calculator: https://legionathletics.com/tools/ Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/

In this podcast, I interview Tara, who read Thinner Leaner Stronger and used what she learned to lose a total of 80 pounds, going from “morbidly obese” to super fit. She didn’t just lose a ton of fat, either. Tara gained quite a bit of muscle and got super strong in the process. Before finding TLS, Tara was 204 pounds at 5’5”, and her doctor told her she needed to lose some weight. Like many people, Tara wanted to get in shape, but didn’t know how to do it correctly. She didn’t know what to eat or what to do in the gym, and like many women, started to do hours of cardio every day. She successfully lost over 60 pounds, but she was skinny fat and even more unhappy with her body than before. Fortunately, she found my work through a conversation she overheard at the gym, and she read TLS. She learned all about macros and lifting weights, and started to train. The weight continued to fall off, and now Tara’s body composition was improving. She was getting stronger and gaining muscle, and her loose skin started to fill out. Now she’s about 127 pounds and in the best shape of her life. She’s followed the Year One Challenge For Women for 3 years and she went from being unable to lift the bar off her chest to barbell bench pressing triple digits. In this interview, Tara and I chat about her story, and the obstacles she navigated along the way, including how she changed her diet and training and overcame intimidation and fears of getting bulky, how her mindset has transformed, how her strength has progressed, what she’s working toward now, and more. So if you’re looking for a jolt of inspiration and like motivational stories, definitely listen to this episode. Timestamps: 5:42 - Where was your health and fitness at before and after finding my work? 10:36 - How did you get back into fitness after getting burned out? 19:32 - How did you get over the fear of getting bulky from lifting weights? 30:13 - How has your strength progressed on the program? 48:21 - What are your plans from here? Future goals? Mentioned on the Show: Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ Thinner Leaner Stronger: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/thinner-leaner-stronger/ The Shredded Chef: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-shredded-chef/ The Year One Challenge For Women: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/the-year-one-challenge-for-women/ Bigger Leaner Stronger: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/bigger-leaner-stronger/ Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/beyond-bigger-leaner-stronger/

If you’re “searching for things on the Internet” or “watching YouTube videos” or “reading articles,” some say you aren’t “doing your own research” but merely “consuming content.” This plays well with the peanut gallery because, as Aldous Huxley noted, the opportunity to maltreat others with good conscience, to misbehave as a form of “righteous indignation,” is the height of psychological luxury, the most delicious of moral treats.⁣ What is “research,” though?⁣ The hecklers will often say something like, “it’s skillfully reviewing every study you can find on the matter and determining the balance of the evidence.”⁣ If you consult a dictionary, though, research is “studious inquiry or examination.” Ferreting around on the internet to find things to watch, read, and listen to is in fact “doing research,” then. The crux, however, is how you go about it. Are you doing good research? ⁣ And that requires more than just scientific literacy. ⁣ So, can you “do good research” if you’re not an educated specialist? Listen to this podcast to find out.

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: Is reverse pyramid training a good way to train? 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 3:24 - What is reverse pyramid training (RPT)? 10:56 - Is reverse pyramid training effective? 14:02 - What are the advantages of reverse pyramid training? 18:23 - What are the downsides of reverse pyramid training? Mentioned on the Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/mike Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/beyond-bigger-leaner-stronger/

Most of us lead busy, hectic lives and we have to face the fact that we’re going to die with a long to-do list. “Ain’t nobody got time for that,” after all. So it’s no surprise that when life throws you a curveball and your time is suddenly strapped, your training might have to take a backseat. Other times it’s not obligations that get in the way, but perhaps you just want to spend less time in the gym so that you have more time and energy to devote to other pursuits. Or maybe you’re someone who’s just getting started in the gym and doesn’t want to devote hours every week to getting fit. No matter the reason, the good news is you can easily maintain (or even gain) muscle and strength with surprisingly little training. In this podcast, I interview Dr. Brad Schoenfeld, who recently released a narrative review of what the scientific literature says about time-efficient training. That is, Brad and his colleagues evaluated the research to determine the most effective way to strength train with the least amount of time. Brad practically needs no introduction, but in case you’re not familiar with him, he’s an internationally renowned fitness expert, author, educator, lecturer, and researcher, who’s published over 200 peer-reviewed research articles on exercise and sports nutrition. He’s truly an authority on all things related to body composition, hypertrophy, fat loss, and natural bodybuilding. So, if you’re someone who wants to learn how to get the most out of your training with the least amount of time in the gym, or you’re an optimizer who wants to train as efficiently as possible, definitely listen to this podcast! Timestamps: 7:23 - How do you maximize muscle growth while minimizing time spent in the gym? 8:22 - How little training can you do while still making gains? 12:54 - What's the minimum amount of training to maintain muscle you've already built? 17:48 - How do you program a minimalist routine? How do you get the best results with minimal time in the gym? 20:59 - How many sets should you do? 24:22 - How do you count the direct and indirect volume with multi-joint exercises? 28:48 - What movements should you include in your routine? 40:38 - How long should you rest between sets? 46:35 - How should you pick the number of reps to do on a particular exercise? 48:52 - How should you use drop sets? 49:46 - How do you count drop sets? Mentioned on the Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/mike Brad’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradschoenfeldphd/?hl=en Brad's Textbook: Science and Development of Muscle Hypertrophy - https://www.amazon.com/Science-Development-Muscle-Hypertrophy-Schoenfeld/dp/1492597678/?tag=mflweb-20 Brad's Book: Max Muscle Plan - https://www.amazon.com/M-X-Muscle-Plan-2-0/dp/171820714X/?tag=mflweb-20

This podcast is going to be about workout splits. I’m often asked “what’s the best workout split to follow?” Is there really a “best” workout split for maximizing muscle growth? Many people swear by the body part split, while others say it’s a waste of time. Still others say you should organize your split around movement patterns instead. Unfortunately, many of these opinions miss the forest for the trees. There’s no scientifically optimal workout split for everyone in all circumstances. Which split is best for you will depend on your goals, your circumstances, and your preferences. While I’ve written about the best workout split a fair amount, I like to address it regularly as my thinking and recommendations change. For example, the first edition of Bigger Leaner Stronger features a routine that looks a bit different than the one in the fourth edition I’m writing now. In the case of Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger, the current programming in the second edition likewise looks a bit different than that of the first edition. I hear every day from people following my programs, and I’m always taking notes on the suggestions they make and the obstacles they run into so that I can continue to improve my body of work. So, as I continue to learn and hear from readers, these are my current thoughts on the best split for gaining muscle. Timestamps: 7:52 - What is a workout split? 10:22 - Is there a "best" workout split for everyone? 12:29 - How do your goals affect the split you should follow? 18:02 - How many muscle groups should you focus on at once? 22:17 - What are the requirements of a good workout split? 22:57 - What are the cons of a body part split? Mentioned on the Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/mike Bigger Leaner Stronger: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/bigger-leaner-stronger/ Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/beyond-bigger-leaner-stronger/

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. People have also been saying they’d like me to do more shorter, multi-topic episodes, like my Q&As. And so I got an idea: how about a “best of” series of podcasts that contains a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from my most popular episodes? This way, people who are new to the show can quickly determine if it’s for them or not, and those who enjoy what I’m doing but don’t have the time or inclination to listen to all of my stuff can still benefit from the discussions and find new episodes to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Eric Helms on the Ketogenic Diet for Building Muscle (Originally published 2/13/2019) Q&A: How Many Calories Should You Eat to Lose Fat? (And More!) (Originally published 11/7/2018) Book Club: Getting Things Done by David Allen (Originally published 8/18/2017) And we’ll be starting with number one, Eric Helms on the ketogenic diet for building muscle. Timestamps: 3:57 - Eric Helms on the Ketogenic Diet for Building Muscle 10:30 - How Many Calories Should You Eat to Lose Fat? (And More!) 14:34 - Book Club: Getting Things Done by David Allen Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://buylegion.com/vip

In this podcast, I interview Dr. William Li all about food. Specifically, we’re talking about the science of how your body defends itself and heals, and the role that food plays in that process. I’ve talked before about “superfoods” in my book Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger and here on the podcast, but in this episode, Dr. Li dives deeper into how certain foods can affect our body’s ability to heal and prevent disease through their effects on angiogenesis (the process the body uses to grow new blood vessels), the immune system, and the microbiome. We also talk about the specific chemicals in those foods that exert the benefits, how fiber works and affects the gut, foods that can hurt your microbiome, and more. You’ll also learn some of Dr. Li’s favorite foods to incorporate so that you can fit all of this scientific knowledge into your daily life. In case you’re not familiar with Dr. Li, he’s an internationally renowned physician, scientist, and author of the New York Times bestseller Eat to Beat Disease: The New Science of How Your Body Can Heal Itself. He’s also the president and medical director of the Angiogenesis Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization that works to promote medical innovation and breakthrough technology to disrupt disease and improve world health. So, if you want to learn all about how food affects the body’s ability to thrive and beat disease, and what foods you should be eating on a regular basis to boost your health, listen to this podcast! Timestamps: 7:07 - How does the body heal itself? 11:50 - What are your favorite “super” foods? 14:01 - The key to remaining fit for as long as possible 16:06 - Foods that can prune away unneeded blood vessels 19:13 - What is the chemical in cruciferous vegetables that's so beneficial? 20:23 - How do you increase absorption of isothiocyanates? 22:50 - What is the microbiome, what effects does it have on your body, and what foods can improve your gut? 26:29 - How does fiber work? 30:20 - How can we support the immune system with food? 36:47 - What foods are harmful to the microbiome? 43:03 - What does the research say about artificial sweeteners and the microbiome? 44:09 - What causes controversy in food research? Mentioned on the Show: Dr. Li’s Book: Eat to Beat Disease - https://www.amazon.com/Eat-Beat-Disease-Science-Itself/dp/1538714620/?tag=mflweb-20 Dr. Li’s website: https://drwilliamli.com/ Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://buylegion.com/vip Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/beyond-bigger-leaner-stronger/

I’m going to break down 7 nutrition myths that are especially prevalent among endurance athletes. These myths also exist in the strength training world, but they’re particularly pernicious for people who run, jog, swim, cycle, or do any sort of endurance training. These people know that nutrition is key to performance. Unfortunately, while some advice out there is good, a lot of nutrition advice is just flat-out nonsense. So in this episode of the podcast, I’m going to lay some of the worst offenders to rest. Timestamps: 4:01 - Myth: Eating lots of carbs is the most important part of nutrition. 8:39 - Myth: You have to eat within 30 minutes of finishing an endurance workout. 10:38 - Should you eat before or during an endurance training workout? 12:08 - Myth: Energy bars and gels are better than whole foods. 13:43 - The best carbs for before, during, or after a workout. 14:39 - Myth: Endurance trainees should take electrolyte supplements. 18:27 - Why you should be skeptical of electrolyte and hydration supplements. 24:33 - Myth: Getting leaner makes you faster. 27:37 - Myth: endurance athletes should never diet. 31:07 - Myth: You should train to "earn" your calories. Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://buylegion.com/vip

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 beneficial are naps to body composition and performance? 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 3:08 - Can taking naps help you gain muscle and strength faster? Can taking naps help you lose fat faster? Can taking naps improve your performance in the gym? 4:17 - If you don't sleep enough, can naps help? 6:17 - Do naps improve physical and mental performance? 9:42 - Napping tips 10:45 - Should you nap after 3pm? Mentioned on the Show: Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/

In this podcast, I chat with physical therapist, Dr. Laura Kummerle, about a variety of subjects, including Ninja Warrior Training, the benefits of bodyweight training, how to train around repetitive stress injuries (and when to see a physical therapist), and more. In case you’re not familiar with Laura, she’s a former collegiate gymnast turned full-time orthopedic physical therapist who received her Doctor of Physical Therapy from the University of Florida. She also completed an orthopedic residency, making her an OSC (orthopedic clinical specialist). Laura not only has the educational background, but she competed in season 11 of American Ninja Warrior, so she knows a thing or two about the practical application of calisthenics, as well. Beyond that, she posts her unique, gymnastics- and ninja-inspired workouts on her Instagram, and we’re happy to have her on the team as a Legion Athlete. So without further ado, if you want to learn how to train like a Ninja Warrior (and what that even is), what bodyweight exercises you should be doing, how to train around repetitive stress injuries, and a whole lot more, you’re going to like this podcast! Timestamps: 9:40 - How do you train for ninja warrior? What does ninja training look like? 10:51 - How do you program the training for Ninja Warrior? 12:09 - What's commonly used for grip training? 12:30 - How common are ninja gyms? Where can you find them? 14:26 - How much training is required to be a Ninja Warrior? How quickly can you become "good" at Ninja Warrior? 17:41 - Who can benefit from bodyweight exercise? 19:50 - What are the benefits of focusing on mobility, control, and strength at end ranges of a movement? 20:42 - What bodyweight exercises should you include in addition to strength training? 22:52 - What should you do if your knees move inward while squatting? 26:25 - What cues have you found helpful for correcting form issues? 27:28 - What upper body bodyweight exercises do you recommend? 27:45 - What are the benefits of handstands? 31:13 - What is "end range" of an exercise? 31:43 - What other bodyweight exercises should people consider doing? 32:58 - How do you program cossack squats? 40:18 - The benefits of mirrors and taking video of your sets 44:50 - How do you work around repetitive stress injuries? 48:18 - When should you go see a physical therapist? 56:16 - How do you address knee pain? 58:40 - What should you do when you get an RSI? 1:00:23 - Should you train a non-injured side to maintain muscle? 1:00:38 - What are neurological crossover effects? Mentioned on the Show: Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ Laura’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paradigmofperfection/ Laura’s website: https://paradigmofperfection.com/

I’m often asked what I’m doing in the gym and what my latest one-rep maxes on my lifts are, so I wanted to give a little training update in this podcast. I’ve been following the program in Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger for over 2 years now, and I just wrapped up one of my most productive macrocycles yet. How much strength did I gain on my lifts? What caused this sudden flourish of progress? I’ll give all the details in this podcast! Timestamps: 1​​0:44 - Strength standards for women 11:57 - What explains my sudden burst of progress? Mentioned on the Show: Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger:  https://legionathletics.com/products/books/beyond-bigger-leaner-stronger/ Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/

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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . You haven’t used steroids so anything you say about them is invalid, probably wrong, and you’re not qualified to talk about them. Timestamps: 3:14 - You haven't used winstrol, testosterone, ecdysterone, trenbolone, SARMS, or other drugs, so you can't comment on them. 4:45 - Why do some people use steroids? 6:41 - How big of an effect do steroids have? 8:40 - Does the risk to reward ratio make sense for everyday gym-goers? 10:08 - What are the risks of steroids? 11:09 - Do you have to try a drug to be qualified to advise against it? Mentioned on the Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/mike

In this podcast, I chat with Austin Current all about the science of strength training. Austin recently released a book called the Science of Strength Training, which is a visual encyclopedia and comprehensive resource that dives into the nitty gritty details of resistance training. Specifically, it covers physiology, anatomy, how muscles work, exercise selection, and much more. Austin’s book will help anyone understand what happens in our bodies as a result of strength training and why it’s so beneficial. And the book is visually captivating to boot! In our chat, we talk about the main drivers of muscle growth (including mechanical tension, muscle damage, and metabolic stress), sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar hypertrophy, workout programming, the importance of deloads, and cardiovascular fitness. And we only scratch the surface of what’s in Austin’s book. If you’re not familiar with Austin, not only is he an educator and author, but he’s a coach and co-founder of Physique Development, a coaching collective that works with everyday fitness folks and competitors alike. Not only has Austin had a successful competitive career as a natural physique bodybuilder, but I was impressed by his ability to break down complex topics into actionable information that anyone can use, which is why I wanted to get him on the podcast. So if you want to learn about the physiology of muscle growth and how we can use science to tweak our workout programming, check out this interview! Timestamps: 32:21 - What are the mechanics of muscle growth? 32:43 - What are the three stimuli that contribute to muscle growth? 34:29 - What is the hormonal cascade that occurs from resistance training? 41:05 - What is muscle damage and how much does it contribute to muscle growth? 47:02 - Should you try to maximize muscle damage in your training? 53:18 - What are the signs you're creating enough muscle damage? 1:02:23 - Should you incorporate deloads? 1:08:44 - What is metabolic stress or metabolic fatigue? 1:11:54 - Are styles of training that prioritize metabolic stress useful? 1:23:44 - The importance of cardiovascular fitness and the aerobic system. Mentioned on the Show: Bigger Leaner Stronger: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/bigger-leaner-stronger/ Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/beyond-bigger-leaner-stronger/ Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/mike Science of Strength Training - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0744026954/?tag=mflweb-20 Austin’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/austincurrent_/ Physique Development - https://physiquedevelopment.com/

Is intensity or volume more important for building muscle? That’s this podcast’s topic and it’s been a matter of ongoing controversy and debate. If you asked a panel of fitness experts about intensity versus volume, you’d hear a lot of squabbling. Some would say you should mostly train heavy and focus on using weights as heavy as possible. Others would say the weight you’re using doesn’t matter as much as simply training a lot and putting in the reps. Both arguments can sound convincing, so which method should you apply? While you can’t neglect volume or intensity, one of the two is slightly more important than the other. You’re going to learn why in this podcast! Timestamps: 5:17 - How do you calculate volume? What is volume load? 10:34 - What's the best way to track volume? 11:36 - What is intensity? 14:28 - How close should you get to failure during a set? 15:33 - Should you use a percentage of your one-rep max (1RM)? 16:32 - Is volume or intensity better for muscle growth? 24:31 - Do you have to keep getting stronger to gain muscle? 27:00 - How heavy should you lift? 30:17 - How do you get stronger? 31:59 - Why do we have to keep adding weight to the bar over time? Why is strength gain correlated with building muscle? 33:58 - Should you do very high-rep sets? Do high-rep sets increase muscle tension? 38:39 - How should you program your training? Mentioned on the Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/mike

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: What do you think about companies that do DNA testing to make diet and training recommendations? 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 3:57 - What is DNA testing? 7:20 - Is DNA testing a gimmick? 9:59 - Should you get DNA testing? Can DNA testing help you? Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://buylegion.com/vip

In this podcast, I talk with Todd, who read Bigger Leaner Stronger and used what he learned to go from over 230 pounds to 175 pounds (and 10% body fat) in a year, all while gaining gobs of muscle in the process. Before finding BLS, Todd was very overweight and unhealthy. He wanted to get in shape, so he started intermittent fasting, but he didn’t know anything about energy balance, meal planning, or what really moves the needle. He ended up stuck in a rut. When Covid hit and Todd got sick, he realized he needed to make a real change and finally get healthy. He couldn’t keep doing what he was doing or he could literally lose his life. Luckily he found my work, gobbled up the information, and started implementing what he learned. He started tracking his food and quickly realized he was eating too much. He also started training properly, and he was finally able to break through weight loss plateaus and get down to 175 pounds with an impressive physique. In this interview, Todd and I chat about his story, the biggest epiphanies he had after reading BLS, how he continues to stay on track and motivated, the importance of having a willingness to change, the value of cheat meals, and more. So if you’re looking for a jolt of inspiration and like motivational stories, definitely listen to this episode. Timestamps: 5:13 - What was your situation before finding my work? 23:22 - What has been your experience with cheat meals? 30:59 - How does overeating affect your workouts? 39:32 - Was intermittent fasting helpful? 42:37 - Did you use any supplements? 45:51 - Do you think you'll have trouble maintaining what you've achieved? Mentioned on the show: Bigger Leaner Stronger: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/bigger-leaner-stronger/ Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://buylegion.com/vip

Why a podcast on vaccination? Because I know quite a few unvaccinated people who won't be getting jabbed under any circumstances, and who also haven't done anything to mitigate their chances of getting sick or worse from Covid. The message in this episode has resonated with them, and thus, I think is productive to share widely. Whatever the reason for your reluctance to get vaccinated, at this point, no amount of hectoring is going to change your mind. If you’re unvaccinated and wholly unprepared for Covid, though, you’re not only imperiling your health, you’re preparing the ground for the brave new world.  There are things you can do to mitigate your risk, though. It looks like SARS-CoV-2 is never going away, so if you haven’t gotten Covid yet, then, it’s not a question of if you will in the future, only when. So in this podcast, I’m laying out practical advice on reducing your risk of getting Covid, having an especially bad case, or spreading it. Don't let Covid catch you out. Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://buylegion.com/vip

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. People have also been saying they’d like me to do more shorter, multi-topic episodes, like my Q&As. And so I got an idea: how about a “best of” series of podcasts that contains a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from my most popular episodes? This way, people who are new to the show can quickly determine if it’s for them or not, and those who enjoy what I’m doing but don’t have the time or inclination to listen to all of my stuff can still benefit from the discussions and find new episodes to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Kurtis Frank on the Best Functional Foods for Improving Health and Wellbeing (Originally published 2/9/2019) Are Compound Exercises Better Than Isolation Exercises? (Originally published 3/6/2019) Motivation Monday: What Got You Here (Probably) Won’t Get You There (Originally published 11/5/2018) And we’ll be starting with number one, Kurtis Frank on the Best Functional Foods for Improving Health and Wellbeing. Timestamps: 5:16 - Kurtis Frank on the Best Functional Foods for Improving Health and Wellbeing 14:45 - Are Compound Exercises Better Than Isolation Exercises? 20:40 - Motivation Monday: What Got You Here (Probably) Won’t Get You There Mentioned on the Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/mike

In this interview with Eric Helms, we chat all about the concept of staying too lean. That is, we discuss body fat percentage from the standpoint of health and performance. Many people set their crosshairs on getting a six-pack when they first get into fitness. “I’ll be happy once I have abs!” they fantasize. And that’s all well and good from an aesthetics point of view. Most of us like how we look when we’re really lean, but when it comes to general health or strength training, is having ripped abs actually beneficial? The truth is staying super lean year-round can have an impact on other areas of your life beyond how you look, including your training, sleep, mood, and hunger. In other words, staying too lean for too long can impede your progress if you have other goals beyond looking shredded, and that’s what Eric is here to talk about. In case you’re not familiar with Eric, he’s not only an accomplished bodybuilder, powerlifter, coach, author, scientist, and member of Legion’s Scientific Advisory Board, but he’s also one of the guys behind the Monthly Applications in Strength Sport (MASS), which is one of the best research reviews out there. In this episode, we talk about . . . How body fat relates to health and athletic performance Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) and energy availability Energy compensation and how extreme amounts of activity affect energy expenditure depending on energy availability The easiest way to tell if you're too lean Reasons for getting (and staying) lean And more . . . So, if you want to learn how staying too lean for too long could be hurting your progress in the gym, or just want a little motivation as to why you should lean bulk, this podcast is for you! Timestamps: 6:12 - How do you know if you're trying to stay too lean? 12:09 - What is the sweet spot in terms of body fat percentage and weight? 16:35 - What is RED-S? 31:12 - What are symptoms of RED-S for women? 35:37 - What's the best and easiest way to know if you're too lean? 40:10 - What is the optimal calorie range for you? 51:41 - What if you notice negative effects at the level of leanness you want aesthetically? Mentioned on the Show: Eric Helms’s Website: https://3dmusclejourney.com/ MASS Research Review: https://www.strongerbyscience.com/mass-issue-1?dst=massmuscleforlife Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/mike

This episode of Muscle For Life 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 for the latest and greatest installment. Mentioned on the Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/mike

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: Being an intermediate lifter, how fast should I progress on the bench press, squat, deadlift, and overhead press when lean bulking? 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 7:43 - What are good strength targets for natural weightlifters? 9:57 - What are reasonable strength goals for women? 11:02 - How do you get as strong as possible? 13:30 - What does strength gain look like year to year? 17:41 - Why do strength and muscle gain progress so similarly? 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/

In this podcast, I interview Dan John, and we chat all about his concept of “easy strength.” Easy strength is a style of training Dan writes about at length in his latest book, Attempts: Essays in Fitness, Health, Longevity and Easy Strength, which I highly recommend. We’ll get more into the nitty gritty details in the podcast, but “easy strength” is all about effective workouts done with key exercises that you can get done quickly. This gets you in and out of the gym quickly, giving you more time to recover and train for your sport. The best part is you’ll get stronger without beating up your muscles and joints, which means less soreness and joint pain. If you’re skeptical, I understand, but Dan isn’t exactly the new kid on the block. In fact, he has quite the resume—he has competed in the Highland Games, written more than 14 books, and coached athletes and weightlifters for over 40 years now. As you can imagine, he has seen and heard it all, and knows a thing or two about coaching athletes. In this episode, Dan and I discuss . . . The benefits of not “destroying” yourself in the gym Exercise as practice The importance of not missing reps How to program your workouts and progressively overload with “easy strength” And more . . . So, if you want to learn how to incorporate easy strength workouts to get stronger without beating yourself up or spending hours in the gym every day, listen to this episode and let me know your thoughts! Timestamps: 15:46 - What is easy strength? 28:57 - What does an easy strength program look like? 35:11 - How do you progressively overload? 39:44 - What is "easy" as a percentage of 1RM? 44:56 - How much weight do you add to the bar? Mentioned on the Show: Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/

In this podcast, I’m going to talk about greens supplements, which are more popular now than ever before. There’s no shortage of supplement companies out there promoting their greens powders with all sorts of marketing claims. It’s a winning formula, too. Your average greens supplement is just a bunch of dirt-cheap, fruit and vegetable powders, with pixie-dusted amounts of mushrooms or other extracts that sound nice. But how big of a difference do they really make? Greens supplements are often sold as a direct replacement for food, but can you really just take a greens supplement instead of eating fruit and vegetables every day? Should you consider taking a greens supplement if you already eat healthily? In this podcast, I’m going to answer those questions, as well as share my favorite greens supplements ingredients, and the worst ones. All of this should help you make better decisions when purchasing a greens supplement. Timestamps: 4:14 - What ingredients are commonly found in greens supplements? 5:16 - What are superfoods? 7:53 - How are greens supplements sold? 11:57 - How many servings of fruit and vegetables should you eat? 16:22 - Should you drink fruit and vegetable powders? 21:03 - The best greens supplements ingredients. 24:57 - What are the benefits of cruciferous vegetables? 27:28 - The worst greens supplements. Mentioned on the Show: Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ Genesis Greens Supplement: https://legionathletics.com/products/supplements/genesis-superfood-supplement/

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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . A low-protein diet is better for living longer than a high-protein diet. 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/

Life is full of surprises and things don’t always go as planned. This episode of the podcast is the perfect example of that. ;) That’s because I’m once again chatting with repeat guest Pat Flynn, and what was supposed to be a discussion about liberalism, morphed into a twisting and turning maze of philosophical ponderings. While you may mostly listen to my podcast for the health and fitness content, our musings aren’t completely unrelated. Life is more than just physical fitness. Ideally, we want to live well beyond fitness, and “flourish” as Pat likes to say. Pat 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 wade through. 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. In this episode, our conversation runs the gamut, with several topics, including . . . Masks and lockdown efficacy and social pressures in science Recognizing credible authorities Conspiracy theories Virtues like prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude Pornography and consent Whether people get what they “deserve” The subjective elements of evil And more . . . So, if you enjoy philosophical tangents and want to listen to something a bit different for a fitness podcast, listen to this episode and let me know your thoughts! Timestamps: 40:51 - What are your thoughts on meta-cognition? 50:41 - What are your thoughts on developing yourself and virtues? 1:30:00 - If life had no evil would it still be interesting? Mentioned on the Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/mike

In this podcast, we’re going to talk about the “fat burning zone,” which is something you’ve probably heard about many times. When I first got into fitness, I read that if you’re doing cardio to lose fat, you better be doing it in the “fat burning zone.” If you don’t, proponents claim, your cardio is going to be a lot less effective, or maybe even completely ineffective. You’ll simply end up burning through the glycogen in your muscles or the carbs in your blood, leaving your body fat untouched and unscathed. This idea has stood the test of time, too. It’s been around for at least 50 years now, and many people think the fat burning zone is the ticket to losing weight. As you’re going to learn in this podcast, the fat burning zone is largely a myth. Lower-intensity cardio that burns a larger proportion of fat isn’t necessarily better than higher-intensity exercise when it comes to overall fat loss. That doesn’t mean you have to do a lot of high-intensity cardio either, though. Find out why by listening to this episode! Timestamps: 3:57 - What is the fat burning zone? 9:57 - What's wrong with the fat burning zone idea? 15:19 - What’s the best kind of cardio for burning fat? Mentioned on the Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/mike

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: What type of water should you drink? Tap? Bottled? Alkaline? 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: 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/

In this podcast, you’re going to learn how to be bad. I don’t mean Mad Max lone-wanderer badass bad. I mean how to be a bad client bad--that is, how to be uncoachable bad. You see, hiring a coach isn’t just a one-and-done transaction that gets you to your goal. If you want results, you still have to do the work. You have to be willing to learn, put in the time, and reach your goals with the help of a guiding hand. A coach is there to make a plan and guide you, but it’s a team effort. And there are many ways to mess up that client-coach relationship. Someone who knows all about good clients and bad alike is Cody McBroom, and this subject of how to be uncoachable is the topic of this podcast. Cody is a repeat-guest on my show, but in case you’re not familiar with him, he’s the CEO and founder of the Tailored Coaching Method, a lifestyle training and nutrition coaching company (that also coaches coaches how to coach), and host of the Tailored Life podcast. In this episode, we chat about . . . The various ways people sabotage their results as a client, including having the wrong expectations and thinking they already know everything Why it’s important to not make unfair comparisons (why you have to compare the whole picture) Overthinking & paralysis by analysis (and the difference between wanting to know “why” and challenging a coach) Pricing and having "skin in the game" The necessity of being willing to take advice And more . . . So if you want to learn the wrong way to get coached, and how you can actually get better results as a client, this podcast is worth a listen! Timestamps: 7:35 - How to be utterly un-coachable 13:38 - If somebody signed up for coaching are they already in the mindset to be coached? 39:52 - Too much thinking and how it can hinder progress. 44:37 - What are your thoughts on ‘skin in the game’ and prices? 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/

The “One Meal a Day” (OMAD) diet has been around for a while, but it’s more popular now than ever before. That’s likely because fasting, intermittent fasting, and diets that revolve around not eating for long periods of time are more popular in general. OMAD is the most extreme variation of intermittent fasting, and much tougher to follow than the Leangains protocol, for example. Why would you want to eat just one meal a day, though? If you’re not doing it currently, should you consider it? Many people say OMAD improves your metabolic health, reduces your risk of disease, helps you live longer, and is generally superior to traditional eating. Other people are less convinced and question the efficacy, safety, practicality, and necessity of OMAD. So that’s what this podcast is all about. What is the OMAD diet, what are its benefits,  what are the downsides, who should consider it (and who should not), and more. Timestamps: 4:54 - What is the OMAD diet? 10:19 - What are the benefits of the OMAD diet? 15:05 - What effects does the OMAD diet have on weight loss? 24:14 - What are the downside of the OMAD diet? 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. People have also been saying they’d like me to do more shorter, multi-topic episodes, like my Q&As. And so I got an idea: how about a “best of” series of podcasts that contains a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from my most popular episodes? This way, people who are new to the show can quickly determine if it’s for them or not, and those who enjoy what I’m doing but don’t have the time or inclination to listen to all of my stuff can still benefit from the discussions and find new episodes to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: James Clear on How to Build Effective Habits and Make Them Stick (Originally published 7/6/2018) How to Successfully Clean Bulk In 6 Simple Steps (Originally published 2/27/2018) 16 Destructive Things You Have to Stop Doing to Be Happy (Originally published 10/23/2017) And we’ll be starting with number one, James Clear on How to Build Effective Habits and Make Them Stick. Timestamps: 5:01 - James Clear on How to Build Effective Habits and Make Them Stick 11:36 - How to Successfully Clean Bulk In 6 Simple Steps 20:30 - 16 Destructive Things You Have to Stop Doing to Be Happy 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/

In this episode, I interview Sara, who read Thinner Leaner Stronger and used what she learned to go from obese (with a BMI of 32) to ripped at 18% body fat, while getting significantly stronger in the process. Before finding TLS, Sara was 190 pounds and a size 16 after having 4 kids, and was at her heaviest. She wanted to get in shape, but didn’t know the best way to go about it. She started to learn about calories and tracking her food intake through Noom, and the weight started to come off. Once a friend introduced her to TLS, though, she deepend her understanding of nutrition and most importantly, started to learn how to train. She stopped doing heaps of cardio, learned about progressive overload, and actually started to gain muscle and improve her body composition. Now she’s 135 pounds at 18% body fat, and significantly stronger than before with visible abs for the first time in her life. In this interview, Sara and I chat about her story, and the obstacles she navigated along the way, including how she changed her training and learned proper form, dealing with gym intimidation, why she reduced her cardio, what she’s working toward now, and more. So if you’re looking for a jolt of inspiration and like motivational stories, definitely listen to this episode. Timestamps: 5:19 - Where were you before you found me and my work? 9:06 - What were some of those behavioral changes that you experienced with NuMe? 15:15 - How did it go at the beginning of the program? 19:09 - How was your first few months in the gym? 35:43 - Were there any unforeseen obstacles that I didn’t mention in the book? 41:14 - Where do you want to go from here? 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/

This podcast is all about alpha-GPC, which is one of my favorite supplements. That’s why you can kind it in my pre-workout Pulse and my nootropic Ascend. Alpha-GPC has promise as both a performance enhancer and a cognitive booster and preserver. It’s also well-tolerated with very few side effects, which is not something that can be said about a lot of other nootropic supplements. So, should you try alpha-GPC? Will it help you push a little bit harder in the gym without the side effects associated with stimulants? Find out in this podcast. Timestamps: 5:27 - What is Alpha-GPC? 8:36 - What are the power and strength benefits with supplementing with Aplha-GPC? 11:57 - What are the cognitive benefits with supplementing with Alpha-GPC? 14:23 - What are the growth hormone benefits with supplementing with Aplha-GPC? 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 got a lot of great feedback on my previous podcast about weightlifting cues. In that episode, I covered my favorite cues for the squat, deadlift, and bench press. So, I thought I would do another episode covering the best cues for the front squat, overhead press, pull-up, chin-up, and the barbell row, which are some of my favorite exercises besides the “big three.” So, if you want to learn what weightlifting cues are, as well as my favorite cues for better form and performing better in the gym, listen to this episode! Timestamps: 2:19 - What is a cue? 8:17 - Front squat cues 11:24 - Overhead press cues 15:34 - Pull up and chin up cues 18:55 - barbell row and dumbbell row cues 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/

In this podcast, I interview Brooke Ence, an entrepreneur, actress, and CrossFit icon, which she became after winning 1st place in the California Regional at the 2015 CrossFit Games (her first year competing, by the way). She looks the part too, which is how she’s garnered over 1.5 million followers on Instagram, and landed roles as an Amazon warrior in Wonder Woman, Justice League, and Black Lightning. Reaching this level of performance and maintaining the look isn't easy, of course, and in this episode, we chat about Brooke’s story and how she ended up here. Specifically, we talk about . . . Her history in sports and athletics How she got involved in CrossFit and what it was like training (alone) for the CrossFit Games The data and mindset required to perform at your peak Why you have to do more than just "show up" Genetics and natural talent versus drive Social media and vlogging And more . . . So if you want to learn how Brooke became the “superhero” she is today, check out this podcast and let me know what you think! Timestamps: 6:09 - What has your journey been? How did you get into this? 25:35 - What kind of headspace do you go into when things are not going your way? Mentioned on the Show: Brooke Ence’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brookeence/ Brooke Ence’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiT4lJYXVC5Ev8Mlp8o7-Zg Brooke Ence’s Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/between-the-reps-with-brooke-ence-jeanna-cianciarulo/id1438658181 Encewear: https://encewear.com/ Naked Training App: https://www.nakedtraining.app/ 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/

Today we’re talking about DHEA supplements. This is a popular supplement because DHEA can influence your hormones. Many people believe if you can enhance your hormones, you can look better, perform better, feel better, and more. That’s true because healthy living can help optimize your hormones, which has beneficial downstream effects. You can also affect your hormonal profile through medications, synthetic hormones, and supplements, but most of the stuff that actually works is only available through a prescription. As far as supplements go, most “testosterone boosters” are junk. However, DHEA can raise your testosterone in certain conditions, which is what I’m going to talk about in this podcast. Timestamps: 7:00 - What is DHEA? 10:29 - What are the benefits of DHEA? 15:16 - What are the side effects of DHEA? 16:23 - What is the effective dose of DHEA? 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: Does energy flux have any significant effects on fat loss and muscle retention? 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: 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/

If you (k)need help with your knees (har har), this podcast is for you. That’s because I’m having a chat with Ben Patrick, also known as the Knees Over Toes Guy, and we’re talking all about improving knee function and pain. In case you’re not familiar with Ben, he’s taken the fitness world by storm with a seemingly controversial and contrarian stance on the old adage of never pushing your knees past your toes. So much so that he’s gained over 1 million followers across social media fast, and been featured on the Joe Rogan podcast. Ben gave up a career in college basketball to help people build strong, healthy knees, reduce knee pain, avoid surgery, and unlock their athletic potential. We’ll get more into his background in the interview, but after spending his teenage years riddled with chronic knee pain and getting knee surgery, he developed his own system to build bulletproof knees. Now he can perform impressive feats of lower body mobility and knee strength, and coaches everyone from to newbies dealing with knee issues to elite athletes wanting to perform their absolute best. In this interview, Ben and I talk about how he rehabilitated two dysfunctional knees, the benefits of walking backwards and reverse step-ups, supplements that can help with joint pain, and a whole lot more. So if you want to learn how Ben beat chronic knee pain, and how certain simple exercises can unlock your true athletic potential, listen to this interview! Timestamps: 6:49 - Why knees over toes? What is the significance of that? 17:24 - How did you start healing your knees to play professional basketball? 23:11 - Where did it go from there? 57:31 - What are some supplements that people should take for knee pain? Mentioned on the Show: Ben Patrick’s Instagram: www.instagram.com/kneesovertoesguy/ Ben Patrick’s YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCGybO-bWZ3W6URh42sdMQiw Ben Patrick’s Program: atgonlinecoaching.com Shop Legion Supplements Here: 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/

This podcast is all about reps in reserve (RIR). Specifically, I’ll discuss what that is and why you should be tracking it in your workouts. If you’re familiar with my work, you’re probably already tracking a lot of things: your body weight, how much weight you’re putting on the bar, your sets and reps, and more. One thing you’re probably not tracking, however, is reps in reserve. After your first 6 to 8 months of training and you’ve passed the newbie gains phase, reps in reserve becomes vital in your training. This is true whether you're using double progression or linear periodization. I’ve talked before about how to use reps in reserve and why I prefer it over RPE, but this episode is specifically about tracking RIR and how I’ve found it very beneficial. Timestamps: 3:35 - What are reps in reserve? 8:35 - Strength training and reps in reserve 15:25 - Isolation exercises and reps in reserve 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/

In this podcast, I interview Joe Chura, who used what he learned in Bigger Leaner Stronger to get healthy and fit, and improve his well-being. Before finding my work, Joe was climbing the ranks in the automotive industry and building his own dealership company, Dealer Inspire. Unfortunately, while he was successfully growing his business, he neglected his health, and things started to deteriorate. Between drinking a lot of alcohol, not making time to exercise, and work stress, he was more than 50 pounds overweight and developed health issues like WPW syndrome and had to have back surgery. Once he sold his companies, though, and nearly having a heart attack, he realized how important his health was. After all, what good was all his hard work if he worked himself to death? And that’s where my work comes in. Joe found and read Bigger Leaner Stronger and started following the workouts and improving his diet, which has helped him get fit and dramatically improve his everyday life. In this episode, we chat about . . . How Joe got started in the automotive industry How he ignored his health and body while building his business His realization of how important physical health is and how he changed his routine and diet Making time to read The importance of having goals to work towards How to be productive while multi-tasking and the myth of the “overnight success” What he would've changed in his entrepreneurship journey knowing what he knows now Why he started his own podcast And more . . . So, if you want to hear Joe’s story and what he learned in Bigger Leaner Stronger that radically transformed his health for the better, listen to this podcast! Timestamps: 7:49 - Where were you before you started the program? 43:14 - As an entrepreneur, what would you have changed if you were to go back in time? Mentioned on the Show: Joe Chura’s Podcast: https://linktr.ee/notalmostthere Joe Chura’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joe_chura/ 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/

