Bigger, Leaner, Stronger

Mike Matthews

📚 GENRE: Health & Wellness

📃 PAGES: 437

✅ COMPLETED: May 31, 2018

🧐 RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Buy Book

Short Summary

Mike Matthews cuts through the mystery around building muscle and losing weight, shining a light on some of the myths and misconceptions around both processes. Matthews discusses proven and scientifically-backed strategies for building muscle, and explains why manipulating your weight simply comes down to caloric intake and discipline. 

Key Takeaways

1️⃣ Progressive Overload = Muscle Gains — With every exercise, you should be trying to lift more weight and/or hit more reps than you did the previous week. As you add more weight to the bar and/or hit more reps, your muscles have to grow and get bigger to handle the load. It’s that simple. 

2️⃣ Calories In, Calories Out — Adding or losing weight is a calories game. If you’re looking to lose weight, you need to eat slightly fewer calories than your maintenance level demands daily. If you’re looking to add weight, you need to eat slightly more calories than your maintenance level demands daily. When it comes to manipulating your weight, what you eat doesn’t matter — you can eat McDonald’s all day as long as you’re hitting your desired caloric intake.

3️⃣ Don’t Forget to De-Load — Rest and recovery is an overlooked and essential component of the muscle building process. After 8 weeks of hard training, you need to mix in a de-load week where you lighten the load considerably or take the week off completely. 

Favorite Quote

"Regardless of the source, 1 gram of protein contains 4 calories, 1 gram of carbohydrate contains 4 calories as well, and 1 gram of fat contains 9 calories."

Book Notes 📑

Definitions

  • Matter — Any material in the world that has mass and size.
  • Chemistry — Branch of science that deals with the substances matter is comprised of. The study of their characteristics and how they combine and change. 
  • Chemical — Having to do with chemistry or the way that substances are made up in the reactions they go through. A chemical is any substance that can undergo a chemical process or change.
  • Organism — A single living thing parentheses person, animal, or plant and parentheses
  • Cell — Basic unit of all living organisms. Some living organisms exist as a single cell.
    • The average man has 60-100 trillion cells. 
    • Cells keep themselves alive and produce energy and exchange information with nearby cells.
      • They also multiply and die eventually.
  • Tissue — Body material in animals and plants that consist of lotta large number of cells that are similar in form and function.
  • Muscle — Masses of tissue in the body, often attached to bones that can tighten and relax to produce movement.
    • Skeletal Muscle — Connected to the skeleton to form part of the mechanical system that moves the limbs and other parts of the body.
  • Fat — Natural, oily substance found in animal bodies, especially when deposited under layers of skin or organs.
  • Saturated Fat — Form of fat found in animal fat products such as cream, cheese, butter, and fatty meats as well as some vegetable oils.
    • Solid at room temperature. 
    • There used to be a belief that saturated fat increases risk of heart disease, but recent research has proven otherwise. 
  • Unsaturated Fat — Form of fat found in foods like avocado, nuts, vegetable oils. Liquid at room temperature.
  • Trans fat — Unsaturated fats that are uncommon in nature and are created artificially.
    • Found in processed foods like cereals, baked goods, fast food, ice cream, and more.
  • Organ — Made up of two or more tissue that work together to achieve a specific function in an organism.
  • Gram — Unit of weight in the metric system. 1-pound equals 454 g
  • Kilogram — 1 kg equals 1000 g or 2.2 pounds
  • Celsius — A scale of temperature on which water freezes at 0° and boils at 100°.
    • Fahrenheit is when water freezes at 32° and boils at 212°. 
  • Calorie — Unit of measurement. Energy potential. 
  • Nutrient — Substance that gives the living body something it needs to live and grow.
  • Food — Material taken into the body to provide it with the nutrients it needs for energy and growth. Fuel for the body.
  • Element — Substance that cannot be broken down by chemical reaction.
    • There are more than 100 elements and they are the primary building blocks of matter.
  • Compound — Substance made up of two or more elements.
  • Molecule — Smallest particle of any compound that still exists as that substance.
  • Acid — Eats away at chemical compounds and tastes sour.
  • Protein — Naturally occurring compounds for growth and repair in the body to build cells and tissue. 
  • Amino acid — Small units of material used to build protein.
  • Gas — Substance that is an air-like form. Not solid or liquid.
  • Oxygen — Colorless, odorless gas needed by most living things.
  • Hydrogen — Colorless, odorless gas that is flammable.
    • Most common element in the world,
  • Carbohydrate — Molecule composed of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen.
    • Serves as a source of energy for humans and animals.
  • Digestion — Process of breaking down food so the body can absorb and use it. 
  • Enzyme — Substance produced by organisms that causes a specific chemical reaction.
  • Metabolism — Term for the processes that break down molecules from food to release energy, which is then used to fuel the cells in the body and build new cells. 

