Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews - My Guide to Staying Fit, Productive, and Sane While Self-Quarantined

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hi there, I'm Mike Matthews, this is Muscle for Life, and thank you for taking a little bit of time out of your day to listen to my words. Okay, enough of that. What's up my pandemic pals? Here we are, global pandemic, yes it sucks, moist open sphincter. People are dying, economies are crashing, and many of us are wondering if the doomsday clock is about to strike midnight. And again, if you're listening to this, you are probably not dying. Your economy is probably still functional enough to provide you with high-speed internet. And let's not forget that scientists and intellectuals and elites have

Starting point is 00:00:46 been predicting the imminent end of days for a long time now, at least since Malthus. So count yourself lucky. And especially if you and your friends and your family are healthy and you still have jobs and maybe you're even about to receive a couple wheelbarrows of Trump bucks. Oh yes, sweet stimulus, Skrilla. And even if you're not going to get any of that, if you have a job, your employer is almost certainly going to be getting quite a bit. He's going to be getting, or she, they are going to be getting their payroll, rent, and utilities covered for a couple months, two and a half months, I think it is. And that helps you keep said job. So I want you to say

Starting point is 00:01:31 something out loud with me. Yes, say it out loud. I'm thankful for my health, job, and Trump bucks. Come on, don't be an ingrate. Say it. Health, job. Trump bucks. Feels good, right? What's more, you can view this current predicament as an opportunity to focus on and optimize things that you can control instead of focusing on all the things that you can't control. And that starts with your schedule. So if you are working from home, for example, there are no office shenanigans anymore, no distractions to sap your productivity, there are no co-workers to bat the breeze with, there are no unnecessary meetings to zone out in. In other words, here's your chance to see just how productive you can really be. You also now have extra time for self-care necessities like

Starting point is 00:02:27 getting seven to nine hours of sleep every night, working out every day, and preparing healthy homemade meals. Then there's other wholesome stuff that we now have a good excuse to engage in more of like spending more time with our families and our friends and our neighbors at a safe distance of six feet, of course, and maybe reading some good books and listening to some good podcasts, watching some good movies, learning some new skills. And yes, I said watching some good movies. We can afford to sneak in some good television and movies too. And who knows, television and movies too. And who knows, when this viral boogaloo is finally over and the group of seven has kicked the Chinese government into the sewer grates to become sewer clown food. Oh, I can't wait for that to happen. Some or many of these new healthy habits of yours are going to

Starting point is 00:03:21 stick. So imagine just a couple months from now, you are healthier, happier, and fitter than before the beer virus world tour kicked off. And who knows, maybe more so than ever before. Are you game? All right, well, keep listening then, my lovely little Droog. Now, before we get to the show, if you like what I'm doing here on the podcast and elsewhere, and if you want to help me help more people get into the best shape of their lives, please consider checking out my VIP one-on-one coaching service. My team and I have helped people of all ages, circumstances, and needs. So no matter how complicated or hopeless you might think your situation is don't worry we will figure out how to get you the results you want every diet and

Starting point is 00:04:13 training program we create is 100 custom we provide daily workout logs we do weekly accountability calls our clients get priority email service as well as discounts on supplements and the list goes on and on. We basically do everything we can to help you lose fat, gain muscle, and get healthy as quickly and enjoyably. That's an important point as possible. So to learn more, head over to legionathletics.com slash coaching and schedule your free consultation call. Now, there is usually a wait list and new slots do fill up quickly. So don't wait, just head over to legionathletics.com slash coaching, lock in your free consultation call, and let's see if there's a good fit. Okay. So let's talk about creating a daily schedule, an effective daily schedule and sticking to it.

Starting point is 00:05:07 And this is important because without the familiar structure of our normal work days and weekends, many of us feel a bit lost and listless right now, kind of like zoo animals that have suddenly been released into the wild. The cure is routine. As Mason Curry details in his book Daily Rituals, the secret of many prolific artists, inventors, and innovators, many of whom had free reign over how they spent their time, was a precise personal schedule. Some, like the writer Ernest Hemingway, the composer Gustav Mahler, and the architect Frank Lloyd Wright, did their best work first thing in the morning. Others, on the other hand, like the writer Samuel Johnson, the musician Bob Dylan, and the artist Pablo

Starting point is 00:05:58 Picasso, all worked best at night. And still others preferred to break up their work into chunks throughout the day. So the important thing here is that you find a routine that works for you and then stick to it like stink on a teenager. Here are some tips that work well for me. One is time blocking. And what this is, is it's really just dedicating blocks of time each day to certain types of tasks. So for instance, I prefer to spend the first few hours of each day writing. That's books and articles. So I'm always working on the next book. I'm always working on the next article. And I do that because I find it easiest and most productive when my energy levels and my motivation are at their highest, which for me is in the morning. I also like to schedule all podcast interviews, calls, and meetings in the

Starting point is 00:06:52 afternoons when my energy is a bit lower and I find that I just don't do my best writing. And then I dedicate my final time block of the day to more menial type of stuff like email and administrative tasks. And I recommend that you use the same system for scheduling your workouts and meals and social and even leisure time. Everything that you do, you can organize into time blocks. And then you can put it on a calendar, like a digital calendar. Google Calendar is what I use or a paper calendar if you prefer that.