In this episode, I interview Mark Bell, also known as the "Meathead Millionaire” who invented the Sling Shot. In case you’re not familiar with Mark, he’s not only a successful entrepreneur, and inventor, but he’s a world ranked powerlifter (top 10 all-time with a total of 2,628 pounds), and the owner of Super Training Products Inc. He’s also the host of his own podcast (Mark Bell’s Power Project, on which I was recently a guest), and has a popular Youtube channel. For this interview, we originally planned to chat about powerlifting, but the conversation naturally diverted into a veritable bevy of other topics, which I think you’ll find interesting. Specifically, we talk about . . . Natty expectations, the power of steroids, and the best way to compete without drugs Testosterone levels and what happens once you start taking exogenous T How Mark likes to learn (it's not reading!) Finding your natural gifts and interests, developing them, and becoming "world class" Changing your mindset (why it's harder to be stagnant than to say no to short-term pleasures) And more . . . So if you want to hear from the mind of a very successful entrepreneur who also knows a thing or two about lifting some of the heaviest objects humans can lift, you’re going to love this podcast! Timestamps: 38:45 - How do you prefer to learn? Mentioned on the Show: Mike Matthews on Mark Bell's Power Project Podcast: youtu.be/LTmk6ZYwSRU Mark Bell's Instagram: www.instagram.com/marksmellybell/?hl=en Mark Bell’s Personal YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT4h7JebxFzSplk6zn0tAdA Mark Bell Super Training Gym YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/supertraining06 Mark Bell’s Slingshot & Other products: https://markbellslingshot.com/ 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/

This podcast is all about building your arms. Whether you’re a guy who wants to put on mass or a gal who wants more defined and toned arms, this episode is going to help. While most guys want arms as big as possible, and most women I’ve talked to care more about toning their arms than adding size, the solution is the same. You want to build muscle and strength in your arms, and reduce your levels of body fat. That’s the key. And the surprising truth for most women is they need a lot more muscle and strength in their arms than they realize. That is, they’re going to have to get a lot stronger and more muscular than the average woman who doesn’t train to get their desired look. That’s how you get sculpted, defined arms that aren’t big and bulky. Most arm workouts online are all about blitzing your biceps and triceps with huge amounts of volume and fancy techniques until you can no longer move your noodly appendages, which just isn’t as effective as what I’m going to share with you in this podcast. So, press play if you want to hear my favorite tips for getting fitter, bigger, more toned arms. Timestamps: 5:54 - Mike’s top 5 tips for better arm workouts 19:49 - An example of an effective arm workout 22:03 - Bicep’s workout example 29:64 - Tricep’s workout example 32:07 - How often should I be training my arms? 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 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: - What is the Blood Type Diet and should you follow it? 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: Shop Legion Supplements Here: buylegion.com/mike --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

In this episode, I interview Ann and Lo (also known as the Minny Hustlers on Instagram), who read Thinner Leaner Stronger and used what they learned to dramatically change their physiques and lives. Before finding TLS, Ann and Lo focused on what many women do--lots of cardio and lifting light weights. While they managed to prevent weight gain (the dreaded “freshman 15”...or 20...or 30), they didn’t know how to build the bodies they really wanted with toned arms and glorious glutes. Ever since they read the book in 2015 and learned what really moves the needle in terms of body composition, they’ve totally transformed their physiques, adding muscle in all the right places while stripping away fat, and building their strength to levels they had never seen before. And the best part is by working together, Ann and Lo were able to keep each other accountable and motivate one another to push through the tough times. They also used what they learned in the book to become Legion Athletes and launch their own Instagram page, which they use to educate and motivate other women to finally get their dream bodies and improve their own lives. In this interview, we talk about . . . The struggles of bulking Dealing with body image issues Tips that helped them transition to cutting while staying satisfied How flexible dieting changed the game for them How gyms shutting down affected their cut And more . . . So if you’re looking for a jolt of inspiration and like motivational stories, definitely listen to this episode. Timestamps: 5:01 - What does your before and after look like? 6:13 - What results did you get from mostly cardio and low intensity weightlifting? 12:47 - What has changed in the past couple years? Where are you currently in your fitness journey? 14:48 - What were the bulking struggles that you experienced? 17:16 - How did you deal with body image and bulking? 25:51 - How did your first cut go? 32:35 - Where do you want to go from here? 37:10 - Any advice on supplements? Mentioned on the Show: Minny Hustlers Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/minnyhustlers/ 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/

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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . Is collagen protein superior to whey? Timestamps: 4:12 - What is collagen protein? 12:31 - Does whey protein have heavy metals in them? Mentioned on the Show: Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ Legion Whey+: https://legionathletics.com/products/supplements/whey-protein-powder/ Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

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 to build it The origin of the rucking and tactical events he hosts And more . . . So, if you want to hear an inspiring, all-American story of turning an aspirational dream into a community-building business, check out this episode! Timestamps: 12:48 - Why did you decide to go with the name Go Ruck? 26:40 - How did you go from an idea to a product? 50:29 - What do you do at these events? 54:15 - Did it surprise you how much attention you got after holding events? 57:40 - What are some insights that led you to getting back with your ex-wife and starting a family? Mentioned on the Show: Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ Jason McCarthy’s Website: https://www.goruck.com/ GORUCK Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goruck/ Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

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 Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ Pulse Pre-Workout: https://legionathletics.com/products/supplements/pulse-pre-workout/ Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

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 something for you, I think you’re going to like this episode! Timestamps: 10:34 - Periodization plan 12:09 - Training routines 17:16 - Workouts 23:15 - Progression methods 44:09 - Double Progression 48:07 - How long should I rest between sets? 53:20 - How to warm up for your workout? 56:58 - De-load week 59:58 - Should I do cardio? Mentioned on the Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://buylegion.com/vip Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/beyond-bigger-leaner-stronger/ Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

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. She's also a Legion Athlete, and the head coach and CEO of Level TEN, an evidence-based coaching company. I thought she'd make a great guest to talk about orthorexia because she’s not only helped clients get through it, but it's something she's dealt with personally in her own life. Her own struggle with nutritional misinformation led to orthorexia, and is what inspired her to become the educator and coach she is today. In this interview, Joelle and I talk about . . . What orthorexia is and its relationship to control and perfectionism How misinformation and an innocent desire to lose weight can spiral into orthorexia Over-exercising and working out purely to “burn off” small meals How to recover from orthorexia And more . . . So if you want to learn what orthorexia is, how it can develop, and what to do about it if you think you have an eating disorder, listen to this podcast. Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 13:32 - How did the over exercising manifest? 42:30 - What helped you out during the recovery phase? Mentioned on the Show: Joelle Samantha's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joellesamantha/ Level TEN Coaching: https://www.leveltencoaching.co/ 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/

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. People have also been saying they’d like me to do more shorter, multi-topic episodes, like my Q&As. And so I got an idea: how about a “best of” series of podcasts that contains a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from my most popular episodes? This way, people who are new to the show can quickly determine if it’s for them or not, and those who enjoy what I’m doing but don’t have the time or inclination to listen to all of my stuff can still benefit from the discussions and find new episodes to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Kurtis Frank on the Science of Controlling Your Appetite (Originally published 10/24/2018) 6 Things You’ve Always Wanted to Know About Steroids (Originally published 9/28/2018) Book Club: The ONE Thing (Originally published 8/21/2017) And we’ll be starting with number one, Kurtis Frank on the Science of Controlling Your Appetite. Timestamps: 5:05 - Kurtis Frank on the Science of Controlling Your Appetite 13:59 - 6 Things You’ve Always Wanted to Know About Steroids 21:25 - Book Club: The ONE Thing 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/

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 thinking about. These small tweaks may not make a noticeable difference in the moment, but they can move the needle over time. Even if that’s not you, though, I think you’ll find this episode interesting, and you just may learn a strategy or two you’d like to try. In our chat, Chris and I talk about . . . What peri-workout nutrition is Specific macros and food choices for pre-workout and post-workout nutrition Whether the glycemic index of your carb choices matters Carbohydrate supplements When intraworkout nutrition is useful (and when it’s not) And much more . . . 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 had many years of developing his book smarts and “in the trenches” know-how, and definitely knows how to get results. So take a listen and let me know which of the strategies we discuss you’ll be implementing, as well as your own favorite peri-workout foods. :) Timestamps: 5:06 - What is peri-workout nutrition? 19:46 - What does a pre-workout meal look like? 25:33 - What are your thoughts on carbohydrate supplements? 35:51 - What should your protein and fat intake look like before a workout? 40:44 - How do you approach post workout? 47:12 - Is resynthesis more efficient at night? Mentioned on the Show: Chris Barakat's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christopher.barakat/ Chris Barakat's Website: https://schoolofgainz.com/ 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/

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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . Why should you do front squats instead of other quad dominant exercises? --- 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/

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 interview, I talk about . . . The myth of “overnight success” stories and how to deal with impatience Reasons why you might not want to start a business or become an entrepreneur Work life balance, stress, and parenting Reflection and “self-care” routines (and why I don’t meditate) And a whole lot more . . . So if you’re interested in getting an “inside scoop” on what it takes to be successful in business, I think you're going to enjoy this episode. Timestamps: 6:35 - What are your thoughts on patience and people not being patient enough? 17:59 - What allowed you to become more patient? 25:18 - What does it take to start a business? 45:42 - What are your thoughts on reflection and balance? 56:06 - Rapid questions Mentioned on the Show: Cody McBroom's Podcast: https://tailoredcoachingmethod.com/podcast/ Cody McBroom's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/codymcbroom/ 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/

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 gained 20 pounds of muscle while losing 85 pounds of fat, and more than tripled her strength on many lifts. This process has not only transformed her body, but her whole mindset. As you’ll hear in the interview, Anna is confident and fearless. :) In this interview, Anna and I chat about her story and the important lessons she’s learned along the way, including her childhood and how she became overweight, what convinced her to start going to the gym, how she’s incorporating cardio and diet breaks, what she’s working toward now, and more. So if you’re looking for a jolt of inspiration and like motivational stories, definitely listen to this episode. Timestamps: 6:57 - What does your before and after look like? 10:42 - How did you find me and my work? 12:56 - How did you deal with being overweight as a child? 17:37 - What did your meal plan look like? 22:25 - What did your training look like? 29:26 - Have you done any cardio? 31:54 - How have you set up your deficit periods and diet breaks? 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 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. People have also been saying they’d like me to do more shorter, multi-topic episodes, like my Q&As. And so I got an idea: how about a “best of” series of podcasts that contains a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from my most popular episodes? This way, people who are new to the show can quickly determine if it’s for them or not, and those who enjoy what I’m doing but don’t have the time or inclination to listen to all of my stuff can still benefit from the discussions and find new episodes to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Carter Good on How to Finally Stop Binge Eating 11 Scientifically Proven Ways to Increase Your Bench Press Motivation Monday: How to Know When "Good Enough" Is Good Enough And we’ll be starting with number one, Carter Good on how to finally stop binge eating. Timestamps: 4:56 - Carter Good on How to Finally Stop Binge Eating 14:55 - 11 Scientifically Proven Ways to Increase Your Bench Press 20:47 - Motivation Monday: How to Know When "Good Enough" Is Good Enough 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/

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 with Brad, he’s a fellow podcaster (The Key Nutrition Podcast) and coach, who’s used his passion for fitness to help beat addiction, remain sober for over 8 years now, and help other people get fit and healthy. In this interview, he shares his powerful story about his transformation from an anxious kid to a homeless heroin-addict, to a successful entrepreneur and business owner. In this interview, we chat about . . . Why Brad turned to alcohol and drugs and how he got addicted to heroin Dealing with withdrawal and his time spent in jail Other addictive behaviors like looking at pornography The difference between being sober and recovery Why people relapse during recovery and how he finally broke that cycle And more . . . So if you want to hear an inspiring story of how someone faced the truth, overcame addiction, and turned his life around, you’re going to enjoy this podcast. Timestamps: 6:50 - What was happening before 2012? 12:39 - What happened after high school? 38:27 - How did you start to turn your life around? Mentioned on the Show: Brad Jensen's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesoberbodybuilder/ Brad Jensen's Website (Key Nutrition): https://keynutrition.com/ 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/

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 far in this regard. Want to know vitamins for women? Folic acid prenatal vitamins, boom, done, that’s it. It’s a useless question. A much better one is this: “What supplements should I, as a woman, consider that men do not need to consider?” And simple questions beget simple answers. Timestamps: 3:29 - Why are there supplements for women and what are the differences in these products? 10:00 - What supplements do you recommend for women? 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 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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . "You’re downplaying the pandemic and being insensitive." 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/

Is there a particular part of your body you want to strip fat from fast? Chances are good if you’ve searched online for answers about this “problem area,” you’ve found recommendations for specific exercises, foods, or supplements. Unfortunately, these solutions are a pipe dream. Fat loss is a simple process, but it’s not perfectly predictable. That is, if you know how to eat and exercise properly, you will lose fat consistently. However, there aren’t clearly defined stages of fat loss that allow you to forecast exactly where you’ll lose the fat from. There are some general patterns to fat loss, though, and these can give you an indication of how and when you’ll lose fat during a cut. This is helpful because it tells us what to expect, which can help us stay on track. That’s what this podcast is all about. Timestamps 5:39 - Where do you lose weight first? 10:24 - Why don’t men see fast results with their belly fat? Why don’t women see fast results with their thighs, butt, and hips? 15:29 - How does blood flow affect stubborn fat? 19:23 - How do genetics play a role with fat? Mentioned on the Show: Fasted Cardio Article: https://legionathletics.com/fasted-cardio/ 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 Do I Get Fit as a Shift Worker? 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/

Everyone is new to fitness at some point. No matter how jacked, lean, or athletic someone is right now, there was a day where they stepped foot in the gym for the first time and started taking their fitness seriously. This is good to keep in mind because the gym can be a daunting place when you’re a newbie. What exercises should you do? How heavy should the weights be? How many sets should you do? How often should you exercise? How much should you eat to support your training and what foods? And when should you eat those foods? The questions go on and on ad nauseum. Many people turn to the internet for answers, and when you’re new and inexperienced, you’re especially prone to believing myths, focusing on the wrong things, and making mistakes. You know, things like super high-rep sets to bring out the cuts, skipping breakfast with no carbs after 8 pm, spending more time “researching” and reading magazine articles than training, jumping from routine to routine (“shiny object syndrome”), and “no pain no gain, baby!” I’m no exception either. I’ve made more than my fair share of mistakes in training and nutrition, which is why I wrote books for beginners once I got most things right and learned what really moves the needle. I wanted to help people avoid the mistakes I made and reach their goals as quickly and painlessly as possible. The point is, while the fitness game might be relatively simple, it’s not exactly self-explanatory or intuitive. Having a proper blueprint of what really matters is more than half the battle, and this concept of being new to the gym is something I wanted to talk about with Adam Pfau. Like myself, Adam is no stranger to making mistakes as a newbie. He started out as a skinny teenager pumped full of misinformation, and now he’s downright jacked, and spends his time educating his 1.3 million followers on what really matters in the gym and in the kitchen. That is, Adam has become the educational resource that would have helped both him and myself tremendously when we first started training, so he knows all about navigating the fitness landscape as a newbie and avoiding potential pitfalls. This is also why we’re happy to have Adam on the team as a Legion Athlete. In this episode Adam and I talk about . . . Selecting a training program How to find good sources of information Dealing with gym intimidation Avoiding program hopping The psychology of maintenance and finding what you enjoy And more . . . So if you’re new to the fitness game and want some help getting on the right track, or if you have newbie friends who could use a nudge in the right direction, listen to this podcast and share it! 8:40 - How did you get into fitness? 16:04 - What has your experience been with programs? 24:56 - How do you find good sources of information? 42:00 - Did you ever experience gym intimidation? How did you overcome it? 46:47 - What are your thoughts on program hopping? 54:20 - How was the psychology of maintenance for you? Mentioned on the Show: Adam’s Pfau’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apfau/ Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/

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 I Gain Strength But Not Size? 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: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://buylegion.com/vip Strength Training: https://legionathletics.com/strength-training-plan/ 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: What are your thoughts on plant-derived meat alternatives? 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. 4:36 - What are plant-based meat alternatives? 6:05 - What are the health benefits of plant-based meat alternatives? 13:06 - What is the environmental impact of farming meat versus creating plant-based meat alternatives? 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. People have also been saying they’d like me to do more shorter, multi-topic episodes, like my Q&As. And so I got an idea: how about a “best of” series of podcasts that contains a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from my most popular episodes? This way, people who are new to the show can quickly determine if it’s for them or not, and those who enjoy what I’m doing but don’t have the time or inclination to listen to all of my stuff can still benefit from the discussions and find new episodes to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: 6:02 - Dr. Stuart McGill on the Real Causes of Back Pain (and How to Fix It) 16:57 - The 3 Little Big Things About Rapid Fat Loss 26:16 - Motivation Monday: 6 Lessons for Training Hard Like a Motherf&*$er --- Mentioned on The Show: Dr. Stuart McGill on the Real Causes of Back Pain (and How to Fix It) (Published 1/18/2019) https://legionathletics.com/stuart-mcgill-interview/ The 3 Little Big Things About Rapid Fat Loss (Published 7/21/2019) https://legionathletics.com/rapid-fat-loss-tips-podcast/ Motivation Monday: 6 Lessons for Training Hard Like a Motherf&*$er (Published 8/14/2017) https://legionathletics.com/motivation-monday-6-lessons-for-training-hard/ 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/

Body composition refers to how much of your body is composed of body fat versus muscle.  Although most people fixate on their body weight when trying to get in shape, body composition is a much more useful metric to track.  The problem with just tracking your body weight is that if you’re new to proper diet and exercise, you’ll lose fat and build muscle at the same time. Your scale weight may not change significantly for several weeks or months, which rankles dieters to no end.  Even though it may not look like you’re making progress, though, your body composition probably tells a different story.  Thus, your real goal when losing weight should be to improve your body composition—to lose fat and maintain or gain muscle. In this podcast, you’ll learn:  - How to measure body composition. - What it looks like when you build muscle and lose fat simultaneously (with some body composition examples). - What the best body composition analysis tool is. - What the best body composition exercises are. - And more! Timestamps: 10:10 - What is body composition?  18:26 - How can body composition measurements be incorrect?  29:28 - How do you properly measure body composition? Mentioned on The Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: buylegion.com/vip Bigger Leaner Stronger Thinner Leaner Stronger Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

“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 whether the book is likely to be up your alley or not. Alright, let’s get to the takeaways. --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: 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/

There’s no doubt that March 2020 upended hundreds of millions of lives. Here in the US (and a slew of other places around the world), lockdowns began with the aim to flatten the curve. In turn, this self-imposed (and government ordained) isolation has led to innumerable changes in our lives. Changes to what we do and how we work, changes to our relationships and how we interact with people (who had the foresight to buy Zoom stonk??), and changes to our mental health. It’s even changed how we eat and train thanks to closed gyms and unfettered access to our kitchen pantries and cookie jars. The good news is while most of us didn’t want any of this to happen, we didn’t have to let it derail our good habits. There are ways to workout effectively at home, you can still follow a meal plan and not binge on comfort food, and it’s possible to stay sane and productive without leaving your home for more than a daily walk. In fact, me knows a guy named Chase Chewning, who’s especially good at transforming tragedy into triumph, adapting and thriving in the face of whatever life throws at him. In case you’re not familiar with Chase, he’s a coach, podcaster (who I recently joined on his podcast, Ever Forward Radio), media consultant, and entrepreneur who I’ve had as a guest before to talk about the lesson that hardship taught him on building physical and emotional strength to find his passion and build a career in the fitness industry. In our discussion, Chase and I chat about . . . The realizations and changes he made as a result of quarantine The emotional training that resulted from it Re-building habits from scratch and re-building accountability systems Work/life balance with working from home Tweaks he made to his food choices and diet due to reduced activity levels and changes to training Re-affirming your "why" for training and how this affects intentionality in all areas of your life Accepting reality and adapting And more . . . So if you want to hear about how you can make the most of any situation and create your own silver linings, you want to listen to this episode! 10:49 - What are some changes you made during quarantine? 19:10 - How are you working back to your regular workout routine while quarantine is slowly going away? 29:24 - How has your diet been since quarantine? Mentioned on The Show: Chase Chewning’s Podcast (Ever Forward Radio) https://chasechewning.com/podcasts Chase Chewning’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chase_chewning/ 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/

This episode is a bit of an anomaly. It’s about applying scientific thinking to our lives and being willing to revise our ideas, beliefs, and actions, and learning one of the most important meta-skills: the ability to change our minds and be willing to admit we were wrong. I think that our ability to accomplish our goals and intentions in any area of our life depends in a very large part on this ability. People who aren’t good at changing their minds, who are very stubborn, very defensive, and who refuse to say sorry, rarely make it. Life runs roughshod over those people and I don't know anyone like that who is successful or doing well in life. I don't just mean financially, either. Sure, that's one component of success, but there are other things that matter like physical and mental health, and the quality of relationships with family, friends, and coworkers. On the flip side, some of the most successful people I know share quite a few traits, and one that’s always stood out is that they don't have a problem saying that they were wrong. They don't have a problem changing their mind when presented with good enough information. In fact, they actively seek out that information. They read books, listen to podcasts, interviews, and lectures. They don't just seek out information that confirms the things that they think are correct, either. They’re willing to hear counterpoints and they’re willing to entertain other ideas. That is, they're willing to go through that process of approaching the ultimate truth, but they also understand that it’s impossible to achieve absolute certainty of most things that matter in life. They’re just too complex, and there are too many shadings of truth. These people don't fall into the mental trap of thinking they have everything worked out, though. They continue evolving their understanding of the world and their interactions with it. So, that's a little foretaste of today's episode. If I’ve piqued your interest, I think you're going to like the rest of it, so take a listen and let me know what you think! 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 three questions: If I'm fat will I gain muscle slower when I lean bulk? What’s the best way to eat and train during Ramadan? Have you ever gotten tendonitis/tendonosis from working out and if so how did you recover? 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: 3:47 - If I’m fat will I gain muscle slower when I lean bulk? 24:39 - What’s the best way to eat and train during Ramadan? 32:13 - Have you every gotten tendonitis or tendinosis from working out, and if so, how did you recover? 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/

If you’ve heard any of my Book Club episodes of the podcast, you know I’m an avid reader and all-around bibliophile. I 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. Life is overwhelmingly complex and chaotic, and it slowly suffocates and devours the lazy and ignorant. That’s why we have to be perpetual learners. That’s also why I get excited when someone writes a good fitness book. I want to get more good information out there into the eyes, ears, and brains of more people, and even though I have my own fitness books, I love to see good information get out there no matter who it’s from. In this case, my friend and fellow fitness professional, Sal Di Stefano of Mind Pump Media, has written such a book. It’s called The Resistance Training Revolution, and Sal joins me on this podcast to talk all about it. Sal has been on the podcast several times before and for good reason. We enjoy our forays into history, politics, culture, and economics, but on the fitness side of things, Sal has spent the better part of two decades in the trenches helping normal, everyday people get into great shape. And so he wrote a book to help normal, average people get fit and stay fit for the long-term. In other words, he’s not preaching quick fixes and hacks and the book isn’t written for hardcore bodybuilders. It’s just cold, hard truths and practical know-how to help normal people get healthier, build some muscle in the process, feel better, and improve their lives. In the podcast, we chat about . . . Why he wrote the book and who can benefit from it Why focusing on burning calories from cardio isn't the best approach to weight loss Developing discipline and how not fall off the wagon with a fitness regimen A basic training routine anyone can do And more . . . So if you want to hear about how Sal wants to change the fitness paradigm and promote resistance training to the masses, and how you can educate your own friends and family on the benefits of lifting weights, listen to this podcast! 10:51 - What is the title of the book and why did you decide to write it? 14:43 - What was thought to be the best form of exercise to burn the most amount of calories? 34:14 - What does a resistance revolution exercise look like? Mentioned on The Show: The Resistance Training Revolution: https://theresistancetrainingrevolution.com/ Sal Di Stefano’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindpumpsal/ Mind Pump Media: https://www.mindpumpmedia.com/ 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/

When’s the last time you rocked, rolled, or did a set of head nods? These sound like things you might do at a heavy metal concert (RIP shows and in-person events), but I’m referring to simple exercises and movements you may want to incorporate into your routine. According to my guest on this podcast, Tim Anderson, these movements act as a sort of “reset” that you can use to improve movement quality, reduce pain, improve your sleep, and even lift more weight in the gym. I’ll let Tim get into the nitty-gritty details, but the basic idea is that as we age and spend years of our lives sitting and sedentary, we forget how to move properly. Tim’s “resets” are ways we can restore the original strength and movement patterns we learned when we first started to walk as babies. And I appreciate his unique take on mobility and movement. In case you’re not familiar with Tim, he’s the co-founder of Original Strength where he’s made a career out of helping people young and old improve movement patterns and quality, get strong and healthy, and live better. He’s also an accomplished author, having written several books on the subject. In our discussion, we talk about . . . How to breathe properly The benefits of re-learning movements like crawling, rocking, and head nodding Common movement dysfunctions like forward head posture and gait issues Simple “resets” you can do anywhere How much time you should spend resetting and how often And more . . . So if you want to learn about how these easy movements can help improve your life and how to get started with them, listen to this podcast! Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 5:15 - How do you address human movement and what makes your techniques different from others? 6:24 - What are some of these fundamental movement patterns? 7:47 - What are the benefits of relearning these basic movements? 10:13 - Are there benefits to doing these movements for people that don’t have any problems? 12:28 - What are some common movement dysfunctions that you see? 17:20 - What are some of the other movement patterns? 18:15 - What common dysfunctional habits can crawling help with? 24:25 - What do you mean by rolling? 25:29 - How much time do people need to spend working on these basic movements? 26:32 - Where should people start? 34:05 - Do you have recommendations on any basic movements to use between sets of heavy lifting? 37:33 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on The Show: Tim Anderson’s Website: https://originalstrength.net/ Original Strength Institute: https://osi-online.com/ Original Strength YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/OriginalstrengthNet Original Strength Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/original_strength/ Tim Anderson’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tim_sonofander/ 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/

Concurrent training is the technical term for including both cardio and strength training in your workout routine. Generally, the goal is to get better at both types of training simultaneously. That is, you’re trying to gain muscle and strength by lifting weights and improve your endurance by going faster and/or further in your cardio workouts. If you’ve spent any time in the fitness space, though, you know that many people claim this is a fool’s errand. These people argue that you can’t effectively adapt to both cardio and strength training at the same time. Instead of improving at both—getting bigger, stronger, and fitter—you just end up being mediocre across the board. In other words, they claim concurrent training turns you into a jack of all trades and a master of none. While there’s a kernel of truth to this idea, scientific research shows it’s more wrong than right. In fact, a growing body of evidence suggests that if you want to get bigger, stronger, leaner, and fitter, combining cardio and strength training is actually better than just lifting weights. To get these benefits, though, you have to implement concurrent training correctly. Do it wrong, and you’ll banjax your ability to gain strength and muscle and increase your risk of injury. Do it right, though, and you can enjoy the benefits of cardio and strength training scot-free. Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 12:11 - What is the wrong way to concurrently train? 16:09 - What is the right way to concurrently train? 32:06 - How do you avoid recovery problems when concurrently training? Mentioned on The Show: Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ Should You Do Cardio If You Lift Weights Podcast: https://legionathletics.com/cardio-weightlifting-podcast/ 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 three questions: Lying or seated ham curls? Thoughts on weight loss medications? How useful are isometric 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. Timestamps: 4:59 - Which is more effective for the hamstrings, the lying or seated hamstring curl? 10:17 - What are your thoughts on weight loss medications and using them with a high fat cheat meal as a supplement to reduce the amount of fat your body absorbs? 17:49 - How useful or effective are isometric exercises? 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. People have also been saying they’d like me to do more shorter, multi-topic episodes, like my Q&As. And so I got an idea: how about a “best of” series of podcasts that contains a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from my most popular episodes? This way, people who are new to the show can quickly determine if it’s for them or not, and those who enjoy what I’m doing but don’t have the time or inclination to listen to all of my stuff can still benefit from the discussions and find new episodes to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Kurtis Frank on the Best Pre-Workout Supplements (Originally published 4/10/2019) Research Review: What’s the Best Rep Range for Building Muscle? (Originally published 6/27/2018) Book Club: My Top 5 Takeaways from Good to Great by Jim Collins (Originally published 11/12/2018) And we’ll be starting with number one, Kurtis Frank on the Best Pre-Workout Supplements. Timestamps: 5:48 - Kurtis Frank on the Best Pre-Workout Supplements 13:25 - Research Review: What’s the Best Rep Range for Building Muscle? 26:05 - Book Club: My Top 5 Takeaways from Good to Great by Jim Collins Mentioned on The Show: Best Pre-Workout Supplements: https://legionathletics.com/best-pre-workout-supplements-podcast/ Best Rep Range: https://legionathletics.com/rep-range-podcast/ Good to Great: https://legionathletics.com/good-to-great-podcast/ 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/

At first blush, the phrase “body positivity” sounds like a wonderful thing. A movement that pushes health and being respectful of your body and proud of your physique can help people eat healthier, exercise, and avoid disease, eating disorders, body dysmorphia, and more. Unfortunately, in many ways, extremists have co-opted the publicity, and turned “body positivity” into something that’s no longer fully correlated with health and can actually harm individuals and society as a whole. Some people say you can be perfect, beautiful, and healthy at any weight. No matter what the scale says, or how you feel, you should be proud of who you are. Others are diametrically opposed. They believe people who aren’t in shape should be mocked and ridiculed until they’re motivated enough to start dieting and hitting the gym. If you’ve read much of my work, you know that how much fat you carry around and how much muscle you have has real effects on your health. On the flipside of the coin, you probably intuitively know that shaming others isn’t too helpful if your goal is to motivate them to get healthier. Here’s the home truth: “body positivity” when taken too far, can rob people of a better life. But it’s not all bad. With a more moderate, nuanced approach, the movement can help motivate people to start taking steps towards getting healthier. And that’s exactly what I’m discussing in this podcast with Jordan Syatt. In case you’re not familiar with Jordan, he holds several powerlifting records, has a Bachelors of Science in Health & Behavior Science, and hosts a successful mini-podcast. He’s also a thriving strength and nutrition coach (with clients like Gary Vaynerchuk), and as such, has a firm grip on some of the finer, “softer” points of coaching people from all walks of life to adopt healthier lifestyles. In other words, he knows a thing or two about helping people navigate mental roadblocks to get motivated and go from completely sedentary and unfit to lean, athletic, and healthy. In this episode, we chat about . . . What the body positivity movement is the problem with extremist viewpoints What body shaming is and why it does more harm than good How you can damage someone's health by trying to protect their feelings Why "love yourself as you are" isn't helpful and limits the possibility of self-improvement Beauty standards and whether it's important to maintain them How obese models can be both harmful and helpful Where the movement should go in the future And more . . . So if you’re curious about the merits and downsides of the health at any size movement, listen to Jordan break it down. 8:11 - What is the concept of body positivity? 11:23 - When you say body shaming, what does that mean? 19:00 - What are your standards? 32:26 - Where would you like to see this movement go? Mentioned on The Show: Jordan Syatt’s Podcast: http://hyperurl.co/qfk6kz 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/

Many people think building muscle as a vegan is an uphill battle, if not an unwinnable one. Once you understand how much protein you need to build muscle, and how much is in animal foods and how little in plant foods, it’s natural to wonder if you can build any muscle to speak of following a vegan diet. Well, you can, though it’s more difficult than it is for omnivores. The truth is you absolutely can build muscle eating nothing but vegan protein sources—you just have to be more careful about what foods you eat. Let’s kick off this discussion by looking at why it’s usually more difficult for vegans to build muscle than omnivores (and what to do about it!). 2:45 - What are the disadvantages of a plant-based diet when trying to build muscle and strength? 7:44 - What are the 10 best vegan protein sources? 16:38 - What are some on-the-go vegan protein sources? 25:51 - What are some unique sources of plant-based protein? Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/mike Plant+: https://legionathletics.com/products/supplements/plant-protein-powder/ Genesis: https://legionathletics.com/products/supplements/genesis/ --- 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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking a few of the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . 4:30 - Even if something works on average for a population it doesn’t mean it will work for everyone. 18:29 - You can’t get big legs squatting just once a week. 29:40 - Most people can’t gain 50/50 on a lean bulk. That may work for a beginner but not an intermediate. 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 always said if you can change your body, you can change your life. Working out and getting in shape makes us better at everything. So it’s no surprise that many people who start paying attention to their diet and training also start to evaluate other areas of their life. One of those areas is a place where we spend a lot of our waking hours: work. Countless people these days live as zombies--just punching in their time cards as a necessary evil and living for the weekend. And many young people are faced with the daunting task of deciding what they want to do with their life right after they blow out the candles after 18 revolutions around the sun. How do you get out of the rat race? How do you find your dream job? “Follow your passion” is a popular trope, but it’s not necessarily the best advice. Some people get the itch to become an entrepreneur and for good reason. There are many perks to owning your own business, but it’s not for everyone. It’s easy to focus on the pluses without realizing how much work is really involved. Spend enough time on YouTube and you’re sure to see enough clever ads and (misleading) videos to be convinced that everyone except you is actually a millionaire. Simply implement the magic formula and you’ll not only become your own boss, but never work again. ;) As someone who has taken the entrepreneurial plunge and built several successful businesses, I get asked for career advice. While I’m happy to help as much as I can, I wanted to get a true career expert on the show. In this episode, I chat with Ashley Stahl, who just released her book, You Turn: Get Unstuck, Discover Your Direction, and Design Your Dream Career. Ashley is a former national security professional that worked at the Pentagon who practiced what she preaches, shifting to author, entrepreneur, and career coach, who helps people become unstuck in their professional lives. In our chat, we discuss . . . The 10 core skillsets and how these relate to your talents and career path The true causes of unhappiness at a job What to do if you’re considering a big career leap Why finding your dream job isn’t all about “doing what you love” And more . . . So if you’re unhappy with your job, feeling stuck in your career, or just not sure what to do with your life, this podcast might be the kick in the pants you need. Whether you’re looking to make a career shift to the fitness industry, or just want some advice on escaping a job you loathe, this podcast is for you! 9:28 - What would be your next move if you don’t like the job you have now? 13:12 - How would these steps work for someone who thinks they don’t have any talents? 19:11 - What are the 10 skill sets? 40:00 - What are the two reasons why you might not like what you do? 44:48 - What would you say to someone who is stuck in the loop of “should I make the leap?” 56:52 - What does “find out who you are” mean to you? Mentioned on The Show: Ashley Stahl’s Podcast (You Turn Podcast): https://ashleystahl.com/podcast-page/ Ashley Stahl’s Book:  https://ashleystahl.com/you-turn/ Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/

If you’ve spent any time in a gym in the past decade, you’re probably familiar with the benefits of a good pre-workout supplement. You know, things like increased strength, endurance, and power, and heightened energy, mood, and focus. You’re probably also familiar with their downsides—energy crashes, disrupted sleep, jitters, nausea, indigestion, and more. Even if you haven’t encountered these problems, you’ve probably noticed that your pre-workout supplement has become less effective over time as your body becomes desensitized to caffeine. All of these issues have given rise to the topic of this podcast: stim-free pre-workout supplements. While the idea of taking a stimulant-free pre-workout might seem ridiculous at first blush (aren’t stimulants the whole point?), there are a few reasons you should consider doing so: They will boost your workout performance, although not quite as much as pre-workouts containing stimulants. They’ll help you avoid many of the negative effects of regular pre-workouts. They’ll help you maximize the benefits of regular pre-workouts when cycled properly (keep listening to learn how). So, if you want to learn more about the benefits of pre-workout supplements, how to choose the best one for you, and how to use them to maximize your performance in the gym, this podcast is for you. Let’s start at square one: what the heck is a pre-workout supplement? 4:42 - What is a pre-workout supplement and why is it so popular? 7:27 - What are the 6 ingredients that make a high-quality pre-workout supplement? 11:53 - What are the benefits of a stem-free pre-workout supplement? Mentioned on The Show: Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ Legion Pulse: https://legionathletics.com/products/supplements/pulse-pre-workout/ 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 three questions: What are some good foods for fueling before cardio? Any advice for bettering my relationship with food? How useful are knee and elbow sleeves and wraps? 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. 4:26 - What are some good foods for fueling before cardio? 15:54 - Any advice for bettering my relationship with food? 26:21 - How useful are knee and elbow sleeves and wraps? Mentioned on The Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://buylegion.com/vip Whey+ & Plant+ https://legionathletics.com/products/protein/ Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

In this episode, I interview Nicole, who read Thinner Leaner Stronger and used what she learned to lose over 100 pounds while gaining significant amounts of muscle. After having her third child, Nicole was over 260 pounds and embarrassed by letting herself get to that point. She got fed up and decided to make a change, but she wasn’t sure what to do to get fit. Like many women, she was intimidated by weightlifters in the gym and ended up spending her time in the cardio section. It didn’t help that she was taught by misguided trainers that she needed to “tone” and lifting weights would make her bulky. She was also following heavily-restricted fad diets, which lead to a lot of binge eating. She eventually lost some weight, but she still wasn’t happy with her physique. She was skinny fat. Luckily, a google search on building muscle helped her find my book Thinner Leaner Stronger, and after implementing what she learned about macros and strength training, she’s now 156 pounds, wearing size 4 jeans, and has visible abs. What’s more, her awesome transformation has inspired her husband to join a gym, and he’s also lost 100 pounds! In this interview, Nicole and I chat about her story and the important lessons she’s learned along the way, including how what she was doing before finding TLS, how macros transformed her eating and ability to stick to her diet, how she overcame gym intimidation, how she’s inspired her kids to eat healthier, what she’s working toward now, and more. So if you’re looking for a jolt of inspiration and like motivational stories, I highly recommend you listen to this episode. 5:23 - Where were you before you met me and my work and where are you now? 12:04 - Before you met me, what was working for you and what wasn’t working for you? 17:01 - How did it make you feel knowing you lost the weight you wanted but you still weren’t satisfied with how you looked? 18:04 - How did you find me? 23:43 - How was the gym intimidation factor? 26:14 - When did you start to feel more comfortable? 29:07 - Since you’ve gained some muscle how has that changed your physique? 35:56 - Where do you want to go next? What are you working towards? 41:49 - How has what you’re doing rubbed off on your kids? Mentioned on The Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://buylegion.com/vip Thinner Leaner Stronger: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/thinner-leaner-stronger/ Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