7 Biggest Muscle Building Myths and Mistakes

  1. More Sets = More Growth
    • Too many sets and reps for a body part per week leads to overtraining.
      • You can do too much to the point where your body can’t repair muscles efficiently.
    • No need for supersets, drop sets or other similar things.
  2. You Have to ‘Feel the Burn’ to Grow
    • Muscle pump is not necessary for muscle growth.
    • When muscles burn, you are feeling a buildup of lactic acid that continues to accumulate as you contract the muscle. 
      • Overdoing this can be bad.
      • Progressive overload is what drives muscle growth.
  3. Wasting Time With the Wrong Exercises
    • Machines are basically useless. Use free weights like barbells and dumbbells.
    • There’s something special about making the body push and pull weight freely against the weight of gravity.
    • Not all free weight exercises are equal — compound exercises are the best. They involve working multiple muscle groups.
      • Ex. Bench, squat, military press, and deadlift. 
  4. Constantly Changing Your Routine
    • You don’t have to change your routine to “confuse the body.”
    • There are four key principles to follow:
      • Do the right exercises
      • Lift progressively heavier weight over time
      • Eat correctly
      • Rest properly
    • Changing your routine prevents you from tracking your progress.
      • You should be doing the same core exercises every week to get bigger and stronger.
      • Focus on upping the weight and/or reps each week.
  5. Lifting Like an Idiot
    • Use correct form, even if means you need to use lighter weight.
  6. Lifting Like a Wussy
    • You must push yourself. Don’t go through the motions. Work hard.
  7. Eating to Stay Small or Get Fat
    • If you don’t eat enough, and don’t eat enough protein, you will not grow.
    • If you eat enough protein but too many calories, you will add muscle but also a lot of fat.

The 3 Scientific Laws to Muscle Growth

  1. Progressive Overload Over Everything
    • Progressive Overload — lifting progressively heavier weights over time.
      • To handle more weight, the muscles must grow. This is supported by science. 
      • Lift heavy! Short intense sets of 4-6 reps. More rest between sets.
  2. Proper Rest is As Important as Proper Training
    • Muscles take between 2-7 days to recover from weight training, depending on intensity.
  3. Muscles Will Only Grow if Properly Fed
    • You could do perfect workouts with perfect rest, but muscles will not grow if not fed properly.
      • Make sure you’re getting enough protein. 

The 5 Biggest Fat Loss Myths and Mistakes

  1. Watching Caloric Intake is Unnecessary
    • To effectively lose fat, you must regulate food intake.
    • To lose fat, the body must burn more energy than you’re feeding it.
      • Excess energy is stored as fat.
    • If you give the body less energy than it requires, it will use fat storages for energy.
      • When you’re in a caloric deficit, the body will use fat for energy, which melts it off your body. 
    • Carbohydrate intake doesn’t really matter. 
  2. Do Cardio and You Will Lose Fat
    • Cardio can enhance weight loss, but it is not the main reason for fat loss. Diet is.
    • Basal Metabolic Rate — how many calories your body burns without physical exertion.
    • HIIT cardio is recommended. It leads the body to keep burning energy after you’re done.
      • BMR goes up. 
  3. Chasing FAD Diets
    • In the end Atkins, Paleo, and other hybrid diets are not really effective.
  4. Doing Tons of Reps is the Best
    • High rep, low weight workouts are not good. They lead to strength and muscle loss.
    • The key to preserving strength and muscle during weight loss is to lift heavy weights.
      • The goal is to continue progressive overload, which ensures protein synthesis rates remain elevated enough to prevent muscle loss.
    • Lifting heavy also helps fat loss. Especially compound lifts, which help the body’s after-burn. 
  5. Trying to ‘Spot Reduce’ Fat
    • Fat loss occurs in a whole-body fashion. Some areas reduce faster than others during caloric deficit. A lot of it depends on genetics, too. 
    • The more muscle you have, the leaner you have to be to not look bulky.

