I spend a good amount of time researching health/fitness experts. I usually immerse myself in information on one expert I am interested and spend time reading their books, listening to their podcasts, reading their articles, and watching their conferences on YouTube and get a good picture of their background before moving to the next expert I want to research.

Thinking back to experts I have done deep research on in the past, here are things that resonated the most when I think of their work...

These tips give a decent look at the information these experts have to share. Almost all of my other posts are related to the experts above so you can find more information on other posts or go to my Recommended Books page to find books from them.

Here are some examples of related posts:

• ​Comparing Diets (Ben Greenfield, Dr. Gundry)
• ​Nutrition Tips (Mike Matthews, Dr. Gundry)
• Favorite Podcasts (Shawn Stevenson, Ben Greenfield, Mike Matthews)

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First off, my apologies for not posting last week. With the holiday, I honestly forgot and here is my post that should have released yesterday. I have also adjusted the site a good amount so check out my other pages if you haven't in a while.

I just started my 6th week on Mike's weightlifting program that goes along with his book, Bigger Leaner Stronger. Last week (week 5), I took the week off to deload since it had probably been 10-12 weeks since I had taken a break from working out 4-5 days a week. From here on, I'll have a deload week every 6 weeks.

Bigger Leaner Stronger is based on what Mike calls double progression in the 4-6 rep range. I go into detail about this in my post when I originally started - Exercise Plan Change - Low Rep, Double Progression. Essentially, this program highlights the importance of progression so I'll show you the progress I have made between Week 1 and Week 4 on my major lifts.

It may not seem like a dramatic change, and it really isn't for my barbell bench press and barbell curl but the important thing is that I am seeing progression. Even if I am only gaining 1 rep per set in each workout I do, I see that as an improvement and am happy with that. This is just the beginning of this program and I really enjoy it so far.

Mike really improved my workout in 2 big ways:

1. Focusing on The Big Three compound lifts (Bench Press, Deadlift, Squat)
2. Recording each workout on a notepad

If those two things are not part of your workout regimen, I highly suggest doing those two things in order to really see progression.

​If you like this topic and want any more tips on progression, I highly suggest getting Mike's book Bigger Leaner Stronger if you are a guy, and Thinner Leaner Stronger​ if you are a girl. He also shows how to do these lifts with proper form and outlines which muscle groups these lifts affect.

​If you have any questions or comments, comment on this post!

Here are a couple discussion questions:

Maybe you have some tips for me if you think I should be progressing quicker?

What exercise program have you done that you've really enjoyed?

The following tips come from a few experts that I have done a heavy amount of research on and trust their input, including:

• ​Shawn Stevenson, health and fitness expert who speaks at conferences and has helped thousands lose weight and gain muscle. He states that nutrition, exercise, and sleep are the “three pillars of health”, has the bestselling book Sleep Smarter, and one of the most popular health and fitness podcasts, The Model Health Show.
• Ben Greenfield, a triathlete known for biohacking and also teaching people how to be athletes in the healthiest way possible. Also has a bestselling book, Beyond Training. He has written over a dozen books on health and fitness, runs an extremely popular blog and podcast, Ben Greenfield Fitness, and is also the CEO of a supplement company, Kion.
• Mike Matthews, a fitness expert who teaches people how to build lean muscle mass with his extremely popular books and programs, Bigger Leaner Stronger for men and Thinner Leaner Stronger for women. Mike also has an extremely popular blog and supplement company, Legion Athletics, and a popular podcast, Muscle For Life.

All of these folks I believe genuinely want to help as many people as possible and also do a ton of their own research, this is why I trust their work.

Here are some tips that are taken from their work that are easy for anyone to implement but are great foundations of health:

Shawn Stevenson states that you should drink at least half of your body weight in pounds, transferred to ounces. So since I am 160lb, I should drink at least 80oz (he also says that if you are 200lb or over, you don’t need to go any higher than 100oz). He states that you should drink 20-30oz extra for any workouts so if I workout in the morning, I should make sure to get about 100-110oz of water through the day.

Mike Matthews states that you should drink about a gallon of water each day. This converts to about 128oz. And he also suggests drinking an extra 30oz if you work out.

Here are some tips I use that makes it easy to get at least 100oz of water each day:

• ​Start the day off with 20-30oz of water (thanks, Shawn)
• Keep a water bottle within reach at all times throughout the day
• Keep the goal in mind of reaching 100oz until it becomes habit to drink this much​

Mike Matthews interestingly prescribes more protein for those trying to lose weight than those trying to gain muscle. He suggests 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight if you are trying to gain or maintain muscle and 1.1 grams of protein per pound of body weight if you are trying to lose weight.

Ben Greenfield states that you do not need any more than 0.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight if you are trying to gain muscle.

Protein is a highly debated subject but Mike Matthews I believe has done the most research in the areas so I trust his information the most. Obviously, still pay attention to what source your protein comes from and know that it can be dangerous to get any more than 2 grams of protein per pound of body weight.

Several experts have been speaking out on how crucial sleep can be. Shawn’s book Sleep Smarter is a great resource for several things, especially this topic. The saying “sleep is for the weak” couldn’t be more wrong.