There’s no question that Navy SEALs are veritable ripsnorters. They’ve had a reputation as free-wheeling bruisers since the 1960s, but their recent missions in the Middle East and increased media coverage have propelled them to near mythical status. (There’s even a genre of romance novels about SEALs now). As they’ve gained popularity, journalists, screenwriters, bloggers, YouTubers, and even government officials have been quick to capitalize on the public’s interest in their exploits. For example, a quick google search for “navy seal training” comes up with the following: “How Navy Seals Do the Impossible” “17 gripping images show what it really takes to be a Navy SEAL” “Can You Complete a Navy SEALs Workout Routine?” You’ll also find countless YouTube videos of people attempting Navy SEAL training (or at least what they think is Navy SEAL training). And it makes you wonder . . . what is Navy SEAL training really like? Do I have what it takes to do it? Will it help me get in shape? That’s what you’ll learn in this podcast. I should say right off the bat that I’m not a Navy SEAL, and everything in this podcast is gleaned from books by and about Navy SEALs and a few conversations with SEALs and other members of the US military. So, take it with a big grain of (sea) salt. That said, by the end you’ll have a good understanding of what Navy SEAL training is like (at least the physical components) and whether this kind of training will help you get in shape. 7:01 - What does Navy SEAL training look like? 14:28 - Should I train like a Navy SEAL? Mentioned on The Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: buylegion.com/vip --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: 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 three questions: What do you think about neck training? What are your thoughts on trainer certification? How useful are unilateral 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. Recommended reading for this episode: https://legionathletics.com/fitness-guru/ https://legionathletics.com/muscle-imbalances/ Timestamps: 3:49 - What do you think about neck training? 11:42 - What are your thoughts on trainer certifications? Are they necessary or are they a waste of time? 17:07 - How useful are unilateral exercises? 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. People have also been saying they’d like me to do more shorter, multi-topic episodes, like my Q&As. And so I got an idea: how about a “best of” series of podcasts that contains a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from my most popular episodes? This way, people who are new to the show can quickly determine if it’s for them or not, and those who enjoy what I’m doing but don’t have the time or inclination to listen to all of my stuff can still benefit from the discussions and find new episodes to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Mark Rippetoe on the Right (and Wrong) Ways to Deadlift How Long Does It Take to Get Six-Pack Abs? Motivation Monday: The #1 Unspoken Rule of Success And we’ll be starting with number one, Mark Rippetoe on the Right (and Wrong) Ways to Deadlift. Timestamps: 5:05 - Mark Rippetoe on the Right (and Wrong) Ways to Deadlift 11:33 - How Long Does It Take to Get Six-Pack Abs? 18:31 - Motivation Monday: The #1 Unspoken Rule of Success Mentioned on The Show: legionathletics.com/mark-rippetoe-deadlift/ legionathletics.com/how-long-six-pack-podcast/ https://legionathletics.com/motivation-monday-success-rule/ 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/

It’s time for your regularly scheduled departure from the usual diet and training escapades. That’s right, my fellow chin-scratchers, it’s time to don your thinking caps because this episode is part of my non-fitnessy series with Pat Flynn in which we discuss philosophical topics. What makes this episode particularly special, though, is we’re joined by Dr. Jim Madden in my first roundtable format podcast. Like Pat, Jim is also into lifting heavy things (especially kettlebells), but he’s also trained in philosophy. Jim has a PhD from Purdue, and is a professor of philosophy at Benedictine College, prolific lecturer, and author, including his book, Mind, Matter, and Nature: A Thomistic Proposal for the Philosophy of Mind. And as a refresher, Pat Flynn is a fellow podcaster and author with a deep understanding of philosophy and religion. While I’m not an expert in philosophy, I do have an abiding interest in the area--particularly in ideas I can use to improve my life and that I can share with other people to make their lives better. Plus, I’ve gotten great feedback on these philosophical tangent podcasts and always enjoy my conversations with Pat. In this episode, Jim, Pat, and I are talking all about consciousness and the philosophy of mind. Specifically, we discuss . . . Materialism and metaphysics Ethics and moral considerations (and how harm exists beyond the physical) Their thoughts on reincarnation, near-death experiences, and what the science says about them Rational commitment versus delusion (and what that means for faith, marriage, etc.) The utility of ignoring emotion and how feelings can directly affect perception Recommended resources for people interested more in the philosophy of mind And more . . . If any of that wets your whistle, listen to this episode and let me know what you think! 5:42 - Why does consciousness matter? 12:57 - What are we and what does it mean to have a mind? 28:26 - What are your thoughts on reincarnation? --- 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/

Put some weight in a backpack. Put on the backpack. Walk. That’s rucking in a nutshell. While rucking is simple, it’s also one of the most underrated kinds of cardio you can do: It burns a boatload of calories It boosts your cardiovascular fitness It’s easy to recover from It’s versatile (you can do it anywhere) And, it’s social—you can easily do it with a group What’s more, it’s also very easy to progressively overload your workouts. That is, you can continually make your rucks a little bit harder, which isn’t easy with walking. In other words, rucking is one of the best kinds of cardio for people who “don’t like” cardio. 3:22 - What is rucking? 7:16 - What are the benefits of rucking? 16:23 - How do you do rucking right? 25:02 - What kind of shoes should you wear for rucking? 26:46 - How do you program your rucks around your weightlifting? 29:40 - How do you make rucking more comfortable? 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 three questions: Should I wear a mouthguard while lifting? How beneficial is compression clothing for muscle gain? Should I eat or skip breakfast? 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/skipping-breakfast/ 3:44 - Should I wear a mouthguard while lifting? 13:52 - How beneficial is compression clothing is for muscle gain? 21:16 - Should I eat or skip breakfast? 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/

“Hey bro, we’ve been stretching for an hour, can we start lifting now?” “Yeah right! We’ve only stretched our quads so far. It’s time for the hammies!” Conversations like this happen between gym buddies everyday across the iron kingdom, but luckily I’ve never been part of one. In fact, many people in the gym have noticed I don’t stretch much, and asked what my mobility routine is. I’ve touted the benefits of a daily short yoga routine, but beyond that, I don’t do any stretching in the gym. This may be surprising, because over the past decade or so, mobility work has become all the rage for lifestyle bodybuilders, powerlifters, professional athletes, and Crossfitters alike. Some people spend half their time in the gym just preparing to lift. Why is it so popular? Is it really necessary? To help explore the benefits of mobility work and find out what it can (and can’t) do, I’ve invited Sam Visnic onto the podcast. Who is Sam, you ask? He’s a certified massage therapist, expert on corrective exercise, and the founder of Release Muscle Therapy, where he specializes in helping people become pain-free through movement evaluations, techniques to re-learn proper movement patterns, massage, stretching, and more. In this episode, Sam and I chat about . . . How do you get started with a mobility routine (and whether you need to) How and why people became obsessive about mobility Finding balance between mobility work and training How mobility can improve nagging aches and pains and why pain might not be caused by lack of range of motion Common pain problems and causes with the squat, deadlift, and bench press How to test your ankle mobility Foam rollers, massage guns, and other gizmos And more . . . So, if you want to learn all about mobility work and how you can start nipping aches and pains in the bud, listen to this episode! Timestamps: 7:05 - What are your thoughts on mobility work? 12:47 - What is your approach and how do you find a balance between gaining muscle and attaining mobility? 38:29 - What are some of the exercises that tend to create the most common problems? 41:38 - How can someone determine their ankle mobility? 45:21 - How about the bench press and its relation to shoulder pain? 47:41 - What are your thoughts on rotator cuff exercises? 56:22 - What are your thoughts on massage guns and foam rollers? 1:09:44 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on The Show: Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ Sam Visnic’s Website: https://releasemuscletherapy.com/ Sam Visnic’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/releasemuscletherapy/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

Progress comes easy when you first start lifting weights. You show up and get stronger almost without even trying. As you get stronger, though, smooth sailing turns into choppy waters. Progress stops being linear. Some weeks you’re a little weaker, other weeks you’re a little stronger, and it becomes harder to tell if you’re really getting stronger or not over time. At this point, the best way to measure your progress is to start tracking your one-rep max. A one-rep max is the maximum amount of weight you can lift for a single repetition of a given exercise through a full range of motion with proper technique. There’s a problem with actually testing your one-rep max, though: True one-rep max tests are time-consuming, risky, and exhausting, and can significantly disrupt your normal workout routine. Thus, a better alternative is to estimate your one-rep max using what’s known as a rep-max test. While not quite as precise as a real one-rep max test, rep-max testing is far less arduous and still accurate enough to track your progress over time. Let’s get started. Timestamps: 5:18 - Why should I track my one-rep max? 13:26 - How do you do rep-max testing? 21:16 - What are some tips for performing your best on rep-max testing? Mentioned on The Show: Books by Mike Matthews: 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 three questions: How do you determine when you need to deload? Does birth control hurt athletic performance? What popular exercises do you like and don’t like and why? 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: 3:58 - How do you determine when you need to deload? 12:08 - Does birth control hurt athletic performance? 17:50 - What popular exercises do you like and don’t like and why? --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: buylegion.com/mike --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: 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. People have also been saying they’d like me to do more shorter, multi-topic episodes, like my Q&As. And so I got an idea: how about a “best of” series of podcasts that contains a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from my most popular episodes? This way, people who are new to the show can quickly determine if it’s for them or not, and those who enjoy what I’m doing but don’t have the time or inclination to listen to all of my stuff can still benefit from the discussions and find new episodes to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Dr. Eric Helms on the Best Way to Lean Bulk (Gain Muscle and Not Fat) (Originally published Sept 4th, 2019) What 17 Studies Say About Increasing Your Testosterone Naturally (Originally published Aug 9th, 2017) Motivation Monday: The Little Big Things About Building a Better You (Originally published Aug 13th, 2018) And we’ll be starting with number one, Dr. Eric Helms on the best way to lean bulk. Timestamps: 5:13 - Dr. Eric Helms on the Best Way to Lean Bulk (Gain Muscle and Not Fat) 14:12 - What 17 Studies Say About Increasing Your Testosterone Naturally 22:07 - Motivation Monday: The Little Big Things About Building a Better You 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/

As an author, entrepreneur, and owner of multiple businesses, I get asked a lot about writing, marketing, and how to make money. Of course, if you’re looking for shortcuts and magic formulas, I’m not the Jedi wizard you’re looking for. But if you’re willing to do the work and have realistic expectations, you’re well on your way and I’m happy to share insights on what’s worked for me. In fact, I’ve written about my story here on the blog, and I’ve had several episodes on how the Mike Matthews sausage is made, business lessons I learned building Legion, and the power of great content. And this podcast should be just as insightful, my fellow money-grubbing capitalist. That’s because it’s an interview from Nicholas Jensen’s Unlimited Wealth podcast, in which I shared juicy tiddly-bits on branding, valuable marketing resources, and getting started with creating content. Nicholas’ podcast is focused on helping entrepreneurs grow their business and money, and since many people want to know what goes on behind the curtain here at Oz Legion HQ, I thought it would be worth sharing the interview he did of yours unruly here on my own podcast. So if you want to learn about why I started Legion, free marketing resources, writing unique copy that sells, how I built my businesses the "hard way," the importance of branding, my thoughts on imposter syndrome, how to get started with content marketing, and a whole lot more, you’re going to love this episode! Press play and let me know what you think! Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 9:35 - Are there certain marketing perspectives that you followed before your company became successful? 18:26 - What are some marketing strategies that you recommend? 23:45 - Do you think Legion could stand on its own without you? 27:13 - Where do you gather most of your information about marketing? 32:39 - Do you suffer from imposter syndrome? Mentioned on The Show: Nicholas Jensen’s Unlimited Wealth Podcast: nicholascjensen.com/podcast/ Nicholas Jensen’s Website: nicholascjensen.com/ Nickolas Jensen’s Instagram: www.instagram.com/nicholasjensen Shop Legion Supplements Here: 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/

There are many different schools of thought on how to set goals. Some swear by the SMART goal-setting paradigm. Others rely on affirmations, meditation, or journaling. And others kibosh goal-setting altogether and simply focus on envisioning a better future, hoping their thoughts transmogrify into reality. If you’ve played with any of these approaches, though, you’ve probably noticed that they tend to go nowhere fast. You keep reviewing your SMART goals, telling yourself to think positive, filling page after page of your diary, or chipping away at a few choice habits, but after a few weeks or months, you lose heart. Many people chalk up their failure to a lack of discipline, determination, or motivation, and while these can be factors, their biggest mistake lies in putting their faith in faulty, facile goal-setting systems. Most of the goal-setting models I just described have merit, but they also tend to be incomplete or ineffective when put to the acid test. Like a map without a compass, they help you feel like you’re on the right track without providing all of the tools and information you need to reach your destination. I’ve spent many years reading about and testing various goal-setting strategies, and I’ve come to believe there’s no one winning formula that works for everyone under all circumstances. That said, there are some evidence-based goal-setting principles that you can apply in every situation that will increase your chances of success. And in this podcast, you’ll learn to look at goal setting in a new, more productive light. Be warned: This isn’t a rah-rah you-can-do-it approach. It won’t be comfortable. But it’ll work. Before we get into all of that, though, let’s first diagnose the problem with most approaches to goal setting. --- Timestamps: 5:56 - What are the problems with how people set goals? 9:28 - What are the characteristics, habits, and behaviors of entrepreneurs? 31:18 - How can I better achieve my fitness goals? Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: buylegion.com/mike --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: 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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking a few of the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . 4:41 - “Your natty expectations are unrealistic.” 17:50 - “Your BLS and TLS books are beginner lifting programs, but the macros are designed for elite athletes, and the fat recommendations are horribly low.” 25:43 - “Your books include cheat meals, but that’s an unproductive way to view food because it implies that eating off plan is bad and this can result in feelings of guilt which can lead to more off-plan eating.” 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/

What if I told you there was one weird trick to realize all of your biggest dreams? Just one thing you could do to achieve success and live your best life. Want to know what it is? The trick is to ignore all the one weird tricks. That’s right. The real secret isn’t shortcuts and fads. It’s hard work, consistency, discipline, and building good habits. That’s the real juice. If I just knocked the wind out of your sails, I understand. Hard work sounds a lot less fun than instant gratification. But what’s more fun? Failing, jumping on the next bandwagon, and failing again, or making real progress and actually achieving what you want? In the long-run, the tried-and-true methods of developing a strong work ethic and discipline have an astounding track record and are far more likely to get you where you want to go. That’s what I’m talking about on this episode with Nick Shaw. He’s someone who’s learned these lessons and honed them through personal hardship, building them into an actionable framework in his book Fit For Success, that you can follow to live your best life. If you’re not familiar with Nick, he’s the founder and CEO of Renaissance Periodization (co-founded by Dr. Mike Israetel, who’s also been on the podcast). He’s also a former competitive powerlifter and bodybuilder, who’s coached hordes of elite athletes, including CrossFit Games Champions, Olympians, UFC fighters, and professional athletes, so he knows a thing or two about achieving success and helping others do so. In this episode, Nick and I chat about . . . Why he wrote Fit For Success Enjoying the work process versus being outcome-oriented Morning routines and the benefits of waking up early Mindfulness and the difference between using data instead of feelings Developing discipline and thinking long-term The importance of a positive mindset And more . . . So if you’re ready to ditch the fads and nonsense and build positive habits that can improve your life, listen to this podcast! 13:48 - What are the key concepts of success that you wrote in your book? 16:17 - What does hard work mean to you? 21:39 - Where are you now with work/life balance? 24:24 - What are your thoughts on developing work ethic? 25:57 - How do you organize your to-do list? 27:07 - Do you have a morning routine? 47:08 - What is your take on developing discipline? 53:47 - What does a positive mindset mean to you? Mentioned on The Show: Nick Shaw's New Book (Fit For Success) Nick Shaw's Instagram: @nick.shaw.rp Nick Shaw's Website: Renaissance Periodization 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/

This episode is part of a 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 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 three questions: Does ecdysterone work? When you’re fasting, when do you start losing muscle? What is the most important life lesson you’d like to teach your children and how will you attempt to teach it? 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/intermittent-fasting/ --- Timestamps: 4:34 - Does ecdysterone work? 11:36 - When you’re fasting, when do you start losing muscle? 19:32 - What is the most important life lesson you’d like to teach your children and how will you attempt to teach it? Mentioned on The Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://buylegion.com/vip Forge Pre-Workout Fat Burner: https://legionathletics.com/products/supplements/forge-pre-workout-fat-burner/ --- 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. People have also been saying they’d like me to do more shorter, multi-topic episodes, like my Q&As. And so I got an idea: how about a “best of” series of podcasts that contains a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from my most popular episodes? This way, people who are new to the show can quickly determine if it’s for them or not, and those who enjoy what I’m doing but don’t have the time or inclination to listen to all of my stuff can still benefit from the discussions and find new episodes to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: My Interview on Mind Pump Media (Originally published August 23rd, 2017) The Ultimate Fitness Plan for Women (Originally published November 21st, 2018) Book Club: My Top 5 Takeaways from Principles by Ray Dalio (Originally published October 8th, 2018) And we’ll be starting with number one, My Interview on Mind Pump Media 5:51 - My Interview on Mind Pump Media 14:28 - The Ultimate Fitness Plan for Women 23:19 - Book Club: My Top 5 Takeaways from Principles by Ray Dalio Mentioned on The Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://buylegion.com/vip https://anchor.fm/muscleforlife/episodes/My-Interview-on-Mind-Pump-Media-eei637 https://legionathletics.com/fitness-plan-women-podcast/ https://legionathletics.com/principles-book-review/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

Well well well, 2021 is here, Bad Orange Man is out, Chairman Xiden is in, and we’re still waiting for this grinding fever dream to end. Can we leash this global tornado? Learn to ride this chaos like a horse? Maybe. Who can know? Listen to this episode to find out how we can do our part. 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/

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: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

“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 whether the book is likely to be up your alley or not. Alright, let’s get to the takeaways. -- 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/

Anyone who cares about health knows the importance of diet. How many times have you been told to eat a “healthy” diet by a doctor or some other authority? Nearly everyone aspires to eating a healthy diet, so much so that “eat healthier” is one of the most common New Year’s resolutions. “Eat healthier” seems simple on its face, but ask a handful of people what that means and you'll get wildly different definitions. How would a carnivore dieter answer compared to a vegan? What about the fat-adapted keto Crossfitter versus a carb-gel-loading endurance athlete? And how would a paleo adherent’s response differ still? The same can be said for any food fad or eating style including keto, IIFYM, blood type diets, and more. One group’s “superfood” (like beans for many vegans, for example) is a veritable, evil “no no” to be avoided at all costs amongst another group of equally fervent zealots (like Dr. Gundry’s plant paradoxers). So, what really constitutes a healthy diet? How can we define it, and thus, create one and follow it? To help answer that seemingly simple question, the one and only Alan Aragon has returned to the podcast. In case you’re not familiar with Alan, he’s a nutrition researcher and educator who’s been at the forefront of the evidence-based fitness movement for over a decade now and has helped countless fitness enthusiasts, professional athletes, and top coaches, and even influenced my own work. Alan has a knack for translating science into practical application, which you can see for yourself if you check out his research review, which was the first of its kind in 2008. In this episode, Alan and I discuss . . . What it means to be healthy and what constitutes a healthy diet Why looking like an elite athlete doesn't necessarily mean you're healthy The negotiables and non-negotiable of a healthy diet Why food preferences matter Relative energy deficiency syndrome, the female athlete triad, and healthy levels of body fat Specific macro recommendations (and food choice recommendations to get there) Why oats are awesome Why you should take a multivitamin And a lot more . . . So, if you want to learn more about what truly makes up a healthy diet, and how you can implement these qualities into your own lifestyle, listen to this episode! 6:19 - What is a healthy diet? 21:52 - What does healthy calorie management look like? 30:28 - What are some of the adverse effects in men if they do not manage calories properly? 31:41 - How long before these effects start to manifest? 39:15 - How do macros play a role in this? 43:07 - What are your thoughts on carbs and fats? 46:44 - What are some food choice recommendations? 55:31 - What do macros look like in the concept of healthy eating? 1:09:13 - What are your thoughts on minimum amounts of nutritious carbs? 1:14:33 - Would you count bread as a “healthy” carb? 1:29:53 - Are multivitamins worth taking? 1:37:51 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on The Show: Alan Aragon's Research Review: https://alanaragon.com/aarr/ Alan Aragon's Website: https://alanaragon.com/ Alan Aragon's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thealanaragon/ Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://buylegion.com/mike

I don't know about you, but I don't like balls in my face when I'm bench pressing. Or a sweaty dude snuggling with me while I squat. Or being shrieked at to "dig deep," "feel the burn," or "let the big dogs eat." Or trying to catch my breath mid-set in a noxious haze of someone's fart. I'm not speaking hypothetically, either. After 13 years in the gym, I've seen a lot of bad spotting (and a lot of weird shit in general). Hence, this podcast. In it, we're going to talk shitty spotting, good spotting, and everything in between. Let's start with some laughs... --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 3:12 - How do you spot well? 4:09 - How do you spot a bench and military press? 7:10 - How do you spot a dumbbell press? 9:04 - How do you spot a squat? --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: buylegion.com/mike --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: 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 three questions: 4:24 - “What are your thoughts on resistance bands?” 16:43 - “How do you convince your wife to have sex with you? You’re a busy man, me too. My wife’s relationship requirement number one is quality time but I really struggle to give her that. I need physical affection to survive and how do we get what we need if we are miles apart in our requirements of each other?” 39:17 - “Do you think that females over 40 who are trying to build muscle should stick as close to maintenance calories as possible? if muscle gain is already a slow process, and particularly for women, is it even slower for women who are 40 and beyond?” 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: 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. People have also been saying they’d like me to do more shorter, multi-topic episodes, like my Q&As. And so I got an idea: how about a “best of” series of podcasts that contains a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from my most popular episodes? This way, people who are new to the show can quickly determine if it’s for them or not, and those who enjoy what I’m doing but don’t have the time or inclination to listen to all of my stuff can still benefit from the discussions and find new episodes to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Sal Di Stefano on Mastering the Mental Side of Dieting (Originally published May 1st, 2019) 3 “Everyday” Weightlifting Mistakes That Keep People Small, Weak, and Frustrated (Originally published November 23rd, 2018) Motivation Monday: The Wrong Way and Right Way to Set Goals  (Originally published August 20th, 2018) And we’ll be starting with number one, Sal Di Stefano on Mastering the Mental Side of Dieting --- Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 5:07 - Sal Di Stefano on Mastering the Mental Side of Dieting 11:35 - 3 “Everyday” Weightlifting Mistakes That Keep People Small, Weak, and Frustrated 21:08 - Motivation Monday: The Wrong Way and Right Way to Set Goals --- Mentioned on The Show: Books by Mike Matthews: 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/

What’s a 4-letter word that you never want to hear your doctor say to you? Ok it’s actually not a word, but an acronym, and I’m referring to PCOS. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal disorder that affects millions of women. In fact, chances are good that you know someone affected by it, which probably explains why I’m often asked about it via email, Twitter, and Instagram. PCOS has various effects in the body, especially in regards to fertility, but one of the biggest concerns in the fitness space is how it affects weight loss. Specifically, many people believe PCOS is caused by being overweight, and that once you have PCOS, losing weight is nigh impossible. How true is this though? Are you really doomed if you get PCOS and can it truly prevent weight loss? Perhaps more importantly, how can you avoid getting it in the first place? To help shed some light on the truth, I invited Dr. Spencer Nadolsky back on the podcast. In case you’re not familiar with Dr. Nadolsky, he’s a Board Certified Family Medicine Physician, author of “The Fat Loss Prescription,” and a Diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine. He’s also part of Legion Athletics’ Scientific Advisory Board and truly knows his stuff when it comes to hormones, fat loss, and yes, memes (which you can find all over his instagram). In this interview, Dr. Nadolsky discusses … What PCOS is and its symptoms The causes of PCOS and how it might cause or be associated with differences in metabolism, appetite, and mental health The effects of PCOS on hormones and how that relates to fat gain and loss The “secret” to weight loss with PCOS and his dietary tips And more … So, if you want to learn about dealing with and overcoming PCOS, listen to this episode! 10:02 - What is PCOS? 16:56 - What is PCOS’s relation to weight loss? 37:18 - Would you recommend trying natural remedies before going to medicine? 39:11 - What are some dietary advice that you would give to people with PCOS? 42:15 - Any supplements you would recommend? Mentioned on The Show: Dr. Spencer Nadolsky's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drnadolsky/ PCOS Templates: https://www.RPstrength.com RP Strength YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfQgsKhHjSyRLOp9mnffqVg?pbjreload=102 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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking a few of the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . 4:59 - “Incline bench pressing is a waste of time.” 10:50 - “The trap bar deadlift is a crappy exercise. It’s an unstable and dangerous deadlift.” 21:16 - “If you want to build a great physique, you just need to get really strong on your big exercises.” 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/

What’s the best time of day to lift weights? Search for an answer to that question online and you’ll learn that there are basically two schools of thought on this issue: It’s best to train in the late afternoon or evening. It doesn’t much matter when you train. Proponents of the first position point to studies that show athletes perform better later in the day and claim that if you do the same, you’ll be able to use heavier weights in your workouts and gain more muscle and strength as a result. Advocates of the second position claim that although most people have better workouts in the evening, your body can also adjust to morning workouts over time, nullifying any benefits of training in the evening. Who’s right? Is training in the latter half of the day really superior to training in the first half? And if so, is the difference enough to matter? Or, can you get equally good results regardless of what time you train? Keep listening to learn what science says. 3:16 - What are circadian rhythms? 4:45 - The sleep-wake cycle 7:21 - The body temperature cycle 9:01 - The testosterone cycle 11:10 - What do studies say about the best time of day to lift weights? 17:26 - Does training in the evening create an optimal hormonal environment for building muscle? 19:11 - What is the best time of day to lift weights? 21:21 - Tips for training in the morning 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’m often asked about how to make money in the fitness space. One obvious route is becoming a coach or personal trainer. This can be done in-person or online, but if you can help people get into shape, build muscle, and lose fat, and know how to market yourself, you can earn a decent income. And I’ve talked before about building an online coaching business and becoming a successful coach. Another path, though, is content marketing. This can be monetized in various ways, but it all begins with creating high-quality content that provides value. This is also something I’ve discussed on the podcast with the likes of Lou Schuler, but today’s episode is a bit different. Specifically, I’m having a fireside chat with David Tao, the founder and CEO of BarBend. In case you’re not familiar with BarBend, it’s a hub for all things strength related: news coverage, training and nutrition articles, product reviews, and more. And David isn’t a new kid on the block—he wrote for Fortune and Greatist.com before creating Barbend and turning it into what it is today. So, who better to discuss building a media business than someone who found a gap in the market, and carved out their own niche by creating unique, valuable content and grew it into the premier news source on strength sports. In this episode, David and I talk about . . . How he seized an opportunity to “scratch his own itch” Why creating content is hard and the biggest mistakes creators make The importance of staying top of mind The beginning of BarBend as a news outlet and when he realized it could be successful Monetization (advertising and sponsorship) His biggest mistakes that turned into lessons His game plan for the future And more . . . So, if you want to learn how David created a strength sports content empire from scratch, listen to this episode and let me know what you think! 8:01 - What was the opportunity you saw? 16:29 - When starting out, should you focus on quality over quantity? 324:35 - How did you start out? 30:04 - At what point in that first year did you see signs of life? 38:07 - How did you go from having a great idea to having a viable business? 49:34 - What are some of the worst decisions that you made that later became great lessons? 59:16 - What are your future plans? Mentioned on The Show: BarBend Website: https://barbend.com/ BarBend Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barbend/ BarBend Podcast: https://barbend.com/podcast/ Shop Legion Supplements Here: http://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. People have also been saying they’d like me to do more shorter, multi-topic episodes, like my Q&As. And so I got an idea: how about a “best of” series of podcasts that contains a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from my most popular episodes? This way, people who are new to the show can quickly determine if it’s for them or not, and those who enjoy what I’m doing but don’t have the time or inclination to listen to all of my stuff can still benefit from the discussions and find new episodes to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: 5:04 - Eric Helms on the Science of Preparing for a Natural Bodybuilding Show 15:32 - Should You Do Cardio or Weightlifting First? What 20 Studies Say 24:30 - Motivation Monday: When You Can Do This, You Can Do Anything --- Mentioned on The Show: Eric Helms on the Science of Preparing for a Natural Bodybuilding Show (Published 9/30/16) https://legionathletics.com/eric-helms-podcast/ Should You Do Cardio or Weightlifting First? What 20 Studies Say (Published 12/5/18) https://legionathletics.com/cardio-or-weights-first-podcast/ Motivation Monday: When You Can Do This, You Can Do Anything  (Published 7/16/18) https://legionathletics.com/motivation-monday-do-anything/ 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/

More and more people are looking to build a home gym these days. Whether you want to save on membership fees, cut down on your commute time to the gym, or are currently dealing with a closed gym due to corona, building a home gym makes a lot of sense. The prospect is exciting. You’ll never have to wait for equipment, smell that one StinkyGuy™, or withstand awful gym playlists again. But once your eyes have begun to sparkle with the promise of an iron utopia, how do you actually realize the dream? What equipment should you buy and how should you set everything up? The good news is thanks to high-demand for home gym equipment and the power of the unfettered free market, supply is ample and options are plentiful. So whether you want to set something up in your studio apartment or have a 3-car garage you can convert into a full-fledged gym, there’s probably a slew of products that will fit the bill. In fact, the choices can be downright daunting. That’s why I’ve tagged in a home gym equipment expert, Cooper Mitchell, to join me on this episode of the podcast. Cooper runs a website called GarageGymReviews.com, which features (as the name implies) product reviews and articles all about setting up a home gym. He’s tested over 300 barbells, 250 squat racks, 50 bumper plates, and more, so he has his finger on the pulse and ear to the rubber flooring on this sort of stuff. In this podcast, Cooper covers . . . How much money and space you’ll need (and how to make the most of that space) Equipment for an "essentials gym" as well as add-on bonus recommendations Adjustable dumbbell options Modular racks, leg press options, belt squats, and kettlebell considerations And more . . . So if you’re interested in decking out your garage and turning it into a bona fide home gym without breaking the bank, this episode is for you! 9:15 - Who should and shouldn’t create a home gym? 11:26 - How much money do I need for a home gym? 17:51 - How much space do I need for a home gym? 20:52 - Are there any downsides to using a PRX machine? 27:46 - What are some low budget equipment recommendations? What type of equipment would you recommend if money isn’t a problem? 33:17 - Any tips for buying used items? 34:48 - What are your thoughts on Bowflex adjustable dumbbells? 39:03 - Are there any add-ons worth considering? 43:06 - Have you tested any leg press machines? 49:07 - Any information on kettlebells? 51:57 - Is there anything else that you would like to mention? 56:05 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on The Show: Garage Gym Reviews Website: https://www.garagegymreviews.com/ Garage Gym Reviews YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV_zy48AlwwGpdJEka1ay7w Garage Gym Reviews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garagegymreviews/ Home Gym Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/homegymcommunity 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/

Clap your hands if you’ve heard this one before: “Muscles don’t know weight, only tension.” It’s an old bodybuilding saw that’s been around for decades, and it’s shorthand for the theory that the key driver of muscle growth is how long your muscles are working (contracting) during your workouts. For example, if you do one set of 8 reps and each rep takes about 5 seconds, your time under tension for that set is 40 seconds (8 x 5). If you do three sets of the exercise, your total time under tension is 120 seconds (40 x 3). According to proponents of this idea, the more time under tension you rack up over days, weeks, months, and years of training, the more muscle you’ll gain more or less regardless of any other training variable (intensity, frequency, volume, etc.). Is this true, though? Is time under tension really the biggest lever you can pull to build muscle? Not really. You see, time under tension is an important element of the training stimulus that produces muscle growth, but it’s best to think of it as a byproduct of proper training rather than a target in its own right. Let’s find out why. --- Timestamps: 3:16 - What does time under tension mean? 7:52 - What do studies say about time under tension? 13:28 - How should I program time under tension? --- 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 three questions: 1) Do you consider fiber intake in your daily total carbohydrate?  2) Should I stay away from soy?  3) Should you not combine certain macronutrients in certain meals? 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/how-much-fiber-should-you-get-every-day-and-why/ https://legionathletics.com/soy-protein-isolate/ Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 4:59 - Do you consider fiber intake in your daily total carbohydrate? 8:52 - Should I stay away from soy? 17:51 - Should you not combine certain macronutrients in certain meals? --- Mentioned on The Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

Whether you’re totally new to the gym or have plenty of experience, you’ve likely struggled with trying to make sense of conflicting diet, training, and supplementation advice. No matter where you go online, for instance, you’re sure to find seemingly-credible people with completely different and often contradictory viewpoints and suggestions. Instagram influencer XYZ says the key to losing fat is a keto diet, with a strict 6-hour eating window on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. But Fitness Blog #532 of Guru Zed claims that studies show you can get ripped eating all of the carbs you’d like on any schedule you’d like. The key, he claims, is you just have to stop eating harmful, gut-destroying lectins found in nutritious foods like tomatoes, potatoes, beans, and peanuts. In fact, if you look hard enough in this space, you can find someone with bonafides making a seemingly plausible argument for doing just about anything you can imagine to boost fat loss and muscle growth. How do you separate the sheep from the goats? How do you know who to trust? That’s exactly what I’m discussing with this episode's podcast guest, Christian Finn. In case you’re not familiar with Christian, he’s a researcher and writer who holds a masters degree in exercise science and is the creator of Muscle Evo and Gutless, a science-backed nutrition system for getting rid of fat. His work has been featured in Men’s Health, Vice, BBC TV, as well as Jonathan Goodman’s PTDC. In this episode, we chat about . . . The cyclical nature of fads and fitness info Why expectations matter and the necessity of accepting diminishing returns How to separate the charlatans from the experts “Shiny object syndrome” When to change your mind and why your views should evolve over time When and why to switch training programs And more . . . So if you’ve ever wondered why there’s so much conflicting advice out there, and how you can be sure you’re not getting hoodwinked, listen to this episode. 6:43 - How did you use your time during COVID differently? 15:23 - Where should people start to get more progress? 22:31 - How does a person separate the wheat from the chaff? 34:38 - How do you deal with that process of changing your mind? 39:54 - What are some of the barriers people experience from conflicting ideas on fitness advice? When should someone consider switching training programs? --- Mentioned on The Show: Christian Finn’s Website & Books: https://muscleevo.net/ Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

Keep on imagining, because all of this is a mirage. The reality is no food can directly cause fat loss. (Some foods are more conducive to fat loss than others, but that’s not the same as causing fat loss. More on this soon.) “What about foods that boost your metabolism, though?” you might be thinking. And that’s what brings us to the topic of this podcast: the thermic effect of food. Fitness magazines and “miracle diet” hucksters claim that eating foods with a high thermic effect is the secret to getting the body of your dreams. If only it were that simple. The thermic effect of food does play a role in your metabolism and weight loss and weight gain, but not in the way that many people would have you believe. That is, the foods you eat do affect your metabolism and the speed at which you lose or gain weight, but they aren’t the primary determinants. And in this podcast, we’re going to break it all down. By the end, you’re going to know what the thermic effect of food is and several science-based ways to use it to help improve your metabolism and achieve your fitness goals. 4:23 - What is the thermic effect of food? 8:26 - What happens when you eat and how does it relate to fat burning? 15:12 - What are the best foods for weight loss? 20:29 - Does eating more frequently boost your metabolism and help you lose weight faster? 23:17 - Can you raise the thermic effect of food? Mentioned on The Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

Picking a workout routine can feel like picking a political candidate. Many people have strong opinions as to which is best and are often quick to denounce all other options. For instance, after reading about why the push pull legs routine is the best, you’ll find someone claiming that upper lower routines are better, and then another who plumps for body part training, and so on. It shouldn’t be this complicated, you’ve probably thought to yourself. And you’re right. It shouldn’t, and it doesn’t have to be. To escape this quagmire, you need to . . . Clarify your goals. Survey your options and learn their pros and cons. Choose the one that’ll help you achieve your ends as efficiently as possible. Now, if you’re like most people listening to this podcast, your goals are to build a muscular, proportionate, and strong body and maintain low but healthy levels of body fat. At first blush, full-body training would appear to be a perfect fit for the first goal, because, well, it trains every muscle in your body. Plus, it sounds a lot simpler than training different muscle groups every time you work out. There are many advocates of full-body workouts who say as much. This style of training, they claim, is not only simpler and easier to follow than other kinds of workout routines, but also more effective for gaining whole-body muscle and strength. So, if you want to learn the pros and cons of full-body workout routines, whether you should use one, and the best way to program them, you want to listen to this podcast. 5:31 - What is a full body workout routine? 10:26 - What are the advantages of full body training? 17:09 - What are the neurological or the systemic implications of full body training? 24:10 - Does full body training produce better results? 33:44 - Who should do full body training? 38:31 - How can you get the most out of your full body workout? 40:56 - How do you build a well-designed full body workout? --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: legionathletics.com/shop/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

If you’re familiar with my books, blog, and even my line of supplements, Legion, you know I’m all about the science, baby! Anecdote and experience are useful, of course, but it can be easy to get fooled. There are too many variables at play, and psychological trickery can wreak havoc without us even realizing it. That’s where science comes into play. It can give us a more objective look to help us spot real trends and pinpoint mechanisms. And I have a lot of respect for researchers and scientists like Dr. Bill Campbell, who I’m excited to bring onto this episode of the podcast. In case you’re not familiar with Dr. Campbell, he’s a professor of Exercise Science and the Director of the Performance & Physique Enhancement Laboratory at the University of South Florida, who’s also published more than 150 scientific papers. In other words, Dr. Campbell is busy running studies that test questions with answers we all want to know. As the author of several books, including the Sports Nutrition: Enhancing Athletic Performance textbook, he also has an inclination for simplifying complex subjects, which proves particularly practical and useful for “lifestyle bodybuilders” such as myself and many of you listeners. In this conversation, Bill and I chat about . . . Specific areas where the scientific literature is lacking How he’s helping athletic people look and feel even better His evidence-based tips for getting from lean to leaner Why you might want to eat more protein (even if you already eat a lot) Diet breaks What he’s currently studying in the lab And more . . . So if you want to hear from a real physique scientist lab-dweller who’s truly “in the trenches,” press play and let me know what you think! 5:39 - Where do you think the current literature is light? 15:33 - What are the best strategies for getting lean and staying lean? 24:11 - What are the proposed mechanisms for protein intake? 29:13 - Would you have any recommendations for people wanting to try high protein intake? 40:16- Would the advice of eating as much as you comfortably can apply to cutting, maintaining, and lean bulking? 59:42 - What are some of the other questions that are most on your mind? What data you want to get your hands on? 1:04:38 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on The Show: Bill Campbell’s Instagram: www.instagram.com/billcampbellphd/ Shop Legion Supplements Here: legionathletics.com/shop/ Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

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 for the latest and greatest installment. Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/a

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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking a few of the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . 4:42 - “I disagree on how much cardio you should do to improve your body composition. I believe “that no more than half of the amount of time lifting weights for cardio” is not enough for most people.” 22:33 - “The only thing that I’ve ever really disagreed with you on is your use of the phrase ‘scientifically proven’. Science doesn’t prove anything. That isn’t its goal or its point. And as a science guy myself, the phrase just peeves me, even when it is in fact an effective marketing gimmick.” 29:14 - “Conventional/sumo deadlifts in a hypertrophy program. I don’t think there’s much value for them being in such a program.” Mentioned on The Show: Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/muscleforlifefitness/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