The 4 Laws of Healthy Weight Loss

  1. Eat Less Energy Than You Burn to Lose Fat
    • Losing fat is a numbers game. Eat less calories than you burn.
    • It doesn’t matter what you eat to lose fat. It does matter when it comes to body composition though.
    • No need to starve yourself. Calculate a caloric deficit plan and follow it. 
  2. Use Macro-Nutrients to Optimize Body Composition 
    • What you eat is not important to lose weight as long as you are in a caloric deficit. 
    • To lose fat and keep muscle, it is important what you eat.
      • Must get carbs, proteins, and dietary fats correct to get the best body composition.
      • But losing weight or gaining weight is simply about calories in and calories out. 
  3. Eat on a Schedule That Works Best for You
    • Eating more meals vs. less meals doesn’t help or hurt.
    • Greater protein intake made subjects feel more, full per research.
    • You can eat late at night as long as you are still in a caloric deficit.
      • Again, it’s all about calories in and calories out.
  4. Use Exercise to Preserve Muscle and Accelerate Fat Loss
    • You can lose weight and fat without exercising, but strength and cardio training has huge benefits.
      • Resistance training preserves muscle, and raises BMR (after-burn effect).
      • Cardio training burns more energy and therefore HELPS you burn more fat.
    • Resistance training is a must, while cardio can be optional.
      • But to get really low body fat (6-8%), you need to do cardio.

Inner Game (Mental)

  • Dopamine — Released in the brain when you identify something that has a reward attached.
    • Dopamine for food gets the body ready for the item and lowers blood sugar levels in anticipation of insulin. This makes you crave the item even more.
    • Dopamine drives us to action. It increases stress and anxiety and drives us to acquire the item.
    • Advertisements attempt to trigger dopamine levels.
  • Stress is the No. 1 enemy of willpower. 
    • When we are stressed, we overeat and we overspend.
  • Nothing improves self-control in all aspects of our lives like exercise.
    • Anytime you feel like skipping a workout, remember that exercise replenishes self-control and willpower and energizes us.
  • Delayed Discounting — When we think about rewards, the longer we have to wait, the less desirable they become.
    • Delayed discounting is why we choose the reward available now over the one available down the road.
      • Instant gratification. 
    • To beat this, think of the long-term reward first.
      • Ex. When you’re considering pizza, think of your fitness goals and how pizza would hurt them.
  • Social Proof – When we are unsure of something, we look to others and follow suit.
    • The more people around you cheat on a test, the more likely you are to cheat.
  • Whenever struggling with willpower, remember WHY you are going for the goal.
    • Always remember your WHY. 
  • When you slip up on your diet or exercise routine don’t get down on yourself. 
    • Show yourself the same compassion he would show a friend. 
    • This helps us accept responsibility and move forward.
  • The Crystal Ball Effect — When we give ourselves permission to do or not do something with the expectation that our future self will make up for it.
    • Ex. I’ll skip my workout today because I’ll do it later in the week.
      • We think that we will be more enthusiastic, brave, and willing in the future and that is just not the case. We usually have the same exact mindset in the future.
      • Your future self will not have more desire, enthusiasm to do the task. Do it now. 