​If you lack the sleep you need, here are negative side effects we all get:

• Accelerated aging
• Increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, and even Alzheimer’s
• More likely to make bad decisions
• ​More susceptible to weight gain
  

We all should average 5 sleep cycles per night, which is normally 7.5 hours of sleep. I struggle with this and can usually only get 4 cycles (6 hours) but I do some things to improve my sleep quality like:

• ​Avoiding blue light exposure an hour before bedtime. I set my phone features to change to red light between 9PM nd 4AM and avoid turning lights on in my house if I need to get out of bed for any reason. Shawn Stevenson provides studies that show how blue light exposure before bedtime can weaken your first hour of sleep dramatically.
  
• Work out in the mornings. This is not only the most convenient time for me but also is a fantastic way to start the day. Shawn has also shown how this regulates your hormone function throughout the day so cortisol is keeping you up during the day and melatonin kicks in at night to let you have a good night’s sleep.
  
• Cold baths a half hour before bed help fall asleep faster and improve sleep quality by lowering body temperature. I don’t do this every night but when I can. Cold water immersion has been said to have several other interesting benefits like increase immune function as well (thanks Ben Greenfield).
  
• Avoid caffeine after about 4PM and don’t have more than 400 grams per day. Caffeine has a half-life of 5 or 6 hours so if you have 300 grams at 4PM, you still have 150 grams active in your system at 9 or 10PM. Caffeine has been proven to weaken your sleep quite dramatically. Shawn shows how even if you do not feel like it makes your sleep worse, it indeed does and increases your risks for all the things listed above and more. Mike Matthews shows how, even though people say caffeine is dangerous, almost anybody will not have any negative side effects if they have less than about 400 grams per day.

Many experts are saying that we should not groups these together! You can’t really overdo it with vegetables but fruit you can absolutely overdo with the amount of sugars and carbohydrates that they contain.

Shawn Stevenson advises at least 2 servings of vegetables and only 1 serving of fruit (mainly berries) each day.

​Mike Matthews suggests at least two or three servings of vegetables each day and at least 1 serving of fruit each day.

All of these experts (Shawn, Ben, and Mike) suggests plant-based diets, even if you are trying to build muscle. If you have trouble reaching these servings of vegetables, I would also suggest a Green Superfood Supplement. 1 tablespoon of that stuff mixed with water can equal multiple cups of leafy greens. I personally try to get 2-3 cups of a variety of vegetables each day but I use a green superfood supplement on certain days I only get 1 cup of veggies. I make sure 1 cup at least is in my lunch each day.

Comment or reach out to me @ [email protected] if you have any questions!!

Thank you for reading and I hope this helps someone!!

I'm currently reading Michael Matthews' book, Bigger Leaner Stronger which gives great insight on muscle building and gives a program for the nutrition and exercise plan that he recommends. I've learned a lot from this book; his main point is that building muscle really is not as complicated as people make it out to be if you know what you are doing and this book really gives you a great foundation on how to build muscle fast and also do it the right way. Some things I have a tough time with like the high-carb, low-fat approach that he has. I currently eat around 3,500 calories/day, with more even spread of fats, carbohydrates, and protein (averaging probably 150g of each every day). This is also a heavier calorie count than what he prescribes but from Counting my Macros, I believe this is the amount I need (at least) to build muscle. It also doesn't help that I take near 15,000 steps/day at work, which is said to be counterproductive for muscle building.

The biggest thing I have integrated from Mike Matthews' is his workout - and that will only increase. He introduced me to a workout where you focus on the 4-6 rep range for most exercises, especially the "Big 3" (Barbell Bench Press, Barbell Squat, and Barbell Deadlift) and getting at least 9 sets in per workout. 

I have been sticking to alternating Upper Body/Lower Body each day, aiming for 5 workouts a week, but my workouts have gone from 4-5 sets per workout to 10-11 sets as of right now. I stop doing sets once my reps go down by around half of what I started at. If I start with 5-6 reps; I'll do as many sets that I can until I can only do 3 reps per set until I feel too weak to reach that the next set. That may sound confusing but I will share with you what my workout was today...

Barbell Bench Press (140lb):
Reps per set: 4-4-4-3-3-3-4-3-3-3

Dips:
20-20-20-15-15-15-15-10-10-10

Dumbbell Inclined Press (35lb Dumbbells):
7-8-6-7-9-7-5-9-6-6

Dumbbell Curls (45lb Dumbbell):
4-5-4-5-4-5-4-4-3-3
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Total Sets: 4 workouts * 10ea = 40
Rest Between Sets: 2mins
Time: 62mins

I stopped after 10 sets because I felt maxed out for the Barbell Bench Press, Dips, and Dumbbell Curls. In other words, I felt I would be doing less than 3 reps for the Bench Press and Curls and less than 10 reps for the Dips. 