Have you ever done an exercise and just not “felt” it? Sure, you performed the lift, but your target muscles don’t feel like they worked very hard. Or maybe you felt it in the “wrong” areas? Like your forearms feeling zapped after barbell curls while your biceps still feel fresh. Or maybe you felt it, but in a bad way. For example, bench pressing started bothering your elbows and you never really felt it in your chest before your triceps started giving out. These sorts of problems aren’t uncommon. And the good news is there are often modifications and tweaks you can fine-tune to make exercises more effective and work better for you. These aren’t necessarily obvious fixes you can discover intuitively, read about in a textbook, or even hear about by word of mouth either. Sometimes you have to experiment. Of course, this is a double-edged sword, because you can end up “fixing your form” for months on end, without ever really settling on anything. This is where experience and intelligent methodology come into play and that’s why I invited Dr. Mike Israetel back on the podcast. In case you’re not familiar with Dr. Israetel, not only does he hold a PhD in Sport Physiology, but he’s the co-founder of Renaissance Periodization, a successful blog, coaching program, and fitness platform, so he’s worked with thousands of people and definitely knows his stuff. In this episode, Mike covers . . . The importance of having a checklist for evaluating a muscle building stimulus "Feeling" exercises and the difference between tension perception and "the burn" The benefits of getting a pump Criteria for judging whether an exercise is worthwhile Why you might want to experience soreness Stimulus to fatigue ratio and sustainability The importance of experimentation to account for biomechanical diversity among people A magic skullcrusher tip for those with elbow pain And more . . . So if you want to learn about a methodological approach to tweaking your own form and exercise choices to find what works practically for you, you’ll love this episode! --- Timestamps: 8:21 - What are some common form mistakes that people make that are not obvious? 28:13 - What is the stimulus to fatigue ratio? 34:26 - What are some exercises that you can improve on? 41:58 - What are some tips to help your biceps and triceps? 46:19 - Do you have any barbell preferences? --- Mentioned on The Show: Mike Israetel’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RenaissancePeriodization Mike Israetel’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rpdrmike/ Mike Israetel’s Website: https://renaissanceperiodization.com/ 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/

You’ve probably heard that eating protein is important for losing weight. You’ve also probably heard that protein powder is particularly effective for weight loss. If you snoop around online for weight loss tips, one of the first pieces of advice you’ll find is that you should start sipping protein shakes to slim down. And that raises the question—what’s the best protein powder for weight loss? Well, before we can answer that question, you first need to understand a ground truth about weight loss: no protein powder, shake, or other supplement can make you lose weight on its own. Instead, weight loss is the result of proper diet and training—supplements only amplify your efforts in the kitchen and gym. Now for the good news: protein powder absolutely can help you lose weight if you use it to support your healthy eating habits and training program. And the kind of protein powder you choose can make a difference in your results. So, in this podcast, you’ll learn . . . Why protein is important for weight loss What to look for in the best protein powder for weight loss And more. Let’s get started. Timestamps: 3:54 - Why should I care about my protein intake while I’m cutting? 7:58 - How much protein should I be eating when I’m cutting? 9:07 - How does protein powder fit in? 22:29 - How much protein powder is too much? 24:11 - What is the best protein powder for weight loss? --- Mentioned on The Show: Books by Mike Matthews: legionathletics.com/products/books/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: 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. People have also been saying they’d like me to do more shorter, multi-topic episodes, like my Q&As. And so I got an idea: how about a “best of” series of podcasts that contains a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from my most popular episodes? This way, people who are new to the show can quickly determine if it’s for them or not, and those who enjoy what I’m doing but don’t have the time or inclination to listen to all of my stuff can still benefit from the discussions and find new episodes to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: 1. Mark Rippetoe on the Right (and Wrong) Ways to Bench and Overhead Press (Originally published August 31, 2018) 2. How Many Calories Do You Really Burn Every Day? (Originally published April 22, 2019) 3. My Top 5 Takeaways from Flow by Mihaly Csilszentmihalyi (Originally published March 18, 2019) And we’ll be starting with number one, Mark Rippetoe on the Right Ways to Bench Press. 5:25 - Mark Rippetoe on the Right (and Wrong) Ways to Bench and Overhead Press 15:18 - How Many Calories Do You Really Burn Every Day? 21:56 - My Top 5 Takeaways from Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ 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 firmly believe in the power of taking ownership over your life. You know, the whole “when life gives you lemons, sell artisanal, organic, first-press lemonade for $15 a glass to rich assholes” mentality. In all seriousness, though, I mean taking the cards life has dealt you, and making the best of them. It’s easy to blame others and get into a victim mindset, but this line of thinking never improves your situation. Everyone has the power to change their lives no matter their circumstances, and this is especially true in fitness. As I say in my books, if you can change your body, you can change your life. This concept is why I was excited to get Doug Bopst on the podcast. I’ll save the juicy details for the interview, but Doug is a fantastic example of “picking yourself up by your bootstraps” and truly transforming your life. A true rags to riches story that begins with drug addiction and a jail sentence, and twists and turns into Doug becoming an award-winning personal trainer, author, podcast host, and business owner. In this episode, we chat about . . . How fitness improves your mood and mind (not just your body) Why fitness is actually necessary to be successful How Doug dealt with previous relationships after his life change Why you should surround yourself with good people you want to be like How Doug deals with "resistance" How to spark belief in yourself and build confidence Tips for meal plans in jail or college Being authentic on social media And much more . . . So if you want to hear an inspiring story about how Doug completely turned his life around, and the role fitness played in changing his entire outlook on life, listen to this episode! 5:04 - How did fitness save your life? 25:50 - What are your thoughts on personal responsibility and extreme ownership? 44:51 - Did you have people from your previous life try to reach out to you? 51:46 - How do you deal with resistance? 55:15 - How can people get that initial spark of belief in themselves? 1:05:06 - What does spiritual health mean to you? 1:15:54 - How can someone make nutrition work while in jail? 1:37:08 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on The Show: Doug Bopst’s Podcast (The Adversity Advantage): https://dougbopst.com/adversityadvantage/ Doug Bopst’s Books: https://dougbopst.com/store/ Doug Bopst’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dougbopst/ Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

“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 whether the book is likely to be up your alley or not. Alright, let’s get to the takeaways. Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

“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 free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

If you’ve spent much time in the gym (especially CrossFit gyms), you may have seen someone pushing a huge, weighted sled across the turf. By the end of it, they’re gasping for air and all they’ve done is move a bunch of weight from one side of the room to the other. What are they up to? Are they training to be one of Santa’s reindeer? Or is this an almost-too-obvious exercise for unlocking massive strength potential? The truth is, there’s no shortage of people doing unconscionable, foolish things in the gym, so is this one of them? I haven’t done much sled pushing or pulling in my day, so I invited an expert onto the podcast to tell us all about it. That expert is John Welbourn, who spent 9 years as a starter in the NFL and is the CEO of Power Athlete Inc., a strength and performance company that specializes in large group training sessions. He was also the architect of the CrossFit Football program, which was the main reason CrossFit began focusing on strength and performance. So, he knows a thing or two about training really strong people. In this episode, John and I chat about . . . Why the Prowler sled is good for you Core strength versus trunk stability How to program sled pushes and pulls The importance of building aerobic capacity Why having good conditioning is beneficial for strength training The value of varying intensity in your workouts And more . . . So if you want to know if you should be adding sled exercises to your workouts and how to do so, listen to this episode! 4:48 - Mike and John’s thoughts on Gavin Newsom’s handling of COVID-19 9:51 - Mike and John’s thoughts on Mark Rippetoe 12:20 - What is the value of pushing sleds? 20:54 - What type of workout is pushing and pulling sleds? How would you program that? Mentioned on The Show: Power Athlete Website: https://powerathletehq.com/ Power Athlete Podcast: https://powerathletehq.com/radio/ John Welbourn’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnwelbourn/ Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

Muscle recovery nostrums are an evergreen fad in the fitness industry. Fancy foam rollers, special kinds of stretching, overpriced medical tape, CBD oil, and gimcrack supplements are all à la mode. If you stay up to date on these sorts of things, you’ve probably seen one of the latest recovery trinkets: massage guns. Although massage guns have existed for about a decade, they’ve become popular recently thanks to stylish new branding, celebrity endorsements, and aggressive marketing. And you’ve probably wondered, are they worth it? Massage gun advocates claim these devices replicate the benefits of traditional massage therapy: soothing sore muscles and boosting blood flow, recovery, flexibility, and mood. Skeptics claim massage guns are no more effective than regular massage and not much if any better than cheaper alternatives like a foam roller or lacrosse ball. What does science have to say about all this? Can massage guns boost muscle recovery and provide other benefits, or are they just an extravagant gimmick? You’ll learn the answers to these questions in this podcast, but first, let’s take a closer look at what a massage gun actually is. 4:39 - What is a massage gun? 6:45 - What does science say about massage guns? 22:58 - Which massage gun should I get? 25:17 - How do you use a massage gun correctly to get the best results? Mentioned on The Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ 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 three questions: 4:36 - Is running bad for gaining muscle and strength? 19:23 - How has having kids changed your approach to diet? 38:12 - What are your thoughts on kratom? Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/ --- 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/cardio-weightlifting/ https://legionathletics.com/what-is-kratom/

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. People have also been saying they’d like me to do more shorter, multi-topic episodes, like my Q&As. And so I got an idea: how about a “best of” series of podcasts that contains a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from my most popular episodes? This way, people who are new to the show can quickly determine if it’s for them or not, and those who enjoy what I’m doing but don’t have the time or inclination to listen to all of my stuff can still benefit from the discussions and find new episodes to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: 1. Dr. Cate Shanahan on the Power of “Deep Nutrition” (Originally published July 19, 2017) 2. Q&A: Monthly Fat Loss Targets, Sleep and Muscle Building, Adjusting Meal Plans for Fat Loss, and More (Originally published March 8, 2019) 3. Motivation Monday: What's More Important than Necessity? (Originally published September 24, 2018) And we’ll be starting with number one, Dr. Cate Shanahan on the Power of “Deep Nutrition”. 5:34 - Dr. Cate Shanahan on the Power of “Deep Nutrition” 15:15 - Q&A: Monthly Fat Loss Targets, Sleep and Muscle Building, Adjusting Meal Plans for Fat Loss, and More 24:47 - Motivation Monday: What's More Important than Necessity? Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: legionathletics.com/shop/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

If you’re here, you probably care at least a little bit about picking up and putting down heavy things. I’m talking about training, of course. The truth is training isn’t hopelessly complex. Find a decent routine, follow it, and you’ll make gains. Unfortunately, you’ve probably found that life isn’t perfectly predictable and sometimes gets in the way of your training. You can’t always hit the gym exactly when you want and with perfect energy levels. Sometimes you have to work overtime or pick up your friend from the airport. Sometimes you get injured or are more sore than usual. And sometimes your sleep is a bit off and you’re dragging more than normal. Whatever the case, life occasionally gives you lemons, and you have to stay flexible and nimble or you’re going to get demotivated by not being able to follow your perfect little plans. Well, what if there was a training system that could ensure you're working hard enough to progress, but not so hard that you overtrain? And what if it could do this no matter how you were feeling--whether you were fresh and spritely or unmotivated and rundown. In other words, a system that could optimize your progress while managing recovery, all while staying flexible and fluid and adapting to you. That's the promise of something called autoregulation. That may sound like a fancy term, but we’re going to get to the bottom of it in this episode. And luckily, I know someone who has a knack for breaking down nuanced, science-y subjects and making them accessible for everyone. That person is repeat-podcast-guest extraordinaire, Dr. Eric Helms. In case you’re not familiar with Eric, he’s not only an accomplished bodybuilder, powerlifter, coach, author, scientist, and member of Legion’s Scientific Advisory Board, but he’s also one of the guys behind the Monthly Applications in Strength Sport (MASS), which is one of the best research reviews out there. All that is why he’s also one of my favorite guests for offering practical advice you can apply in the gym. In this episode, Eric covers . . . What autoregulation is and who it’s for Implementing RPE and using it to manage both fatigue and load to make faster progress Individualizing training based on feedback instead of following a cookie-cutter program The advantages (and disadvantages) of velocity-based training Autoregulating exercise selection Practical recommendations for adding autoregulation into your current program And more . . . So if you want to learn the ins and outs of autoregulation, and how you can use it to manage fatigue and optimize your progress, this episode is for you. Timestamps: 6:59 - What is autoregulation? 13:52 - Do you think autoregulation is a good technique for elite athletes and more sophisticated workouts? 29:19 - If you are in the middle of a training block and you notice that you aren’t close enough to your one rep max, do you make decisions on the fly or just stay to the program until that training block is over? 33:58 - What is velocity and RPE stops? 44:41 - What are your thoughts on auto regulating exercise selection? 47:19 - What are some other good reasons to change what you are currently doing? 57:35 - How can I implement auto regulation into my existing program? Mentioned on The Show: Eric Helm’s Website: https://3dmusclejourney.com/ MASS Research Review: https://www.strongerbyscience.com/mass/

Modern medicine has a cure for nearly everything. After all, it’s eradicated smallpox, eliminated malaria in most developed countries, and nearly put an end to polio. It’s also created all kinds of pills, potions, and powders to treat ailments ranging from the common cold to cancer. And yet, it still hasn’t come up with a cure for low-back pain. In fact, low-back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide, and nearly 80% of people will experience it at one time or another. To make matters worse, most cases of low-back pain are chronic or recurring, and symptoms often come and go without rhyme or reason. It affects the young and old, healthy and disabled, active and sedentary. I’m a good example. I’ve been an athlete my entire life, most recently transitioning from collegiate sports to lifting weights to keep myself healthy and motivated. I’ve also dealt with bouts of low-back pain throughout much of my athletic career, starting when I was around 20 years old. I know how frustrating, confusing, and debilitating it can be. Now for the good news. While researchers still have many unanswered questions about low-back pain and no two cases are identical, there are some evidence-based exercises you can use to reduce your chances of developing low-back pain or get rid of it. These exercises don’t just have a sound theoretical basis—they also work in the real world. As a Doctor of Physical Therapy, I see patients every week who are dealing or have dealt with low-back pain, and I know some simple strategies that tend to help. Of course, this article isn’t meant to diagnose or treat anyone, as there are hundreds of potential contributors to low-back pain. That said, I have identified three factors that seem to be common culprits. What’s more, I’ve also experimented with many different stretches, exercises, and other strategies to fix and prevent low-back pain, but the six I describe in this article are the best exercises for low-back pain I’ve found yet. So, if you want to learn what these three causes of low-back pain are, how to know if they’re affecting you, and what you can do to prevent and fix them, keep listening. 4:52 - Define low back pain 6:28 - Exercises to fix a stuck thoracic spine 11:10 - Exercises to fix a shortened quadratus lumborum muscle 18:29 - Exercises to fix glutes not firing properly Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ 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 three questions: Are there any pre-hab routines or programming you’d recommend prior to starting a weight training program When cutting with limited time would I do 5 days of lifting and 1 HIIT session or 4 days of lifting and 2 HIIT sessions? What’s wrong with taking a cycle or two of steroids and then cutting them out cold turkey? 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/body-recomposition/ https://legionathletics.com/side-effects-of-steroids/ 4:31 - Are there any pre-hab routines or programming you’d recommend prior to starting a weight training program 13:12 - When cutting with limited time would I do 5 days of lifting and 1 HIIT session or 4 days of lifting and 2 HIIT sessions? 23:50 - What’s wrong with taking a cycle or two of steroids and then cutting them out cold turkey? --- 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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking a few of the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . 4:34 - “Low bar squats shouldn’t be preferred in Bigger Leaner Stronger because they’re difficult for most people to do.” 20:05 - “Cannabis isn’t inherently bad. It can be used recreational without negative consequences and it’s also safer than alcohol.” 26:11 - “Time restricted and fasting should be more widely applied as a health improvement strategy rising almost entirely to the standard of care for a host of conditions and the failure to do this is resulting in the loss of life, limb, eyesight, quality of life, autonomy, time, and of course, the big needle mover, money.” --- 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/

Here’s a ground truth about getting in shape: The same principles that drive muscle growth in men also work just as well for women. In fact, if you look at the differences between most men’s and women’s workout programs, you’ll find they’re mainly due to men’s women’s preferences, not physiological differences between the sexes. (There are a few small exceptions, which you’ll learn about in this podcast). For example, if you want to build muscle, you have to make your muscles work harder over time by forcing them to lift heavier and heavier weights, and this is just as true for women as it is for men. The reason men and women typically follow different workout splits, though, is that most women want to get a bigger butt and more defined legs, and most men want bigger arms, shoulders, and pecs. Thus, the best workout split for (most) women really just boils down to training the same way guys do while focusing on a different set of muscles. Of course, this opens the door to more questions: What muscles should you focus on? How many times per week should you train them? What exercises should you use to train them? And how should you work cardio into your workout split, if at all? All good questions, and you’re going to learn the answers to all of them in this podcast. Keep listening and you’ll learn . . . What a workout split is How to choose the best workout split for your goals How often you should change your workout split And more . . . 5:35 - What is a workout split? 12:56 - The body split 26:51 - The upper lower split 31:43 - The push pull legs split 38:35 - The full body split 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/

A war has been waging throughout the philosophical and psychological community for centuries. Not a war with muskets, armored artillery, or laser guns, but more like professors throwing textbooks at one another and jabbing intellectual foes with concise essays and pointed papers of poignant arguments. I’m talking about the nature versus nurture problem, which is the debate about whether human behavior is determined by genes (nature) or environment (nurture). The answer isn’t so black and white, but needless to say, many people are born with innate talent and skill. One of those people is Michael Chernow, who I’m excited to bring onto this episode of the podcast. He hosts a podcast called Born Or Made, which explores this nature or nurture question through the stories of incredibly successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders. Michael is one of these success stories himself, though. Not only is he a trained chef who hosted the TV show Food Porn, but he’s started several thriving restaurant businesses, including The Meatball Shop (with 8 locations) and Seamore’s (a sustainable seafood restaurant). As a repeat success in the restaurant industry, Michael hasn’t just “gotten lucky,” but knows how to build effective brands and businesses. In this conversation, Michael and I chat about . . . How he turned his life around from drugs, alcohol, and an abusive household How much talent matters versus deliberate practice and conscientiousness The skill of meeting new people and building relationships and networks Why you don't have to be good at everything Effective communication and “how to win friends” The power of branding and knowing how to sell How he transitions a business concept and vision into reality His best cooking hacks (including how to make food tastier and the ultimate hack to eat healthier) And more . . . So if you want to learn from a “serial entrepreneur” what it takes to build a compelling brand and successful business, listen to this podcast! 8:18 - Do you think talent is earned or are people born with it? 12:03 - How did your talent help you get out of tough situations? 14:30 - What are your thoughts on the saying “talent isn’t formed by 10,000 hours but instead deliberate practice”? 24:21 - What do you mean when you say you can acclimate easily to people? 35:42  - What part of your process is most responsible for your success with multiple businesses? 44:41 - How do you know what ideas to follow through with? Do you just follow your instinct or is there a process you go through? 54:05 - Once you have a bunch of ideas and concepts, is it an editorial process from there? 1:22:10 - Are you creating restaurants that you would like to go to? 1:27:15 - Any tips or hacks for cooking better food? Mentioned on The Show: Michael Chernow’s Podcast: Bord Or Made Michael Chernow’s Instagram: @MichaelChernow Michael Chernow’s Twitter: @MichaelChernow Michael Chernow’s Website: michaelchernow.com 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 three questions: “Why should we not reduce the amount of weightlifting volume that we’re doing when we cut because you don’t need as much volume to maintain muscle as you do to gain muscle, and when you’re at deficit, you’re not going to gain muscle.” “Are there different ways to train different types of muscle fibers to gain muscle and strength faster?” “What one piece of advice would you give for continuing exercise through your 40s and older?” 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: 0:00 - Intro 4:51 - “Why should we not reduce the amount of weightlifting volume that we’re doing when we cut because you don’t need as much volume to maintain muscle as you do to gain muscle, and when you’re at deficit, you’re not going to gain muscle.” 14:42 - “Are there different ways to train different types of muscle fibers to gain muscle and strength faster?” 22:06 - “What one piece of advice would you give for continuing exercise through your 40s and older?” --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ 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. People have also been saying they’d like me to do more shorter, multi-topic episodes, like my Q&As. And so I got an idea: how about a “best of” series of podcasts that contains a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from my most popular episodes? This way, people who are new to the show can quickly determine if it’s for them or not, and those who enjoy what I’m doing but don’t have the time or inclination to listen to all of my stuff can still benefit from the discussions and find new episodes to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: 1. Marc Perry on How to Stay Super Lean Year Round (Without Hating Your Life) (Originally published July 18, 2018) 2. How Much Cardio You Should Do (and How Much Is Too Much) (Originally published April 3, 2019) 3. Motivation Monday: Beware the “Self-Made” Myth (Originally published August 27, 2018) And we’ll be starting with number one, Marc Perry on how to stay super lean year-round. 5:44 - Marc Perry on How to Stay Super Lean Year Round (Without Hating Your Life) 16:03 - How Much Cardio You Should Do (and How Much Is Too Much) 24:16 - Motivation Monday: Beware the “Self-Made” Myth --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

Every holiday season, you see the same kinds of articles make the rounds: “How to avoid holiday weight gain” “How to keep off the pounds this Thanksgiving” “20 tips to avoid weight gain during the holidays” Each article follows the same stock format, sharing stats about how many pounds of weight you gain between Thanksgiving and New Years, and then giving you a long list of hackneyed weight loss tips like “ditch the added sugar,” or “chew your food slowly,” or “drink water before meals.” It’s not that the stats are wrong or the tips are useless, but at this point, you probably know that eating more calories than you burn is the root cause of weight gain, and the only way to not gain weight is to not eat so much. Of course, during the Holidays, this is easier said than done. You’re surrounded by a cornucopia of delicious, calorie-dense food and separated from your normal routine, which makes it remarkably easy to overeat. So, what should you do about it? What’s the “hack” for avoiding weight gain over the holidays? It’s this: accept that you’ll probably gain a little weight, use some simple strategies to limit the damage while still enjoying your meals, and lose the weight after the holidays with proper dieting. That’s it. Before we get to these strategies, though, let’s examine the whole idea of holiday weight gain in more detail. 11:08 - Expect to gain some weight and to lose it again quickly. 14:18 - Focus on things other than food. 15:32 - Create a calorie buffer before big meals 22:54 - Eat big meals and limit your snacking. 26:30 - Eat lots of protein throughout the holidays, especially on the feast days. 29:07 - Stay active 33:52 - Bring healthy-ish food to the party 35:26 - If you do gain some fat, follow a meal plan to lose it. Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

If you’re a regular here, you know the importance of diet. Macros for body composition, micros for general health, fiber and protein for satiety, yadda yadda yadda . . . But many people forget all about their gut and their diet’s role in gut health. Many people quietly (or loudly . . .) suffer from gastric distress without a clear path to fix their digestive issues. Many people don’t even draw the connection between their digestive system’s performance and their health. The two are tightly intertwined. Scientists have discovered that a healthy bacterial habitat in the gut (microbiome) is a crucial defense against many gastrointestinal diseases, such as inflammatory bowel syndrome (IBS) and disease (IBD), as well as mood disorder, brain dysfunction, stress, anxiety, depression, and even autism. So, it’s not a stretch to say that the state of your gut will determine much of the quality of your life. In this episode, I chat with Stan Efferding all about optimizing gut health through dietary tweaks to alleviate gastric distress and improve health and performance. In case you’re not familiar with Stan, he’s held two all-time raw world powerlifting records and is colloquially known as the “world's strongest bodybuilder.” He’s not all brawn, though. He’s also an entrepreneur who’s built multiple multi-million dollar businesses, including his own Vertical Diet program and meal prep service. In our conversation, Stan and I discuss . . . The benefits of a low-FODMAP diet Why fermented foods are easier to digest Collagen protein versus bone broth Meal prep services and the “vertical diet” The relation of bowel movements to digestive health His diet compliance hacks Why red meat rocks and shouldn’t be eliminated The importance of carbs for performance and why you shouldn’t go keto And more . . . So, if you want to learn how you can tweak your diet to improve your digestive health, give this podcast a listen! 6:13 - Can you go into detail about your meal prep company? 8:54 - What is a low-FODMAP diet? 26:39 - Whats the name of your meal prep company? 28:55 - Why do you use bone broth? 35:05 - Whats the connection between how you poop and how healthy you eat? 38:05 - Why is greek yogurt easily digestible? 55:59 - What are some of your diet compliance strategies or tips and tricks? 1:19:21 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on The Show: Stan Efferding's Website: stanefferding.com/ Stan Efferding's Instagram: www.instagram.com/stanefferding/ Stan Efferding's YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/stanefferding Legion Black Friday Sale: legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking a few of the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . 4:31 - “The 4 to 6 rep range doesn’t suit everyone.” 22:07 - “I disagree with the lack of mobility work in your routine.” 31:02 - “You can target individual quad muscle with different exercises.” Mentioned on The Show: Legion Black Friday Sale: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

We’re fast-approaching Thanksgiving and the winter holidays, which for many of us, means spending time with family. Well, I don’t trust 2020 the slightest bit, so I’m going to beat it to the punch and spend some time with my mom before it’s expected. (It’s never a bad idea to keep father time on his toes and rattle expectations in such an unpredictable year). Jokes aside, on this episode I’m indeed chatting with my own mother, Laura Matthews, and discussing how her fitness has changed since following my programs. Before Thinner Leaner Stronger, she was athletic and doing ballet, but she wasn’t entirely happy with her physique. After reading my book and following the program, she’s lost fat while gaining muscle and is now in the best shape of her life at the age of 61. In this interview, we talk about her story and the important lessons she’s learned along the way, including what she was doing exercise-wise before reading TLS, how understanding and changing her diet lead to big changes, how she doubled her strength while losing body fat in her first six months, the importance of regular deloads, and more. So if you’re looking for a jolt of inspiration and like motivational stories, I highly recommend you listen to this episode. 9:09 - What were your numbers before and after you read my book? 20:21 - What were some of the diet and exercise obstacles that you had to overcome? 25:21 - Did you notice any positive or negative effects from flipping the carbs and the fat? 28:05 - Did you have to make any adjustments during cutting? --- Mentioned on The Show: Thinner Leaner Stronger: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/thinner-leaner-stronger/ Legion Black Friday Sale: legionathletics.com/shop/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

You’ve probably heard a lot of strange ideas about how to get stronger and build muscle. You know, things like drinking a gallon of milk a day, doing ten sets of ten reps of every exercise, sipping flavored water BCAAs between meals, and so forth. And if you’ve put any of these ideas into practice, you’ve also learned they’re more or less all humbug. If you’re following a well-designed strength training program, eating enough protein and slightly more calories than you burn every day, and sleeping at least 8 hours per night, there’s little else you can do to further goose muscle growth or strength gains. That said, it’s you’re doing all of those things, it’s worth exploring what that “little else” might entail. For example, although blood-flow restriction sounds like something from the pages of Fifty Shades of Gray, it’s actually a scientifically validated method for boosting muscle growth and strength. Recently, researchers have uncovered another potential way to increase strength (and thus muscle growth): hyperventilation training. Hyperventilation? Isn’t that what happens when you have a panic attack? Well, yes, it can occur in response to extreme anxiety, but specifically, hyperventilation refers to a situation where rapid, deep breathing causes an imbalance in the ratio of carbon dioxide (CO2) to oxygen (O2) in your blood. When you “overbreathe” (as some people refer to hyperventilation), you exhale CO2 much faster than you inhale O2. This causes the level of CO2 in your blood to plummet, which can lead to a variety of unpleasant side effects like lightheadedness, dizziness, shortness of breath, and intense tingling in your fingers and face, with the effects becoming more intense the longer you hyperventilate . . . . . . which sounds like the last thing you’d want to experience while lifting heavy weights. According to a new study conducted by scientists at Juntendo University, though, hyperventilating briefly—enough to slightly decrease your blood levels of CO2, but not so much that you experience negative effects—may temporarily make you stronger. Keep listening to learn why and how hyperventilating can boost your strength. 5:34 - What is one of the primarily physiological factors that limits our performance in workouts? 14:14 - How do you hyperventilate? Mentioned on The Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ --- 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 three questions: “How do you build your vocabulary?” “What do I think of highly processed oils?” “What’s your take on eating one meal a day?” 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/reason-to-read/ https://legionathletics.com/fish-oil/ Timestamps: 4:00 - How do you build your vocabulary? 17:59 - What do you think about highly processed oils? 26:26 - What are your thoughts on one meal a day? Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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. People have also been saying they’d like me to do more shorter, multi-topic episodes, like my Q&As. And so I got an idea: how about a “best of” series of podcasts that contains a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from my most popular episodes? This way, people who are new to the show can quickly determine if it’s for them or not, and those who enjoy what I’m doing but don’t have the time or inclination to listen to all of my stuff can still benefit from the discussions and find new episodes to listen to. So, in this installment of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Layne Norton on Mini-Cuts and Mini-Bulks (Originally published April 5, 2019) The Definitive (and Practical) Guide to Muscle Hypertrophy (Originally published January 16, 2019) My Top 5 Takeaways from The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene (Originally published Jan 7, 2019) And we’ll be starting with number one, Layne Norton on Mini-Cuts and Mini-Bulks. 5:29 - Layne Norton on Mini-Cuts and Mini-Bulks 14:48 - The Definitive (and Practical) Guide to Muscle Hypertrophy 24:30 - My Top 5 Takeaways from The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene --- Mentioned on The Show:  Layne Norton on Mini-Cuts and Mini-Bulks: https://legionathletics.com/layne-norton-mini-cuts-mini-bulks/ The Definitive (and Practical) Guide to Muscle Hypertrophy: https://legionathletics.com/muscle-hypertrophy-podcast/ My Top 5 Takeaways from The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene: https://legionathletics.com/48-laws-of-power-podcast/ Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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 write a lot. Between my books and blog, I’ve written (er, typed) tens of millions of words on various topics ranging from building big guns (biceps) to literal gun rights, from calories and macros to history and religion, from habits and motivation to actually getting smarter, and many excursions everything in between. So it’s not surprising that many people who are interested in writing ask me how to get started, about the writing process, how to get better at it, and how to break into the content creation game. To help address this topic, I invited a veteran expert, Lou Schuler, onto the podcast. In case you’re not familiar with Lou, he’s the Editorial Director of the Personal Trainer Development Center (Jonathan Goodman’s online training coaching company) and an award-winning journalist who’s spent decades writing fitness articles for Men’s Fitness and Men’s Health, as well as his own books, including The New Rules of Lifting series and The Lean Muscle Diet (with Alan Aragon). He’s even delved into the world of fiction, so he’s more than just a health and fitness writing guru. In this podcast, we chat about all things writing, including . . . How writing is different from other content creation Why you probably shouldn't write unless you really enjoy it The important of knowing your audience The value of self-editing (and how to do it) Why writing is hard (and should be) Dealing with drafts and coming back to them with fresh eyes And more . . . So, if you want to learn some key lessons Lou has learned from decades of writing in the fitness space, give this episode a listen! 10:04 - How do you get into the writing business? 46:28 - What does your self editing process look like? 58:10 - Do you tend to sit on something you’ve written and come back to it at a later time? Mentioned on The Show: Lou Schuler's books, blogs, and articles: www.louschuler.com/ Shop Legion Supplements Here: legionathletics.com/shop/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

If you want to lose weight, one of the most helpful things you can do is start tracking your calorie intake. This improves your awareness of how much you’re eating, where you can cut back, and how to budget your calories so as to eat your favorite foods while still losing weight. Many people take this a step further and start tracking their calorie expenditure (“burn”) using an activity tracker like a FitBit, Apple Watch, or Jawbone. If you’ve used one of these trackers, though, you’ve probably noticed that on some days you burn a lot more calories than others. A hike, bike ride, or jog can jack up your calorie expenditure by several hundred calories. In this case, the person set a daily calorie budget of 2,000 calories, and they’d already eaten and tracked all of those calories. But they also went on a bike ride that burned 327 calories, which opens the question . . . should you “eat back” those ~300 calories? Even if you don’t use an activity tracker, you’ve probably wondered the same thing: if you burn more calories on a particular day, should you eat more to compensate? The short answer is that no, you probably shouldn’t eat back the calories burned during exercise. If you want to know why this is the case and learn a better way to manage your calorie intake that doesn’t depend on activity trackers or constantly balancing your daily calorie budget in this way, keep listening. Timestamps: 2:51 - The problem with eating back calories 20:06 - Does that really work if your actual calorie expenditure changes a lot day to day? --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

“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 whether the book is likely to be up your alley or not. Alright, let’s get to the takeaways. --- 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/

What’s the deal with athletic footwear? On the one hand, you have fancy, expensive running and sports shoes coming out every couple of months claiming some new technological “breakthrough” for more comfort, safety, and even performance. And then you have the crowd that dismisses those products as pure marketing puffery and that swears by minimalist shoes for all athletics or even none at all. What are we supposed to make of this? I’m no expert when it comes to running or the best footwear for healthy feet, so I invited someone onto the podcast who is. Specifically, my guest is Steven Sashen, who’s a Masters All-American sprinter—meaning he’s one of the fastest men over the age of 50 in the US—as well as the founder of Xero Shoes, a brand dedicated to designing thin and flexible shoes for walking, running, and all other athletic activities. In this episode, we chat about . . . The truth behind the “Big Shoe” marketing machine Why more padded shoes can be worse for your joints How to pick a good training shoe What people with flat feet should do The benefits of strengthening your feet with "natural movement" How to transition to minimalist shoes And more . . . So, if you want to learn about how to build stronger, healthier feet, listen to this episode! 4:31 - Is it better to run barefoot or with shoes? 11:26 - Are padded shoes worse for you than running barefoot? 13:12 - What is the proper method of running? 17:35 - Why is it hard to run properly with a fancy pair of running shoes? 29:33 - What about people with flat feet? 30:35 - What are some other benefits of strengthening your feet? 39:32 - Are there any tips for transitioning from fancier shoes to a more minimalist approach? Mentioned on The Show: Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ https://xeroshoes.com/ https://www.instagram.com/xeroshoes/ Steven's Podcast - The MOVEMENT Movement: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-movement-movement/id1456342261 Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

Mosy around any gym, and you’ll see some dudes lifting heavyweights they can't even lift. And a few questions come to mind. Is he really getting anything out of those reps? Is he just doing that to stroke his ego? Should I train like that? Some say yes, that partial reps, or repetitions where you only complete part of the movement, lead to superior gains in strength and size. Others say that unless you take every single rep in your training through the full range of motion, you’re cheating. This pretty much sums up their view: "Your reps are partial and you should feel bad." The truth? They’re both wrong, and you’re going to learn why in this podcast. By the end of this episode, you’ll know the pros and cons of a partial and full range of motion reps, how each affects muscle growth, and when you should and shouldn’t use both in your training. 3:12 - What is a partial rep? 6:02 - Why do people do partial reps? 7:20 - Do partial reps make sense? 18:01 - How do you program in partial reps? 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 three questions: “I burn a lot of calories at work and have a hard time gaining weight and training hard because of low energy levels. What should I do?” “I wake up tired even when I sleep 7 or 8 hours. What can I do?” “Have you had any long term training beliefs changed by research in the last year or two?” 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. 4:22 - “I burn a lot of calories at work and have a hard time gaining weight and training hard because of low energy levels. What should I do?” 28:28 - “I wake up tired even when I sleep 7 or 8 hours. What can I do?” 43:13 - “Have you had any long term training beliefs changed by research in the last year or two?” --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ 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. People have also been saying they’d like me to do more shorter, multi-topic episodes, like my Q&As. And so I got an idea: how about a “best of” series of podcasts that contains a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from my most popular episodes? This way, people who are new to the show can quickly determine if it’s for them or not, and those who enjoy what I’m doing but don’t have the time or inclination to listen to all of my stuff can still benefit from the discussions and find new episodes to listen to. So, in this episode of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: 1. Bret Contreras on Understanding Nutrition & Exercise Science  (Originally published March 3, 2017) 2. How to Lose Fat Faster With Fasted Cardio (and Keep Your Muscle)   (Originally published October 31, 2018) 3. Motivation Monday: How to Use “Environment Design” to Accomplish Your Goals Easier and Faster  (Originally published Sept 17, 2018) And we’ll be starting with number one, Bret Contreras on Understanding Nutrition & Exercise Science. 5:45 - Bret Contreras on Understanding Nutrition & Exercise Science 16:01 - How to Lose Fat Faster With Fasted Cardio (and Keep Your Muscle) 25:35 - Motivation Monday: How to Use “Environment Design” to Accomplish Your Goals Easier and Faster --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

Politics and religion—the two taboo topics you’re never supposed to bring up on a first date. Podcasting is similar. Unless your show is explicitly on either of these subjects, as soon as you even comment on them, the “stay in your lane” comments and emails start flying. Well, I’ve never been one for orthodoxy, so here we are, with yet another deviation from the usual fitness content—a discussion with my friend and fellow podcaster and author Pat Flynn on religion, and specifically why us moderns should care about it more, not less. In case you’re not familiar with Pat, he’s a fitness expert known for his kettlebell prowess, a podcaster, and author with several books to his name, including his most recent How to Think About God, which is an illuminating, philosophical look at faith. Pat’s also a philosopher by training who has made the spiritual trek from atheism to catholicism, so he has not only read widely and thought deeply about this stuff, he also understands what it’s like to be all over the spectrum on the many issues that religion touches. In this episode, Pat and I discuss . . . Whether having religious beliefs is inherently good The personal and societal benefits of religion and why you should care Child molestation and cover-ups in the Catholic church Why God permits evil to exist and whether we have an obligation to fight it The principle of illumination and Pascal's wager And more . . . So, whether you’re religious or not, if you’re committed to flourishing to the best of your ability, and certainly if you’ve enjoyed other episodes I’ve done with Pat Flynn, I think you’ll like this one. Press play and let me know your thoughts! 12:37 - Do you think religion in general is good? Do you think having some kind of religion is better than having none? 17:39 - Do you think religion has benefits on a societal and personal level? 38:26 - What if islam becomes the number one religion in the world? What does that mean? 40:40 - What does indefectibility mean? 52:25 - What are your thoughts on what’s happening with child molestation inside the catholic religion? 1:03:38 - Do you think we have an imperative to fight evil? 1:11:29 - Have you ever thought that maybe one day the religion you believe in might be wrong? Would you give up that religion if you knew it was wrong? 1:17:26 - How can you determine for yourself what religion is true to you without becoming a professional philosopher? 1:21:17 - What if you’re wrong? 1:32:57 - Where are some good resources for people who want to know more about catholicism? --- Mentioned on the show Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ Articles and Docs Pat Mentioned: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AAPQ9UAoKjN6kItIozrPggVqXkg156mfDuJhZd3Hdqk/edit https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3671693/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

As a woman, you face some challenges that guys don’t. One of the most obvious is the menstrual cycle. Not only can this affect your mood and daily routine, but it can also throw your diet and training plans for a loop. If you’ve read anything about the science behind good ol’ Aunt Flo, then you probably know that it can affect your metabolism, how easily your body stores fat, and your appetite. Your hunger and cravings intensify and your energy and enthusiasm for training wane during your period, all of which works to sabotage your fitness routine. What should you do when this happens? Should you stop training and start eating whatever you want, and then try to make up the damage later? Should you force yourself to stick to your normal diet and training plan, gutting it out until you feel good again? Or, should you modify your diet and training plan to minimize the meddling of your menses? And if so, how? You’re going to learn the answers to all of these questions in this podcast. You’ll learn . . . What science has to say about how the menstrual cycle affects your mood, hunger, energy levels, and enthusiasm for training. How to modify your training plan during your period to get the most out of your workouts. How to stay on track with your diet despite period-induced cravings and hunger pangs. And more. Let’s get started. Timestamps: 4:00 - What goes on during the menstrual cycle? 9:05 - How does the menstrual cycle affect athletic performance? 12:52 - How can I modify my workouts to my menstrual cycle? Mentioned on the show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking a few of the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . 4:50 - “You recommend too much protein and meat in general to be healthy. Blue zones don’t eat much meat or protein.” 14:14 - “Collagen supplementation is more beneficial than you acknowledge.” 19:56 - “All gun laws are an infringement.” Mentioned on The Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

