Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews

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 yo...

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...

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 a...

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 Roundu...

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...

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 w...

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 lik...

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 e...

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 rela...

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...

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?...

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 max...

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...

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...

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 spor...

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 comp...

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,...

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 pe...

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 I...

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 an...

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 boo...

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 dou...

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 a...

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 cli...

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 the...