Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews

For better and worse, online fitness coaching has exploded over the past decade or so. I say that because on the one hand, this has enabled many people to affordably connect up with legitimate experts and get into great shape, and on the other hand, it has also led many others into the gaping jaws of the legions of charlatans, shysters, and phonies who have swarmed the online coaching space. And u...

In the past few years, collagen protein has become a glittering moneymaker. According to some, it’s the new fish oil, what with its long list of benefits for nearly every major part of your health and physiology. The most popular claims include . . . -Reducing joint pain and improving joint health -Improving the health and appearance of your skin and nails -Increasing muscle growth and recovery An...

If you're a skinny guy or gal struggling to gain weight… Or a "fluffy" one struggling to "shift" fat… Or somewhere in between… This is going to be the most important fitness podcast you listen to. Seriously. And I want to start it with some good news: Your genetics can't stop you from getting the body you really desire. Yes, some people's bodies respond better to training than others', but I don't...

If you’re over age 65, you’re more likely to die from heart disease than any other cause. Why, though? Is it due to stress? Over or under exercising? Eating too much fat, cholesterol, and junk food? A bit of each or something else altogether? Scientists have been searching for answers to those questions for a long time now, but if there’s one culprit that has been fingered more than any other, it’...

“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 and MFL HQ. So here’s a quick hosedown of what me and my jolly band of pirates and bums have been up to lately. Enjoy! W...

My books for men and women—Bigger Leaner Stronger and Thinner Leaner Stronger—include an entire section on the “mental game” of getting fit. I’ve also recently published an entire book on the topic called The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation. The reason I’ve put a lot of time into discussing the “softer” side of fitness is just knowing what to isn’t enough. You also need a strong enough why...

“Sugar is the new crack cocaine!” Yeah, people are actually saying that these days. They're telling us that sugar is as addictive as cocaine, and the more we eat, the more likely we are to get fat, sick, and, ultimately, dead. It sounds bad. Really bad. How true is it, though? Does every dessert we eat push us a little further down the slippery slope of disease and dysfunction, and make it ever ha...

Meditation has become wildly popular in the past decade or so. So popular, in fact, that’s it’s easy to write it off as another “woo woo” fad, like water fasting, cupping therapy, or lectin-free diets. It’s not, though. While the health benefits of meditation are often overblown, it’s hard to argue with the subjective benefits it provides. I don’t have much personal experience with meditation, so...

If you want to lose fat or gain muscle, then you need to know how many calories you burn every day. If you don’t, it’s going to be a lot harder than it should be, if not impossible. But if you’re here, that’s probably not news to you. (And if you don’t, read this article first and come back.) You just aren’t sure how to actually do it – how to easily and accurately calculate how many calories you’...

Chiropractic is a controversial subject in the fitness community. On the one hand, some people claim it can fix all kinds of aches, pains, and ailments ranging from low-back pain to indigestion, headaches, brain fog, and more. On the other hand, some say that chiropractic is a pseudoscientific discipline run by greedy charlatans who provide absolutely no value beyond the placebo effect. And if you...

You probably know drinking water is good for you. You probably also know dehydration is bad for you, and you’ve probably heard you should drink water frequently throughout the day and err on the side of drinking a little more than you feel necessary rather than less. And you’re probably here because you heard that instead of drinking boring peasant water, you should avail yourself of the miraculou...

Ten years ago, pre-workout supplements were for the unhinged looking dudes in the gym who nobody made eye contact with. You know the type: steroids, stringers, water jugs, strutting and peacocking, and the like. Back then, the pre-workout space mostly consisted of products like Craze, Jack3d, and Detonate (all of which have been banned, by the way) that contained mega-doses of amphetamine-like sti...

As you’ve probably guessed, these are shorter-than-usual cuts and bulks, normally in the range of three to four weeks, and in this podcast, Layne and I talk about how well they work. Are they worth the trouble or should you just stick to the traditional bodybuilding approach of “lean bulking” until you’re uncomfortably fat, cutting until you can see your abs again, and then repeating? That’s the q...

I'm running a giveaway on my Instagram! Five (5) will receive a bottle of the newest flavor of Legion Athletics Whey+ - Salted Caramel!⁣⠀⁣⠀ ⁣⠀⁣⠀ The flavor maestros at my manufacturer spent months working on this, and they really outdid themselves here.⁣⠀ ⁣⠀ Imagine . . . a caramel-flavored protein powder that tastes like caramel and not burned wallet. That you don’t slam down but sip slowly. That...

Every time I go to the gym, I see the same crowd of overweight people grinding away in their spin classes and treadmill, StairMaster, and elliptical sessions. Every day they're there, sweating on the same machines--probably reserved and named by now--and they're just as fat as they ever were. Some are even fatter than when they started. After all this time do they really think anything is going to...

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...

Since the first affordable microwave ovens arrived in 1967, they’ve become an indispensable tool in most people’s kitchens. They’re one of the quickest, easiest, and, compared to open flame, safest ways to cook food. Or maybe not. Some say that microwaves make your food “radioactive” and release toxic radiation, which raises your risk of cancer. Others say that microwaves destroy the nutrients in...

"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 and MFL HQ. So here’s a quick hosedown of what me and my jolly band of pirates and bums have been up to lately. Enjoy! M...

In this interview, I talk with Jake who’s 32 years old and used my Bigger Leaner Stronger program to completely transform his physique. He shares his personal fitness journey, including what he was up to before finding me and my work and how it was going, and how things started to change after implementing the advice in my books and articles. The bigger picture looks like this: When Jake first fou...

Every day I hear from people in their 40s and even 30s who are worried it’s too late to get into great shape. If you’ve spent any time around these parts, you know this isn’t true. So long as you know what you’re doing with your diet and training, you don’t have to be in your 20s to build a body you can be proud of. You can do it just about any age, really. There are a few things you have to do di...

If you’re like most people, your hips feel tight all the time, and especially right at the top of your thighs. They probably flare up when you do lower body exercises too, like the squat and deadlift. Such is life with tight hip flexor muscles. What can you do about it, though? Should you stretch? Strengthen? Something else altogether? Well, poke around on the Internet and you’ll find a lot of con...

It’s high time I reviewed this book because it’s one of my favorite self-development books. To understand why, close your eyes and think back to an instance where you were doing something that made your consciousness feel harmoniously ordered, that absorbed all of your focus and attention, and that dissolved your awareness of time, worries, and even yourself. Maybe it was playing an instrument, sp...

There’s a basic law of living that goes like this: If you want more, do more. It applies more or less across the board. You tend to get out of life in proportion to what you give. Want more money or a bigger business? Work harder at it and you’ll have the best chances of success. Want deeper, more fulfilling relationships with friends or family? Spend more time building those relationships and wat...

The first few weeks of a cut are usually smooth sailing. You aren’t that hungry, your energy levels are good, and you’re still enjoying your workouts. Somewhere around the four- to six-week mark, however, the other shoe begins to drop. You’re starting to feel hungrier leading up to meals and less satisfied after. Your energy levels begin to sag, and especially in the afternoons. You’re no longer p...

I’ve churned through over 100,000 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 five quest...