The Diet

  • Use your diet to manipulate your weight depending on if you want to bulk, cut, or maintain.
    • 1-gram protein = 4 cal
    • 1-gram carbs = 4 cal
    • 1-gram fat = 9 cal
  • Quote: “Regardless of the source, 1 gram of protein contains 4 calories, 1 gram of carbohydrate contains 4 calories as well, and 1 gram of fat contains 9 calories.”
  • Your body size, total lean mass, and physical activity are a few of the factors that determine how much energy or calories your body burns every day.
  • Protein is critical for putting on muscle in a bulk and keeping muscle when cutting.
    • Each feeding should contain 30 to 40 g of protein.
    • You should actually have more protein while on a cut because you’re getting less of it from other foods due to the fact that you are eating less calories. 
  • Carbs are not stored as body fat as easily as dietary fats.
    • Carbohydrates are essential to putting on muscle and overall function. Don’t avoid them.
    • All carbs we eat are turned into glucose or remain indigested as dietary fiber.
    • If you are not overweight and exercise regularly your body can deal with simple carbohydrates just fine.
  • The Glycemic Index ranks carbs based on how fast they are turned into glucose.
    • 55 and below = low
    • 56-69 = medium
    • 70 and up = high
  • Overeating causes weight gain, NOT CARBS.
  • Saturated fat is not as bad as originally thought.
  • Dietary fat helps the body absorb nutrients, among other things.
  • Avoid trans-fat!
  • Drink 1-2 gallons of water every day.
  • Take a multivitamin. It’s impossible to get all of the vitamins we need through food alone.
  • Keep sodium intake low. Keep potassium intake high.
    • Aim for a 2-1 ratio. 
  • Eat lots of fiber!
    • You should eat 14 g of fiber per 1000 cal consumed.
  • Eating 30 to 40 grams of protein before a workout can help muscle growth.
  • Eat easily digested carbs 30 minutes before a workout to improve workout performance.
  • Eat 40 grams of protein directly after a workout.
    • Eat carbs directly after a workout. They help recovery. 
  • Whatever you do, always make sure you get a lot of protein each day. It’s crucial to building and maintaining muscle. 
  • You should aim to bulk up to 15-17% body fat and then cut back down to 10%. Then repeat the process.
    • When cutting, try to lose about 1 pound per week.
  • When you’re bulking, you want to go up by 0.5–1 pound per week.
    • More than that and you’re putting on too much fat.
  • When bulking, you should increase reps every week and increase weight on the bar every 3-4 weeks.
  • When bulking, you can reduce your caloric intake to maintenance level on off days, if desired.
  • It’s recommended to stick with nutritious foods, but you don’t have to.
    • There really are no rules as to what you have to eat. Just hit your caloric target.
  • Cottage cheese is a good high protein and low-fat food.
  • Oats are a good option for carbohydrates. Black beans and brown rice are also good.

Lifting Weights

  • The four core lifts that need to be included in every weightlifting routine:
    • Bench press
    • Squat
    • Deadlift
    • Military Press
    • Try not to use the Smith Machine. It’s not as effective.
  • After eight weeks of hard training, you need to take a ‘deload’ week.
    • This is when you take the week off entirely, or lower the weight and reduce all sets by one. 
    • Deload week is designed to reenergize your body and help you recover. 
  • When lifting heavy, you need to up the weight when you hit 6 reps.
    • As soon as prepares to hitting 6 reps, the next set needs to be heavier. 
      • And keep repeating this process.
    • Focus on beating last week’s numbers!
      • Sometimes you’ll get less reps in the week before. That’s OK.
  • Don’t change how you lift when cutting. Try to maintain your numbers.
  • HIIT Cardio Burns more fat because of its thermic effect.
    • It also preserves muscle because it’s shorter in duration.
    • HIIT Cardio on the bike is good.
  • How to warm up:
    • 12 reps — light
    • 10 reps — same weight
    • 4 reps — a little heavier
    • 1 rep — nearly at your working set weight
    • 1 rep — above the working set weight you plan to lift.
      • This one will make your working set weight feel lighter when you drop the weight down after hitting this heavier weight.
  • Every three weeks, do a “strength week”, where you do the core lifts, like the bench press, multiple times in the week.
    • Only train three times during this strength week. Focus on the core lifts on those three days. Give the rest of the body the week off. 
  • Lifting Routine Template:
    • 3 weeks of normal training
    • 1 strength week
    • 3 weeks of normal training
    • 1 strength week
    • 1 deload week
    • Repeat 

Supplements

  • Most supplements are lies and are terrible products.
  • Creatine
    • Highly recommended to take creatine.
      • Creatine monohydrate is the way to go.
    • Take creatine with lots of carbs for maximum benefit. Ideally, take it with a post workout meal.
    • You can take creatine while cutting and bulking. Use the same way.
    • Take 5 grams per day
  • Multi-Vitamin
    • Take a multivitamin every day.