EFR 566: Your 30-Year Diet and Fitness Plan - MUSCLE FOR LIFE with Mike Matthews

Personal trainer and author Mike Matthews returns to talk about his newest release, Muscle for Life: Get Lean, Strong, and Healthy at Any Age!.

Best known for his book Bigger Leaner Stronger and its female-focused counterpart Thinner Leaner Stronger—both released in 2014—Mike has now trained his focus onto longevity for both men and women in their 40s and above who are relatively new to strength training.

Mike is a staunch promoter of making fitness a lifestyle instead of a program. In his own words: “Instead of a 30-day plan, I want to show people how to create a 30-year plan.” Creating that 30-year plan for yourself requires going back to basics.

Mike invokes the 80/20 rule, in which 80% of outcomes come from 20% of causes. The rule certainly applies to fitness, where a few fundamental principles—four in particular—can be responsible for the majority of results.

Those four fundamental principles, which he dives into in today’s conversation, are controlling your calories, eating a high-protein diet, consuming relatively nutritious and unprocessed foods, and working out three-to-six hours a week.

Asked for his overall view of the role of fitness in one’s life, Mike says, “I try not to make fitness my life, an end unto itself.” Instead, he looks at fitness as a tool that he uses in service of the things that really matter, such as relationships and career.

Follow Mike @muscleforlifefitness

Follow Chase @chase_chewning

Key Highlights

• Mike teaches us how to get lean, strong, and healthy at any age.

• What are the four key fitness principles that, when followed, lead to the majority of your results?

• Mike explains why some people may have better results with a high-carb diet.

• Mike gives some examples of right and wrong ways to track your progress when going for a fitness goal.

• What should men know if they’re considering TRT (testosterone replacement therapy)?

Powerful Quotes by Mike

• My personal goal with all of my work is to teach people how to figure out how to make this stuff a lifestyle—not a 30-day challenge. [...] Instead of a 30-day plan, I want to show people how to create a 30-year plan.

• If you look at the scientific literature, it’s very clear that a higher-carb diet is better than a lower-carb diet for building muscle and gaining strength.

• It’s very easy to worry too much about chasing theories about how we could maybe squeeze a little bit more into our lifespan: If we cycle our protein, if we maximize fasting, if we go in and out of ketosis—the amount of stress you can place on yourself trying to do all of that—that might just negate any hypothetical benefits to longevity.

Episode resources:

• Save 20% on your entire first purchase with code EVERFORWARD at www.LegionAthletics.com

• Get Mike's new book Muscle For Life

• Ep. 292 "Training and dieting basics"

• Ep. 460 "Why you don't need supplements"

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