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If you want to know how to build muscle, lose fat, and be healthier, happier, and wiser…faster than you ever thought possible…then this podcast is for you. Hosted by the bestselling author and entrepreneur, Mike Matthews, each episode gives you simple, science-based know-how and inspiration that will help you build your best body and life ever.
Find out more at www.legionathletics.com
Copyright: © Mike Matthews
If you’ve been slinging iron for any amount of time, you’ve probably seen quite a few “ONE MORE REP” lifters.
They’re usually a 20-something year-old dudes in stringers and Waffen-SS haircuts with oompa loompa tans and maybe, just maybe, a bit of lip gloss too (yep, I’ve seen it).
These boys just love training to failure, often ending set after set with the weights on the floor or their bodies.
We might think they look ridiculous, but maybe the joke’s on us?
Maybe training to muscle failure—the point where you can no longer move the weight—is the key to gains?
Well, like rep ranges and training frequency, the topic of training to failure is a contentious one.
Many bodybuilders, experts, and “gurus” claim it’s at least beneficial, and some say it’s essential for maximizing muscle and strength gain.
On the other hand, others say we should never train to failure because it doesn’t increase anything but our risk of injury and overtraining.
Who’s right?
Well, in this podcast, you’re going to learn what the scientific literature has to say on the matter, including the effectiveness, safety, and usefulness of training to failure.
3:33 - What is training to failure?
6:20 - Why do people train to absolute failure?
9:22 - How does a workout routine that includes training to failure compare to a workout routine that doesn’t include training to failure?
25:46 - When and why should I train to failure?
25:11 - What are the benefits of training to failure?
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Poke around the Internet for advice on gaining muscle as fast as possible, and you’ll find a lot of advice along the lines of “eat big to get big.”
You know, eat everything in sight, drink a gallon of milk per day, and so forth.
This will definitely help you gain muscle, but it also results in a lot of unnecessary fat gain. And while a YOLO bulk or two can be productive and fun when you’re a beginner, it becomes counterproductive as you move into your intermediate phase and beyond.
Luckily, though, there’s a better way to gain muscle and strength.
Instead, you can do what’s called a lean bulk, where you gain muscle a bit slower than you would gorging every day but with much less fat gain.
And in this interview, you’re going to learn how to best go about it from Dr. Eric Helms, and particularly, how to ensure your calories are in the right place—not too low, which hinders muscle gain, or too high, which accelerates fat gain.
And in case you’re not familiar with Eric, he’s not only is he an accomplished bodybuilder, powerlifter, coach, author, scientist, and member of the Legion Athletics Scientific Advisory Board, but he’s also one of my favorite guests for offering pragmatic advice you can apply to your diet and training.
Oh and if you like what Eric has to say, you should definitely check out his research review Monthly Applications in Strength Sport (MASS). Every month they put out interesting, practical information on the latest research.
10:28 - What’s the website for the events you’re putting on?
11:36 - How much of a calorie surplus is enough for muscle gain?
28:26 - What was the caloric intake between the slow and fast?
33:22 - How big of a surplus are we looking at for each group?
36:45 - Is that more muscle gain than expected from experienced lifters?
43:53 - How do the two studies we discussed compare to the story you’re working on?
50:02- What diet advice do you have for people lean bulking?
53:54 - Where can people find you and your work?
Want to get my best advice on how to gain muscle and strength and lose fat faster? Sign up for my free newsletter!
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Pop quiz: which days of the week are most fattening?
Yes, you heard the question correctly. Which days of the week are most associated with weight gain?
Don’t overthink it. Listen to your gut here (it should know!).
If you go with your intuition, your answer is probably “the weekends.” And you’d be right.
Research shows that most people maintain a steady weight throughout the week and gain weight on the weekends.
How does that work, you ask?
Well, what happens to the diets of most people that have trouble with their weight come Friday night? I’ll tell you what happens: mayhem.
The problem with this all-too-common ritual of weekly binge eating is the sheer amount of body fat you can gain in just a few days of overeating. Depending on your genetics and activity level, a couple moderate bouts of bingeing can easily “undo” the fat loss of a whole week of proper dieting.
I’ve worked with thousands of people and, hands down, the biggest mistake made by those baffled by their inability to lose weight is binge eating.
The bottom line is nothing will stop your fat loss dead in its tracks faster than binge eating, and especially bingeing on fatty foods and alcohol (a perfect storm for gaining body fat).
If you want to not only get lean but stay lean, you simply can’t afford to struggle with binge eating. Sure, you can eat foods you love and generally enjoy your diet, but you can’t regularly live out your bacchanalian fantasies and have a physique of the gods.