“Hey Mike, any advice on becoming an online coach?” “How can I start my own fitness business?” As an entrepreneur and creator of several successful businesses in the fitness space, I’m often asked how people can break into the industry themselves. I can understand the enthusiasm. Lots of people who go through a life-changing fitness journey end up wanting to help others make similar changes in their own lives. That was certainly the case for me. While I’ve built my own thriving online coaching program, I came at it from a different angle--I already had a niche carved out for myself in the fitness world that I could use as a platform to build from. Not everyone has the books, blog, or podcast to launch a new coaching business, so to help people just starting out, I thought I’d talk to an expert. In this episode, I chat with Jonathan Goodman, who created the first-ever (and only!) certification for online fitness trainers, the Online Trainer Academy. This is a program specifically for online coaches, teaching them how to earn more money and better serve their clients. Jonathan has also written several books on the topic, and is a host on the Online Trainer Show, a podcast chock-full of insights and advice for fitness professionals looking to build an online career. In our conversation, Jonathan breaks down . . . How to identify points of leverage Why books and courses are more valuable than masterminds and mentors How to find good people to learn from The power of marketing and branding How to build and use momentum Why you don’t need as many clients as you think So, if you want to learn how to start your own online coaching business or how to take your current business to the next level, definitely give this podcast a listen! 30:28 - What is the difference between maximizers and satisficers? 36:00 - Why is marketing so important? 42:16 - How do you build momentum once you start a business? 1:09:19 - Would you recommend training for free at the beginning to get a better following? 1:22:49 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on The Show:  Online Trainer Certification: https://www.theptdc.com/online-trainer-academy-certification The Online Trainer Show: https://www.theptdc.com/online-trainer-show-podcast Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

“It seems so easy for her to eat healthy all the time, I wish I could stick to that kind of diet.” “I wish I had the work ethic to show up to the gym every day like that guy.” “Why is it so easy for other people to stay lean even through the holidays?” Chances are good you’ve had one of these thoughts or know someone who has. And once you understand the relatively simple levers you need to pull to get in shape—controlling your calorie intake, lifting weights, eating enough protein, and so forth—it’s making yourself pull these levers every day that leads to long-term progress. So why is it so hard to actually do these things? Why do we get up early to go to the gym for a few weeks before succumbing to the temptation to hit the snooze button? Why do we eat more home-cooked meals of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats for a month or two, only to fall back into the habit of getting takeout multiple times per week? Well, the unfortunate answer is this is simply our genetic hardwiring in action. We seek instant gratification, the path of least resistance, and quick fixes, because these are generally the easiest ways to get what we want in the moment, even if they’re counter to our long-term goals. This is why it’s much easier to grab that donut on the way back to your desk, bite into it and receive immediate feelings of delicious happiness than it is to eat the carrots and celery you packed as a snack. The daily discipline required to exercise more and eat better may not pay obvious dividends until months down the road. So, if our lazy human tendencies are constantly trying to pull us off the straight and narrow path, how do we work around them? When you ask people who consistently live a healthy lifestyle how they stay motivated to eat healthy and workout, it’s likely they’ll respond with something along the lines of, “I don’t really have to think about it anymore, I just do it! It’s part of my life.” Good for them, you might be thinking, but how can you rewire your habits so you can stick to healthy behaviors? That’s what you’re going to learn in this podcast. The truth is you don’t have to rely on willpower, discipline, and self-denial to force yourself to eat healthy or work out regularly. Instead, the major key to changing your lifestyle is to first change your habits, and this is much simpler than you may realize. Let’s get started. 6:03 - What is a habit? 16:40 - How do you get good at creating habits? --- Mentioned on The Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

Deciding which muscle groups to train together can be confusing. Most people say chest and triceps should be trained together, since they’re both involved in bench and overhead pressing. Others say you should train biceps with chest because your arms will still be fresh after benching, so you might as well train them together. Arnold was known for training his chest and back together, and if that was good enough for The Oak, then it should probably work for you, no? Other people still say that you shouldn’t program your workouts around individual muscle groups at all, but should simply focus on doing a lot of heavy squatting, deadlifting, and bench pressing or full-body training. So, how are you supposed to put all of this into an effective training plan that you enjoy? Well, I have good news for you: There is no “best” way to combine muscle groups together in your training. So long as you understand a few basic principles, there are many ways to combine them into workouts that not only work, but that you enjoy and can stick to. Body-part “bro” splits, push pull legs, and upper/lower routines can all work equally well, and which one you use really depends on how many times per week you want to train, how many years you’ve been training, and what muscle groups you want to work on most. And we’re going to break it all down in this podcast. By the end, you’re going to know which muscle groups to train together and why, the best exercises for each, and how to create a workout routine that’s guaranteed to deliver results. Let’s begin. 7:24 - What is a major muscle group? 8:06 - Chest training 10:39 - Back training 18:20 - Arms training 30:16 - Shoulders training 35:40 - Legs training 50:47 - Core training --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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 three questions: Is it a good idea to get a pump before hitting the weights? Are pronated grips or neutral grips better for engaging lats? How much does a mask help fight the transmission of viruses? 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. 4:09 - Is it a good idea to get a pump before hitting the weights? 17:41 - Are pronated grips or neutral grips better for engaging lats? 22:07 - How much does a mask help fight the transmission of viruses? --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

Now that Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger 2.0 is successfully launched, it’s time to get back to your normal podcast programming . . . Well, not quite. This episode is not about health and fitness. It’s another conversation with Sal Di Stefano (of Mind Pump Media fame) and this time we’re discussing the topic of voting. We cover all sorts of tangential subjects to voting like taxes and free markets, but then we get to the crux: a discussion about democracy and what makes it work. Is America a pure democracy? How would mob rule actually play out? Is it always responsible to vote? We chat about these important questions, as well as many other topics, including . . . Why it’s ok to not vote (and why many people shouldn’t vote) What determines whether you should vote or not Why democracy is difficult to administer Why voting should probably be more restricted than it currently is What’s more powerful than voting And a lot more . . . Sound interesting? Listen in to our conversation and let me know what you think! 7:45 - Why do we talk about touchy subjects that don’t involve exercise on our podcast? 46:10 -  Why is it important to vote and why is it also important not to vote? 1:21:41 - How do I educate myself on voting? 1:47:50 - What about a basic universal work program? 1:50:57 - What are your thoughts on child labor laws? --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

This episode is one of the chapters of the new second edition of my bestselling book for experienced weightlifters, Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger, which is live now at www.bblsbook.com. In this book, you’ll learn science-based and time-proven formulas for eating and training that’ll help you shatter muscle and strength plateaus, set new personal records, and build your best body ever. And better yet, you’ll do it without following restrictive or exotic diets, putting in long hours at the gym, or doing crushing workouts that leave you aching from tip to tail. Also, to celebrate this momentous occasion, I’m giving away over $6,000 of glorious goodies, including . . . 30-minute Zoom call with yours unruly Vitamix blender WHOOP fitness tracker $200 Lululemon gift card One month of Legion VIP coaching Inzer weightlifting belt And much more . . . All you have to do for a chance to win is… Head over to bblsbook.com, and buy a copy of BBLS 2.0 (any format) Forward the receipt email to launch@legionsupplements.com . . . and voila, you’re entered in the giveaway. You have to act fast, though, because the launch bonanza ends and the winners will be chosen on October 16th. You can also increase your chances of winning by buying extra copies of the book (any formats). Specifically . . . If you buy 3 copies, you’ll get 5 giveaway entries (+400% chance to win). If you buy 5 copies, you’ll get 8 giveaway entries (+700% chance to win). If you buy 10 copies, you’ll get 15 giveaway entries (+1400% chance to win) plus an autographed copy of the book. So, for instance, if you buy the paperback, ebook, and audiobook, you’ll get 5 entries to win, and if you buy 3 paperbacks as well as the ebook and audiobook, you’ll get 8 entries, and so forth. And what are you going to do with extra books, you’re wondering? You could give them to your workout buddies, donate them to your local library, hurl them at unpleasant children, I don’t know—there are so many options when you think about it. Anyway, to learn more about the giveaway and get your copy of Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger 2.0, head over to www.bblsbook.com. Alright, let’s get to the episode. --- Timestamps: 5:37 - Physical 5:08 - Environment 7:10 - Task 7:38 - Timing 10:42 - Learning 11:25 - Emotion 12:47 - Perspective 15:31 - Can you “think” yourself stronger? --- Mentioned on The Show: Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger 2.0: www.bblsbook.com --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

This episode is one of the chapters of the new second edition of my bestselling book for experienced weightlifters, Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger, which is live now at www.bblsbook.com. In this book, you’ll learn science-based and time-proven formulas for eating and training that’ll help you shatter muscle and strength plateaus, set new personal records, and build your best body ever. And better yet, you’ll do it without following restrictive or exotic diets, putting in long hours at the gym, or doing crushing workouts that leave you aching from tip to tail. Also, to celebrate this momentous occasion, I’m giving away over $6,000 of glorious goodies, including . . . 30-minute Zoom call with yours unruly Vitamix blender WHOOP fitness tracker $200 Lululemon gift card One month of Legion VIP coaching Inzer weightlifting belt And much more . . . All you have to do for a chance to win is… Head over to bblsbook.com, and buy a copy of BBLS 2.0 (any format) Forward the receipt email to launch@legionsupplements.com . . . and voila, you’re entered in the giveaway. You have to act fast, though, because the launch bonanza ends and the winners will be chosen on October 16th. You can also increase your chances of winning by buying extra copies of the book (any formats). Specifically . . . If you buy 3 copies, you’ll get 5 giveaway entries (+400% chance to win). If you buy 5 copies, you’ll get 8 giveaway entries (+700% chance to win). If you buy 10 copies, you’ll get 15 giveaway entries (+1400% chance to win) plus an autographed copy of the book. So, for instance, if you buy the paperback, ebook, and audiobook, you’ll get 5 entries to win, and if you buy 3 paperbacks as well as the ebook and audiobook, you’ll get 8 entries, and so forth. And what are you going to do with extra books, you’re wondering? You could give them to your workout buddies, donate them to your local library, hurl them at unpleasant children, I don’t know—there are so many options when you think about it. Anyway, to learn more about the giveaway and get your copy of Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger 2.0, head over to www.bblsbook.com. Alright, let’s get to the episode. Timestamps: 5:42 - The BBLS periodization plan 6:58 - The BBLS training routine 11:38 - The BBLS workouts 16:25 - The BBLS progression methods 41:21 - How to find your starting weights --- Mentioned on The Show: Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger 2.0: www.bblsbook.com --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

In this book, you’ll learn science-based and time-proven formulas for eating and training that’ll help you shatter muscle and strength plateaus, set new personal records, and build your best body ever. And better yet, you’ll do it without following restrictive or exotic diets, putting in long hours at the gym, or doing crushing workouts that leave you aching from tip to tail. Also, to celebrate this momentous occasion, I’m giving away over $6,000 of glorious goodies, including . . . 30-minute Zoom call with yours unruly Vitamix blender WHOOP fitness tracker $200 Lululemon gift card One month of Legion VIP coaching Inzer weightlifting belt And much more . . . All you have to do for a chance to win is… Head over to bblsbook.com, and buy a copy of BBLS 2.0 (any format) Forward the receipt email to launch@legionsupplements.com . . . and voila, you’re entered in the giveaway. You have to act fast, though, because the launch bonanza ends and the winners will be chosen on October 16th. You can also increase your chances of winning by buying extra copies of the book (any formats). Specifically . . . If you buy 3 copies, you’ll get 5 giveaway entries (+400% chance to win). If you buy 5 copies, you’ll get 8 giveaway entries (+700% chance to win). If you buy 10 copies, you’ll get 15 giveaway entries (+1400% chance to win) plus an autographed copy of the book. So, for instance, if you buy the paperback, ebook, and audiobook, you’ll get 5 entries to win, and if you buy 3 paperbacks as well as the ebook and audiobook, you’ll get 8 entries, and so forth. And what are you going to do with extra books, you’re wondering? You could give them to your workout buddies, donate them to your local library, hurl them at unpleasant children, I don’t know—there are so many options when you think about it. Anyway, to learn more about the giveaway and get your copy of Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger 2.0, head over to www.bblsbook.com. Alright, let’s get to the episode. --- Timestamps: 3:16 - I’m in my 30s, 40s, or 50s, can I still do this program?  12:37 - Why aren’t there any ab exercises in the program?  17:57 - Can I do this program with just dumbbells?  --- Mentioned on The Show: Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger 2.0: www.bblsbook.com --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

This episode is one of the chapters of the new second edition of my bestselling book for experienced weightlifters, Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger, which is live now at www.bblsbook.com. In this book, you’ll learn science-based and time-proven formulas for eating and training that’ll help you shatter muscle and strength plateaus, set new personal records, and build your best body ever. And better yet, you’ll do it without following restrictive or exotic diets, putting in long hours at the gym, or doing crushing workouts that leave you aching from tip to tail. Also, to celebrate this momentous occasion, I’m giving away over $6,000 of glorious goodies, including . . . 30-minute Zoom call with yours unruly Vitamix blender WHOOP fitness tracker $200 Lululemon gift card One month of Legion VIP coaching Inzer weightlifting belt And much more . . . All you have to do for a chance to win is… Head over to bblsbook.com, and buy a copy of BBLS 2.0 (any format) Forward the receipt email to launch@legionsupplements.com . . . and voila, you’re entered in the giveaway. You have to act fast, though, because the launch bonanza ends and the winners will be chosen on October 16th. You can also increase your chances of winning by buying extra copies of the book (any formats). Specifically . . . If you buy 3 copies, you’ll get 5 giveaway entries (+400% chance to win). If you buy 5 copies, you’ll get 8 giveaway entries (+700% chance to win). If you buy 10 copies, you’ll get 15 giveaway entries (+1400% chance to win) plus an autographed copy of the book. So, for instance, if you buy the paperback, ebook, and audiobook, you’ll get 5 entries to win, and if you buy 3 paperbacks as well as the ebook and audiobook, you’ll get 8 entries, and so forth. And what are you going to do with extra books, you’re wondering? You could give them to your workout buddies, donate them to your local library, hurl them at unpleasant children, I don’t know—there are so many options when you think about it. Anyway, to learn more about the giveaway and get your copy of Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger 2.0, head over to www.bblsbook.com. Alright, let’s get to the episode. --- Timestamps: 10:12 - Dietary compliance and it’s correlation on long term weight loss success 13:47 - Meal planning 20:52 - Mini cuts 28:07 - Intermittent fasting 42:23 - Calorie cycling --- Mentioned on The Show: Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger 2.0: www.bblsbook.com --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

This episode is one of the chapters of the new second edition of my bestselling book for experienced weightlifters, Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger, which is live now at www.bblsbook.com. In this book, you’ll learn science-based and time-proven formulas for eating and training that’ll help you shatter muscle and strength plateaus, set new personal records, and build your best body ever. And better yet, you’ll do it without following restrictive or exotic diets, putting in long hours at the gym, or doing crushing workouts that leave you aching from tip to tail. Also, to celebrate this momentous occasion, I’m giving away over $6,000 of glorious goodies, including . . . 30-minute Zoom call with yours unruly Vitamix blender WHOOP fitness tracker $200 Lululemon gift card One month of Legion VIP coaching Inzer weightlifting belt And much more . . . All you have to do for a chance to win is… Head over to bblsbook.com, and buy a copy of BBLS 2.0 (any format) Forward the receipt email to launch@legionsupplements.com . . . and voila, you’re entered in the giveaway. You have to act fast, though, because the launch bonanza ends and the winners will be chosen on October 16th. You can also increase your chances of winning by buying extra copies of the book (any formats). Specifically . . . If you buy 3 copies, you’ll get 5 giveaway entries (+400% chance to win). If you buy 5 copies, you’ll get 8 giveaway entries (+700% chance to win). If you buy 10 copies, you’ll get 15 giveaway entries (+1400% chance to win) plus an autographed copy of the book. So, for instance, if you buy the paperback, ebook, and audiobook, you’ll get 5 entries to win, and if you buy 3 paperbacks as well as the ebook and audiobook, you’ll get 8 entries, and so forth. And what are you going to do with extra books, you’re wondering? You could give them to your workout buddies, donate them to your local library, hurl them at unpleasant children, I don’t know—there are so many options when you think about it. Anyway, to learn more about the giveaway and get your copy of Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger 2.0, head over to www.bblsbook.com. Alright, let’s get to the episode. Timestamps: 4:02 - The 3 movements: push, pull, squat 4:47 - Relative strength 6:12 - How much do increase or decreases in body weight impact strength? 8:13 - How strong can you get naturally? 10:03 - Bone length 15:37 - Muscle structure 16:52 - Muscle size 20:14 - What science says about relative strength --- Mentioned on The Show: Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger 2.0: www.bblsbook.com --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

In this book, you’ll learn science-based and time-proven formulas for eating and training that’ll help you shatter muscle and strength plateaus, set new personal records, and build your best body ever. And better yet, you’ll do it without following restrictive or exotic diets, putting in long hours at the gym, or doing crushing workouts that leave you aching from tip to tail. Also, to celebrate this momentous occasion, I’m giving away over $6,000 of glorious goodies, including . . . 30-minute Zoom call with yours unruly Vitamix blender WHOOP fitness tracker $200 Lululemon gift card One month of Legion VIP coaching Inzer weightlifting belt And much more . . . All you have to do for a chance to win is… Head over to bblsbook.com, and buy a copy of BBLS 2.0 (any format) Forward the receipt email to launch@legionsupplements.com . . . and voila, you’re entered in the giveaway. You have to act fast, though, because the launch bonanza ends and the winners will be chosen on October 16th. You can also increase your chances of winning by buying extra copies of the book (any formats). Specifically . . . If you buy 3 copies, you’ll get 5 giveaway entries (+400% chance to win). If you buy 5 copies, you’ll get 8 giveaway entries (+700% chance to win). If you buy 10 copies, you’ll get 15 giveaway entries (+1400% chance to win) plus an autographed copy of the book. So, for instance, if you buy the paperback, ebook, and audiobook, you’ll get 5 entries to win, and if you buy 3 paperbacks as well as the ebook and audiobook, you’ll get 8 entries, and so forth. And what are you going to do with extra books, you’re wondering? You could give them to your workout buddies, donate them to your local library, hurl them at unpleasant children, I don’t know—there are so many options when you think about it. Anyway, to learn more about the giveaway and get your copy of Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger 2.0, head over to www.bblsbook.com. Alright, let’s get to the episode. --- Timestamps: 3:31 - How does BBLS 2.0 compare to 1.0? What’s new? How new is new? 6:19 - Is BBLS 2.0 only for men or can women benefit from this book as well? 9:44 - Which book is right for me, BLS or BBLS 2.0? When should I switch from BLS to BBLS 2.0? --- Mentioned on The Show: Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger 2.0: www.bblsbook.com --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

This episode is one of the chapters of the new second edition of my bestselling book for experienced weightlifters, Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger, which is live now at www.bblsbook.com. In this book, you’ll learn science-based and time-proven formulas for eating and training that’ll help you shatter muscle and strength plateaus, set new personal records, and build your best body ever. And better yet, you’ll do it without following restrictive or exotic diets, putting in long hours at the gym, or doing crushing workouts that leave you aching from tip to tail. Also, to celebrate this momentous occasion, I’m giving away over $6,000 of glorious goodies, including . . . 30-minute Zoom call with yours unruly Vitamix blender WHOOP fitness tracker $200 Lululemon gift card One month of Legion VIP coaching Inzer weightlifting belt And much more . . . All you have to do for a chance to win is… Head over to bblsbook.com, and buy a copy of BBLS 2.0 (any format) Forward the receipt email to launch@legionsupplements.com . . . and voila, you’re entered in the giveaway. You have to act fast, though, because the launch bonanza ends and the winners will be chosen on October 16th. You can also increase your chances of winning by buying extra copies of the book (any formats). Specifically . . . If you buy 3 copies, you’ll get 5 giveaway entries (+400% chance to win). If you buy 5 copies, you’ll get 8 giveaway entries (+700% chance to win). If you buy 10 copies, you’ll get 15 giveaway entries (+1400% chance to win) plus an autographed copy of the book. So, for instance, if you buy the paperback, ebook, and audiobook, you’ll get 5 entries to win, and if you buy 3 paperbacks as well as the ebook and audiobook, you’ll get 8 entries, and so forth. And what are you going to do with extra books, you’re wondering? You could give them to your workout buddies, donate them to your local library, hurl them at unpleasant children, I don’t know—there are so many options when you think about it. Anyway, to learn more about the giveaway and get your copy of Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger 2.0, head over to www.bblsbook.com. Alright, let’s get to the episode. Timestamps: 6:26 - Fish 10:57 - Garlic 13:55 - Blueberries 15:17 - Cranberries 17:18 - Oats 19:48 - Cruciferous vegetables 23:11 - Black seeds --- Mentioned on The Show: Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger 2.0: www.bblsbook.com --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

This episode is one of the chapters of the new second edition of my bestselling book for experienced weightlifters, Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger, which is live now at www.bblsbook.com. In this book, you’ll learn science-based and time-proven formulas for eating and training that’ll help you shatter muscle and strength plateaus, set new personal records, and build your best body ever. And better yet, you’ll do it without following restrictive or exotic diets, putting in long hours at the gym, or doing crushing workouts that leave you aching from tip to tail. Also, to celebrate this momentous occasion, I’m giving away over $6,000 of glorious goodies, including . . . 30-minute Zoom call with yours unruly Vitamix blender WHOOP fitness tracker $200 Lululemon gift card One month of Legion VIP coaching Inzer weightlifting belt And much more . . . All you have to do for a chance to win is… Head over to bblsbook.com, and buy a copy of BBLS 2.0 (any format) Forward the receipt email to launch@legionsupplements.com . . . and voila, you’re entered in the giveaway. You have to act fast, though, because the launch bonanza ends and the winners will be chosen on October 16th. You can also increase your chances of winning by buying extra copies of the book (any formats). Specifically . . . If you buy 3 copies, you’ll get 5 giveaway entries (+400% chance to win). If you buy 5 copies, you’ll get 8 giveaway entries (+700% chance to win). If you buy 10 copies, you’ll get 15 giveaway entries (+1400% chance to win) plus an autographed copy of the book. So, for instance, if you buy the paperback, ebook, and audiobook, you’ll get 5 entries to win, and if you buy 3 paperbacks as well as the ebook and audiobook, you’ll get 8 entries, and so forth. And what are you going to do with extra books, you’re wondering? You could give them to your workout buddies, donate them to your local library, hurl them at unpleasant children, I don’t know—there are so many options when you think about it. Anyway, to learn more about the giveaway and get your copy of Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger 2.0, head over to www.bblsbook.com. Alright, let’s get to the episode. Timestamps: 6:37 - What is a training plateau? 8:07 - What causes plateaus? 15:51 - Poor nutrition and how it contributes to plateaus 18:42 - How much carbohydrate should I be eating to maximize muscle growth? 20:27 - Poor recovery and how it contributes to plateaus 26:08 - How do you break through a plateau? 44:51 - Is your training properly periodized? 48:38 - Lack of proper sleep and how it contributes to plateaus 52:08 - Are you eating enough? 55:24 - Are you deloading enough? 58:52 - Are you using good form? 1:02:00 - Are you doing too much cardio? --- Mentioned on The Show: Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger 2.0: www.bblsbook.com --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

In this book, you’ll learn science-based and time-proven formulas for eating and training that’ll help you shatter muscle and strength plateaus, set new personal records, and build your best body ever. And better yet, you’ll do it without following restrictive or exotic diets, putting in long hours at the gym, or doing crushing workouts that leave you aching from tip to tail. Also, to celebrate this momentous occasion, I’m giving away over $6,000 of glorious goodies, including . . . 30-minute Zoom call with yours unruly Vitamix blender WHOOP fitness tracker $200 Lululemon gift card One month of Legion VIP coaching Inzer weightlifting belt And much more . . . All you have to do for a chance to win is… Head over to bblsbook.com, and buy a copy of BBLS 2.0 (any format) Forward the receipt email to launch@legionsupplements.com . . . and voila, you’re entered in the giveaway. You have to act fast, though, because the launch bonanza ends and the winners will be chosen on October 16th. You can also increase your chances of winning by buying extra copies of the book (any formats). Specifically . . . If you buy 3 copies, you’ll get 5 giveaway entries (+400% chance to win). If you buy 5 copies, you’ll get 8 giveaway entries (+700% chance to win). If you buy 10 copies, you’ll get 15 giveaway entries (+1400% chance to win) plus an autographed copy of the book. So, for instance, if you buy the paperback, ebook, and audiobook, you’ll get 5 entries to win, and if you buy 3 paperbacks as well as the ebook and audiobook, you’ll get 8 entries, and so forth. And what are you going to do with extra books, you’re wondering? You could give them to your workout buddies, donate them to your local library, hurl them at unpleasant children, I don’t know—there are so many options when you think about it. Anyway, to learn more about the giveaway and get your copy of Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger 2.0, head over to www.bblsbook.com. Alright, let’s get to the episode.

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. People have also been saying they’d like me to do more shorter, multi-topic episodes, like my Q&As. And so I got an idea: how about a “best of” series of podcasts that contains a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from my most popular episodes? This way, people who are new to the show can quickly determine if it’s for them or not, and those who enjoy what I’m doing but don’t have the time or inclination to listen to all of my stuff can still benefit from the discussions and find new episodes to listen to. So, in this episode of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Greg Nuckols on the Best Way to Get Jacked (Originally published May 23, 2017) Everything You Need to Know About the Ketogenic Diet        (Originally published Jul 27, 2017) Motivation Monday: 3 Powerful Ways Working Out Makes You Better at Life (Originally published June 4, 2018) And we’ll be starting with number one, Greg Nuckols on the Best Way to Get Jacked. 5:32 - Greg Nuckols on the Best Way to Get Jacked 15:55 - Everything You Need to Know About the Ketogenic Diet 29:07 - Motivation Monday: 3 Powerful Ways Working Out Makes You Better at Life --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

In this episode, I interview Brannen, who used Bigger Leaner Stronger to cut from 186 pounds down to 171 all while building his inner strength to beat depression, anxiety, and even an alcohol habit. Before finding Bigger Leaner Stronger, Brannen was experiencing marital problems. A move cross-country as part of his enlistment in the Air Force and a toxic relationship left him emotionally exhausted and without a support network of family or friends. He started relying on alcohol to help him cope, which left him out of shape and depressed. Eventually he got divorced, but this took a lot of mental bandwidth and ultimately, he felt like he didn’t have much going for him. The good news is Brannen found Bigger Leaner Stronger, which gave him a step-by-step workout routine to follow, and he started eating healthier. He also started reading books and filled his time with leading his men while deployed. And when coronavirus hit and he couldn’t come home, he stayed the course and kept “doing the work.” Over time, his mental health improved and he got a lot stronger while losing 15 pounds and going from a 35-inch waist down to a 31-inch waist with 10% body fat. In this interview, Brannen and I talk about his story and the important lessons he’s learned along the way, including how to get back into the gym after a break, how important it is to put order in your life and live according to your values, how to deal with negative thoughts and grief, why showing up and being consistent is more important than perfection, how to avoid a victim mindset, and a whole lot more. So if you’re looking for a jolt of inspiration and like motivational stories, I highly recommend you listen to this episode. 5:50 - How has your performance been during COVID? Has your strength declined or stayed the same? 17:27 - What was your body like before and after my program? 22:25 - What type of problems were you facing when you found my work? 42:21 - So now you are in the gym and building some momentum, what happens next? 49:12 - How did you stay away from the victim mindset? 1:00:15 - Where do you plan on going from here in your fitness journey? --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

Building muscle when you’re new to weightlifting is mostly a game of patience and persistence. As long as you show up, finish your workouts, and follow a sensible diet plan, you’ll gain muscle and strength like clockwork. After your “newbie gains” dry up, though, progress comes in fits and starts. And it’s at this stage that many people cast their gaze about for more “advanced” training techniques, hacks, and shortcuts. Things like supersets, rest-pause sets, German Volume Training, and so forth. Another technique you may have heard of is known as doing cluster sets, which boils down to taking short breaks during your sets, but resting less between each set. Some people say this method triggers muscle growth above and beyond what you could achieve with traditional weightlifting, while others say it’s a pointless gimmick. Who’s right? Can cluster sets help you gain muscle and strength? And if so, are they better than more traditional training styles? You’re going to learn the answers to these questions and more in this podcast. By the end, you’ll know exactly what cluster sets are, how they’re supposed to increase muscle growth, whether or not they’re effective, and how to include them in your training if you choose to do so. Let’s start at square one. 3:23 - What is a cluster set? 8:02 - Why do cluster sets? 23:15 - What does science say about cluster sets vs traditional sets? --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: legionathletics.com/shop/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

What’s the best way to get big and strong? Some people say that the only way to get big is to get strong, and the best way to get strong is to stick to the big lifts. Do a lot of heavy compound weightlifting, and you’ll naturally get bigger as you gain strength. In other words, anything that’s not the squat, bench press, overhead press, and deadlift is a more or less a waste of time and effort. On the flip side of the coin, some claim that if you want to get big, you need to blast your muscles with tons of reps on isolation exercises to really concretize the “mind-muscle connection” and gain size. In fact, they claim, you don’t have to do any compound lifts to get bigger and doing big lifts like deadlifts and squats cause more fatigue than necessary, limiting how much work you can do on accessory exercises. Who’s right? As is usually the case, the truth is somewhere in the middle, and in this episode, I speak with Mark Rippetoe on the best ways to incorporate assistance exercises in a strength training routine. I thought Mark would be a good guest because while we agree on many things, we don’t always see perfectly eye to eye when it comes to training for aesthetics (or wanting a six-pack). In fact, Mark didn’t agree with my approach to the programming in the latest edition of my book for intermediate and advanced weightlifters, Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger, and I thought this could make for an interesting discussion. In this episode, Mark and I discuss . . . Movement patterns versus assistance exercises Exercises that really move the needle when it comes to muscle growth The value of barbell curls and lying triceps extensions Why and how to incorporate rack pulls Halted and wide-grip deadlifts Overhead squats and good mornings The importance of trap and ab training And more . . . So, if you want to learn about effective assistance work you can incorporate into your routine, this is an episode you don’t want to miss. Hit play and let me know what you think! 7:19 - Should you put accessory exercises into your program? 38:36 - What about variations like rack pulls or Romanian deadlifts? 38:23 - How and why should someone put a rack pull into their program? 43:19 - What’s the point of the halted reps? 49:01 - What about overhead squats? 51:36 - Is the good morning a good assistance exercise? 52:25 - Do you recommend any direct trap training? 54:29 - Do you recommend any ab training or anything directly for the core muscles? --- Mentioned on The Show: Mark Rippetoe's Website: www.startingstrength.com Mark Rippetoe's Podcast: www.startingstrength.com/radio Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

This episode is a bit of a curveball. While not a health or fitness topic per se, the subject of this episode is tangentially related. Specifically, the topic is privilege and the idea that it’s wrong for some people to enjoy advantages that others don’t get to enjoy, and that equal outcome should be our goal. In other words, inequality should be corrected through government policies and societal norms. According to some people, equality of opportunity isn’t enough. The only way to have a fair society is to have equality of outcomes. That’s the real sign that you have a system that works for everyone. Privilege is at odds with this idea. And while many people have heard of “white privilege” in recent times, that’s just one head of the hydra that needs to be lopped off to slay the beast of entitlement. Is that the right frame of reference, though? Is privilege really at the core of our socioeconomic and racial dysfunctions here in the West? Is it something we should systematically mitigate or eliminate altogether for a better world? Should you feel guilty and ashamed for any privilege you enjoy? Everyone has different privileges relative to one another and almost anything can be viewed as an advantage if you compare to the right subject. So what’s the proper response? Should we dispossess our advantages or feel pride? Should we “cancel” people with privilege, or use those advantages to help others? These are just some of the questions I chew the cud over with my guest Sal Di Stefano, a good friend of mine and one of the co-hosts of the number one fitness podcast in the world, Mind Pump. Now, you may be wondering why two fitness guys are talking about privilege on a fitness podcast, and the simple reason is that we love chatting about politics, culture, economics, and history. Plus, a lot of the non-fitness content I’ve sprinkled into my podcasts over the years has generated a lot more positive feedback than negative and we don’t subscribe to the “stay in your lane bro” critiques. So with all that said, let’s get to the show and let me know your thoughts! 7:34 - The skill of being objective and logical 10:10 - Two roadblocks to objectiveness 16:04 - Can I act in ways that are going to produce a desired result even though the action doesn’t feel right? 19:19 - What is privilege? 24:21 -  What is Intersectionality? --- Mentioned on The Show: The Mind Pump Podcast: https://mindpumppodcast.com/ Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

Have you ever thought to yourself . . . “Do I really have to do this now?” “I can just do this tomorrow.” Or like me “Let me clean the entire kitchen first, before I record this podcast.” Procrastination is extremely common, and it’s likely impossible to find someone who never procrastinates. Even when it involves things we truly enjoy doing we still find ourselves procrastinating.  (I love writing, but it still took me way too long to sit down and record this podcast.) In fact, research done on college students tells us that 50% procrastinate on academic tasks at least half the time. And in the overall population, 20% are chronic procrastinators. This isn’t a new phenomenon. Even prior to Instagram’s pulling us into unconscious scrolling, procrastination existed. In 800 B.C., the Greek poet Hesiod, cautioned against the dangers that come with “putting your work off till tomorrow and the day after.” Not only does procrastination present issues for getting work done in a timely manner, but research done in the field of economics and psychology describes how procrastination negatively influences performance and well-being. In this podcast, we dive a bit deeper into why, as humans, we so frequently procrastinate and where procrastination comes from. Further, we will leverage the research to outline some strategies you can use to beat procrastination and be more productive, less anxiety-ridden, and happier with your workflow. Let’s get started. 6:08 - What is procrastination? 14:02 - Why do we procrastinate? 18:55 - What are the three factors that account for procrastination? 21:19 - Manage your time to meet the deadlines for your goals 41:30 - Take bigger goals and break them down into smaller goals 42:47 - Minimize distractions 47:29 - Envision yourself enjoying the process --- Mentioned on The Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ --- 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/

Google “how fast should I lose weight,” and you’ll get the same answer pretty much everywhere: One pound per week. And that’s not bad advice. You’ve probably heard that a pound of fat contains 3,500 calories. To lose a pound of fat per week, then, you just need to eat 500 fewer calories per day than you burn (500 x 7 = 3,500). Simple, easy to remember, and doable for most people. There’s just one problem with this little weight loss heuristic: If you have 25, 50, or 100+ pounds to lose, losing one pound per week means you’ll be dieting for months if not years. That’s a long row to hoe, especially if you’ve tried and failed to lose weight many times in the past. Now for the good news: If you’re very overweight (25+% body fat as a man or 35+% as a woman), you can probably lose a lot more than one pound of fat per week. In fact, if you know what you’re doing with your diet and training, you may be able to safely lose two, three, or even four pounds of fat per week. Of course, this strategy isn’t without downsides. You’ll be more hungry, you’ll have to be more strict about your diet, and you’ll probably need to do some exercise, too. The payoff, though, is that you can lose fat two or three times faster than most personal trainers, dietitians, and weight loss gurus recommend, without risking your health or losing large amounts of muscle. So, if you want to learn how fast you can safely lose weight when you have a lot of weight to lose, you want to keep listening. In this podcast, you’ll learn ... What “safe” weight loss really means How fast you can safely lose weight Whether or not you should try to lose weight as fast as possible How to lose weight as fast as possible And more ... Let’s start by taking an honest look at what constitutes “safe” weight loss. 6:49 - How much body fat can I safely lose per week? 12:39 - What should be my target rate of weight loss and why? --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

Meat has become more and more controversial of late. Some say its damaging effects are on par with smoking, and others even claim we should apply a special “health tax” on meat eaters. The contrarians say meat has a number of positive health benefits, very few downsides, and most of the research showing otherwise is on low-quality processed meats. And others take a middle-of-the-road outlook and say meat might cause some health problems in large amounts, but it’s healthy in moderation. Looking at the scientific evidence only further muddies the waters. If you look online, you’ll find some studies that seem to show meat is bad for you, some studies that show it’s benign, and others that seem to show it’s good for you. In the past few years, though, the pendulum of public opinion has swung hard in the “meat is bad for you” direction, largely thanks to several position statements from major health authorities. Who’s right? Well, the short answer is meat probably isn’t as bad for you as many news outlets claim, and reducing your intake of meat probably won’t make a big difference in your health. That said, it’s also fair to say eating as much processed or fatty meat as you want probably isn’t good for you, either. Ready for the long answer? Let’s kick things off by looking at exactly what meat is, then we’ll get into the case for and against eating it. 4:25 - What is lean and processed red meat? 4:40 - Should I be eating red meat? --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- Want free workout and meal plans? Download my science-based diet and training templates for men and women: https://legionathletics.com/text-sign-up/

What does it take to make good supplements? How do you decide what types of products to make, what goes into them, and how much of each ingredient to include? While many supplement companies haphazardly pixie dust their products with minuscule amounts of mediocre ingredients and pad their ingredient lists with fancy herbs and compounds, there is a flip side of that coin. That is, if you want to be better than your run of the mill supplement company, there’s a true art and science to formulating good supplements. And that’s what I’m talking about with Kurtis Frank on this episode of the podcast. In case you’re not familiar with Kurtis, he’s the Director of Research for my sports nutrition company, Legion, which means he’s responsible for creating new products and improving existing formulations. And he knows what he’s talking about too--Kurtis is the co-founder and former lead researcher and writer of Examine.com, a ubiquitous supplement resource in the science-based fitness community. In this episode, Kurtis explains exactly how he goes about creating a supplement formulation for Legion, and he discusses . . . What it means to be “science-based” The importance of testing and trusting your manufacturer Patented forms of ingredients and why standardization matters Ingredient list length Manufacturing costs and “elite” formulations And more . . . So, if you’ve ever wondered what goes into the process of creating a supplement here at Legion, this is an episode you don’t want to miss. Press play and let me know what you think! Timestamps: 13:12 - What does it mean to be a science-based supplement company? 36:14 - What are your thoughts on companies that say they are a better company because they use patented ingredients compared to companies that don’t use patented ingredients? 41:11 - What does it mean if something is water extracted compared to oil extracted? 47:15 - What is standardization and why is it important? 52:37 - What are your thoughts on products with a long ingredients list? 59:27 - What about the kitchen sink approach for pre-workouts? --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking a few of the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . 4:14 - The mind muscle connection and slowing down reps is important to a degree 19:03 - Three to four minutes of rest in between sets feel like too much 35:13 - Chasing money and success is a waste of life #spreadlove --- Mentioned on The Show: Books by Mike Matthews: legionathletics.com/products/books/ My Instagram: www.instagram.com/muscleforlifefitness/ --- 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: www.legionathletics.com/signup/