Here is a description of the Double Progression Model that Mike's Bigger Leaner Stronger Program uses:
"In double progression, you work with a given weight in a given rep range, and once you hit the top of that rep range for a certain number of hard sets (one, two, or three, usually), you increase the weight.
Then, if you can at least come within a rep or two of the bottom of your rep range with your first hard set with the new, heavier weight, you work with that weight until you can hit the top of your rep range again." - p. 234 of Bigger Leaner Stronger

Following this system, since I was able to reach 6 reps for my Barbell Bench Press during my last Upper Body Workout, I added 10lb to the bar for this workout (going from 130lb to 140lb) and I will continue to use this weight-until I hit 6 reps again I'll add another 10lb. According to his program, I actually should have immediately switched to 140, rather than waiting until the next workout.

I'm really liking this new program so far (even though I'm really just starting); but it has gotten me to push harder, work with heavier weights, and track my progression which are all very important keys to building muscle.

There are a couple things that were misinterpreted or I had yet to figure out with this program when I originally posted this.

1. He calls for 9-15 sets but that is TOTAL. In the Bigger Leaner Stronger program, his workouts call for 4 different exercises, 3 sets of each so 12 sets... rather than 40. Whoops. 
2. His program also calls you to complete all 3 sets of 1 exercise (hardest compound exercises first, easiest isolation exercises last) before moving on to the next exercise. Plus, 2 mins of rest between all hard sets.

Today was my official first day with his program now that I am basically done with his book, Bigger Leaner Stronger (and got through the section that spells out the actual program). Once I get further into it, I will share my progress and more of what the program entails.

This changes things up quite a bit for me. I'll be doing less volume than what I am used to but I obviously am going to trust him because he has helped hundreds of thousands of beginners build muscle. After about 6 weeks on the program, I plan to do a deload/recovery week, and I'll evaluate then if I want to up the volume a bit.

This is the only workout I have not given my typical routine for that's part of my current Workout Plan.

For my core/lower body workout I do at least twice and also my HIIT Endurance workout I'll do once or twice a week, you can see that Here. Or my outdoor workout (which I use for an overall upper and lower body workout but can choose if I want to work on one more than the other), Here.

So here is a typical Upper Body workout for me, as of right now - this is what I did this morning:

4 sets of:

1. 25 Push-ups
2. Alternates between sets w/ 15 Hammer Curls or 12 Curls, using 35lb dumbbells
3. 25 Push-ups
4. 5 Clean and Jerks, doing 5 with left arm then 5 with right arm, using a 50lb kettlebell

Between each workout, I rest for 30 seconds and at the end of each set, I rest for 1 minute.
This workout took me around 34 minutes; which is longer than it usually takes me.
If I had equipment to do dips or pull-ups, I would swap one of the push-up workouts to either 20 dips or 10 pull-ups.

As you can see, I like to push my body to the max in a half hour right when I wake up; I'm not really one to spend 90-120 minutes in a gym taking my time. I enjoy these workouts and with a little bit of pre-workout before, it's not tough for me to get motivated and go. It also makes me feel much more alive and focused in the mornings.

My favorite of all my workouts is one I do outside.

A park by me has 9 workout stations from stretching to sit-ups to pull-ups/chin-ups to mobility work. The signs give me a a template for what to do and I follow each station. This morning was the only time I’ve started a workout there and didn’t do all 9 stations because I worked out there before going to work.

A full workout there takes me just over an hour and I count it as a 15 point workout. Some of the workout includes:
20 pull-ups
20 chin-ups
20 inclined sit-ups
​20 parallel bar dips
There are several other workouts - about 1/3 core, 1/3 arm strength, and 1/3 mobility.

I do this workout at least once a week but I try for twice.

I hope to one day install at least one (if not all 3 shown) of these in my yard at some point.

I think it’s important to do some workout outside and, like I said, I think it is the most fun. Something way different from any gym and it includes some great mobility work. (...I’ve even done this full course barefoot...in the rain. Too much fun and also good for your health to go barefoot)

This is probably my most difficult workout. I would consider it a resistance workout more than anything and I got the idea from Don Saladino, a physical trainer who helps prepare stars like Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, and Hugh Jackman for movies.  https://themodelhealthshow.com/don-saladino/


Walk 1 mile outside with my 35lb kettlebell in one hand and 50lb kettlebell in the other,
alternating hands as you go.

I count this as a 15 point workout and I try to do this once a week. This was my 4th time doing it and I noticed a big difference, this time seemed easier than the other three times I've done this. This workout takes me roughly 45 minutes. One thing I did differently this time is I stopped counting paces. I used to alternate after 50 or 100 steps (depending on how tired I was). I'm not doing that anymore. I find it I go further without counting and I believe it's safer.

4 sets of:
15 goblet squats with 70lb kettlebell
90 second plank
25 kettlebell swings with 50lb kettlebell


Since this is 4 sets of 3, this is a 12 point workout for me.


About 5 minutes after that, I started something new..

High Intensity Interval Training for endurance involving five 30-second sprints with 4 minutes of rest in between.


I’m planning on implementing this once or twice a week. I count this as a 8-pt workout since I cover 1.5miles but there’s much bigger benefits to this than just running that distance.

Below is an image of what gave me this idea (p. 64 of Beyond Training by Ben Greenfield)

I followed this up with a bit of cold thermogenesis, at the end of my shower I alternated between 20 seconds of ice cold water, 10 seconds of warm for 10 times.