Starting point is 00:07:26 Another tool that works well for me is task prioritization. So time blocking specifies what type of work to do when, but not exactly what to do. And so that's why I start each day by writing down what I'm going to do in each time block and the order I'm going to do those things in. And those tasks are organized according to priority. The most urgent stuff gets done first. So for example, currently my writing time block looks like this. I have at the top a new book for the 40 plus crowd that Simon & Schuster is going to publish next summer. I'm on a tight deadline on this. I need to be done with the manuscript by May. And considering that I started

Starting point is 00:08:11 it in, I want to say the middle of January, I'm on target, but I have to give it a fair amount of time every day to stay on target. And to do that, then I had to make sure that this comes first. If other things need to get bumped, like for example, I'm a bit behind on email these days because of this book that I've been working on and the next couple of things that I'm going to mention. And that's okay. I'm okay with that if I get behind on email, so long as I know why and so long as I understand that it is the right tactical move to take time that I would normally put into email away from it temporarily to work on something that is a higher priority. So the next task in my writing time block is a new second edition of Beyond Bigger Than You're

Starting point is 00:08:55 Stronger that I am working on, almost done with, have been working on for some time now, probably close to a year now, really. And I plan on self-publishing that this summer, itching to wrap it up, release the book. But it comes after the 40 plus book that I'm doing with Simon & Schuster because it's not as important. That Simon & Schuster deadline is more important because they need about a year to publish the book, to go from a completed manuscript to a published book. And as I want the book to come out next summer and not later in the year next year, which Simon & Schuster probably wouldn't even want to do, that means it would probably get pushed to the following year, like the first quarter probably of the following year. I want to

Starting point is 00:09:34 avoid that. I want it out next year. And so to do that, I have to hustle. So that's why I make sure first that I get enough words done on the 40 plus book to stay on track for that May deadline. Then once that's done, I move on to working on BBLS 2.0. And then after that, once I've put in time there and gotten enough done to get it out this summer, I move on to writing articles for my blog over at legionathletics.com. And although this is not as important as releasing new books, many people do appreciate and enjoy my blog articles. And many of those blog articles then get repurposed into podcasts. They give me easy material that I can talk about on the podcast. And so I'm always working on at least one new article for the blog. And so practically speaking, how this works is I

Starting point is 00:10:26 don't have a set period of time that I spend on each of these projects. It's all based on output. So for example, I know that I need to put down about a thousand words a day on this 40 plus book to stay on target. And I need to put down about 500 words per day on BBLS 2.0 to stay on target. And so I work on those tasks, those projects, until I've hit my target and then I move on to the next thing. And on some days, it goes fairly quickly. Some days, for example, I've put down a thousand plus words on the 40 plus book in an hour or so. And on other days, it's taken several hours. It just kind of depends on the material and how much legwork I need to do to get to the final copy. And if you want to learn more about the thinking behind this concept of time blocking and task prioritization, and you want to learn

Starting point is 00:11:20 more about how to implement it, check out the work of Cal Newport. So there's an article that he wrote called Deep Habits, The Importance of Planning Every Minute of Your Work Day and Deep Habits, Three Recent Daily Plans. Check those articles out. And I also highly recommend his book, Deep Work. Okay, moving on to another tip for managing your time better, and that is internet mindfulness. Because if you're not careful with how you use the internet, you are going to wind up spending way too much time in what the writer Tim Urban refers to as the dark playground. So to quote Tim, the dark playground is a place every procrastinator knows well. It's a place where leisure activities happen at times when leisure activities are not supposed to be

Starting point is 00:12:05 happening. The fun you have in the dark playground isn't actually fun because it's completely unearned and the air is filled with guilt, anxiety, self-hatred, and dread. Sometimes the rational decision maker puts his foot down and refuses to let you waste time doing normal leisure things. And since the instant gratification monkey sure as hell isn't going to let you waste time doing normal leisure things. And since the instant gratification monkey sure as hell isn't going to let you work, you find yourself in a bizarre purgatory of weird activities where everyone loses. In other words, with the internet, it is very easy to bargain away your time instead of doing something productive or meaningful. to bargain away your time instead of doing something productive or meaningful. And the more often you do that, the more sorry, stressed, and stupefied you feel. And this includes the

Starting point is 00:12:52 obvious stuff like daisy-chaining YouTube videos, indulging in protracted bouts of retail therapy, and mindless Instagram scrolling. But it also includes busy work, you know, stuff that may feel kind of productive, but really is just a distraction from what you should be doing, you know, higher priority tasks. And some examples of this are text or Slack conversations, non-urgent emails and analytics browsing. And so what do we do about this? What's the solution? Well, to quote Cal Newport from his book, Deep Work, which again, I highly recommend, schedule in advance when you will use the internet and then avoid it altogether outside these times. I suggest that you keep a notepad near your computer at work. On this pad, record the next

Starting point is 00:13:43 time you're allowed to use the internet until you arrive at that time. Absolutely no network connectivity is allowed, no matter how tempting. Now, what if you need to use the internet though to work on an important project, to do something productive and meaningful? Well, the easiest way to win there is to just use software like Cold Turkey that allows you to restrict your access to the tempting websites that are not mission critical. Okay, so if you agree that routine is good and you want to establish a healthy, productive routine that keeps you sane while quarantined, let's talk about that. What should your routine look like exactly? Let's start with exercising every day. Now, to quote the All-American athlete, writer, and coach Dan John,