In this podcast, we’re going to talk a bit about why some people struggle with binge eating and a handful of simple, practical strategies you can employ to prevent and beat the urges.
5:27 - Why do we binge eat?
8:22 - Why do we gain weight from binge eating?
12:49 - How can we enjoy the foods we like without getting fat?
22:49 - How do you stop binge eating?
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You always hear about supplements for fat loss and muscle gain, but what about strength?
What are the best supplements for getting stronger, and how well do they work?
What’s the best way to take them?
To answer these questions, I invited Dr. Eric Trexler to come on the podcast and discuss the science behind strength supplements, including two of the most popular and effective ones—caffeine and creatine.
In case you’re not familiar with Eric, he’s the Director of Education for Stronger by Science, and is one of the main contributors to MASS, one of my favorite monthly research reviews.
In this episode, he answers questions like . . .
- Does caffeine tolerance affect its performance boost?
- Should you load creatine or not?
- Does creatine cause hair loss?
- What are nitric oxide boosters and which are worth taking?
- And more . . .
So, if you want to learn more about the science of supplementation for boosting your performance in the gym, check it out!
23:13 - How does caffeine affect the body?
32:12 - What are some food interactions that affect caffeine?
39:18 - Caffeine tolerance and how it affects performance
47:44 - How to maximize caffeine benefits in everyday workouts
50:28 - How does caffeine affect fat loss?
56:52 - Creatine and muscle building
1:00:17 - Should you mix creatine and caffeine?
1:05:34 - Should you load creatine or not?
1:08:16 - Does creatine cause hair loss?
1:19:45 - Does creatine cause bloating?
1:22:54 - Nitrous oxide and nitric oxide boosters
1:29:09 - Where can people find you and your work?
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 Meaghan, who used my Thinner Leaner Stronger program to completely transform her body and life.
Before finding my work, Meaghan was 160 pounds, 28% body fat, and didn’t know what to do in the kitchen or gym.
Then she found my book for women, Thinner Leaner Stronger, and now she’s about 40 pounds lighter and whole helluva lot stronger.
Meaghan also has a much better relationship with food and fitness and truly enjoys her new sustainable lifestyle, which she knows can keep her fit and healthy for the rest of her life.
Not only that, but she’s now paying it forward by coaching other women to follow in her footsteps and transform their bodies and lives too.
In this interview, Meaghan and I chat about her story and some of the key lessons she has learned along the way, including the importance of consistency, overcoming gym intimidation, staying in shape while traveling, and more.
6:16 - Who is Meaghan Janisse?
10:05 - What was your diet and fitness like before and after our program?
16:40 - What was it like managing your weight through energy balance?
19:56 - What were some of the difficulties you had to overcome?
30:33 - What are some tips and tricks to stay fit while traveling?
42:04 - What advice do you have for women who are about to start resistance training?
51:07 - What are your next fitness and business goals?
59:45 - Where can people find you and your work?
Want to get my best advice on how to gain muscle and strength and lose fat faster? Sign up for my free newsletter!
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This was supposed to be a podcast about kettlebells.
Instead, it turned into a digression into politics, psychology, religion, and more, which let’s be honest, is more interesting than kettlebells.
Pat is an interesting dude to talk to about this stuff, too, because while he’s certainly a fitness expert, he also has a master’s degree in systematic philosophy and has written several bestselling books, including How to Be Better At (Almost) Everything.
In this interview, Pat and I go all over the place, pontificating on questions like . . .
- How much do memes influence political elections?
- What are the rational (and irrational) arguments for believing in God?
- How seriously should we take “conspiracy theories”?
- How do you make decisions when there are no good decisions?
- What are the chances our lives are predetermined by fate?
Not exactly the norm here on my podcast, but it was a fun excursion into some of the bigger questions about how the world around us works, and if you wonder about such things yourself, I think you’ll enjoy the interview as well.
And if it’s not your kind of thing, don’t worry, Pat will be coming back on to talk kettlebells.
10:04 - Meme culture
14:27 - Humor as a marketing technique
16:36 - Jordan Peterson’s world view
28:54 - Persuasion technique
35:20 - The peg system memory technique
37:01 - 9/11, politics, and conspiracy theories
47:50 - The trolley problem and ethical experiments
52:01 - Nihilism versus relativism
1:02:13 - Transcendent dimensions
1:05:36 - Our world views and how they impact us
1:17:03 - Near death experiences
1:19:53 - Christianity, catholicism, and agnosticism
1:41:27 - Faith and free will
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What if shocking your muscles with electricity helped them grow and develop faster?