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, have you ever wondered why your muscles begin to burn and you lose your breath when doing high reps? Or why you start to feel tired after running for more than a few minutes? Or why most people recommend you eat a lot of carbs to perform well as an athlete? Energy systems hold the answers to all these questions. What’s more, understanding energy systems gives you a much better idea of how to fuel your body for exercise, as what you eat can significantly impact the efficiency of different energy systems in your body. In this podcast, you’ll learn: How energy systems work Why your body uses different energy systems during different kinds of exercise How to eat and train to improve the efficiency of different energy systems How improving one energy system in particular may help you gain muscle and strength And more Let’s begin. 3:53 - What is an energy system? 6:20 - What is the phosphocreatine system? 10:54 - What is the aerobic system? 18:22 - How do these energy systems relate to weightlifting? --- Mentioned on The Show: Books by Mike Matthews: 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: www.legionathletics.com/signup/

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 I got into the fitness industry and why I started writing The origins of Bigger Leaner Stronger Why I started making supplements How I make business decisions How and why I continue to learn And more . . . So, if you’re interested in hearing how it all started, and maybe pick up some “inside baseball” tips, tune in and let me know what you think! 5:03 - When you meet someone for the first time what do you tell them you do for work? 6:10 - When you first started, how intentional was all of this? Did it slowly evolve or did you have a big master plan? 32:00 - How do you decide what is and isn’t worth doing? 54:14 - What drives you to keep learning? --- Mentioned on The Show: Books by Mike Matthews: legionathletics.com/products/books/ The More Than Fitness Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-more-than-fitness-podcast-with-matt-mcleod/id1454414707 Matt McLeod’s Instagram: www.instagram.com/mattmcleod6/ --- 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: www.legionathletics.com/signup/

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-based methods for building muscle or losing fat faster, reducing your risk of disease or dysfunction, or maximizing some other aspect of your body, mind, or life, this book will show you the way. Click here to get your copy now: ⇒ https://legionathletics.com/products/books/fitness-science-explained/ And get ready to learn how to use science to get fitter, healthier, and happier. Go for it! P.S. Also, to celebrate this joyous occasion, I’m giving away $1,500 in Legion gift cards! All you have to do for a chance to win is… 1) Buy a copy of Fitness Science Explained (any format) 2) Forward the receipt email to launch@legionsupplements.com . . . and voila, you’re entered in the giveaway. You have to act fast, though, because the winners will be chosen on Friday, September 4th. --- Mentioned on The Show: Fitness Science Explained: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/fitness-science-explained/ --- 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/

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 methods for building muscle or losing fat faster, reducing your risk of disease or dysfunction, or maximizing some other aspect of your body, mind, or life, this book will show you the way. Click here to get your copy now: ⇒ https://legionathletics.com/products/books/fitness-science-explained/ And get ready to learn how to use science to get fitter, healthier, and happier. Go for it! P.S. Also, to celebrate this joyous occasion, I’m giving away $1,500 in Legion gift cards! All you have to do for a chance to win is… 1) Buy a copy of Fitness Science Explained (any format) 2) Forward the receipt email to launch@legionsupplements.com . . . and voila, you’re entered in the giveaway. You have to act fast, though, because the winners will be chosen on Friday, September 4th. --- 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/

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 discover and use evidence-based methods for building muscle or losing fat faster, reducing your risk of disease or dysfunction, or maximizing some other aspect of your body, mind, or life, this book will show you the way. Click here to get your copy now: ⇒ https://legionathletics.com/products/books/fitness-science-explained/ And get ready to learn how to use science to get fitter, healthier, and happier. Go for it! P.S. Also, to celebrate this joyous occasion, I’m giving away $1,500 in Legion gift cards! All you have to do for a chance to win is… 1) Buy a copy of Fitness Science Explained (any format) 2) Forward the receipt email to launch@legionsupplements.com . . . and voila, you’re entered in the giveaway. You have to act fast, though, because the winners will be chosen on Friday, September 4th. --- Mentioned on The Show: Fitness Science Explained: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/fitness-science-explained/ --- 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 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 rate for fat loss? ` 24:54 - Are massage guns beneficial? 32:12 - If you were arrested with no explanation, what would your friends and family assume you had done? --- Mentioned on The Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ --- 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/

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 more. And now Brian is lean and jacked at 225 pounds, and in the best shape of his life. In this interview, Brian and I talk about his story and the important lessons he’s learned along the way, including what he was doing with his diet and training before finding BLS, how not eating enough held back his progress, how tracking his workouts lead to rapid progress in the gym, how alcohol became a crutch as he dealt with PTSD from the attack, and more. So if you’re looking for a jolt of inspiration and like motivational stories, I highly recommend you listen to this episode. 8:29 - Where were you at before Bigger Learner Stronger and what drove you to find it? 19:02 - What were the major diet and exercise changes after you woke up from your coma? 34:03 - How has alcohol played into your meal plan? 41:09 - Where do you want to go from here? 46:14 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on the show: Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ Brian’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brianashleymiller/ Brian’s Website (The Shredded Sommelier): https://www.theshreddedsommelier.com/ --- 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/

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 something in the middle, like a push pull legs split? Well, the short answer is that none of these approaches is perfect. There isn’t one “best” workout split, and the best one for you depends on your goals, training experience, and preferences. If you’re having trouble deciding how many days per week to work out, which muscle groups to work on which days, or which workout split would work best for your goals, this podcast is for you. Let’s start by looking at what a workout split is. Timestamps: 4:42 - What is a workout split? 11:05 - What is the best workout split? 13:01 - The body part split 26:43 - The upper lower split 30:16 - Push pull legs 39:24 - The full body workout Mentioned on The Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger: 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/

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 problems with scientism and higher education Inequality and egalitarianism The concepts of equality of opportunity versus equality of outcome Economics and Marxism The health at any size movement The importance of virtues and the role of nuclear family units Justice, fairness, and “privilege” And more … So, if you enjoy philosophical tangents and want to listen to something a bit different for a fitness podcast, make sure to hit play and listen to this episode! 28:09 - What are your thoughts on equality being unfair? 32:51 - What is egalitarianism? 41:29 - Is equality unnatural? 1:10:49 - What about the idea of fairness? 1:25:05 - What are your thoughts on striving for equal opportunity? 1:35:45 - Where can people find you and your work? --- Mentioned on The Show: How to Think About God by Pat Flynn: https://www.amazon.com/How-Think-About-God-Flynn-ebook/dp/B08D7W9D6Z/ Pat Flynn's Podcast (The Pat Flynn Show): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pat-flynn-show/id1253261458 Pat Flynn's Website (Chronicles of Strength): https://www.chroniclesofstrength.com/ Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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 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. People have also been saying they’d like me to do more shorter, multi-topic episodes, like my Q&As. And so I got an idea: how about a “best of” series of podcasts that contains a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from my most popular episodes? This way, people who are new to the show can quickly determine if it’s for them or not, and those who enjoy what I’m doing but don’t have the time or inclination to listen to all of my stuff can still benefit from the discussions and find new episodes to listen to. So, in this episode of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: 1. Donata White on How to Get the Most Out of Every Day (Originally published May 24, 2017) 2. How to Build Muscle and Lose Fat at the Same Time (Originally published Feb 19, 2015) 3. Book Club Podcast: My Top 5 Takeaways from Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (Originally published Feb 11, 2019) And we’ll be starting with number one, Donata White on How to Get the Most Out of Every Day. 6:46 - Donata White on How to Get the Most Out of Every Day 15:11 - How to Build Muscle and Lose Fat at the Same Time 25:49 - Book Club Podcast: My Top 5 Takeaways from Meditations by Marcus Aurelius Mentioned on The Show: https://legionathletics.com/donata-white-podcast/ (Published 5/24/17) https://legionathletics.com/build-muscle-lose-fat-podcast/ (Published 2/19/15) https://legionathletics.com/meditations-podcast/ (Published 2/11/19) Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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/

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’re proud of? You’ll learn the answers to all of these questions in this podcast. The long story short is you don’t need to exercise all that much to stay healthy, but building a body you can be proud of takes slightly more work. Even then, though, it doesn’t take as much time or effort as you might think. 4:29 - What is the minimum amount of exercise that people should be doing? 11:27 - How does resistance training compare to cardio? 16:16 - How much exercise is optimal for being as healthy and as functional as possible for as long as possible? --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ 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/

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: Grit. Research shows that grit, sand, pluck, spunk, moxie, or whatever else you want to call it, is a much better predictor of your success in almost any endeavor than genetics or luck. As you’ll learn in this podcast, grit is one of the most important common denominators among all high-achievers, whether in the realms of fitness, sports, business, or the arts. So, keep listening if you want to learn . . . What grit is How your grittiness affects your ability to get in shape The four most effective ways to get more gritty And more . . . Let’s get started! 4:58 - What is grit? 17:02 - What can I do if grit doesn’t come easy for me? 19:15 - Four key ways to increase grittiness 19:26 - Pursuing passion with a purpose 25:01 - Believing in positive prospects 29:09 - Practice, practice, practice 34:49 - Find your people --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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/

“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 whether the book is likely to be up your alley or not. Alright, let’s get to the takeaways. --- Mentioned on The Show: Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ The Simple System I Use to Find, Choose, Read, and Remember Great Books (Blog Post): https://legionathletics.com/the-simple-system-i-use-to-find-choose-read-and-remember-great-books/ The Simple System I Use to Find, Choose, Read, and Remember Great Books (Podcast): https://anchor.fm/muscleforlife/episodes/The-Simple-System-I-Use-to-Find--Choose--Read--and-Remember-Great-Books-eei5kr --- Want to be notified when my next book recommendation goes live? Hop on my email list and you’ll get each new installment delivered directly to your inbox. Click here: https://www.muscleforlife.com/signup/

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 you shouldn’t seek out the placebo effect How placebo relates to homeopathy, chiropractic, and acupuncture Oh and in case you’re not familiar with Kurtis, he’s the co-founder and former lead researcher and writer of Examine.com, as well as the Director of Research for my sports nutrition company, Legion, which means he’s responsible for improving existing formulations and creating new ones. So if you want a basic overview on what the placebo effect is and why it’s important, listen to this episode! 6:11 - What is the placebo effect? 6:46 - What are some examples of the placebo effect? 10:43 - What are examples of nocebo that are documented in literature? 18:58 - How does the placebo effect work if you are already aware of it? 21:40 - What are some other examples of the placebo effect that could help you with workouts? 26:08 - How durable is the placebo effect? 27:07 - Do you have any anecdotes for the placebo effect? 28:12 - What are your thoughts on medication and the placebo effect? 31:31 - Does not notifying the doctor of the placebo medication eliminate the chances of the placebo effect not working? 39:37 - Is homeopathy a placebo effect? 54:58 - How does placebo affect acupuncture? --- 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/

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 currently reminiscent of cheap CVS perfume. (Releasing September/October.) Fortify Reformulation The best all-natural joint supplement in the world solar system is getting even better—more UC-II®️ collagen, a swap for Meriva®️ curcumin, and the addition of agmatine. (Releasing this month.) Genesis Reformulation Already a greens supplement without peer—most others aren’t even fit to sniff its underwear—Genesis is leveling up, too, with lingzi mushroom and dong quai. (Releasing this month.) Whey+ Fruity Cereal Cinnamon cereal fiends rejoice! Soon, you’ll have another cereal-y flavor of scrumptious whey protein to pour into the BONE CAVE that is your MOUTH! (Releasing next month.) Phoenix with Caffeine You take Phoenix, you lose fat faster. You take it with caffeine, you lose fat faster still. Thus, caffeinated Phoenix for those of you who dig on such doings. (Releasing October/November.) To-Be-Named Vitality Supplement A combination of DHEA, blueberry anthocyanin, rhodiola rosea, and B12 for boosting energy, mood, and well-being. This one is going to be particularly beneficial to all you 40+ Legionnaires. (Releasing October/November.) Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger 2.0 An all-new, rewritten-from-scratch, definitive second edition of my book for experienced weightlifters. (Releasing this month/next.) Fitness Science Explained A book I wrote with published scientist James Krieger that gives you a crash course in reading, understanding, and applying scientific research to get fitter, healthier, and happier. (Releasing this September/October.) That feels good, right? That balmy breeze and bucolic buzz. *Italian chef kiss* Go ahead—bask in it a while longer, like snow tasting the sun's delight. And, I don't know, maybe buy something, too, if the spirit so moves you. In any case, until my next trick, bonne journée et au revoir. --- Mentioned on The Show: New Legion Supplements: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ New Books: 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/

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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking a few of the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . 4:33 - “Some women have a hard time sticking to an aggressive deficit and do better with a smaller one.” 21:33 - “Eating high amounts of carbs is not healthy for brain function and insulin.” 37:07 - “While the poor have it well today, wealth equality is still a massive issue” --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ 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/

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 anti-inflammatory drugs The best ways to fix an RSI and whether topical medicines can help The important of “load management” When it’s time to see a doctor And more ... So if you want to learn about how to avoid RSIs and how to make them go away when they do occur so you can keep training and live pain-free, hit that play button! 7:36 - What is repetitive stress syndrome? 19:22 - What can you do to help with chronic pain? 24:24 - What is your protocol for resolving repetitive strain injury? 34:29 - Under what circumstances would this be a good idea to try topical medicine? 42:01 - What do you mean by “managing load”? 59:00 - What should you do if your body hasn’t recovered after 6 weeks? 1:03:43 - How can you prevent repetitive strain injury? 1:08:02 - How do we find the spots where our muscles are irritated? 1:12:14 - Can deloading help prevent repetitive stress injury? 1:16:14 - Where can people find you and your work? --- Mentioned on The Show: Paul Ingraham's website and mentioned articles: https://www.painscience.com/about https://www.painscience.com/RSIs https://www.painscience.com/ArtOfRest https://www.painscience.com/structuralism https://www.painscience.com/pain_is_weird Paul Ingraham's Books: https://www.painscience.com/books.php Paul Ingraham's Twitter: https://twitter.com/painsci Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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/

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. 3:41 - What is muscle protein synthesis? 10:31 - How do calories impair muscle protein synthesis? 14:43 - Why is protein so important to muscle protein synthesis? 23:06 - Which supplements help with muscle protein synthesis? 28:13 - How does sleep affect muscle protein synthesis? --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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/

It’s time for another contentious topic, my friends. No, not volume, frequency, or intensity. Today, we’re talking about workout splits. Specifically, full-body training. Full-body and higher-frequency training has become more popular lately. And if you’ve followed my work over the years, you know I haven’t been a big proponent of full-body workouts. In fact, in previous editions of Bigger Leaner Stronger, the workouts had typical “bro-split” names (even though the workouts themselves were more like a Push Pull Legs split with added accessory days). So, it’s not too surprising that I frequently get asked for my thoughts on full-body training versus body part splits and the “best workout split” in general. Well, full-body workouts can definitely work well in certain situations—like when you’re a beginner or when you can only train one or two times per week. But for this episode, I decided to bring in a big proponent of and expert on full-body training, Menno Henselmans. Menno has been a repeat guest on my podcast, but in case you’re not familiar with him, he's a bodybuilding coach, writer, and published scientist who’s also on the Scientific Advisory Board of my sports nutrition company, Legion Athletics. In this episode, we chat about … Why you should use a full-body split if you training infrequently The primary benefits of full-body training (optimizing volume and work capacity) How to properly program "supersets" without hurting performance (and actually improve it) How to program an effective full-body routine Saving time in the gym, inter-set rest time, and exercise order considerations Periodization and why you shouldn't change exercises too frequently Situations when full-body routine wouldn’t be the best choice And more … So, if you want to learn all about full-body training and whether you should give it a shot, listen to this episode. 8:03 - What qualifies as a full body workout versus something else? 17:32 - Does full body workouts give you more high quality volume? 19:02 - What is a superset? How would you implement supersets without impairing your performance on the exercises? 28:05 - How do you like to program your full body workouts? 31:04 - Is that your exercise or is there another component to it as well? 32:08 - How do you like to order your exercises? 35:45 - How do you like to periodize this type of training? 40:30 - Do you do your heavier workouts earlier in the week after a rest period? 41:39 - As far as volume, what are you shooting for? --- Mentioned on The Show: Menno Henselman’s Website: https://mennohenselmans.com/ 
Menno Henselman’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/menno.henselmans/ Books by Mike Matthews: http://legionathletics.com/products/books Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/beyond-bigger-leaner-stronger/ --- 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: www.legionathletics.com/signup/

Imagine for a moment that we’ve just received a message from an alien race in a galaxy far, far away. “Hey, Earthlings,” it reads. “Want to hang out?” Despite Elon Musk’s protests, our response would probably be something along the lines of “We’re in a weird place right now . . . can you call back later?” While the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be behind us, and most countries have begun reopening, many restrictions remain in place around the world. Social distancing, mask wearing, occupancy limitations, and border closures are all in effect, and now the question on everyone’s mind is, When can we open up completely? After all, the original goal of the lockdowns, social distancing, and so forth was to “flatten the curve”—to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed by an onslaught of COVID-19 patients—but that threat never seemed to materialize. For example, in New York City, one of the hardest hit areas in the U.S., hospitals reached about 85% capacity, and intensive care units hit about 90% capacity during the worst phase of the pandemic. High, yes, but not overflowing. In Virginia, 75% of ventilators and nearly 6,000 hospital beds were unused or empty back in April, and that number is likely much lower now. Instead of increasing demand for doctors, the pandemic resulted in thousands of healthcare workers being laid off due to a reduction in non-COVID-19-related visits. What’s more, the CDC reports that people exhibiting flu- or COVID-19-like symptoms only made up about 7% of total hospitalizations in the U.S. in March, and now it’s under 2%. In other words, the curve was flattened. However, now the target seems to have changed from “flattening the curve” to “finding a cure,” which, while laudable, is a goal that could take years to bear fruit. Thus, our current predicament has divided society into two camps. On the one hand, many people want to begin strategically reopening certain places, based on the available evidence and careful cost-benefit analyses of what that would mean for the population. On the other hand, there are those that think any further reopenings would be reckless, and until we find a cure, concoct a vaccine, or have all but eradicated COVID-19, we need to get used to “the new normal.” While only time will tell who’s right in the main, a recent study conducted by scientists at the University of Oslo offers some guidance on what would happen if countries were to open one kind of business—gyms. Before we look at what they discovered, let’s quickly examine a more fundamental question that relates to reopenings on the whole. If you want to learn about gym reopening, listen to this episode! Time Stamps: 15:38 - Has the cure become worse than the disease? 22:07 - Will reopening gyms increase the risk of catching or spreading the virus? 30:56 - Is the gym safe? --- Mentioned on the show: Books by Mike Matthews: 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: www.legionathletics.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. --- 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://legionathletics.com/signup/

Pity our poor thyroid. This small gland is blamed for countless weight loss frustrations and is a consistent scapegoat for people who encounter fat loss plateaus. And that’s understandable. The thyroid affects metabolism and hypothyroidism (suppressed thyroid function) can slow the basal metabolic rate and reduce fat loss if you don’t adjust your diet or get treated.  I hear from many people who have thyroid issues asking for advice on how to lose weight, how to adjust their diets, and how to improve their overall health. This isn’t a subject I’ve touched on directly, so I decided to bring on a true thyroid expert, Dr. Spencer Nadolsky, to elucidate this little gland’s function and how it relates to fitness and health. In this interview, Dr. Nadolsky discusses …   - What is the thyroid, what does it do, and what are hypo- and hyperthyroidism? - How big of an effect can impaired thyroid function have on metabolism? - T3, T4, and TSH hormones - Goitrogenic foods and whether they should be avoided - The role of iodine, stress, and carbs in thyroid function - Signs you may have a thyroid issue - Hypothyroidism misdiagnosis - And more …   In case you’re not familiar with Dr. Nadolsky, he’s a Board Certified Family Medicine Physician, author of “The Fat Loss Prescription,” and a Diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine. He’s also a member of Legion Athletics’ Scientific Advisory Board and a certified “meme-ologist” on instagram. :)   So, if you want to learn about all things thyroid, listen to this episode! 12:36 - What are your thoughts on how the US approached the lockdown versus what Sweden did? Do you think we should have made adjustments? 16:00 - What function does the thyroid have? How does the thyroid affect weight loss? 17:42 - What are the hormones involved in thyroid regulation? 19:05 - How much of an impact can the thyroid have on basal metabolic rate?  24:03 - Does hyperthyroidism mirror the effects of hypothyroidism or is there a significant difference?  26:57 - What are some signs of a thyroid issue? 29:08 - Are there natural remedies that can help with hyperthyroidism? 37:19 - How does iodine play into thyroid function? 49:22 - How long will it take to start seeing thyroid effects from dieting? 52:36 - Does stress cause thyroid problems? 1:01:55 - Where can people find you and your work? --- Mentioned on The Show: Dr. Spencer Nadolsky's Website: http://drspencer.com/ RP Health: https://rphealth.com/ Dr. Spencer Nadolsky's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drnadolsky/ Dr. Spencer Nadolsky's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiYVuCJsA1GZyGgIZJqV64w Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ 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 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. People have also been saying they’d like me to do more shorter, multi-topic episodes, like my Q&As. And so I got an idea: how about a “best of” series of podcasts that contains a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from my most popular episodes? This way, people who are new to the show can quickly determine if it’s for them or not, and those who enjoy what I’m doing but don’t have the time or inclination to listen to all of my stuff can still benefit from the discussions and find new episodes to listen to. So, in this episode of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Layne Norton on How to Avoid and Overcome Weightlifting Injuries (Originally published Jun 11, 2017) How to Change Your Body Weight Set Point (Originally published Sep 19, 2018) Motivation Monday: Advice I’d Give to My Younger Self (Originally published Apr 1, 2019) And we’ll be starting with number one, Layne Norton on How to Avoid and Overcome Weightlifting Injuries. 5:45 - Layne Norton on How to Avoid and Overcome Weightlifting Injuries 17:09 - How to Change Your Body Weight Set Point 27:50 - Motivation Monday: Advice I’d Give to My Younger Self --- Mentioned on The Show: https://legionathletics.com/layne-norton-injury-podcast/ (Published 6/11/17) https://legionathletics.com/body-weight-set-point-podcast/ (Published 9/19/18) https://legionathletics.com/motivation-monday-advice-to-younger-self/ (Published 4/1/19) Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ --- 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/

In this episode, I interview Jamie, who read Thinner Leaner Stronger and used my coaching program to bulk up from an underweight 93 pounds, to lean and muscular at 105 pounds.  At 5”1’, Jamie has always been petite. Somewhere along the way, though, she got up to 125 pounds and 33% body fat, and decided to make a change. She wanted to lose some weight, so she did what most people do: a lot of cardio and restricted her food intake. Unfortunately, this lead to a lot of yo yo dieting, bingeing, and even anorexia, without much progress in the way of body composition. It also lead to low bone density, which spiraled into full-blown osteoporosis. Doctors told her she had to gain weight, and luckily, Jamie discovered strength training and found my books. This transformed her understanding of what it takes to gain muscle and eat well, which lit a fire under her to lift weights and improve her diet. Given her history, however, Jamie was terrified to gain weight. So, after buying herself a home gym, Jamie signed up for my coaching program to help assuage her fears of bulking and get on the right track. And in about 6 months of bulking, she gained 7 pounds of muscle. And after 10 months, a DEXA scan showed she improved her bone density by 5%, which is very impressive! In this interview, Jamie and I talk about her story and the important lessons she’s learned along the way, including how what she was doing before finding TLS, how misconceptions about “good” and “bad” foods lead to bingeing, how she overcame the fear of gaining weight, and more.  So if you’re looking for a jolt of inspiration and like motivational stories, I highly recommend you listen to this episode. 5:48 - How has quarantine been for you and your fitness journey? 8:37 - How has your lean bulk been going? 11:36 - Where were you before you found me and my work? 26:36 - How did our personal training plan work for you? 27:37 - How was training for you psychologically? 28:55 - How did training impact your bone density? 35:52 - How was the experience from maintaining to a deliberate surplus? 46:21 - Where are your fitness goals from here? --- Mentioned on The Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: legionathletics.com/coaching/ Jamie's Online Yoga Studios: poweryogabuffalo.com/ --- 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: www.legionathletics.com/signup/

Weightlifting may look easy compared to sports like golf, soccer, or gymnastics, but it’s far more technical than most people realize.  For example, properly performing a barbell back squat requires balance, coordination, and strength in a variety of muscle groups. Even the humdrum bench press and deadlift demand meticulous timing and muscular control. Your weightlifting technique also has a major impact on your long-term fitness results.  In a way, learning proper weightlifting technique is like mastering the fundamentals of personal finance.  “Invest” early by taking the time to hone good weightlifting technique, and that time and effort will pay dividends for the rest of your weightlifting journey.   So, what’s the best way to learn weightlifting technique?  Well, it’s not what most people do, which is aping others in the gym. The fact is that most people who lift weights don’t use good technique, and if you try to mimic what they’re doing, you’ll end up making the same mistakes.  Instead, a better approach is to use what are known as weightlifting cues to learn and improve your technique.  Essentially, a weightlifting cue is just a simple reminder that helps you focus on a particular aspect of your weightlifting technique. For example, the cue “spread the floor with your feet,” is a helpful cue for remembering to keep your knees from caving in while squatting (you’ll learn more about this cue in a moment).  Cues like this may seem obvious, trivial, or boring, but when used properly they can immediately boost your strength, fix seemingly intractable problems with your technique, and significantly reduce your risk of injury.  The bottom line is weightlifting cues are one of the “hacks” you can use to quickly master new exercises and maintain proper technique on ones you’ve already learned.  So, if you want to learn new exercises quickly, get stronger and reduce your risk of injury, keep listening.  Let’s start by taking a closer look at a weightlifting cue actually is. 6:36 - What is a weightlifting cue?  13:49 - What are effective cues for the bench press?  20:15 - What are effective cues for the squat? 28:02 - What are effective cues for the deadlift? --- Mentioned on The Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ --- 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/

Many people out there who don’t know nearly as much as you probably don’t know about losing weight. For example, they don’t know what energy balance is, they do know that if they just starve themselves, if they eat very little and move around a lot, do a lot of cardio, they will lose weight. And of course, that’s true.  But often what happens is these people do that and then they don’t know what to do after and they end up gaining all the weight that they lost back or sometimes even more.  And that usually is either the beginning of or just another episode of a long saga of yoyo dieting, where their weight goes up to a point where they’re uncomfortable and they feel like they have to lose weight or revert back to their old ways that results in rapid weight gain. Research shows that most people out there who diet regain at least 50% of the weight they lose in the first year after losing it. The most powerful way to break this cycle to be able to lose weight is developing the right habits. In this episode, I’m gonna be talking about habits that will help you keep the weight that you lose off. Let’s get started! 5:09 - Habit 1: Stick to a meal plan  14:15 - Habit 2: Replace unhealthy fat with healthy fat  18:26 - Habit 3: Be more active  21:39 - Habit 4: Snack on fruits  28:20 - Habit 5: Know what you’re eating 35:30 - Habit 6: Portion control  38:29 - Habit 7: Don’t be sedentary  40:22 - Habit 8: Don’t drink your calories  43:15 - Habit 9: Mindful eating  44:50 - Habit 10: Eat 5 servings of vegetables a day --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements HERE --- 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: www.legionathletics.com/signup/

For everyday gym-goers and fitness enthusiasts, nutrition is pretty simple. Control your calories, eat enough protein, get a nice mix of carbs and healthy fats from nutritious, whole foods, and you’re basically set if you just want to lose fat, build muscle, and get healthier.  This changes for high-level athletes, though.   When performance is your livelihood, nutritional optimization becomes paramount because dietary mistakes have bigger consequences. For instance, not properly fueling before a big event can mean the difference between winning and losing, and many athletes need to carefully manage their energy balance to ensure they’re not hindering their performance with a deficit or packing on unwanted fat with a surplus. While you and I probably don't need to micromanage our meal plans as thoroughly as athletes, we can certainly learn some useful tips and tricks for making our meal plans a little more effective for our goals.  In today’s interview, Dr. Susan Kleiner discusses how she has the professional athletes she works with eat to maximize their athletic performance, including . . .  Carbohydrate timing and fueling around training The problems with the keto diet Tracking calories and macros The importance of whole grains And more . . .   In case you’re not familiar with Dr. Kleiner, she has a PhD in Nutrition with decades of experience in the field, has consulted for various professional sports teams including the Seattle Seahawks and Seattle Storm, and has written many books on sports nutrition for athletes, including her bestseller, The New Power Eating. So if you want actionable advice on tailoring your diet to improve your performance, listen to this episode!   Timestamps: 13:34 - What’s the difference between sports nutrition and everyday gym goers? 20:43 - Why don’t you just prescribe everyone a low carb diet and how do you manipulate carbs and fat? 28:54 - Why the emphasis on carbohydrate timing? 35:39 - Where have you seen the keto diet be beneficial? 43:52 - Is there an app you like to use for tracking? 49:34 - What are some nutrients that are in whole grains that aren’t in other foods? 58:49 - What are your thoughts on supplementation and whole grains? 1:16:41 - How do you approach managing the energy balance for your athletes? 1:26:13 - Where can people find you and your work? --- Mentioned on The Show:  Dr. Susan Kleiner’s Website: https://www.drskleiner.com/ Dr. Susan Kleiner’s Books: https://www.drskleiner.com/books/ Dr. Susan Kleiner’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/powereat/ Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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 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: Shop Legion Supplements Here: legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking a few of the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . 4:20 - “Is a 20% calorie deficit necessary or can you use a smaller one?” 16:31 - “Cheat meals are a bad idea, just use flexible dieting.” 28:31 - “Deadlifts are a back exercise, not a leg exercise.” --- 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/

“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 whether the book is likely to be up your alley or not. Alright, let’s get to the takeaways. --- 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/

As someone who’s helped legions of people (har har) lose fat, get lean, and build muscle, it’s no surprise I also get asked about preparing for natural bodybuilding and bikini competitions. After all, there’s a lot of overlap between natural bodybuilding and getting fitter as a recreational weightlifter. While I’ve never done a bodybuilding show or coached serious competitors, I’ve gotten “photoshoot lean” several times. And while it was fun seeing ab veins in the mirror and I got to take a lot of cool pictures, this physique came with a price: mild lethargy, decreased performance and motivation in the gym, semi-persistent low-grade hunger, and less sex drive. Natural bodybuilders get considerably leaner than I was and suffer a lot more to get in that condition.  If you look around for information on what it’s really like to prepare for these competitions, though, you’re likely to come across rose-colored accounts that make getting shredded look like a cakewalk.  The truth is that getting down to “stage condition” is very, very difficult, and requires more discipline, perseverance, and masochism than most people are willing to endure. It also takes far longer than most people expect. Even when the contest is over, there are hurdles to leap, like avoiding bingeing while also navigating the emotional turmoil of looking in the mirror and seeing yourself get fatter. That’s why I invited repeat-guest Dr. Eric Helms back on the podcast. Not only has he coached countless athletes over the years, but he’s competed numerous times himself, so he definitely knows the ins and outs of contest prep and recovery. In this episode, we talk about . . . - Misconceptions about what prepping is really like  - What it takes to go from someone who looks athletic to someone who can step on stage - Post-show “rebound” and dealing with the emotional “fallout” of getting fatter - The physiological downsides of prepping (even when you're doing things correctly) - How to give yourself the best chance of success - And more . . . So, if you want to learn more about what it takes to prepare for a natural bodybuilding show, give this episode a listen! 13:22 - What should people know before dedicating themselves to weightlifting competitions? 18:08- What are the key differences between exercising for a competition and exercising recreationally? 36:50 - What are some of the physiological downsides when doing competitions? 48:14 - What are your best pieces of advice for getting jacked with the best outcome? 1:44:50 - How do you bring hormone levels back to normal? --- Mentioned on The Show: Eric Helm’s Website: 3dmusclejourney.com/ 
Iron Culture Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/iron…re/id1452114380 
Nutrition Coaching Global: www.nutritioncoachingglobal.com/ 
Eric Helm’s Instagram: www.instagram.com/helms3dmj/ Books by Mike Matthews: 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/

It’s no secret most weightlifters don’t like cardio.  Most avoid it because it’s uncomfortable. Others are worried it’ll interfere with their ability to gain strength and muscle. And others just find it boring and pointless. After all, if you’re already lifting weights several times per week, how much can you really benefit by adding a bit of cardio to your weekly routine?  Sure, you’ve heard about the health benefits of cardio. Things like lowering blood pressure and bad cholesterol, and improving blood flow and arterial health, but can’t you get most of those benefits from lifting weights, too?  And what if you modify your weightlifting to more closely resemble cardio by resting less between sets, lifting weights faster, doing more reps with lighter weight, and so forth? Could this give you the benefits of weightlifting and cardio? The short answer?  Sort of.  Weightlifting does offer many of the same health benefits as cardio, including improved heart health, insulin sensitivity, and more, but cardio also offers some health benefits you can’t get from weightlifting. Listen to learn what these benefits are, and how to get the benefits of both weightlifting and cardio. Timestamps 4:42 - How does cardio help with weight loss? 21:54 - How does cardio help with cardiovascular health? 31:27 - How does cardio help with capillary density? 33:35 - How does cardio help with arterial health? 37:28 - How does cardio help with insulin sensitivity? --- 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 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: 1. When is the second edition of Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger going to come out and how is it different from the first edition?  2. How do you increase your biceps peak?  3. What is your current position on reverse dieting?  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/how-to-get-bigger-stronger-biceps/ https://legionathletics.com/reverse-diet-steps/ --- Timestamps: 4:49 - When is the second edition of Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger going to come out and how is it different from the first edition? 29:30 - How do you increase your biceps peak? 34:43 - What is your current position on reverse dieting? --- Mentioned on The Show: Part 1 of this episode (Exactly How I'm Eating, Training, and Supplementing Right Now): https://open.spotify.com/episode/0VfvEWe9pfEDCkIZ2MRS14?si=cp7ElWRlT32dyaSPl6WOcA  July 4th Sale (Save up to 30%): https://legionathletics.com/products/supplements/ 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/

Why do food cravings strike when you least want them? You know…you’re at work and locked in the conference room when you remember the cake down the hall. Minutes turn to hours as you fixate on that chocolatey goodness. Or you’ve just crawled into bed, only to find yourself overwhelmed by a hankering for the cold pizza languishing in the fridge (it would be so much happier in your belly!). Or your meal plan’s archenemy: the midday slump, where your brain refuses to work for anything but carbs and sugar. Sigh. If only we craved chicken breasts and vegetables…hitting our macros would be so easy… Well, that may be wishful thinking, but that doesn’t mean you have to be a slave to your food cravings and abandon your quest for the ideal body. The reality is cravings aren’t nearly as vexing when you know why they occur and how to manage them, which is what this podcast is going to be all about. Let’s begin. --- Timestamps: 3:32 - What is a food craving? 5:50 - How does alcohol cause food cravings? 8:16 - How does restrictive eating cause food cravings? 11:00 - How do emotional triggers cause food cravings? 12:52- How does stress cause food cravings? 12:47 - How do hormones cause food cravings? 15:27 - What do people crave and why? 19:45 - How do you beat food cravings? 27:16 - How can you adjust your mindset to eliminate food cravings? --- Mentioned on The Show: July 4th Sale (Save up to 30%) - https://legionathletics.com/products/supplements/ --- 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/

It has been said that there are two types of weightlifters in the world: On one hand, you have the people who just want to get as strong as possible—“aesthetics” be damned—and on the other hand, you have the people who just want pretty physiques, even if it’s all “show” and little “go.” I don’t know about you, but I’m somewhere in the middle—I got into lifting to look better and that’s still a major motivator, but I also enjoy training heavy and hard and knowing that all this flesh I’ve added to my frame has some function, too.  This is why I’ve advocated for a “powerbuilding” style of training from the beginning of my evidence-based fitness journey, even if I wasn’t familiar with the term at the time.  Basically, what we’re talking about is blending strength training and bodybuilding in a way that allows us to gain considerable strength and muscle—that delivers steak and sizzle. To help explain how powerbuilding works, I invited Kyle Hunt back onto the show. In case you’re not familiar with Kyle, he’s a competitive powerlifter, coach, author, and owner of Hunt Fitness, who’s worked with hundreds of powerlifters and bodybuilders alike. He’s also the host of The Absolute Strength Podcast, which I’ve been a guest on. In this episode, Kyle and I discuss ... - What powerbuilding is - How a powerbuilding program differs from a traditional bodybuilding routine - Advanced training principles like daily undulating and linear periodization - SImple programming tips for creating a powerbuilding routine - And more …   So if any of that interests you and you want to combine powerlifting and bodybuilding into a single, unified routine, tune in! --- Timestamps: 10:15 - How does a power building program differ from a traditional bodybuilding program?  15:03 - How many sets do you have to do to work up to that single? 15:58 - Is this something that you do every week? 27:01 - What is your preferred split? Is there a template you can give to the audience? 28:17 - What are the exercise selections? How do those pair up with some of these rep ranges? 29:51 - How do you track weekly volume? What’s your recommendation? 40:28 - Is there a pro and con assessment regarding this style of programming? --- Mentioned on The Show: Kyle Hunt’s New Book (Strength Training for Beginners): https://amzn.to/3eunfxc Kyle Hunt’s Website: www.KyleHuntFitness.com Kyle Hunt’s YouTube: www.youtube.com/huntfitnesstv Kyle Hunt’s Podcast: (Absolute Strength): https://goo.gl/sOj9x6 Kyle Hunt’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/huntfitness/ Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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 get asked quite frequently about my personal training and eating habits. People who read my books, read my articles, or listen to my podcasts know what I recommend in terms of training and dieting, but what does my personal regimen look like? In other words, what’s really going on behind the scenes when you peel back the curtain? What’s my exact training routine and what do my meals look like? And which supplements am I taking and why? Well, if you check out my Instagram stories, you’ll get glimpses now and then. I occasionally post videos of some sets during a workout or pictures of a meal. But in this episode, I’m going to reveal the whole shebang. People ask to see a full day of eating or what a week of training looks like for me, and I understand. Seeing how someone who’s been dieting and lifting weights correctly for over a decade does things can be a valuable learning experience, so I’m going to give the people what they want. And while I’ve answered these sorts of requests in past episodes of the podcast, these routines change over time, so it’s due time I give a little update. My answer got quite long, too, so I also decided to make this its own episode, rather than sticking it into a shorter Q & A episode. So, if you’re curious how I’ve been eating and training during the COVID-19 lockdown, and what supplements I’ve been taking, find out in this episode. Timestamps: 4:07 - How are you eating and training during quarantine? 52:24 - What supplements are you taking during quarantine? --- Mentioned on The Show: Books by Mike Matthews: 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/

In this episode, I interview Andrew, who used Bigger Leaner Stronger to transform his understanding of getting fit and finally start making real progress. When Andrew was 240 pounds and out of shape, he decided to make a change. He wanted to lose some weight, and he did what most people do: hopped on the treadmill for endless hours of cardio, ate way too much, and . . . not much changed. Eventually, he got fed up with spinning his wheels, did a bit of Googling, and found Bigger Leaner Stronger. After reading the book, Andrew understood what he was doing wrong, and had a plan to fix it. He started following the BLS program and it helped him completely transform his physique and life.  He ended up losing 80 pounds while getting significantly stronger. In fact, the changes were so significant that his friends and co-workers started asking him what he was doing. In this interview, Andrew and I talk about his story and the key lessons he’s learned along the way, including how he was eating and exercising before BLS, how misconceptions about “healthy” foods held him back, how he turned it all around by learning about macros and the fundamentals of proper training, and more.  So if you’re looking for a jolt of inspiration and like motivational stories, I highly recommend you listen to this episode. 6:46 - Where was your diet and fitness before you found me and my work? 12:01 - How did the enjoyment of exercise change when you started Bigger Learner Stronger? 14:21 - How was your perception of the 3rd edition versus the 2nd edition of Bigger Leaner Stronger? 16:56 - What were some obstacles you had to overcome? 22:02 - How have you improved in the skill of weightlifting? 23:03- What does mind muscle connection mean to you? 26:53 - Did you run into any obstacles with the types of food thats you were eating? 32:29 - What are you doing now for workouts? --- 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/