Starting point is 00:14:33 if something is important, do it every day. If it's not important, don't do it at all. A lot of wisdom in those words. And exercise is important and definitely should be done every day, even when we can't follow our normal training programs. And, you know, I would say, especially when we can't follow our normal routine. First, realize that home workouts can be far more effective for maintaining or even gaining muscle and strength than many people realize. In fact, if you do it right, no matter how experienced of a weightlifter you are, you should not lose any muscle to speak of over the course of the next month or even two months and minimal strength. And most of what you're going to lose in the way of strength is actually just skill. You're not going to lose any muscle, really. That's what drives most of

Starting point is 00:15:25 our strength is our muscle mass. But if we haven't been under a heavy barbell in a few months, it's going to feel a bit awkward at first. So we're not going to be able to jump right back into our training blocks exactly where we left them off. Even if we didn't lose any muscle, we are going to have to ease a bit back into it. Now, you may also be surprised at how many fewer calories you're burning while stuck inside all day and not moving around and moving about like you normally would. And doing home workouts can help with that. It can help make it easier to maintain your normal diet and your body composition to eat the way you like to eat without gaining a bunch of

Starting point is 00:16:06 fat. Now, if you want to learn more about how to make the most of your home workouts, head over to legionathletics.com, go to the blog, and pinned right at the top is a long 10,000-word article I wrote on home workouts. I put everything I could think of in there. There are body weight workouts, band workouts, dumbbell slash kettlebell workouts, beginner workouts, intermediate workouts, advanced workouts, equipment recommendations, programming tips. The list goes on and on. Again, that's legionathletics.com. Go to the blog. Pinned right at the top is the article, and it's free, of course. Now, let's look at the, let's say the worst case scenario, right? Let's say you do lose a little bit of muscle while quarantined. There still is a nice big silver lining. I still have some good news for you. It's going to come back very quickly.

Starting point is 00:16:55 That muscle that you lose, you will regain very quickly once you get back into the gym. And I'm talking weeks, not months. And that is the power of muscle memory, which is a very real physiological phenomenon. And if you want to learn more about that, you can find an article over at legionathletics.com. I believe I've also recorded a podcast on it. So if you search the podcast feed or YouTube channel for muscle memory, it should come up. Now, yet another reason to keep working out while we were at home is just maintaining the habit of regular exercise, because that is just as important as maintaining your physique. And this is particularly true if you are kind of new to this whole working out thing

Starting point is 00:17:36 and training isn't a permanent fixture of your weekly routine just yet. Now, exactly how long it takes to form a new habit depends on several things. It depends on your personality. It depends how motivated you are. It depends on how difficult the task is and some other factors. But the more consistent you are about doing something, the more likely you are to keep doing it. That's true for all of us. You've probably heard that on average, it takes a couple months for a new habit to take hold in most people. In some people, it could be a couple of weeks. In other people, it could be many months. But if you just keep going, the chances that you will keep going increase. And as a corollary, the less consistent you are

Starting point is 00:18:23 with a new habit, the less likely you are to stick to it, the less likely it is to become a long-term habit. And if you want to learn more about that, if you want to learn about the science of building positive habits, head over to legionathletics.com and search for habits, and you'll find an article called A Scientific Guide to Habits, How to Build Good Ones and Break Bad Ones. So then staying fit and strong are not the only reasons to do home workouts. They also will just help keep you in the habit of working out. And that's going to make it easier physically and mentally to resume your normal workout routine once your gym is reopened. And let's also not forget about the mental and

Starting point is 00:19:03 physical health benefits of regular exercise, which we can all use an extra helping of right now. It doesn't take much to get the job done either. Research shows that even a 10 minute walking workout can brighten your mood and boost your energy levels. And most of us have the time to do quite a bit more than that right now. And a little tip for people who don't have, let's say 45 or 60 minute blocks of time they can dedicate to working out. Let's say people with small children, for example, who always need something. A good little hack for this is to break up the workout that you want to do that takes, let's say 45 or 60 minutes into 15 minute blocks

Starting point is 00:19:44 or 20 minute blocks. That's totally fine. So let's just say you're going to do a home workout that consists of four exercises, let's say four sets per exercise, about 15 minutes per exercise for a total of about an hour. What you could do is you could do your work on the first exercise. If you have a 15 minute window and then do what you got to do around the house with your kids or whatever. And then a little bit later, do the second exercise a little bit later, do the third and finally do the fourth. Totally feasible. So long as you get your entire workout done by the end of the day, you have done a good job. Something else you might want to consider if you're not already in the habit of doing it is to start doing cardio. Now is a perfect opportunity to do cardio. And not only will that help you burn some calories and improve your

Starting point is 00:20:30 cardiovascular health, it'll also give you an excuse to get outside if you can get outside, which can also benefit your health. Spending just a short period of time among nature can make you feel better. And if you want some ideas for effective and fun cardio workouts, head over to legionathletics.com and search for H-I-I-T. And you'll find an article called the top three reasons to do high intensity interval training and search for easiest, you probably search for easiest cardio. And then you'll find an article called the easiest cardio workout you can do that actually works. Those articles will probably help you. Now, finally, the Corona virus crisis,

Starting point is 00:21:16 the disruption and downtime is a worthy occasion for reviewing your normal workout programming as well and seeing how you can improve it and tweak it for when we do get back in the gym. And if you want some help with that, just head over to legionathletics.com and check out the workouts category on the blog. And you'll find quite a few articles that I've put together with workouts on how to build a workout routine, how to build a strength training routine in particular, upper body workouts, lower body workouts, full body workouts, push pull workouts, full body workouts, push-pull legs, and many others. Hey, before we continue, if you like what I'm doing here on the podcast and elsewhere, and if you want to help me help more people get into the best shape of their lives, please consider checking out my VIP one-on-one coaching service. Now my team and I have helped

Starting point is 00:22:07 thousands of people of all ages, circumstances, and needs. So no matter how complicated or maybe even hopeless you might think your situation is, we will figure out how to get you the results you want. Every diet and training program we create is 100% custom. We provide daily workout logs and we do weekly accountability calls. Our clients get priority email service as well as discounts on supplements and the list goes on and on.