What if it could reduce exercise-induced muscle damage and help you recover better from your workouts?
What if it could straight up make you stronger?
Well, this is why people buy and use electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) machines.
They believe they’re an easy and safe way to gain muscle and strength faster and boost post-workout recovery.
You might want to believe, too, but you’re skeptical.
On one hand, the whole approach sounds pretty scientific, and haven’t we seen various professional athletes hooked up to these machines?
Then again, some scientific studies aren’t worth the paper they’re published on and some athletes will beat the drum for anything that brings a paycheck.
EMS machines are expensive, too, so there would need to be a considerable payoff to justify the cost.
Well, when you take a cold, hard look at the science, here’s what you learn:
EMS isn’t silly pseudoscience, but it’s also not as great as the machine manufacturers would have you believe.
Yes, it’s safe, but no, it’s not going to dramatically impact muscle growth or recovery.
That said, it doesn't mean you shouldn't necessarily give it a go. You should just have the right expectations.
And in this podcast, we’re going to break down what EMS is, how it works, and what science has to say about its effectiveness. Let’s get started.
5:00 - What is EMS?
5:26 - Does EMS work?
6:37 - Does EMS increase muscle growth?
7:59 - Does EMS increase strength?
12:35 - Can EMS improve muscle recovery?
12:52 - How do I do EMS correctly?
18:56 - How do I use EMS to build strength?
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What if you could eat hamburgers, pizza, and ice cream every week—hell, maybe even every day—and still have abs?
Such is the rallying cry of many people who subscribe to the “If It Fits Your Macros” (IIFYM) style of dieting.
Others claim the principles of IIFYM shouldn’t be used to merely get and stay lean while eating like a spoiled child. Instead, they should be used to look and feel great while eating a wide variety of foods including those verboten by more traditional, restrictive forms of dieting.
For instance, this might mean regularly eating foods like pasta, bread, dairy, and sugar while also maintaining a healthy intake of more nutritious foods like lean meats, fruits, and vegetables.
Who’s right?
Often the most accurate answer to such questions is “it depends” or “somewhere in the middle,” but in this case, there’s a clear winner: moderation.
In other words, IIFYM works best as a more flexible, accommodating approach to “clean eating,” as opposed to its polar opposite, where you follow meal plans that emphasize whole, nutritious foods while allowing for less wholesome indulgences.
And in this podcast, you’re going to learn why and get simple, science-based answers to all of your questions about IIFYM, including . . .
Let’s get started.
5:46 - Do calories count?
18:55 - Will IIFYM wreck your health and physique?
30:10 - Does IIFYM promote eating disorders?
41:07 - How do you use flexible dieting and IIFYM principles correctly?
Want to get my best advice on how to gain muscle and strength and lose fat faster? Sign up for my free newsletter!
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“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.
Want to be notified when my next book recommendation goes live?
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One of the problems with rigidly following a restrictive or narrowly focused dietary protocol like low-carb or low-fat is when you go off-plan for whatever reason, you can get slapped.
For instance, if you’re a high-carber and miss a meal, you might find your energy levels plummeting, or if you’re a low-carber and indulge in some cake at a party, you might find yourself craving—and eating—every carb in sight.
Ideally, these things wouldn’t happen—our bodies would be able to adapt to varying dietary circumstances and maintain an even physiological keel. In other words, ideally our bodies would possess a fair amount of “metabolic flexibility.”
If you haven’t heard of metabolic flexibility, that’s understandable because few people have, and in this episode, Kurtis Frank explains what it is and how to improve it so our bodies can better shift between different fuel types and thus be more adaptable to whatever situations we find ourselves in.
In case you’re not familiar with Kurtis, he’s the co-founder and former lead researcher and writer of Examine.com and the current Director of Research and Development for my supplement company Legion Athletics,.
Here’s a sneak peek of what we talk about in this interview.
- Insulin resistance and carb sensitivity as you age.
- The signs that you lack metabolic flexibility.
- How to avoid sugar crashes or carb-triggered binges.
- And more...
5:01 - What does metabolic flexibility mean?
6:36 - Do genetics play a role on whether the body will burn carbs or fats for energy?
7:45 - Are high carb diets still the go-to for endurance athletes?
9:31 - Does the body have an easier time processing carbs if you’re active?
15:44 - What are some signs that show lack of metabolic flexibility?
42:59 - Do certain exercises affect the way your body burns carbs?
58:48 - What’s new and interesting in the formulation front?
Want to get my best advice on how to gain muscle and strength and lose fat faster? Sign up for my free newsletter!
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