You’ve probably heard that stretching is one of the pillars of an effective fitness plan, right up there with strength training and cardio. This same message is shared by personal trainers, group fitness instructors, and coaches around the world: You need to stay flexible to avoid injury, properly perform various exercises, and stay healthy into old age, and stretching is the best way to do this. Others disagree. Some say that stretching isn’t all that important for improving your fitness, and that it can negatively affect your performance and might not be as helpful for protecting against injuries as was once believed. Others say that while stretching may have some merit in certain situations, it’s unnecessary for most people. Who’s right? Is stretching really an essential aspect of an effective fitness routine, or is it just an outdated ritual based on faulty past assumptions, like the idea we need to eat immediately after every workout or that doing more reps automatically leads to more muscle growth? You’ll learn the answer in this podcast. Specifically, you’re going to learn why people think stretching is important, whether or not stretching helps increase flexibility, prevent injuries, improve performance, and boost recovery and muscle growth, and the right (and wrong) ways to stretch, if you decide to do so. Let’s dive in. Timestamps: 3:59 - Why do we stretch? 6:48 - How does stretching impact our muscles? 10:38 - How does stretching impact your fitness and health? 14:16 - Does stretching help with injury prevention? 16:59 - Does stretching enhance performance? 21:33 - Can stretching help you gain muscle? 24:18 - Can stretching help with recovery? 27:35 - How do I correctly include stretching in my training? --- 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/

“One of the most popular ways of telling if you're a healthy weight is bogus “BMI Is A Terrible Measure Of Health” “5 BMI Myths You Need To Stop Believing” These are the titles of several articles on BMI and BMI charts published in recent years. If you take their message at face value, then you’ll come to one conclusion: BMI is outdated, overrated, and inaccurate, and it’s time we retired it for good. In case you didn’t know, BMI stands for “body mass index,” and it measures the relationship between your height and weight. BMI has been used by doctors for decades to help determine whether someone should consider losing or gaining weight, but recently this idea has come under fire. Detractors say you can’t distill what it means to be healthy into a single number. Some go further and say being overweight isn’t unhealthy, so why bother measuring BMI or worrying about your weight? Others point out that BMI charts don’t work well for muscular people. Who’s right? The short story is twofold: 1) BMI charts are good at estimating the body fat percentage of large populations of people, and they do this quite well. 2) Although imperfect at estimating the body fat percentage of individuals, BMI charts are still decent barometers of whether or not you should lose weight. The long story? BMI charts are one of the best ways to get a quick bird’s-eye view of your body composition and overall health, but you should also rely on several other methods to get a more accurate estimate of your body fat percentage. Let’s start by looking at what BMI is. --- Timestamps: 2:08 - What is BMI?  3:26 - What are the problems with BMI measurements? 7:04 - What does BMI measure well?  9:34 - What is a healthy weight and body composition?  --- Mentioned on the show:  How to Calculate Your Body Fat Percentage: https://legionathletics.com/how-to-calculate-body-fat/ Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ --- 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/

Well friends, it seems Quarantimes™ may finally be coming to an end. Gyms here in Virginia are starting to re-open and other parts of the country are either already open or not far off from beginning the process. Unless there’s a seismic shift in new cases of the virus, we’re on an upward trajectory towards some form of normalcy.  The real question now is how will the fitness industry adapt to our new reality? Coronavirus isn’t miraculously vanished, of course, and it’s going to leave a lasting impact. Some businesses that couldn’t stay afloat have closed their doors permanently, and even corporate giants like Starbucks just announced they’re closing 400 stores in the US as a result of decreased sales due to the pandemic. So how will gyms fare? And what effects will this have on the other areas of the fitness industry? If you’re a coach or personal trainer, is it time to pivot to a new career path?  To help make some Nostradamus-esque predictions, I invited Adam Schafer on the podcast. If you’re not familiar with Adam, he’s a host of Mind Pump, one of the biggest health and fitness podcasts, which garners over 1 millions listens every month. He’s also a coach who’s worked with over 1,000 people, and taught other coaches how to be better leaders and sell their services. So, Adam knows a thing or two about business and recognizing trends in the industry. In fact, that’s one reason why I started advertising Legion supplements on the Mind Pump podcast. Anyhoo, in this episode, Adam and I talk about … - The joys of texting - “Microinfluencers” and podcast advertising - How coronavirus will affect the fitness space including commercial gyms, home workout equipment, and country clubs - Why the fitness industry isn’t likely to disappear and will continue to grow - And more … So, if you want to hear our thoughts on where the fitness industry is headed, get out your crystal ball and hit play! Timestamps: 5:18 - Adam and Mike’s thoughts on texting 7:31 - Mike’s thoughts on Mind Pump’s coaching program 7:58 - Adam’s thoughts on effective advertising 22:28- What is the future of fitness after COVID-19? 1:10:07 - How do you think COVID-19 is going to affect the macro trend? --- Mentioned on The Show: Mindpump Podcast: https://mindpumppodcast.com/ Mindpump Website: https://www.mindpumpmedia.com/ Adam's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindpumpadam/ Mindpump YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq0hKkwnW5Cw1wQqu455WrA Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ --- 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/

So, here we are, hopefully closing in on the end of These Perilous Quarantimes. Restaurants are opening, stonks are rising, and . . . at long last . . . gyms are unlocking their doors. And that means a few things to us fitness folk: 1) If you’ve been slogging through bodyweight workouts, and the idea of doing another set of pushups instead of bench press makes you want to huff paint and chew someone’s face off, your salvation is nigh. 2) If you were lucky enough to snag some dumbbells or other exercise equipment before this thing went down (or were #dedicated enough to sell one of your kidneys in return for said exercise equipment), then you’ll be well-prepared to jump back into your old routine. 3) And either way, you can look forward to a heaping bowl of good ‘ol fashioned muscle soreness, something you may not have experienced since your newbie gains days. I’m talking stabbed in the thighs with a rusty butter knife . . . pecs bludgeoned by Sauron’s mace . . . spinal erectors so tender you could sell them at Outback Steakhouse . . . kind of sore. And that’s not so good. While muscle soreness can be a fun novelty, in a strange, masochistic sort of way, you actually want to avoid it as much as possible when getting back into a workout routine. Why? Because muscle soreness makes it difficult to train with heavy weights, or at all, which means it’ll take you even longer to regain any muscle and strength you lost during the lockdown. So, how should you ease back into weightlifting when your gym reopens? How should you adjust your workouts to minimize muscle soreness? How long will it take until you can return to your old routine? You’ll learn the answers to all of these questions in this podcast. Let’s find out! --- Timestamps: 6:58 - Should I go to the gym as soon as it opens back up? 9:59- What has happened to my physique if I didn’t do many workouts during quarantine? 20:44 - What are some guidelines for going back to the gym? 32:38 - How many sets and reps per workout should I do for retraining? 43:42 - What training program should I follow for retraining? --- Mentioned on The Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ --- 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/

As of right now, I’ve produced over 500 episodes of Muscle for Life, totaling over 700 hours of content. I’ve talked about 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. People have also been saying they’d like me to do more shorter, multi-topic episodes, like my Q&As. And so I got an idea: how about a “best of” series of podcasts that contains a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from my most popular episodes? This way, people who are new to the show can quickly determine if it’s for them or not, and those who enjoy what I’m doing but don’t have the time or inclination to listen to all of my stuff can still benefit from the discussions and find new episodes to listen to. So, in this episode of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Paul Revelia on How to Keep Making Progress After Your "Newbie Gains" Why Belly Fat Is So Stubborn (and How to Lose It) Motivation Monday: How to Motivate Yourself to Keep Working Out And we’ll be starting with number one, Paul Revelia on How to Keep Making Progress After Your "Newbie Gains" Timestamps: 7:06- Paul Revelia on How to Keep Making Progress After Your "Newbie Gains" 19:40 - Why Belly Fat Is So Stubborn (and How to Lose It) 31:43 - Motivation Monday: How to Motivate Yourself to Keep Working Out --- Mentioned on The Show: legionathletics.com/podcast-104-paul-revelia/ legionathletics.com/how-to-lose-belly-fat-podcast/ legionathletics.com/motivation-monday-working-out/ Shop Legion Supplements Here: legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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: www.legionathletics.com/signup/

Over the past few weeks, you’ve been bombarded with contradictory, confusing, and complex facts and figures about COVID-19. At this point, the story most often repeated in the media goes like this: Aside from social distancing, washing your hands, and (maybe) wearing a face mask, there’s nothing you can do to avoid getting COVID-19. If you do get COVID-19, there’s nothing you can do to hasten your recovery or reduce the severity of your symptoms except wait for your body to get rid of the virus. If you’re one of the unlucky few who develops severe symptoms like respiratory failure, the best doctors can do for you is put you on a ventilator, give you some drugs to ease your discomfort, and hope for the best. While this story is more right than wrong based on the available evidence, it paints a grim, overly simplistic picture. Here’s how Dr. Zhen Yan, the director of the Center for Skeletal Muscle Research at the University of Virginia’s Robert M. Berne Cardiovascular Research Center, puts it: “All you hear now is either social distancing or ventilator, as if all we can do is either avoiding exposure or relying on a ventilator to survive if we get infected.” Dr. Yan takes a more optimistic and, as you’ll see, evidence-based approach to the problem. In a review study published by Dr. Yan and his colleague Hannah Spaulding at the University of Virginia, they explain how regular exercise can prevent or at least reduce the severity of one of the deadliest symptoms of COVID-19, a condition known as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Scientists have known for quite some time that exercise improves immune function and reduces your risk of getting sick, but it’s rarely mentioned in discussions about COVID-19. In this episode, you’ll learn how exercise may be particularly helpful for combating the symptoms of COVID-19, how much you should exercise to get the benefits, whether or not you can exercise too much, and more. Let’s go! Timestamps: 12:42 - How does exercise protect you from COVID-19? 13:53 - How does COVID-19 cause acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)? 15:46 - How does exercise reduce the severity of ARDS? 20:57 - How much cardio do I need to do to boost my body’s immune system? 22:46 - Does doing too much cardio and exercise impair my immune system? --- Mentioned on the show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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 was a fun episode for me, because my guest is a fitness “godfather” of sorts who has greatly influenced my own work and career, as well as probably the most-requested guest from listeners. I’m talking about the inimitable Alan Aragon, who has been at the forefront of the evidence-based fitness movement for over a decade now and has helped countless fitness enthusiasts, professional athletes, and top coaches. So, it’s a treat to finally get him on the show! If you’re not familiar with Alan, he’s a nutrition researcher and educator and creator of the first-of-its-kind research review in 2008, called AARR (Alan Aragon’s Research Review). He also has a true talent for translating science into practical application, making it work for normal people with real lives and not just subjects in a lab. In this episode, I pepper Alan with a smattering of questions that I often receive from my readers, ranging from artificial sweeteners’ effects on weight loss and the gut microbiome, to the benefits of cyclical dieting and refeeds, to protein timing and “hyperfeeding.” So, if any of those topics interest you, or you just want to hear from one of the fitness industry’s finest educators, tune in! 11:28 - Can artificial sweeteners affect weight loss? 14:47 - What is scaccharine’s effect on the gut microbiota? 22:38 - Will artificial sweeteners affect somebody that is already healthy and exercising? 49:07 - What are your thoughts on cyclical dieting? 49:07 - What are your thoughts on carbohydrate and fat intake? 53:08 - What are your thoughts on protein timing? 1:05:23- What is your general recommendation for servings of protein a day? 1:09:42 - Where can people find you and your work? --- Mentioned on The Show: Alan Aragon’s Research Review: alanaragon.com Alan Aragon’s Instagram: www.instagram.com/thealanaragon Shop Legion Supplements Here: legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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: www.legionathletics.com/signup/

Golly gee willikers, 2020, you’re proving a rather harsh mistress, and nobody seems to know your safe word.⁣ Tamagotchi?⁣ Nickelback?⁣ Antidisestablishmentarianism?⁣⁣ *sigh*⁣ Okay so I’m going to be indelicate here:⁣ This fucking sucks.⁣ The Current Situation is yet more evidence of the degradation and injustice of our times, where viciousness and villainy appear victorious at every turn and charity and civility are circling the drain.⁣ And I’m going to be honest—I don't know what the solution is. ⁣ It’s certainly not virtue signaling, though, so I’ll leave that to the hordes of hectoring hypocrites who gladly posture on social media about Important Issues™ but give precisely none of their time or money to the causes they publicly champion.⁣⁣ (Spoiler alert: they don’t actually care.)⁣ What I do know, however, is that Martin Luther King Jr. was correct when he said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”⁣ And so I reject any and all forms of hate, bigotry, and inequity, and strive to understand and uplift my fellows despite all reasons and invitations to do otherwise.⁣ Ultimately, we’re all in this cauldron together and subjected to its cruel pressures, and I believe the greatest lesson we can learn is to love. Anyhow, sermons aside, how about a quick hose down of some crass Legian commercialism? Let me load my potato gun with some Nickelodeons slime. All right, there we go. Fire in the hole. --- Mentioned on The Show: New Legion Labels: https://legionathletics.com/blog/ New Legion Gut Health Supplement (Balance): https://legionathletics.com/blog/ --- 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/

My podcasts with Pat Flynn often delve into philosophical tangents and fortunately, have become especially popular. The concepts we cover don’t just apply to fitness either. They can affect your whole mindset and offer life-changing benefits. So, why not embrace the asides and dive even deeper? In this episode, Pat and I talk about … - What relativism is and whether or not truth is objective - The purpose of freedom - The nature of morality - Modern politics and the trajectory of America’s 2-party system - Our obligations towards others and ourselves in regards to health - And more … If you enjoy philosophical discussions that can give you something to scratch your chin about, listen to this podcast! 7:11 - What is your background? 14:26 - What is the purpose and point of freedom? 19:50 - What is relativism and should we take it seriously? 34:10 - What is a syllogism? 41:42 - What is the other option? 57:33 - Why do we have freedom? 62:53 - What are the cardinal virtues? ====== 1:14:50 - What is morality and why is it important in our lives? 1:19:01 - How would you describe yourself now politically? 1:25:31 - Do we have moral obligations to others? 1:33:17 - What are some of the consequences of not acting responsibly? --- Mentioned on The Show: Pat’s Podcast (The Pat Flynn Show): podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-…ow/id1253261458 Pat’s Website (Chronicles Of Strength): www.chroniclesofstrength.com/ Pat’s Newest Book (How to Be Better at Almost Everything): www.amazon.com/gp/product/194688…667fa8215d7914530 What We Can’t Not Know by J. Budziszewski: https://www.amazon.com/What-We-Cant-Not-Know/dp/1586174819 Books by Mike Matthews: 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: www.legionathletics.com/signup/

Supplementation can be overwhelming. No matter what your goal is--build muscle, lose fat, improve health--there are hundreds of supplements to choose from. And good luck trying to sort the wheat from the chaff. If you're to believe the hype, many of these pills and powders have downright magical properties and are capable of performing downright miracles. Just one bottle of this, you're told, will give you instant muscle gain. That one? It melts fat off your body. Those over there? They double your brainpower. And on and on. I guess that's why so many people spend so much money on supplements. Well, if a part of you has suspected that the supplement industry is more smoke and mirrors than science and substance, you're right. It's an unregulated rough and tumble of a marketplace that's more or less a playground for rent-seeking bums and pirates. That said, it's not all bad. There are supplements that have good science behind them and that can help you optimize your health and physical and mental performance. Take something simple like vitamin D, for example. It was long thought to be important for just bone health but we now know that it plays a crucial role in a whole host of vital physiological processes, and unless you spend a lot of time in the sun, supplementation is the only way to give your body what it needs. Fish oil is another good example because it provides your body with two nutrients that are otherwise hard to get enough of through diet alone: - Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) - Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) What are these molecules and why are they so important, you ask? What do they do in the body and what kind of benefits do they confer? And what about fish oil supplements? Which ones are good and which aren't and why? Listen to this episode to find out! 4:40 - What is a fish oil supplement? 8:53 - What are the benefits of getting enough EPA and DHA in your diet? 16:28 - How does an omega 3 fatty acid affect muscle gain? 18:21 - How much fish oil should I take? 20:02 - What are the different types of fish oil? --- Mentioned on The Show: Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ Triton (Fish Oil): https://legionathletics.com/products/supplements/triton/ --- 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/

Women face quite a few unique challenges that have downstream effects in their fitness journeys. You know, things like intimidation and peer pressure to stay near the cardio equipment at the gym and away from the weight section. And then there’s the whole pregnancy and having kids thing. To speak to these challenges, I invited Maria Blacutt onto the podcast. Maria is a personal trainer and mother of three who stays lean and strong in her 50s. She also started lifting 30 years ago in Bolivia in a male-dominated gym, so she knows first hand about the challenges women face. Maria found her own way in the fitness world and discovered the benefits of heavy weight training and compound lifting. Finding my work has helped solidify what she discovered, though, and now she shares my content with her own clients. In this episode, Maria and I chat about … How she got strong and stayed fit while raising three young children Why many women give up after having kids The most important lessons she’s learned over her 30-year lifting career Why consistency is more important than perfection How she maintains 18% body fat in her 50s And more … So, tune in if you want to learn how to get fit while raising children and how to stay lean and strong as you get older. 7:22 - How did you get into fitness? 15:53 - How did you manage to work out when you had kids? 27:25 - How long did it take for you to feel fit after having a baby? 29:23 - How have things changed now that you’re older? What are some of the key lessons you’ve learned? 34:18 - What type of foods do you get your protein from? 43:43- Do you feel like the fitness journey has been hard? 50:54 - How did you come across me and my work? How did that impact things? --- Mentioned on The Show: Maria's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/strongmariastrong/ Save 15% on fat burners: https://legionathletics.com/products/fat-burners/ --- 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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking a few of the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . 5:38- Are full body splits better than upper lower? 29:21 - Is long distance running bad for building a lean physique? 36:53 - Do fat burners actually work? --- Mentioned on The Show: Save 15% on fat burners: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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 having trouble losing weight and keeping it off… If you’re battling hunger and cravings… If you want to “reset” your system after a period of poor health habits… Or if you generally just feel like crap… You might find yourself seriously considering some sort of “detox diet.” The yoga girl swears by a 3-day water cleanse. The smiley doctor guy says a juice diet can give you a shiny new liver. The raw food weirdo gushes about the wonders of eating everything uncooked. And don’t get me started about the Instagram “models” smugly posing with their green smoothies and kale chips. The more you look, the more cleanses and detox programs you find, with each one apparently better than the last. The problem, however, is all of them are missing the forest for the trees. While it’s true your body is regularly exposed to a wide variety of toxic substances, and while some of them are particularly nasty and can accumulate in body fat, there’s no evidence that trendy “cleanses” and “detox diets” help mitigate the damage or rid the body of toxins. That is, yes, your body has a certain amount of harmful chemicals deposited in its fat stores, but no, drinking a bunch of lemonade for a week isn’t going to do anything about it. If you want to feel and look great for the rest of your life, you need to commit to several things: - Exercising your body several hours per week (resistance training is particularly important). - Eating a lot of high-quality food with special emphasis on plenty of fruits and vegetables. - Not smoking. - Consuming alcohol in moderation. - Avoiding dependencies on drugs and medicines. - Maintaining good sleep hygiene. So, if you want to know why you should stop trying to detox your body, listen to this episode! --- Timestamps 6:15 - Do toxins cause weight gain? What causes weight gain? 22:52 - What are toxins and how does the body process them? 28:23- Do detox diets help with rapid weight loss? --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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: www.legionathletics.com/signup/

Poke around online for weight loss tips, and you’ll invariably come across the idea that you shouldn’t eat at night. Why? Proponents of this idea usually claim that your metabolism doesn’t work as well at night, and thus any calories you eat are more likely to be stored as fat instead of being burned for energy. Sounds ... kind of scien-y-ish ... but is it true? Does your metabolism really slow down as the day drags on? Are calories eaten in the evening inherently more fattening than calories eaten in the morning? Can eating more calories in the morning and fewer calories in the evening really help you lose weight? You’ll learn the answers to all of these questions in this podcast. You’ll learn exactly why people think eating at night makes you gain weight, what really causes weight gain (hint: it’s not eating at night), and what science actually says about how late-night eating affects your metabolism. Let’s get to it! the morning? 3:43 - Does your metabolism get slower as the day goes on? Is your metabolism at its highest in the morning? 9:14 - Does intermittent fasting help you lose body fat? 18:29 - Does eating at night reduce your quality of sleep? --- 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/

“My Life-Changing 30-Day Digital Detox” “10 Signs You’re a Smartphone Zombie” These are headlines you might see if you search the interwebz for digital “addiction.” It’s no secret that people use their smartphones, social media, and various apps more than ever before. The benefits of this technology are obvious, but there’s also a downside. We end up distracted, spending too much time on things that don’t matter, with less time for things that are important to us, like our health, families, and life goals. But are these modern technologies really a new, unique problem? How can we navigate a world filled with limitless distractions? To help shed some light on the topic, I invited Nir Eyal onto the podcast. Nir knows both sides of this coin intimately. His first book, Hooked, is all about how to build habit-forming products. He's helped numerous companies (including the New York Times) build “addictive” products that can do good in your life and he’s even taught a course on the subject at Stanford Graduate School of Business. But by being so intertwined with the inner workings of habit-formation, Nir also knows how to break habits and make these apps and services serve us rather than the other way around. That’s why Nir wrote his latest book, Indistractable, which is what this podcast is all about. In this interview, Nir helps us understand ... - The root causes of distraction and how productive tasks can still be distractions - Why you shouldn't try to be satisfied or happy all of the time - How to "surf the urge" and supercharge your willpower - Why you should timebox your day - How to discover your values and find what resonates with you - And more ... So if you want to take back your life and not feel so addicted to apps and services, listen to this podcast. 8:13 - You went from writing a book about getting people hooked on products, to a book that is intended to help people avoid that. How did that happen? 16:38 - What is the difference between external and internal triggers? 22:20 - How do we get better at embracing discomfort? 49:33 - How does time boxing work and how do you use it? 53:04 - What are your thoughts on finding your personal values? --- Mentioned on The Show: Indistractable by Nir Eyal: NirAndFar.com/Indistractable Schedule Maker Tool: nirandfar.com/schedule-maker/ Summary Article: www.nirandfar.com/skill-of-the-future/ Distraction Guide here: www.nirandfar.com/distractions/ Habits vs routines article here: www.nirandfar.com/habits/ Nir's Instagram: www.instagram.com/neyal99/ Books by Mike Matthews: <a t

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: www.muscleforlife.com/signup/

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: - What is positive nitrogen balance? - How bad is sitting? - How can you lose muscle from specific body parts? 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: legionathletics.com/sitting-is-the-new-smoking/ legionathletics.com/energy-balance/ Timestamps: 3:36 - Can you lose fat and build muscle at the same time if you maintain a positive nitrogen balance? 14:57 - How do I lose muscle from a specific body part? 26:24 - How detrimental is sitting? --- Mentioned on The Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: legionathletics.com/coaching/ --- 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: www.legionathletics.com/signup/

You’re about to start a weight loss diet. You know you need to eat fewer calories than you burn. You know roughly how much you need to eat every day to lose weight. Maybe you even have a meal plan mapped out. But there’s still one question you haven’t been able to answer: how long should you stay in a calorie deficit? If you poke around online you’ll see different theories about the “ideal” length of time you should stay in a deficit before giving your body a break. Some say you should diet no longer than 12 weeks. Others say you can diet as long as you want. And others say you should only stay in a deficit for a few weeks at a time before taking a diet break, giving your body and mind a breather, and then enduring another bout of dieting. Who’s right? Well, here’s the truth of the matter: How long you should spend in a calorie deficit boils down to how fast you can lose fat without losing muscle, and this depends on how much fat you have to lose and how lean you want to get. So, instead of giving you a one-size-fits-all answer like “12 weeks,” I’m going to show you how to decide exactly how long you should stay in a calorie deficit to reach your goal weight. Let’s start by looking at how fast you can lose fat without losing muscle. 3:41- How long do I need to be in a calorie deficit? 7:07 - How do you calculate how much fat you can lose before you lose muscle? 16:48 - How long should i stay in a calorie deficit and when should I take a diet break? 23:29 - How do you do a diet break? --- Mentioned on The Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching:&nbsp;legionathletics.com/coaching/ --- 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:&nbsp;www.legionathletics.com/signup/

Humans are social creatures. We like having our “tribe”—people we can rely on when times get rough or who we can celebrate with when times are good. That said, most of us have experienced negative Nancys who just bring us down. Maybe they’re always complaining, or they’re a business partner not pulling their own weight, or they only share bad news, these people make your life worse when you interact with them. A simple step to make your life better, then, is not only eliminating these people from your life, but avoiding them in the first place. And that’s exactly what I chat with Jordan Harbinger about on this episode of the podcast. In it, we discuss how to foster good relationships, how to avoid “radioactive” people, how to develop a sense of self worth, and “one simple trick” to cultivate a network in just a few minutes a day. In case you’re not familiar with Jordan, he’s been coaching people on relationships and social skills for over 10 years and is the host of the award-winning Jordan Harbinger Show, one of Apple’s most downloaded podcasts. Let’s dive in! 11:33 - How can you overcome the scary feeling of making a big change in your life? 14:43 - How do you analyze a situation and see how that decision will affect your life? 21:21 - Do you think it’s common for a person to stay with someone so they can blame their failures on them? 23:14 - Does this also apply to romantic relationships? 28:41 - How do you develop a sense of self worth? 54:06 - How do you deal with people who bring you down? 01:00:22 - How do you cultivate a healthy network? 01:06:13 - How do you network under 6 minutes? 01:09:01 - What can you bring into this person’s life that can benefit both people? 01:23:42 - Where can people find you and your work? --- Jordan Harbinger's Website: www.jordanharbinger.com/ Jordan Harbinger's Podcast: www.jordanharbinger.com/subscribe-to-the-podcast/ Jordan Harbinger's Instagram: www.instagram.com/jordanharbinger/ Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: legionathletics.com/coaching/ --- 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: www.legionathletics.com/signup/

As of right now, I’ve produced over 500 episodes of Muscle for Life, totaling over 700 hours of content. I’ve talked about 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. People have also been saying they’d like me to do more shorter, multi-topic episodes, like my Q&As. And so I got an idea: how about a “best of” series of podcasts that contains a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from my most popular episodes? This way, people who are new to the show can quickly determine if it’s for them or not, and those who enjoy what I’m doing but don’t have the time or inclination to listen to all of my stuff can still benefit from the discussions and find new episodes to listen to. So, in this episode of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Jeff Nippard on building your best butt ever The Best Diets and Workouts for Your Body Type MFL Book Club Podcast: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey And we’ll be starting with number one, Jeff Nippard on building your best butt ever. --- 4:48 - Jeff Nippard on building your best butt ever 19:13 - The best diets and workouts for your body type 26:52 - MFL Book Club Podcast: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey --- Mentioned on The Show: https://legionathletics.com/podcast-jeff-nippard/ https://legionathletics.com/body-type-podcast/ https://legionathletics.com/mfl-book-club-podcast-7-habits-of-highly-effective-people/ Shop Legion Supplements Here: legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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 read anything about bodybuilding, you’ve probably heard about something called “the pump.” In a nutshell, this refers to the temporary increase in muscle size that occurs when you lift weights. Bodybuilders have been strangely obsessed with this phenomenon since people started lifting weights, and according to many, it’s the cheat code for unlocking rapid muscle growth. George Butler and Charles Gaines, authors of Pumping Iron: The Art and Sport of Bodybuilding, claimed getting a muscle pump, “feels like one of those fast-frame films of flowers blooming or seeds ripening; the muscles seem actually to go from pod to blossom in seconds under the skin.” This explanation reveals one of the main reasons weightlifters like getting a pump: it’s a visible sign your efforts in the gym are paying off. Your muscles are getting bigger before your eyes! This preoccupation with the pump hasn’t waned, either. You’ll still find articles touting the benefits of “chasing the pump”—bodybuilder lingo for doing lots of reps with short rest periods until your muscles are swollen and sore. Others counter that chasing the pump is a fool’s errand. Temporary muscle swelling has nothing to do with muscle growth, and your time is better spent getting as strong as possible, they say. So, who’s right? In this podcast, you’re going to learn what the pump is, what causes it, why people think it’s important, why it isn’t essential for muscle growth, and why it’s still worth doing some “pump” training in your workouts to get the best results. Let’s get started! --- 6:20 - What is the pump? 8:23 - What is pump training and is it good for building muscle and strength? 17:31 - How can I program pump training? --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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/

“How many sets should I do?” “When should I add more volume and how?” These are questions I get all the time, and especially lately. That’s because some recent studies have shown that basically, the more you do in the gym, the more you grow. Some studies suggest that doing as many as 40 sets per muscle group per week results in more growth than doing 20 sets. Is that really true though? And if so, how many sets should you be doing every week for optimal growth? Should we just do as many sets as possible? And on the opposite side of the coin, is there a minimum amount of volume we can get away with? To help answer these questions, I invited James Krieger back onto the podcast. Not only is he a published scientist and researcher, but he’s an accomplished writer who’s published a humongous treatise on training volume on his blog Weightology. His work is a legitimate “bible” on training volume that’s examined just about every study you’d be able to find on this hot topic. In this episode, James enlightens us on … - The different methods of counting volume and which one’s best - How many sets beginners should do and how that changes as you get more advanced - Whether you can “resensitize” your muscles to volume increases - If you should “cycle” your volume - How to specialize certain muscle groups - And a lot more! So, if you want practical guidelines on how much volume you should do for optimal training, and how to keep making gains, and breach plateaus, listen to this episode. 7:02 - What is volume? 8:56 - Why do you prefer number of hard sets over total reps? 10:13 - How much volume should I be shooting for, for each of the major muscle groups? 14:23 - Why do you have to up the stimulus from intermediate to advance weightlifting? 20:02 - At what point should you consider doing more, how far can you take it, and why? 26:37 - How would you approach focusing on one major muscle group? 36:16 - With the studies that showed growth with lower volumes, were those with experienced weight lifters? 37:22 - Is there a point where volume doesn’t become a stimulus anymore? 45:11 - What are your thoughts on direct versus indirect volume? 49:42 - Where can people find you and your work? --- Mentioned on The Show: James Krieger's Website: https://weightology.net/ Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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/

“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 whether the book is likely to be up your alley or not. Alright, let’s get to the takeaways. --- Mentioned on The Show: Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/ --- Want to be notified when my next book recommendation goes live? Hop on my email list and you’ll get each new installment delivered directly to your inbox. Click here: https://www.muscleforlife.com/signup/

In this episode, I interview Chris, who used my work to help turn his life around and even escape depression. When he first started working out, he didn’t know what he was doing with his training or diet. But thanks to newbie gains, he made progress anyway and learned to enjoy lifting weights. Along the way, though, things started to turn sour outside the gym. Financial troubles mounted, his relationship began to unravel, and Chris stopped going to the gym. He gained more and more weight as stress and depression began to take their toll, and then things came to a head: Chris and his wife separated. That was the moment he decided to get back in shape. It was around this time his brother (who lost over 200 pounds following Bigger Leaner Stronger!) introduced him to my work. Chris started following the Bigger Leaner Stronger program inside and outside the gym and, well, it helped him completely transform his life. He lost a boatload of fat, getting down to 15% body fat, added a ton of strength to his big lifts, and perhaps most importantly, was able to stop taking medication for depression. In this interview, Chris and I discuss his story, how he originally fell off the rails, how stress and strained relationships impacted his physical fitness, and how he turned it all around, including the small changes he started making to build long-lasting habits, how he improved his mental health, and more. So if you’re looking for a jolt of inspiration and like motivational stories, I highly recommend you listen to Chris’s. 7:10 - Where were you before and after finding Legion? 8:08 - How much weight did you lose and what was your body fat percentage at the beginning? 12:39 - What was going on in your life before you started getting back into shape? 16:33 - At what point in your life did you come across Legion? 19:05 - How long did it take your brother to lose 200lbs? 19:52 - How has getting back into working out affect your headspace? 23:26 - How was it transitioning into a better diet? 27:47 - What does your current diet look like? 38:29 - What are your future plans? --- 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/

Well, here we are, quarantined because of this VIRAL BOOGALOO blitzing around the world like it’s 1941, ravaging the defenseless lungs of tens of thousands of men, women, and children. Gyms are shuttered, Charmin Ultra Soft is now worth its weight in gold ammo, and protein bars have become a prized delicacy. The worst part for us fitness folk? HOME. WORKOUTS. Because for most of us, that means instead of our divine daily communion with the iron, we have to putz around with boring bodyweight exercises and bands. Guess what, though? Home workouts don’t have to be an unproductive slog. Although you can’t fully replicate the effectiveness of compound weightlifting, you can still gain (or at least maintain) muscle and strength with a well-designed home workout routine consisting of bodyweight exercises. And if you have some bands or dumbbells, that’s even better. So, if you want to learn how to work out at home when you can’t go to the gym, keep reading. You’ll learn the best bodyweight, band, and dumbbell exercises, and I’ll share workout routines you can start right away to stay swole through these trying times. Before we get to that, though, let’s address a question I’m sure you’ve asked yourself already. --- Time Stamps: 4:26 - Should I go back to the gym after the COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted? 15:58 - Are home workouts worth it? 26:17 - What are the best body weight exercises? 30:00 - What is the best way to use resistance bands in home workouts? 13:11 - What is the best way to use dumbbells and kettlebells in home workouts? 35:56 - What is the best home workout routine? 44:17 - What equipment should I have for home workouts? 45:37 - What are some advanced strategies for making my home workouts more effective? 48:31 - How do you use tourniquets and knee wraps properly? 50:31 - Should I incorporate sprinting to my home workout routine? --- 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/

The argument over whether or not men and women should train differently is an old one. Years ago, “experts” said women should train with light weights and high reps to “tone” and “sculpt” their bodies, whereas men should train with heavy weights and low reps to pack on muscle. In the past few years, the pendulum has swung in the other direction, with many people claiming women and men should follow the exact same training programs. And others say that while men and women should follow most of the same training principles, they should still follow slightly different programs for optimal results. Who’s right? Well, I tend to fall into the latter camp (the principles of training remain the same, but how they’re applied differs for men and women), but I also wanted to pick the brain of author, coach, and podcaster, Mark Rippetoe. In this episode, Mark edumacates us on ... - How and why women differ from men in terms of strength performance - What neuromuscular efficiency is and why it matters when designing a strength training program - What vertical jumping skill tells us about motor units, power, and raw strength - Why women should train with triples - And more ... Press play and let’s dive in! 12:54 - What’s the significance in the difference of a vertical jump? 32:26 - Why do singles for women translate into better performance? 44:20 - How would you take menstrual cycles into account? --- Mentioned on The Show: Mark Rippetoe's Website: https://startingstrength.com/ Mark Rippetoe's Podcast: https://startingstrength.com/radio Save up to 30% during Legion’s Spring Sale: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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/

It’s hard to believe that just a few weeks ago, life was business as usual. Now, we’re just a few weeks into the COVID-19 lockdown, and it’s looking like this will be the “new normal” for at least another few months. And us fitness folks are having a time of it. For one thing, you have to work out from home, and if that weren’t bad enough, some grocery stores are running out of stock on meat, vegetables, fruit, and other healthy staples. So you’re probably wondering, how the heck are you supposed to eat healthy through this mess? Should you cut, bulk, or maintain? And how are you supposed to avoid overeating? You’ve probably seen news stories about people binge eating junk food to mollify their frayed nerves, and others grazing throughout the day to mitigate their boredom, leading some people to call weight gained during the lockdown the “quarantine 15” or “COVID-15.” Well, the good news is that if you know what you’re doing, eating healthy during the quarantine is bat . . . er . . . duck soup. In this podcast, you’ll learn exactly how you should diet to not only avoid getting fat, but to maintain your muscle mass and even lose fat while stuck inside. Let’s get started! 2:18 - Should I be cutting during quarantine? 12:03 - Should I be lean bulking during quarantine? 19:08 - How can I avoid overeating? --- Mentioned on The Show: Save up to 30% during Legion’s Spring Sale: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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: 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 for the latest and greatest installment.   --- Mentioned on The Show: Legion Supplements: legionathletics.com/shop/ ---   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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking a few of the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . --- 4:12 - Is heavy compound lifting really best for newbies who are going it alone in the gym? 14:14 - Should you really be training your arms in the range of 4-8 reps? 22:45 - Is HIIT better for fat lost? --- Mentioned on The Show: Books by Mike Matthews: 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: 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! --- Mentioned on The Show: Legion Rebrand: https://legionathletics.com/new-and-exciting-march-2020/ Legion Health Boosters: https://legionathletics.com/products/supplements/ 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: www.legionathletics.com/signup/

If you’re like most people, you’ve been paying attention to what’s happening with coronavirus. Over 300,000 people have taken ill as of this writing and, depending on who you ask, the death rate ranges from 0.3 to 1 to 3% (one of the latest studies pins this number right in the middle at 1.4%). This makes it slightly more deadly than the flu, and significantly more deadly for those who are over 60 years old. While it’s easy to blow the situation out of proportion (and the media firestorm isn’t helping), it’s still wise to do everything you can to shore up your immune system in times like these. You’re probably already taking preventative measures like washing your hands, avoiding large crowds, and so forth, but you’re still exposed to thousands of different germs every day (and possibly, COVID-19). That’s not to mention the thousands of other seasonal diseases that sweep around the world every year like a swarm of locusts. And if one of these germs manages to sneak past your guard, it’s up to your immune system to knock them out before they make you sick. That raises the question: can you do anything to boost your immune system? If so, which methods work and which don’t? You’ll learn the answers to all of those questions and more in this podcast. So, let’s start with discussing what the immune system is and how it works, and then we’ll get to how to strengthen it and how to prevent and quickly overcome illnesses. --- 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/

Scott Carney is an interesting guy doing fascinating things. I first had him on the podcast to discuss his New York Times Bestseller What Doesn’t Kill Us, which took an investigative look at “hacking” our bodies and using the environment to stimulate our biology. Specifically, Scott went on a journey with biohacking legend Wim Hof, using special breathing techniques to push the limits of strength and endurance, submerging himself in ice water and climbing a freezing mountain with only a pair of shorts. Scott decided to take what he learned from Wim even further in his newest book, The Wedge, where he explores controlling mind and body to hijack stress and experience life in a whole new way. In this podcast, we discuss . . . - How too much comfort can actually be unhealthy - Developing unstoppable grit - Using kettlebell tossing to enter a flow state - Creating new neural symbols to change your experience of sensations - And so much more . . . Let’s dig in! 4:47 - What is The Wedge and why did you write it? 7:44 - Is there a spiritual or paranormal component to how you respond? 9:42 - Can you change the way your body instinctively reacts? 14:14 - How do you change the way your body instinctively reacts? 18:52 - Does controlling comfort enhance other aspects in your life? 27:34 - Can change your emotional response to danger? 37:24 - Are there other interesting techniques that you discuss in your book? 48:44 - What do you mean when you say there is a spiritual element to your practice? --- Mentioned on The Show: Scott’s Carney's New Book - The Wedge: https://www.scottcarney.com/the-wedge Scott Carney’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sgcarney/ Scott Carney’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scottcarneyauthor/ Scott Carney’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/sgcarney 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/