Starting point is 00:22:39 To learn more, just head over to legionathletics.com slash coaching. And if you like what you see, schedule your free consultation call. Now there's normally a wait list to work with our coaches and new slots do fill up very quickly. So if this sounds even remotely interesting to you, head over to legionathletics.com slash coaching now and schedule your free consultation call. And let's see if our program is a good fit for you. All right. So let's move on to the next major point that you should incorporate into your routine right now. And that is to eat well. Now we know that grocery stores are struggling to

Starting point is 00:23:18 meet the demands of panic shoppers and they're struggling to keep their shelves stocked, but you know what they're not running out of, or at least what most or many are not running out of? Fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, the nutritious stuff, of course. And yeah, these foods don't keep as well and they aren't as attractive for stockpiling. But when people are scared, they don't turn to broccoli, oranges, and bananas for solace. That's what frozen pizza, ice cream, and mac and cheese are for. And please try not to be one of these people because not only is eating recklessly going

Starting point is 00:23:56 to result in unwanted weight gain, it's also going to make it harder to shift back to healthier eating when the coronavirus has passed. So instead of using this current predicament as an excuse to become a human garbage disposal, why not flip the script and get better at preparing delicious and nutritious home-cooked meals instead? And to that point, let me share a few tips with you. The first one is now is a great time to learn to cook delicious and nutritious meals because with restaurants closed or only accepting takeout, which often tastes like butt in my experience, as well as disposable income dwindling for many people, cooking is becoming a prized skill right now. What's more, it's also a skill that is going to pay

Starting point is 00:24:46 dividends for the rest of your life. If you can cook good food, you can save money, you can improve your dietary compliance, you can promote healthy eating habits, not just for you, but anyone who lives with you. And there's also something to be said for not having to rely on other people and businesses to provide one of our most basic needs, which is sustenance and hopefully tasty sustenance, right? Because it's not that hard. Learning to cook good food is not difficult. For starters, you can pick up just about any popular cookbook and just choose one of the simpler recipes in it, follow the instructions as best you can, and you're probably going to

Starting point is 00:25:25 enjoy the result. What can be trickier though is making mouthwatering food that is not loaded with calories because anything tastes good if you put enough butter, sugar, and salt in it, but it does take some creativity and skill to make delicious fare from fruits, vegetables, whole grains, meat, seafood, dairy, and so forth with minimal added fat and sugar. Luckily, there are cookbooks for that as well. And here are some of my favorites for beginners. You have The Shredded Chef by yours truly. You have The Skinny Taste Cookbook. It's actually a series of cookbooks by Gina Homolka, I believe. So there's The Skinny Taste Cookbook. That was the first.

Starting point is 00:26:06 And then there's Skinny Taste One and Done. That's another one that has a lot of simple, tasty, let's say diet-friendly or calorie-friendly dishes. And another is the Racing Weight Cookbook by Matt Fitzgerald. Now, if you are already a halfway decent cook and you would like to use this time to take your skills to the next level, here are a few books to consider. One is Cookwise by Shirley Korriher. Now, not all of the recipes in this are macro-friendly or fitness-friendly, but the author does give you an

Starting point is 00:26:42 excellent overview of the fundamentals of good cooking and the science of good cooking. And with some simple little hacks, you can easily reduce the calories and fat in just about any type of recipe. There are a lot of good tips for that online. Gina Homolka has some good ones on our website, actually. Another book that you should consider if you are an intermediate cook is The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes per Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. And this is particularly helpful right now with many stores running out of packaged bread and fresh bread is easy to make and destroys packaged bread. I love fresh bread. It's almost a dessert to me. Really good fresh bread

Starting point is 00:27:26 with just butter is delicious. Another cookbook that anyone who takes their cooking seriously should have is the Betty Crocker cookbook by Betty Crocker. This is really just a classic, and it has been updated many, many times, has a lot of fantastic recipes. And last but not least is On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee. Now, this is the most advanced and comprehensive cookbook on my list, but it is also one of the most detailed and illuminating. So if you really like to nerd out on the art and science of making great food, you're going to like this. I would not recommend though reading it until you've read probably CookWise at least by Shirley Corher. Now, if you're looking for an even larger variety of recipes, or if you just don't really want to buy any cookbooks right

Starting point is 00:28:17 now, you can also sign up for an online meal planning service and they'll give you detailed instructions, graphics, and so forth. Now, these services do charge a monthly fee, but in return, you get complete weekly menus along with recipes and grocery lists, and some even provide nutrition facts for all of the meals and the ability to sort them by dietary preferences or filter them by dietary preferences like vegetarian, keto, low carb, and so forth. And a few of the more popular ones are CookSmarts, PlateJoy, and eMeals. Now, there are many online cooking classes as well. A few good ones are Gordon Ramsey's Masterclass over at masterclass.com, the Instructables Cooking Class, which is instructables.com. It's slash class slash

