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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
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/
In this episode I interview Kurtis Frank about one of his favorite topics, nootropics, or “brain boosters.”
Chances are you don’t know of Kurtis, but you probably know of his work. He’s the co-founder of Examine.com, which is the premier resource on the Internet for learning about the science of supplementation. Today, it boasts guides on over 500 supplements containing over 41,000 scientific citations, and Kurtis was responsible for researching, compiling, and writing the vast majority of that body of work.
Kurtis also just recently became the Director of Research for my supplement company Legion Athletics, and I’m really excited to have him on board because he’s simply one of the most knowledgeable people I’ve ever met on the subject of supplementation, and in this interview, he’s going to share with us his insights on nootropics generally, as well as his favorite and least-favorite options and why.
So whether you’re a die-hard noot fan, on the fence about them, or completely ignorant, I think you’re going to find this discussion interesting and helpful.
Here’s a little sneak peek of what you’re going to learn in this episode…
- The three most important functions that every good nootropic should perform.
- The problems with many of the best-selling nootropics on the market, and what you can do to avoid them.
- How your lifestyle habits affect brain grown, cognitive performance, and mental health.
- The best three nootropics for supporting brain health long term.
- The worst three nootropics for brain health (they’re some of the most popular).
6:00 - What are nootropic supplements and are they safe?
7:03 - How do nootropic supplements promote brain growth?
8:48 - What lifestyle factors affect brain growth?
12:20 - What are your favorite nootropic supplements?
12:41 - What is bacopa monnieri?
14:18 - What are the side effects of nootropic supplements?
15:57 - What is agmatine?
21:58 - What is fucoxanthin?
23:23 - What is spirulina?
25:10 - What is Gilbert’s syndrome?
27:55- Whatr is alpha GPC?
38:51 - What nootropic supplements do you dislike?
46:12 - What is dangerous about nootropic supplements?
47:56 - What is vinpocetine?
49:05 - What is huperzine a?
53:30 - Where can people find your work?
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“How the hell can I be this skinny with a stomach this big and fat?”
That’s the first line from an email I received earlier this week.
And it inspired this episode.
You see, I’ve worked with thousands of men and women and if there’s one thing that frustrates people most, it’s having too much belly fat.
I’ve written quite a bit about how to lose belly fat, but visceral fat deserves its own treatment because it’s a different beast than the run-of-the-mill ab fat.
So, in this episode we’re going to cover what visceral fat is, why it’s dangerous, why some people have more than others, and how to lose it.
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As you probably know, I work hard to understand and promote high-quality diet, nutrition, and exercise science. That’s why I’ve spent and continue to spend a lot of time researching and writing, and why I reference quite a bit of scientific literature in my work.
What I don’t do, though, is produce a research review where individual studies are broken down and analyzed because my plate is already overflowing with work as it is, and honestly, I don’t think I could do it better than the researchers whose work and research reviews I myself read regularly, like James Krieger, Eric Helms, Greg Nuckols, Mike Zourdos, Alan Aragon, and Bret Contreras.
And so I had an idea: why not get those guys to come on my podcast to discuss studies they’ve analyzed in their reviews and share with us what they’ve learned, and how we can use that information to optimize our diets, exercise routines, supplement regimens, and overall lifestyle.
In this episode, I have the one and only Dr. Eric Helms back on to discuss a study published in 2016 titled “Endurance Training Intensity Does Not Mediate Inference to Maximal Lower-Body Strength Gain during Short-Term Concurrent Training.”
This study looked at “concurrent training,” which is the inclusion of both cardiovascular and resistance training in the same program, and specifically at how it impacts strength and muscle gain. You’ve probably heard that cardio in any amount or intensity might interfere with strength and muscle gain, but is it really that straightforward? This study and Eric’s interpretation and explanation is is going to help shed more light on the matter...
0:17 - What are the results of combining cardio and weightlifting?
3:28 - Is it better to do cardio before or after lifting?
4:51 - What do you recommend for people who want quick results?
7:57 - Which type of cardio workouts minimize the interference effect?
18:30 - What’s the next step in researching cardio and weightlifting?
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Reference
I know some people (commies) believe you shouldn’t say this anymore but . . .
MERRY
FREAKIN’
CHRISTMAS
. . . and happy holidays!
I hope you’re having a fantastic time with the people you both love and tolerate (often one and the same, no?) and are ready to enjoy a good few weeks of “refeeding” . . . wink wink . . . :-)
For my part, I am currently in the cold, northern reaches of Germany, where my wife and her family are from.