FRANDO! It’s-a-me, your Pandemic Pal, Corona Chum, and Quarantine . . . uhhhh . . . Quixote? And here we are, socially stranded, steadily sanitized, and slightly stir crazy thanks to The Rona, which isn’t merely “another flu,” as many not-doctors on (delete your) Instagram would have you believe. But hey, there are some white clouds in the sky, too. For instance . . . 1) Thanks to the cancellation of sports, many men have discovered they live with women and children who seem pretty nice. 2) We’ve discovered how someone eating bat soup in China can cause a worldwide shortage in toilet paper. 3) This may lead to an orgiastic baby boom, and in the 2030s, we’ll witness the rise of THE QUARANTEENS. Ha ha ha, and that’s not all sweet cheeks—open your mouth, so I can ladle some more rich, creamy good news into it. According to a March 19th message from Harvard Health Publishing . . . - Most people with COVID-19 recover. Estimates now suggest that 99% of people infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 will recover. Some people have no symptoms at all. And while thousands of people have died, the overall death rate is about 1% (or perhaps even lower), far less than MERS (about 34%), SARS (about 11%), or Ebola (90%), though higher than the average seasonal flu (0.1%). - Children seem to be infected less often and have milder disease. According to the CDC, the vast majority of infections so far have afflicted adults. And when kids are infected, they tend to have milder disease. - The number of new cases is falling where the outbreak began. During his speech declaring the new coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, the director-general of the WHO pointed out that “China and the Republic of Korea have significantly declining epidemics.” In fact, Wuhan province (site of the very first cases) has just reported no new local cases for the first time since the outbreak began. - Scientists around the world are making breakthroughs in developing a vaccine. For instance, vaccination trials are already underway at Kaiser Permanente, Israeli scientists are nearing development of their first vaccine, and China is testing five different vaccine options, claiming it could have one ready by next month. - Many businesses have stepped up to help us through the crisis. The sports world is raising money for stadium employees, Uber Eats is divvying out free delivery to help independent restaurants, professional soccer players are entertaining viewers with a FIFA tournament, and restaurants are doling out free food to those in need, to name just a few out of dozens. What’s more, if we all comply with the requested precautions, we may get to enjoy a tide of positive developments and see a marked shift toward normalcy by the end of next month. So, let’s just mind our own business for a couple of weeks, and then we’ll be able to say we survived the Great Toilet Paper Crisis of 2020 and not . . . something else. That said, if you’re new to working (and working out) from home, the quarantined life is a long row to hoe. How are you supposed to organize your day? What should you do with your newfound free time? How do you keep from skipping workouts, eating too much, frittering away all your time on social media and entertainment, and shirking your work? That’s what this podcast will be all about. Before we get to all of that, however, let’s begin with a bit of perspective. 5:00 - How do I manage my time better? 14:19 - What should my routine look like? 23:06 - How can I eat well? 34:17 - How do I stay productive and busy? --- Mentioned on The Show: Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ --- 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:/

For centuries, women were more or less excluded from organized athletics, relegated to more “feminine” tasks like being homemakers or taking care of children. A lot has changed. Women have their own leagues and divisions in all sports now, and while the WNBA might not ever be as popular as the NBA, for example, things are more equal now than they’ve ever been. But it’s been a gradual process that took many iconoclastic women to get to this point. To learn more about the culture of women’s strength and the history of women in sports, I invited journalist Haley Shapley on the podcast. In this episode, we discuss Haley’s new book Strong Like Her, which offers a deep dive into the world of women’s athleticism throughout history. We chat about . . . - How she got involved in women’s sports and why she wrote the book - How you’re in control of your body and can avoid getting bulky - The differences in how women and men are treated in sports - Unique challenges women face like being paid less and lack of sufficient maternity leave - The different dimensions of athleticism and why men are viewed as more athletic Let’s get to it! 4:57 - What inspired you to make this book? 7:21 - How was that experience for you personally? 17:24 - What were some of the most inspiring stories you wrote about? 28:50 - What are your thoughts on the challenges that women face today? 39:13 - Where can people find you and your work? --- Mentioned on The Show: Haley Shapley’s New Book - Strong Like Her: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Strong-Like-Her/Haley-Shapley/9781982120856 Haley Shapley’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/haleyshapley/ Haley Shapley’s Website: https://www.haleyshapley.com/ Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/ --- 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/

The issue of transgender women competing in women’s sports has become a hot button affair in recent years, mostly because many are blowing biological women out of the water, and in some cases, setting records that no biological woman will likely ever be able to break. Some people argue this isn’t a problem, because men who have transitioned to women and follow official competitive protocols don’t have any advantages over other women. Others argue that the significant physical advantages that men enjoy over women, such as more strength, speed, and power, can’t be eliminated by hormone therapy, and thus, biological men shouldn’t be able to compete against biological women. Who’s right? I invited Dr. Greg Brown onto the podcast to help explain what science has to say on the matter. He’s a professor of Exercise Science at the University of Nebraska Kearney who recently wrote an “expert declaration” on this very subject that examines all of the relevant research currently available. In this interview, Dr. Brown breaks it all down, explaining the physical advantages men enjoy over women, how much they matter in sports, and what happens to them after men transition to become women. Press play and tune in! 5:02 - Who is Gregory Brown and what is his background? 6:14 - Why did you write this controversial expert declaration? 7:17 - What are these inherent advantages that men have compared to women? 12:46 - How do physiological differences affect performance? 15:00 - How does transitioning before puberty affect the body? 19:27 - What are your thoughts on how this could affect women’s sports? 22:50 - If there are physical advantages in transgenders, where should we go from here? Should we ban them from women’s sports? 29:01 - How does your average transgender athlete compare to an elite women athlete? 44:19 - Where can people find you and your work? --- Mentioned on The Show: Dr Gregory Brown’s Declaration: https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/a69528e3-c613-4bcc-9931-258260a4e77f/downloads/2020.01.07%20G%20Brown%20Report%20Executed.pdf?ver=1578668890484   Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: legionathletics.com/coaching/ --- 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: www.legionathletics.com/signup/

In this episode, we’ll digress from our regular programming on how to lose fat, gain muscle, and stay healthy, and enter the world of professional sports with David Nurse, who’s one of the premier shooting coaches in the NBA. David once had aspirations to play in the NBA himself, but eventually, he learned the painful truth that he simply wasn’t good enough to compete at the highest levels of the sport. This was a tough row to hoe for David, who had devoted most of his life to the sport. Basketball was more or less all he knew and loved, and if he couldn’t make it as a pro, what else was he supposed to do? Instead of quitting his passion, however, David redirected it, successfully pivoting to a career of helping other good athletes become great. And today, he works with some of the best players in the world to help them continue to hone not just their physical talents but their mental game, as well. So, if you’ve ever wondered what professional sports teams do when the cameras aren’t running to achieve such superhuman feats of athleticism, you’ll enjoy this episode. In this episode, David talk about . . . - How David transitioned from failed player to coach for some of the best basketball players in the world - How a "swag reel" can help players get into a flow state - Why preparation and confidence are the true keys to success - The importance of wanting to be educated and coached - The unseen extra work that creates elite athletes Click the player below to listen! 9:48 - How did you transition from being a player to coach? 13:54 - What are some of the negative talk and self limiting beliefs that you help NBA players overcome? 17:40 - What are the things that you can do to get a high probability that can produce a positive return? How do you put yourself into that situation as much as possible? 25:07 - How do you make what you say persuasive to NBA players? 38:09 - How do you help cultivate the willingness to be coached in the NBA players that you work with? With NBA players that aren’t born with extraordinary talent, how do you persuade them? 56:50 - What is your book Pivot and Go about? 58:11 - What are some examples of shifting your mindset? Mentioned on The Show: David Nurse's Book - Pivot and Go: http://davidnurse.com/book/ David Nurse's Podcast (The 1%): https://linktr.ee/davidnurse5 David Nurse's Website: http://davidnurse.com/ David Nurse's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidnursenba/ Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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/

As of right now, I’ve produced over 500 episodes of Muscle for Life, totaling over 700 hours of content. I’ve talked about 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. People have also been saying they’d like me to do more shorter, multi-topic episodes, like my Q&As. And so I got an idea: how about a “best of” series of podcasts that contains a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from my most popular episodes? This way, people who are new to the show can quickly determine if it’s for them or not, and those who enjoy what I’m doing but don’t have the time or inclination to listen to all of my stuff can still benefit from the discussions and find new episodes to listen to. So, in this episode of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Eric Helms on the Simple Science of Making “Lean Gains” Helping people, building a brand, and my biggest lessons learned Here’s How I Go About Setting and Achieving My Goals And we’ll be starting with number one, the simple science of making lean gains with Eric Helms. --- Timestamps 5:59 - Eric Helms on the Simple Science of Making “Lean Gains” 16:05 - Helping people, building a brand, and my biggest lessons learned 25:13 - Here’s How I Go About Setting and Achieving My Goals --- Mentioned on The Show: legionathletics.com/eric-helms-build-muscle/ legionathletics.com/building-a-brand-podcast/ legionathletics.com/achieving-goals-podcast/ Shop Legion Supplements Here: legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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: www.legionathletics.com/signup/

Weight loss advice has been muddled for decades now. For example, in the 90’s, we were told that all we had to do to get the body of our dreams is eat as little dietary fat as possible. That didn’t work. Now we’re being told we can eat a snootful of fat every day so long as we restrict our carbohydrate and sugar intake. That’s not working, either. Hormones…artificial sweeteners…chemicals and “toxins”…genetically modified foods…wheat and gluten…they’re all to blame for our collective fatness, according to one “guru” or another. And the weight loss solutions they offer? Restrictive dieting, of course, which, in many cases, means facing down a short list of what you can eat with everything else being strictly verboten. Ironically, and fortunately for you, they’re all missing the forest for the trees. You see, losing weight is much simpler than you’ve been led to believe, and in this podcast, we’re going to talk about a weight loss and maintenance strategy that not only makes sense and is supported by good science, but actually works in the real world: portion control. The reason portion control works is simple. It strikes at the heart of why our weight changes for better or worse, which is the fact the quantity, not quality, of the food we eat matters most. Yes, when we’re talking weight, what we eat matters much less than how much. Couple that with the fact that people’s overall food portion sizes keep getting bigger, leading them to passively eat more and more calories, and it’s no wonder that obesity rates are rising faster than a Viagra erection. Research shows that portion size is one of the strongest environmental factors contributing to weight gain, and by the end of this podcast, you’re going to know why, how it works, and how to use it as a tool for not just losing weight but preventing unwanted weight gain as well. Let’s get started. 5:08 - Why does portion control matter? 8:51 - Why do we accidentally overeat? 16:51 - How do internal cues cause overeating? 21:44 - How can I use portion control to my advantage? 28:20 - How can I apply portion control at restaurants? --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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/

Coronavirus. The only thing anybody is talking about right now as it continues to upend life as we knew it and highlight all the things we’ve been taking for granted, like eating at the local pizza joint, walking more than 100 steps per day, and oh, I don’t know, being able to leave the fucking house. And then there’s the fitness fallout, what with lifters everywhere yearning for their usual diet and training routines, driven to boredom and overeating by lame home workouts with soup cans and small children for resistance. If all that weren’t enough, there’s also the scumpot of scammers and losers clogging our Instagram feeds with posts about pills, powders, and potions that’ll purportedly ward off infection and disease. And so understandably, you have questions about stuff like what to do with your diet, how to best work out at home, and how to help your immune system, and that’s why I wanted to bring Dr. Layne Norton back on the podcast. Not only is he a pro bodybuilder, accomplished powerlifter, and published scientist, but he’s also an all-around knowledgeable dude who’s known for putting things in context and putting diet and exercise gurus and zealots in their place. In this podcast, Layne answers questions people have been asking me quite a bit, including . . . - Am I going to lose all my gains if I can’t go to the gym? - How can I make my home workouts more effective? - How can I support my immune system? Will the carnivore diet help? - Should I cut right now? - And more . . . Let’s dig in! 4:04 - What are your thoughts on COVID-19? 5:20 - Where can people find your resources for online learning? 5:49 - How can we get a good workout from home? 13:26 - Why is heath and nutrition important during this time? 21:16 - How do you deal with fear of the unknown? 24:49 - What do you think about scammers capitalizing on the COVID-19 outbreak? 34:27 - How can we enhance immune function? Should I be cutting right now? 36:55 - Where can people find you and your work? --- Mentioned on The Show: Layne Norton's Carbon Diet Coach App: https://joincarbon.com/ Layne Norton's Books & More: https://www.biolayne.com/ Layne Norton's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/biolayne/ Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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 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: - What do I think about the coronavirus? - What are the best home workouts for maintaining muscle and strength? - Is eating at night unhealthy and does it cause weight gain? 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/home-workout/ - https://legionathletics.com/how-to-prevent-mindless-eating/ Timestamps: 2:18 - What do I think about the coronavirus? 6:53 - What are the best home workouts for maintaining muscle and strength? 34:32 - Is eating at night unhealthy and does it cause weight gain? --- Mentioned on The Show: Legion's Charity Sale: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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/

Today’s episode is with the one and only Ben Greenfield, the bossman of biohacking and New York Times Bestselling author of several books, including his latest work, Boundless, which is a delicious buffet of techniques and tricks for optimizing your mind, body, and spirit. And with most of us huddled up in our homes with our families, only venturing out for necessities like groceries and toilet paper, what better subjects to talk about in this moment than immunity, longevity, and . . . sex! In this episode, Ben and I chat about . . . - How specific breathing techniques and nasal breathing can decrease stress and improve your sleep - Ways you can support your immune system - The benefits of cold exposure - How “sex salad” and oxytocin can enhance your drive and satisfaction - “Doomsday” prepping and using newly found pandemic time productively - And more . . . Enjoy! 9:40 - What forms of breath work do you discuss in your new book? 13:29 - How can you train yourself to breath through your nose when you sleep? 17:44 - How can you boost your immune system? 37:53 - How can you increase satisfaction while having sex?   ---   Mentioned on The Show: Legion’s Charity Sale: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ Ben Greenfield’s New Book ‘Boundless’: https://boundlessbook.com/  Ben Greenfield’s Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ben-greenfield-fitness/id283908977 Ben Greenfield’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bengreenfieldfitness/?hl=en   ---   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/

There’s no doubt heavy drinking is a ticket to an early death. The CDC estimates 88,000 Americans die annually from alcohol-related causes, which includes car accidents, a cornucopia of cancers, and liver disease. Fifteen million Americans are believed to have an alcohol dependency disorder, and until recently alcohol killed more people than opioids. That’s not to mention the disastrous effects of alcoholism on quality of life, mental health, productivity, and relationships. Of course, you’ve heard all this before, and don’t need me to tell you heavy drinking can ruin and shorten your life. That said, you’ve also probably heard that moderate drinking is good for you. That’s the claim doctors, scientists, and beverage companies have promoted for years—heavy drinking is bad for you and moderate drinking is beneficial. Now, though, the pendulum is swinging in the other direction after a series of studies emerged that seemed to show alcohol is dangerous in any amount. For example, CNN published an article titled “Even one drink a day could be shortening your life,” in reference to one such study (which you’ll learn about in a moment). Now, the fashionable opinion is that any alcohol is bad for you, full stop, and even moderate drinking is an invitation to long-term health problems. Is this true, though? Are you shortening your life by having a glass or two of wine or beer each night? Well, the simple answer is no, probably not. The more complicated answer is that there’s still a lot we don’t know about the long-term effects of alcohol and there’s no one size fits all answer for how much alcohol you can safely drink. So, what exactly does alcohol do to your body, and how much can you safely drink? Keep listening to learn the answer. --- 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/

Chase Chewning hasn’t had an easy time of it. When he was still a teenager, he lost his father to Lou Gehrig’s disease. A few years later while he was in the army, he got seriously injured, requiring multiple surgeries, and got medically discharged. Chase’s life was in shambles. His body was broken, his mind was muddled, and his spirit was shattered. He had no money, no job, and no purpose. What he did have, though, was a lesson his father taught him—one he shares in our interview—that he used to emerge from this dark period and regain his physical and emotional strength, build a popular podcast and following online, and launch successful coaching and media consulting businesses that allow him to make a living doing work he loves and believes deeply in. In this episode, Chase shares his story, including . . . The transformative “gift” that his late father gave him How he ended up getting discharged from the army The experience of going “all in” on entrepreneurship and quitting a stable career How to stand out in a saturated field like the fitness industry How to find your passion And more . . . So, if you like inspiring stories and want to learn how Chase used tragedy to ignite a motivational fire under his own butt, listen to this episode. 5:33 - Why did you move to Los Angeles? 7:27 - What does Ever Forward mean and why did you choose that as your brand? 11:19 - How long ago was it when you discovered Ever Forward? 14:19 - Was your major injury the beginning of the descent? 19:49 - How did you turn that experience into where you’re at today? 23:34 - How did you start doing your podcast and brand? 39:23 - Was transitioning from coaching to podcast another leap you had to make? 49:12 - How do you find your passion? Should I turn my passion into my career? --- Mentioned on The Show: Chase's Podcast: https://chasechewning.com/radio Chase's Website: https://chasechewning.com/ Chase's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chase_chewning/ Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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/

Look at most popular pre-workout supplements and you’ll find they have several ingredients common. L-citrulline is one of them. Its name comes from citrullus, the Latin word for watermelon, which is a natural source of it. Other food sources include peanuts, soybeans, and kidney beans. Most supplements aren’t all that special and can’t live up to the hype, but, as you’ll see, L-citrulline is one of the proven winners. And in this podcast, we’re going to answer all your questions: - What is L-citrulline? - What are its benefits and side effects? - How much do you have to take to see results? - What’s the best way to supplement with it? - And more… Let’s start at the top. 9:57 - How did citrulline get its name? 10:27 - What is l-citrulline? 11:40 - Why do people supplement with l-citrulline? 14:09 - What are the benefits of supplementing with l-citrulline? 19:24 - How much l-citrulline do I need to take to get the benefits? 23:24 - How do I get l-citrulline? --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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/

You’ve probably heard that masturbation can drain your testosterone levels, dampen your drive to work out, and decrease muscle growth. This idea that masturbation (or more specifically, ejaculation) hinders muscle building and athletic performance goes all the way back to ancient Greek and Roman times, when athletes would refrain from sex before athletic contests. It turns out this idea still persists among many modern athletes. As former heavyweight boxing champion David Haye said, “I don’t ejaculate for six weeks before the fight. No sex, no masturbation, no nothing. It releases too much tension. It releases a lot of minerals and nutrients that your body needs, and it releases them cheaply.” Hmm . . . sounds an awful lot like an international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids. Perhaps he’s right. But what does the scientific literature say? Does masturbating interfere with your gains or your athletic performance? The short answer is no, it doesn’t, unless you masturbate immediately before working out. The long answer is studies show masturbation and sex have a variety of effects on the body and can impact your testosterone levels in the short term, but they’re highly unlikely to affect muscle growth.   ---   Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/   ---   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/

Chances are good you found this podcast because you think you may have “man boobs.” And, chances are also good you’re willing to do just about anything to get rid of them. And I’d also wager you haven’t had much luck so far. Even when you manage to lose a few pounds your “moobs” don’t seem to shrink, and maybe you’re even wondering if you’ll need surgery to get rid of them. After all, many other guys are taking that route. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, male breast reduction surgeries increased 32% from 2000 to 2017, and in 2015 men accounted for 40% of all breast reduction surgeries. Is that really your only option, though? Is surgery the only way to get rid of man boobs? And even if you manage to get rid of them, are they just going to come back thanks to your genetics? The short answer is no, no, and no. The long answer is that most cases of “man boobs” are simply caused by having too high of a body fat percentage, and once you reduce your body fat percentage your man boobs will disappear along with the rest of your chest fat. So, if you want to learn how to get rid of man boobs as quickly as possible, you’re in the right place. Let’s get started. --- 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/

What’s the best way to eat for optimal health—and brain health in particular—and longevity? That’s a question Max Lugavere is working to answer. When Max’s mother’s mental health began to decline, he became obsessed with how it could have been prevented. And that culminated in his first book, Genius Foods, which was a New York Times best-seller all about using diet and nutrition to help prevent dementia. Unfortunately, Max’s mother developed pancreatic cancer, which she died from shortly after. Max’s determination didn’t wane, though, and he’s since gone on to write his newest book, Genius Life, which expands on the premise of his first book to go beyond food and build a healthy lifestyle. In this episode, Max and I talk about . . . - Why many people don’t need to eat so many carbs - Misconceptions about olive oil for cooking - The effect of late-night eating on hunger hormones - Blue light blocking and magnesium for better sleep - And more . . . So, if you want to live a longer, healthier life while avoiding disease and optimizing your brain, listen to this episode! 12:49 - What are some of the big takeaways that you discussed in your book? 34:21 - Why is eating at night not healthy? 51:57 - How much time outside should you spend to increase better sleep? 53:45 - Can you simulate natural light with artificial light? 1:00:01 - What are some toxic chemicals that we are constantly exposed to and how can we avoid them? --- Mentioned on The Show: Max’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maxlugavere/ Max’s New Book: https://geniuslifebook.com/ 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/

As of right now, I’ve produced over 500 episodes of Muscle for Life, totaling over 700 hours of content. I’ve talked about 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. People have also been saying they’d like me to do more shorter, multi-topic episodes, like my Q&As. And so I got an idea: how about a “best of” series of podcasts that contains a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from my most popular episodes? This way, people who are new to the show can quickly determine if it’s for them or not, and those who enjoy what I’m doing but don’t have the time or inclination to listen to all of my stuff can still benefit from the discussions and find new episodes to listen to. So, in this inaugural episode of The Best of Muscle for Life, you’ll be hearing hand-picked morsels from three episodes: Lyle McDonald on How Women Can Improve Fat Loss https://legionathletics.com/lyle-mcdonald-podcast/ How to Safely and Healthily Lose Weight Fast https://legionathletics.com/how-to-lose-weight-fast-podcast/ The Science of Supercharging Your Willpower and Self-Discipline https://legionathletics.com/increase-willpower-podcast/ And we’ll be starting with number one, fat loss tips for women from Lyle McDonald. 5:24 - Lyle McDonald on How Women Can Improve Fat Loss 14:53 - How to Safely and Healthily Lose Weight Fast 18:19 - The Science of Supercharging Your Willpower and Self-Discipline --- 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 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: 1. Should I do touch and go deadlifts or should I pause between reps? 2. How quickly should I expect results with muscle gain and fat loss? 3. How much sugar can I eat and still be healthy? 4. I’ve used online calculators to determine my ideal calorie intake, how come I’m not losing or gaining 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: legionathletics.com/paused-reps/ legionathletics.com/sugar-facts/ legionathletics.com/how-many-calori…s-should-i-eat/ Timestamps: 1:35 - Should I do touch and go deadlifts or should I pause between reps? 12:17 - How quickly should I expect results with muscle gain and fat loss? 23:55 - How much sugar can I eat and still be healthy? 30:13 - I’ve used online calculators to determine my ideal calorie intake. How come I’m not losing or gaining weight? --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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: www.legionathletics.com/signup/

I’m pretty sure that’s how the “Gallon of Milk a Day,” or GOMAD Diet was conceived. It’s equally simple to follow because the name alone tells you everything you need to know: You drink an entire gallon of milk every day. (You eat other food too, of course, but you’re not following the diet unless you’re getting down that gallon.) Most people would say that’s silly, but when you’re struggling to gain weight and have tried just about everything but steroids, well, why not? I mean, there are plenty of jacked dudes on the Internet that swear by GOMAD for gaining muscle fast and hitting PRs, so who knows…maybe there’s really something to it? Unfortunately, it’s not that black and white. Yes, GOMAD can help you gain weight faster…but a lot of it isn’t going to be the type of weight that you want to gain (fat). You see, putting down a couple thousand calories of milk per day will certainly move the needle to the right, but it isn’t going to do much good for your body composition. It’s not going to do your gut any favors, either. That’s why there are much better ways to go about gaining weight, and in this podcast, I’m going to break it all down for you. By the end, you’re going to know why people turn to GOMAD, what’s wrong with it, and how to go about gaining weight the right way. Let’s get started. 4:45 - What is the GOMAD diet and why do people do it? 9:45 - Is the GOMAD diet better than eating more food? 10:24 - Does milk have the ideal nutrient profile for muscle building? 16:22 - Does milk have saturated fat that boosts testosterone levels? 20:20 - Does milk spike insulin levels to accelerate muscle growth? 28:40 - Can guys gain 20-30 pounds in a month on the GOMAD diet? 30:23 - What should I do instead of GOMAD? --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ ---- 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 sharing my perspective. Think of it like a spicier version of a Q&A. So, here’s what I’m doing: Every couple of weeks, I’m asking my Instagram followers what they disagree with me on, and then picking a few of the more common or interesting contentions to address here on the podcast. And in this episode, I’ll be tackling the following . . . 4:20 - Why I recommend 4-6 reps for most exercises in Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger 16:16 - Why I think watching porn is bad 32:38 - Whether or not I pay attention to my competitors more than I lead on --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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/

Leadership may sound glamorous, but it’s far different from what most people imagine. It’s hard work. It takes brains, grit, and persistence. You have to earn the trust and respect of your team. You have to do more than just learn new skills to become a good leader, too—you have to work on yourself to overcome the mental hurdles holding you back, including deeply-ingrained negative behaviors and emotions. Luckily, no matter your previous experience, you can become a better leader. And who better to learn from than Mark Divine, who’s releasing a new book on leadership called Staring Down the Wolf: 7 Leadership Commitments That Forge Elite Teams. In case you’re not familiar with Mark, he’s a master in mental toughness and leadership. He’s not just a New York Times bestselling author and creator of several multi-million dollar businesses (including SEALFIT and Unbeatable Mind), he was also a Navy SEAL for 20 years and climbed the rank of commander before retiring. So it goes without saying that Mark isn’t just talking the talk. In this episode, we talk about . . . How leading a team in the civilian world is different from the SEALs The hard lessons he learned from his first major business failure Common leadership problems like internal biases and a lack of emotional awareness Stages of leadership development and the importance of “vertical growth” and mastering yourself And even a bit of book publishing, meditation, and spirituality . . . So, if you want to become a better leader or even just a more well-rounded person more capable of serving a greater cause than yourself, definitely give this episode a listen! 13:25 - Why did you decide to write this book and why now? 20:29 - How was the transition from the navy seals to business? 30:13 - Why is vertical growth so important? 33:05 - What does that higher perspective look like? 50:05 - What does spirituality mean to you? --- Mentioned on The Show: Mark’s New Book Staring Down the Wolf: 7 Leadership Commitments That Forge Elite Teams: staringdownthewolf.com/pre-order-page-3 Mark Divine’s Website: markdivine.com/ Mark Divine’s Podcast: unbeatablemind.com/podcast/ Mark Divine’s Corporate Training: unbeatablemind.com/ Shop Legion Supplements Here: legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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: www.legionathletics.com/signup/

The number one reason people struggle to lose weight is they don’t stick to their diet. Why? Well, that’s the million dollar question. Some people get bored with their food choices, lack of progress, and daily routine, and revert to their old eating habits. Some people get thrown off course by a holiday, vacation, or unplanned restaurant outing and never pull themselves back on track. Others try to lose weight too fast and end up running into a quicksand of low-energy, irritability, hunger, and obsessive thoughts about food that causes them to binge and gain back much of the weight they lost. While those first two obstacles are relatively easy to solve, it’s that last one that’s often the bane of even the most experienced dieters. Losing weight requires that you maintain a calorie deficit for weeks or months on end. That is, you need to be eating fewer calories than you burn for quite some time to see a noticeable change in your appearance. Most people have no trouble maintaining a calorie deficit for a few days or weeks, but it’s sticking it out day after day after day that wears people down and breaks their resolve. And one of the key gremlins that plagues their progress is hunger. There’s a lot you can do to counter hunger—eating more protein and fibrous fruits and vegetables, eating fewer processed foods, and (ironically) exercising, but if you diet for long enough it will become noticeable, especially between meals. One of the things you can do to avoid being harried by hunger is taking natural appetite suppressants. Now, appetite suppressants generally have a bad rap, and understandably so. Many harsh weight loss drugs like clenbuterol work partially because they also reduce appetite, and the most effective appetite suppressants often come with strong and potentially permanent side effects. For example, while “clen” is an outstanding appetite suppressant, it also increases the risk of heart failure, potassium deficiency, and insomnia. That said, it would be unfair to paint all appetite suppressants with the same brush as clenbuterol. There are healthy, effective, natural appetite suppressants that can help you curb hunger and cravings without compromising your health. While I’m an advocate of getting as much mileage out of your diet and training as possible before resorting to supplements, there are several kinds of natural appetite suppressants worth trying if you’re struggling to keep the hunger hobgoblins at bay. And by the end of this podcast, you’ll know everything you need to know about which natural appetite suppressants are worth trying and which aren’t. Let’s get started. --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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/

Today's episode is the story of a professional golfer named Dru Love (son of the Hall of Fame golfer, Davis Love III), and how my team of coaches helped Dru lose close to 40 pounds and gain a bunch of strength and muscle. When Dru was first introduced to me and my work, he was struggling with his body composition and fitness. He’s 6’5” and at the time weighed about 250 pounds. He had no idea what to do with his diet because of all the myths he’d heard in the past. You’d be shocked what sort of fad diets make their way into professional sports, and most people don’t realize athletes don’t get good advice on how to eat, how to train, or how to do many things outside of how to play their sport. There are plenty of good coaches specific to their sport, but when it comes to diet and training, athletes have a lot of people giving them a lot of bad advice. And that was definitely the case with Dru. On the dietary side of things, he’d go from one extreme diet to the next, and fall off the wagon because it was too restrictive. His plans weren’t sustainable and he hated it. He couldn't wait to get back to eating what he wanted, when he wanted, and as much as he wanted. On the training side of things, Dru wasn’t much better off. Instead of strength training, he was working out with cables and BOSU balls—a bunch of “functional fitness” stuff—as it's often called in the golf space. Those are the workouts I see many professional golfers doing, and really, they’re kind of silly. It's a lot of very low weight, low resistance exercises, with tons of reps and a lot of isolation work. Of course, this is better than nothing. But I always wondered, why isn't strength training more popular in golf, especially considering most of the power in your swing comes from your lower body? Wouldn't it be helpful to have stronger legs, stronger hips, and stronger glutes that can produce more force and produce it faster? You know, more power. The faster you can swing the club, the more energy you can transfer to the ball, and the further you hit it. That's one of the things I talk to Dru about—why aren't more golfers doing strength training? We also talk more in-depth about how his training looked before and after working with my coaching team, and how that’s impacted his golf game. Dru has lost upward of about 40 pounds now, and while he saw his swing speed drop initially, he saw it come back up as he gained muscle and strength. Now, he’s 40 pounds lighter yet his swing speeds are higher than they were when he weighed 250 pounds. And Dru’s just getting started. He’s 6 months into coaching and probably has another 6 months of newbie gains to go. So it's going to be exciting to see where this journey takes him. Dru and I also chat about how his relationship with food has dramatically improved. Before, he struggled to “eat well”—eating a lot of fried foods and barbecue instead. (He lives in Georgia.) Then he’d go from some extreme diet to the next, yo-yo dieting his way to nowhere. Now, he's eating a lot of nutritious foods and fitting in indulgences to celebrate tournament wins on tour. Anyway, I found this podcast particularly enjoyable because I like golf and I admire people who are really good at it. And as you’ll hear, what Dru is doing now is setting himself up for future big wins, and has positive ramifications outside of his sport as well. Hit play and I hope you enjoy! --- 8:58 - Where were you before you found Legion and my work? 11:34 - What did your body composition and weight look like before and after Legion? 19:30 - What is the fitness scene like in professional golf? 26:42 - Is there a stigma in golf against losing weight? 31:03 - How have you managed your workouts so soreness doesn’t get in the way of your goal? What have you noticed in terms of flexibility? 42:50 - How was t

I don’t appear on many podcasts these days, but when I do, I like to share the conversation here on my podcast if it’s something I think all you beautiful people will enjoy listening to. And that’s what this episode is—a conversation I had with Cody McBroom on his The Boom Boom Performance Podcast where I pontificate about what should change as you transition from a beginner to an intermediate lifter, how I periodize the training in my new Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger 2.0 program (new book coming this summer!), the lean bulking study with Eric Helms that I’m funding, some supplement stuff like the value of intraworkout carb powders and CLA, and more. Hit play and let me know what you think! 4:00 - How different does training need to be for each individual? 13:46 - How do you convince people to dial back 30-40 sets per muscle group per week? 23:39 - When do these techniques become relative? 30:59 - What are your thoughts on periodization for muscle growth? 42:06 - What are your thoughts on building muscle on maintenance calories? 50:18 - Can you describe carb powder for those lifting on an empty stomach? Have you ever thought about doing any of those? If you don’t, why not? 57:06 - Can mixing certain ingredients prevent the body from absorbing things? 01:01:51 - Can you review CLA and give your thoughts on it? --- Mentioned on The Show: Books by Mike Matthews: legionathletics.com/products/books/ Cody McBroom's Podcast (The Boom Boom Performance Podcast): mindvsmuscle.podbean.com/ --- 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: www.legionathletics.com/signup/

Optimal training frequency is a hotly debated subject. Some believe you should train your entire body two to three times per week, whereas others think this approach will lead to overtraining, injury, and burnout. Anecdotal evidence is all over the place as well. Skim through online forums and chat with fellow gym goers and you’ll hear stories of fantastic progress training major muscle groups just once per week as well as three, four, or even five times per week. Some weightlifters also mix it up, training different muscle groups with different frequencies. For example, some say smaller muscle groups like the shoulders, biceps, and calves should be trained three or four times per week but large muscle groups like the upper legs only need one intense workout per week. If you turn to the scientific literature for insight, you’ll get few reliable answers. Some studies seem to show higher frequencies work best and others show you can make equally good progress with fewer workouts per week. So, what should you do? --- Time Stamps: 4:28 - What is training frequency? 5:53 - What is the best training frequency for building muscle? 17:55 - How do you figure out how frequently you should be training? --- 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/

“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 whether the book is likely to be up your alley or not. Alright, let’s get to the takeaways. --- Mentioned on The Show: Books by Mike Matthews: 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: 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 for the latest and greatest installment. --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: https://legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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 don’t have time to workout.” “Eating properly is too hard.” “I’ve tried it all before. Fitness just doesn’t work for me.” I get hundreds of emails every day and often hear stuff like that, and especially from folks in their mid-30s and 40s. Whether they’ve fallen off the wagon and want to get in shape again, or have never really tried to achieve any serious fitness goals, these people are frustrated. And I understand. Building muscle and losing fat isn’t easy. Creating a sustainable lifestyle that allows you to stay consistent over the long-haul is even harder. That’s especially true when you have a busy professional career and a spouse and family to attend to, and even more so if you also need to travel frequently. That’s why I invited Marc Perry back on the podcast. In case you’re not familiar with Marc, he's the creator of BuiltLean.com and specializes in helping men in their mid-30s and beyond create systems and habits that allow them to reach their fitness goals faster and enjoy themselves along the way. In this episode, we discuss . . . - The different stages of getting fit as you get older - Unique challenges of getting in shape especially with hectic work and home lives - Where to start if you’re out of shape - The benefits of crawling - The importance of accountability - And much more . . . So if you’re 35 or older and want some actionable fitness advice that goes beyond “tough love,” give this podcast a listen! 13:10 - How would you start to form an individual program for a person? 16:39 - What do you with people who are in stage one and want to reach the next level? 18:27 - What are some common habits and beliefs you work on with people during stage one? What is the winning mindset? 25:56 - How can you change the mindset of “I can’t eat properly”? 27:38 - What are some common examples to eating properly and forming a habit? 51:07 - What type of workouts do you typically have your clients do? 52:33 - What are some of your favorite exercises to do and have your clients do? 55:01 - What are the benefits of crawling smoothly? 57:11 - What does the form look like to crawl correctly? Where can I find more information on crawling? 1:02:13 - Where can people find you and your work? Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: legionathletics.com/shop/ Marc Perry's Website: www.builtlean.com/ 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: www.legionathletics.com/signup/

Weight loss can seem wildly complex. Some say that carbs are the culprit when it comes to weight gain, and going low-carb is the most effective way to lose weight and keep it off for good. Others say that weight loss goes beyond carbs—it’s about the quality of your diet. If you avoid toxins, lectins, phytates, and other nutritional bogeymen that are menacing your metabolism, the pounds fall right off. And others say that you just need to eat clean. Eat more fresh, whole, minimally processed foods and less junk, and you’ll lose weight like clockwork. Most trends ebb and flow in cycles—liberals and conservatives in power, booms and busts in the economy, and complexity and simplicity when it comes to popular diets. It’s not surprising then, that after several decades of fake doctors, fitness gurus, and marketers shilling complex diets like The Plant Paradox diet, the ketogenic diet, the carnivore diet, the military diet, and the like, that many people are yearning for a simpler approach. It’s not surprising, then, that people are becoming tired of complicated diets, and are becoming more interested in simple ones, like the “calories in, calories out” diet, aka the CICO diet. Proponents promise that it’s the simplest, most reliable, and effective way to lose weight, and that once you try it you’ll never try another weight loss diet again. Critics say that while it can help you lose weight, it does so at the cost of your long-term health. Who’s right? The short answer is that the CICO diet isn’t really a diet at all. It simply describes the mechanism by which all diets work and have always worked—eating fewer calories than you burn. As the old saying goes, though, everything old is new again, and in this article, you’re going to learn why the CICO diet is being exhumed once more. By the end, you’ll know . . . - What the CICO diet is - Why people follow the CICO diet - What the benefits and downsides of the CICO diet are - A better way to eat than the CICO diet - And more! Let’s get started. --- Mentioned on The Show: Shop Legion Supplements Here: legionathletics.com/shop/ --- 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: 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! --- Mentioned on The show: Books by Mike Matthews: legionathletics.com/products/books/ My Free Workout App Stacked: getstackedapp.com/ --- 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: www.legionathletics.com/signup/

As you can imagine, I’ve heard many January resolutions over the years. “This is my year. I’m finally going to lose 20 pounds.” “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired. I’m going to get fit again!” “I’m going to set an example for my friends, family, spouse, kids, etc.” And I’ve seen many people, when armed with the right know-how and an extra helping of piss and vinegar, do exactly as they intended. I’ve also seen many unsuccessful attempts at personal transformation inside and outside of the gym, and while a sheer lack of discipline and stick-to-it-iveness is often partly to blame, many times the problems begin right at square one: how they go about setting goals. And then, to add insult to injury, they often botch the next crucial step, and that’s creating a system that will produce their desired results. If you can do those two things well--set goals and build systems--there’s no telling what you might be able to achieve inside and outside of the gym. That’s the topic of today’s discussion with Donata White, who I invited back on the podcast to share her personal story transitioning from a successful law career to social media and business consulting as well as how she helps her clients tackle goal setting and execution. In this episode, Donata and I talk about . . . - Why people often fail at their resolutions - Creating goals you care about rather than ones that “sound” good - Setting up systems to achieve those goals - Outlining your core values - What failure really is - And more . . . Give it a listen! 6:52 - Why do people fail with their new years resolution? 24:35 - What sort of goals sound good but actually aren’t? 38:37 - Whats the difference between quantitative and qualitative goals? 43:59 - What is your system for achieving goals? 01:08:34 - When did you realize that you didn’t want to be a lawyer anymore? --- Mentioned on The Show: Books by Mike Matthews: legionathletics.com/products/books/ Donata White: Website: donatawhite.com/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/donatawhite/ Twitter: twitter.com/donatawhite --- 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: www.legionathletics.com/signup/