Starting point is 00:29:06 cooking hyphen class. But if you just search their website for cooking class, you'll find it. And then there is Cooking Basics by The Great Courses Plus over at thegreatcoursesplus.com. And specifically, it's called Cooking Basics, What Everyone Should Know. And it is by Sean Cullenberg. And last but not least here is all the recipes that are over at legionathletics.com. We have quite a few recipe posts over at the blog. And so if you go to legionathletics.com, go to the blog, and then you'll see there is, you can select categories and you want to select recipes. And so we have all kinds of stuff, overnight oats, waffles, omelets, grits, overnight oats, waffles, omelets, grits, smoothies, ground bison recipes, chicken pasta recipes,

Starting point is 00:29:57 Japanese curry recipes, sausage, ground turkey, chicken, salmon, Cajun, meatball, casserole, list goes on and on. There's a lot over there. So you might find some stuff to enjoy there as well. All right. My next tip for eating well during the coronavirus crisis is to create and follow a meal plan. And especially if you've never done this before, if you have never followed a proper meal plan, now is the ideal time to start. Now, a meal plan is like a personal schedule, but it's for your diet. It tells you what to eat and when to eat it so you can achieve your body composition and your health goals. And so that means, of course, that it helps you regulate your calories and your macronutrients, and it helps ensure you're eating enough nutritious foods and that you're eating on

Starting point is 00:30:34 a schedule that works for you. So you might do better with fewer meals per day than me, for example. I like to eat five or six times per day, but some people only like to eat three times per day. Some people like to skip breakfast and do intermittent fasting. Some people like to eat more food earlier in the day and less food later on in the day. And some people like to do the opposite. So by going through the process of meal planning, you will learn what works best for you. And what's also nice about it is it more or less guarantees results. And it's also more enjoyable and it's definitely more time efficient than trying to track your meals on the fly using a calorie counting app like

Starting point is 00:31:10 MyFitnessPal. And meal planning is also particularly helpful for people who tend to use food to deal with boredom and stress, like the boredom and stress resulting from weeks and I guess maybe even months of self-quarantining, right? Now, people who successfully use meal plans to lose fat and gain muscle also almost always tend to be the most successful intuitive eaters as well, because through meal planning, these people have developed an accurate sense. This happens naturally to everybody. If you get in the habit, you will do this too. You will start to understand intuitively how much food you should be eating. And thus, when you're not following a plan, you'll just be less likely to accidentally overeat because you'll

Starting point is 00:31:55 be able to follow your body's natural signals of hunger and fullness. So if you want to learn how to create an effective meal plan, you just head over to legionathletics.com, search for meal planning. And there's an article, there are a couple on meal planning, but there's one called the definitive guide to effective meal planning. And that really gives you everything you need to know. And if you don't feel like creating a meal plan on your own, my sports nutrition company, Legion Athletics does have pre-made meal plans for sale, and these are for fat loss and muscle gain for men and women. And we also offer custom meal plans where we build a meal plan precisely tailored to your goals and preferences. And you can find those things in our store over at legionathletics.com. The former, the pre-made meal plans are in the store as an item. And then the latter, the custom meal plans are on our coaching page, which is linked

Starting point is 00:32:48 on the menu. Okay, moving on here to the next eating well tip, and that is to use online tools to buy healthy food. So you're self-quarantining. Hopefully you're not sick, but you might just not feel like going to the grocery store to buy food. And I understand, although I kind of like grocery shopping, I also don't like that it feels like a waste of time.

Starting point is 00:33:10 And so what you can do is you can pay a small fee to have food brought to you. For example, there are a number of food ordering services that just make healthy eating a lot more convenient, like ButcherBox and Public Goods and US Wellness Meats. You have Amazon Prime Fresh Delivery, which I understand, depending on where you live, there may not be any delivery windows open. They are very slammed, at least where I live here in Northern Virginia, but there are pickup times that open up throughout the day. I haven't seen a delivery time open, but I've seen pickup times open, which saves time. So somebody does your grocery shopping for you. You just show up and pick up your bags and leave. And yes, you pay a small fee for that, but if it's worth it to you, it's worth it. Instacart

Starting point is 00:33:53 is in the same boat right now. Instacart, at least in my area, has no delivery windows openly available. You have to, I guess, keep an eye on it and they release them as they become available, but maybe different where you live. Purple carrot is another option for getting food delivered to you as well as blue apron. Okay, let's move on to the next big lever that you can pull while you are stuck inside to emerge a little bit better, and that is to stay productive and busy. Now, I would say that you should ignore this advice at your peril, because if you do not spend most of your time purposefully right now, productively, you are going to come out of this in a worse place mentally and emotionally. So think lethargy,

Starting point is 00:34:38 depression, despair, and the like. On the other hand, if you want to bolster your morale, then you want to occupy yourself. Actually, you want to preoccupy yourself with meaningful activities. And that includes work, of course, but also anything that aligns with a goal of yours. If you can do this, if you can put most of your time into meaningful activities, you're going to be less tempted to fall into bad habits, you know, idle hands do the devil's work and all that. So at the very least, by focusing on your goals, that's going to keep you from filling your days with Netflix and video games and food. In fact, one of the best diet hacks out there is just staying busy. You might be surprised how little you think about food when your attention is on other things, especially if they

