Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews

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...

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 ten...

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...

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 wi...

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 thin...

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 ques...

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 fast...

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 mea...

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 o...

“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, t...

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 diffe...

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...

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 ques...

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 fast...

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 vari...

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...

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, yo...

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...

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 fast...

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...

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 fo...

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 ques...

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...

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 maga...

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 t...