And, yes, that means I’m surrounded by some of the most delicious bread, brats, and beer on the planet. I don’t drink (I’m weird), but you’ve never had bread like German bread. It’s so good it’s actually upsetting.
I’m minimizing the damage though by following a few simple strategies that might help you get through the next couple of weeks kinda not fat, too.
Let’s get to it.
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One of the first pieces of bodybuilding advice I was given was on pre-workout nutrition.
If I didn’t eat protein and carbs immediately before training, I was told, I’d miss an opportunity to accelerate muscle growth, if not directly hinder it.
And so I did, before every workout, without fail.
Chances are you’ve heard the same things. Bodybuilders and gymbros alike have been singing pre-workout nutrition’s praises for decades.
How important is it really, though? Does eating before workouts actually help us build muscle faster?
Well, the long story short is this:
Pre-workout nutrition isn’t as crucial as many would have us believe, but it’s not entirely without merit, either.
And in this episode, you’re going to find out why.
By the end, you’re going to know why pre-workout nutrition is even a “thing,” the ideal type of pre-workout meal, the truth about the “anabolic window,” and more.
Let’s get started.
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This interview is about the processed food industry, which generates a trillion dollars in sales every year and specializes in creating inexpensive, highly processed foods that are hyper-palatable and hyper-gratifying. Thanks mainly to the advances of food science, they’ve mastered the art of making foods and beverages that can “hit the spot” in ways that natural, nutritious foods never will, which is why their products are much harder to resist and much easier to overeat.
Michael gives us a fascinating glimpse into just how much work goes into engineering and marketing these products, how the leaders of the industry view themselves in relation to the meteoric rise of obesity and disease, how we might go about breaking our dependency on highly processed foods, and more.
5:26 - What’s the history behind the food industry making addictive food?
11:57 - What’s your opinion on the morality of food industry?
12:41 - How do we ease our dependence on highly processed foods?
14:39 - What’s the science behind making food addictive?
22:09 - Do you think large food corporations will educate the public on healthy food choices?
27:29 - What is it like to be the leader of large food corporations?
36:05 - How will a healthy change happen in the food industry?
40:15 - How can people follow you and find your work?
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It’s cold and dark at six in the morning.
And it seems even colder and gloomier when you have to get up and train.
At that hour, it’s like gravity has tripled. Your eyes droop, your limbs drag, and your nervous system is running on fumes.
It’s time like these that you thank the gods you have a pre-workout supplement.
You fumble the top off, mix a (heaping) scoop in water, gulp it down, and the magic begins.
Fifteen minutes later you feel like the star of the latest Marvel flick, ready to push, pull, and squat against the forces of evil.
There’s no question that a pre-workout supplement can get you fired up to get to work in the gym. There are downsides, however.
Many pre-workout drinks are stuffed full of ineffective ingredients and/or minuscule dosages of otherwise good ingredients, making them little more than a few cheap stimulants with some “pixie dust” sprinkled in to make for a pretty label and convincing ad copy.
Many others don’t even have stimulants going for them and are just complete duds.
The reality is it’s very hard to find a pre-workout supplement that’s light on stimulants but heavy on natural, safe, performance-enhancing ingredients.
And in this episode, you’re going to find out what the best and worst pre-workout supplements are and why.
Let’s get started.
0:48 - Why should I take pre-workout supplements?
1:30 - What are your favorite supplements?
11:56 - Which pre-workout supplements are bad?
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.muscleforlife.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.
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/
Hang around in the gym long enough and you’re going to hear about clenbuterol.
Like steroids, “clen” is extremely popular in the world of bodybuilding and is the “go-to” cutting drug for many of the people that step on stage.
Thus, it’s not surprising that it’s also a hot commodity among the general fitness crowd.
If you want to shred fat as quickly as possible without losing muscle, the pitch goes, then you want to hop on the clenbuterol train.
Or do you?
Poke around on the Internet and you’ll find people that think otherwise.
Clenbuterol, they say, isn’t actually all that powerful of a fat burner and is bad for your health to boot, and for your heart in particular, even when used in moderate doses.
Who’s right?
How much can this drug really boost your fat loss? Should you take warnings about side effects seriously, or are they exaggerated? Is there anything else you should know before deciding for or against clen?
Well, you’re going to get answers to all of those questions and more in this episode.
By the end, you’re going to know exactly how clenbuterol works, how effective it really is, how likely it is to harm your body, and more.
Let’s get to it.
4:28 - What is Clenbuterol and how does it work in the body?
7:10 - Does Clenbuterol boost physical performance?
10:07 - What are the side effects of Clenbuterol
14:20 - Is Clenbuterol legal?
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.muscleforlife.com/signup/
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