Starting point is 00:35:32 are engrossing and interesting. Another benefit of staying productive and busy during this downtime is you're going to feel better about yourself. So remember the dark playground that we spoke about earlier? Staying busy is the best way to tune out its siren song and to quell feelings of guilt, doubt, and anxiety. If you can just focus on what's in front of you that you can control and then just do your best, things will likely work out fine in the end. Lastly, if you follow my advice here, you may be in a better position financially because some people are saying that the economy is going to soar back or it's likely to soar upward this summer, like a phoenix rising from the coronavirus ashes. And others are saying it's probably going to limp along like a wounded animal for a year or more. And others still are saying that we're already approaching the point of no return and a global depression is on the horizon.

Starting point is 00:36:34 I'm not an economist, so I'm not sure what to think, but I know this, no matter who's right, if I can work hard now, you can do the same thing, then we are going to be better prepared for whatever comes next, good, bad, or middling. And so if you're on the same page here, let's talk about now how specifically you should stay busy and productive. So the first one is the big obvious one, right? It's just work as much as you can. If you can work and now that you don't have

Starting point is 00:37:05 to commute, you don't have to attend meetings or probably as many meetings, or you don't even have to get dressed anymore, chances are you have some extra time on your hands. Some people have an extra couple hours per day now. And if it's possible, I recommend to pour that into your work. I mean, look at it this way. If you are working for someone else, then this is a great opportunity to not only demonstrate your dedication and set yourself up for a post-coronavirus reward, but it's also a great opportunity to help your company

Starting point is 00:37:36 do as well as it possibly can during this economic shakeup. And remember, millions of people have already lost their jobs. So if you still have one, you should be thankful and you should be willing to show that. Now, if you work for yourself, I'll bet many of your competitors are scrambling right now. I know a number of mine are, especially those who rely mostly on retail or on Amazon. So anyways, this may be a chance to outpace your competitors and gobble up some market share. For example, advertising right now online is cheaper

Starting point is 00:38:13 than it's been in a long time. The pandemic has created a lot of demand for certain types of products and information. And you can think about how you and your business might be able to tap into that and provide people with help that they're seeking. For example, that's why I put together the long home workout guide over at legionathletics.com. And instead of selling it, I just wanted to give it away for free. I always like to do that whenever possible. And I've always used that strategy in my content production is give away as much great free content as possible. So then people are interested in checking out what else I have. And so in the case of that home workout article, it's already at about 100,000 page views and it's getting several thousand page views per day, anywhere between two and 10,000 page views per day. And so again, the point is in your business, if you have a business, if you work for yourself, is there any way you can get creative right now and generate a lot of goodwill? Again, give people help that they are

Starting point is 00:39:16 seeking. And even if it doesn't make you much money right now, it can turn into more support when things go back to normal. Many people are going to remember the help that you gave them. So for example, with that home workout article, I'm not sure how much money that article has made me, but I know that a lot of people have really appreciated it. They've reached out to tell me how much they've appreciated it. And who knows, at some point, maybe they'll come back around and buy something. And that's also why I did a charity sale and donated over $10,000 to the Center for Disease Philanthropy. One, I like to support causes that I believe in. I give a fair amount of my own personal income to

Starting point is 00:40:01 charity. I just don't really talk about it. But last year, I gave probably close to 10% of my personal income to groups and even individuals through Patreon and Subscribestar whose work I like and who I want to support. And I think that's important. It's one thing to say that you support something or say that you believe in something, but it's another thing altogether to give either your money or your time or both. And so I think it's actually hypocritical for people to say how much they believe in some cause or some person and then give no time or no money to it. So I wanted to give money to help fight the coronavirus. And so I found, or my team and I found a great smaller charity, very high ranking on Charity Navigator, 92.22%. Did a charity sale on our health supplements and donated 20% of the profits to the Center for Disease Philanthropy.

Starting point is 00:41:01 And that came out to over $10,000. And now we're actually just going to continue it. We're not going to continue it with a sale, but I'm just going to continue donating a portion of all profits to the CDP until we're over the hump on this thing. And I'll be announcing that over on the website. I'll make it clear on the website for people browsing that from now until the worst of this is behind us, I'm going to be giving a portion of Legion's profits to a charity that is helping first responders and people who have been hit the hardest by this disease. And I'm doing that because I believe in it personally, but it's also good business. It's good marketing. It's good public relations. People like to know that when they spend some money with me, a portion of it is going to

Starting point is 00:41:45 another good cause. A lot of people like my cause with Legion to help reform the sports nutrition industry and help raise the bar on what it means to be a science-backed supplement company. But they also appreciate that I'm willing to give up a portion of the money they give me to help people who need help. Okay, let's get back on track here and talk about how to get the most out of your work. So first, review the steps at the beginning of this podcast on how to set up an effective daily routine because that's crucial. And once you have that in place, it helps to set up a productive workstation, particularly true if you don't normally work

Starting point is 00:42:25 at home. So that means brushing up on some basic ergonomics, basically, and just trying to make your workstation check all the major boxes. It's hard to get a lot of work done when you're uncomfortable. And if you're used to having a comfy workstation, you might not realize how much of a difference it makes. So the biggest things you need to get right are you want not realize how much of a difference it makes. So the biggest things you need to get right are you want to have the top of your computer screen at just above eye level.

Starting point is 00:42:50 You want your computer screen to be about an arm's length away from your face. Your hands should be at or slightly below your elbows when you're typing. Your back should be slightly reclined, more or less vertical though, and your knees should be about the same height as your hips. If you do those things, you will be maximally comfortable and so you won't be distracted from your work by annoying aches and pains. You may also want to consider getting a standing desk so you can alternate between standing and sitting. Now, this isn't going to help you burn very many calories, contrary to what some people say. And sitting per se is not as unhealthy as some people would have you believe, but it is

Starting point is 00:43:31 nice to take a break from sitting all day. Another major factor for productivity is noise. You want to ensure that your workspace is as quiet as possible. And as Cal Newport explains, again, in his book, Deep Work, that I recommend, a wealth of data shows that even seemingly innocuous distractions like a conversation in the next room or a text message that's buzzing on your phone, an email notification, all of these things can significantly derail your focus and disrupt your productivity. All right, moving on, moving on. What else should you do with your time? What else can you do that is productive and meaningful outside of just your work? Well, I recommend that you start putting time into, if you're not already, reading great

Starting point is 00:44:16 books. Now, this is probably not surprising if you're familiar with me and my work. I 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, and the more you can do, the more opportunities you have to succeed. It really is that simple. Now, on the flip side, I also believe that there is little hope for people who are not perpetual learners. Life is overwhelmingly complex and chaotic, and it slowly but surely drowns and devours the lazy and ignorant. So if you haven't seen the bottom of your TBR pile since birth, maybe you can make a dent in it by the time the quarantine is lifted. And if you haven't finished a book in about as long, maybe you can make a dent in it by the time the quarantine is lifted. And if you haven't finished a book in about as long, maybe you can glimpse a little bit of what you've been missing.

Starting point is 00:45:10 Now, as for specific book recommendations, here are several that are particularly relevant right now, I think. There is Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, Thinking in Systems by Danella H. Meadows, Principles by Ray Dalio, The Lessons of History by Will Durant, The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz, Resilience by Eric Greitens, The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday, and Message to Garcia by Albert Hubbard. And now here are some books that are great for enhancing your health, happiness, and hardiness. Some of my favorites, Deep Work by Cal Newport, Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey, The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan, The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley, Mastery by Robert

Starting point is 00:46:01 Green, Good to Great by Jim C. Collins, Flow by Michele Chixon-Michele, Peak Performance by Brad Stolberg and Steve Magnus, Getting Things Done by David Allen, Bigger Leaner Stronger by some guy named Mike Matthews, Thinner Leaner Stronger for Women, and The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation also by Misa. Now, I have more book recommendations, naturally. I want to share some of my favorite biographies that I think are also relevant, because here are some stories that can remind us what we humans can overcome. We can overcome things much worse than COVID-19. So there is Julius Caesar by Philip Freeman, Alexander the Great by Philip Freeman, Benjamin Franklin in American Life by Walter Isaacson, Elon Musk by Ashley Vance, Band of Brothers by

Starting point is 00:46:51 Stephen E. Ambrose, Titan by Ron Chernow, Grant by Ron Chernow, Tesla by W. Bernard Carlson, Rogue Warrior by Richard Marcinko, and Shadow Divers by Robert Curson. And lastly, yes, here's my last little list. I haven't read much fiction in the last several years. I've stuck most to nonfiction, but a few standouts are American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlam, World War Z by Max Brooks, and Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Okie dokie. So that's books. Let's talk articles now, because if I had a nickel for all the times I've come across an interesting, well-written article and then saved it to Instapaper,

Starting point is 00:47:43 you may use Pocket, I use Instapaper, and then saved it to Instapaper. You may use Pocket. I use Instapaper. And then never saw it again. I would be making money in a very odd way. And if you can sympathize, let's make some headway together, shall we? And if your article aggregator is lonely, or if you don't even have one, here are some A-plus options to fill it with. Rosenbaum, Snowfall by John Branch, Why Procrastinators Procrastinate by Tim Urban, Chaos at the Top of the World by Joshua Hammer, That Time George Lucas Asked a Guy from Pittsburgh to Join Him and Rule the Galaxy by Anthony Breznikan, the perfect irony that the Wolf The Perfect Irony That The Wolf Of Wall Street Film Was Also A Real Life Scam Crazy Story by Zaron Burnett, Z-A-R-O-N Burnett. What Really Happened To Malaysia's Missing Airplane by William Langevesche, L-A-N-G-E-W-I-E-S-C-H-E. That's a very German name. And the man who captures criminals for the DEA by playing them

Starting point is 00:49:07 by Yudhijit Bhattaharjee. Oh, these names are killing me. Y-U-D-H-I-J-I-T. That's the first name. Last name is B-H-A-T-T-A-C-H-A-R-J-E-E. All right, articles done. Let's move on to podcasts. And I have a confession to make. I usually don't make the time to listen to podcasts because my time is limited these days and I prefer reading. But if you choose wisely, podcasts can be one of the easiest ways

Starting point is 00:49:42 to learn interesting and useful information, to find compelling stories, and to better understand how the world works. And some that I've liked are Mind Pump, also good guys, friends. Revisionist History by Malcolm Gladwell. Startup, which I recommend you go back and just listen to the beginning. This is from Gimlet Media, by the way, Startup. History of Rome by Mike Duncan. Hardcore History by Dan Carlin. Lore by Aaron Monkey, M-A-H-N-K-E. Serial by WBEZ and the TED interview podcast by TED Talks. Okay, so we've learned a lot of things. We've done a lot of work. We've worked out. We've noshed and nourished. And now let's talk about rest and relaxation. And hey, if we're going to park ourselves in front of the TV,

Starting point is 00:50:32 we might as well make it something great, right? Then waste our time on much of the pap that the streaming services are full of these days. So here are some Mike-approved movies and documentaries that you might like. The Defiant Ones, Man on Wire, The War by Ken Burns, The Godfather Trilogy, Spartacus, the 1960 version, Gone with the Wind, Black Hawk Down, Band of Brothers, Lawrence of Arabia, The Shawshank Redemption, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Taxi Driver, Doctor Strangelove, which is a fun kind of end of the world satire. If you want to laugh at the current state of things and if you have a dark sense of humor, you'll like it. Braveheart, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Incredibles, Memento, Live, Die, Repeat, Edge of Tomorrow, Stargate, Downfall, Idiocracy. Stargate, Downfall, Idiocracy. Please watch Idiocracy if you have not seen it yet, because it is a disturbing but hilarious vision of what's to come. GoldenEye, The Girl with the

Starting point is 00:51:34 Dragon Tattoo, Office Space, Headhunters, and Pirates of the Caribbean. And as for TV shows, my recommendations are really just going to be throwbacks because I don't keep up with modern TV, but bear with me. I remember loving the first season of Lost and then it got bad from there. I remember loving the first season of True Detective and did not like the second. I didn't make it very far before quitting that one. Same thing with Dexter. I think the first two seasons, I remember really liking and then not liking it. Sherlock was fun. Archer makes me laugh. The Americans is something I'm watching a couple cardio sessions per week, so I'm slowly chipping my way through it. I'm toward the end of the first season and I'm

Starting point is 00:52:17 impressed. It's very well written, well acted. I think they do a good job. Breaking Bad was a lot of fun. Chernobyl was outstanding. The Expanse was cool. I was sick like a year ago for a few days and just sat on the couch and watched Expanse all day. And eventually it got a bit wonky, but I remember liking it, I think through the entire first season. I don't remember how far I made it, but I thought it was pretty good. Battlestar Galactica was fun, the more recent version of the show, not the old one. And Turn also was fun, the Revolutionary War show. All right. Well, that was a lot, right? And hey, this nasty new coronavirus will have most of us bunkered down in our homes for at least a few more weeks, hopefully not months. That would be a bit

Starting point is 00:53:03 absurd. So we might as well make moves to make the most of the situation that we're faced with, right? Some people are whiling away their days, panic posting on social media, surfing the streaming services, and sucking down a steady stream of cheap calories. But why not do the opposite? Why not use this pandemic to double down on improving your productivity, and your health, and your knowledge? And that doesn't have to double down on improving your productivity and your health and your knowledge? And that doesn't have to be hard either. In fact, in some ways, it's probably easier to do now than it's been in a long time because for many of us, there's not much else to do, right? So at bottom, what I recommend is establish a daily routine that manages your

Starting point is 00:53:40 time effectively and then just stick to it every day. And that routine should include some sort of exercise to help you maintain your muscle and strength and general fitness. And that of course is also going to help you stay in the habit of working out until you can get back into the gym. I also recommend that you allot some time in your schedule to preparing healthy meals at home using whole, minimally processed, fresh foods. And if you don't know how to cook, cookbooks, online recipes and courses and meal planning services are a plenty. You should also consider making and following a meal plan, which makes managing your body composition much easier. And especially when you're not very active and when you are are surrounded by food like you are at home and battling boredom and stress. And to that point, then one of the most important things you can do, one of the most

Starting point is 00:54:31 important ways you can manage your time right now is productivity. Doing things that are purposeful like work or anything else that brings you closer to a goal that you care about. And this, more than anything, is going to help keep your spirits up and help you thrive after all this is over. And yes, it will end. This is not going to last forever. Lastly, I recommend you use your leisure time wisely. Read great books, read great articles, listen to great podcasts, watch great movies, watch great TV shows. Think education, cultivation, and fascination, not vegetation. I thought that was pretty clever. Anyway, do all of that. And in the next month or two, you're going to be able to pat yourself on the back for making capital out of this crisis. All right, well, that's it for today's episode.

Starting point is 00:55:28 I hope you found it interesting and helpful. And if you did, and you don't mind doing me a favor, could you please leave a quick review for the podcast on iTunes or wherever you are listening from? Because those reviews not only convince people that they should check out the show, they also increase the search visibility and help more people find their way to me and to the podcast and learn how to build their best body ever as well. And of course, if you want to be notified when the next episode goes live, then simply subscribe to the podcast and whatever app you're using to listen and you will not miss out on any of the new stuff that I have coming. And last, if you didn't like something about the show, then definitely shoot me an email

Starting point is 00:56:18 at mike at muscleforlife.com and share your thoughts. Let me know how you think I could do this better. I read every email myself and I'm always looking for constructive feedback. All right, thanks again for listening to this episode and I hope to hear from you soon.

Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews - My Guide to Staying Fit, Productive, and Sane While Self-Quarantined

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