Ep. #637: Q&A: BBLS 1.0 vs. 2.0, Women and BBLS, BLS or BBLS, and More

Hello, and welcome to another episode of Muscle for Life. I’m Mike Matthews. Thank you for joining me today. And I have great news that you’ve probably already heard, but maybe not. So I’m gonna say it again, , and that is that I just released the new second edition of my best selling book for experienced weightlifters beyond Bigger leaners strong.

Which is live right now [email protected], and I am getting a lot of questions about it. And here are the top three so far. One is how does BBLs 2.0 compare to 1.0? What’s new and how new is new exactly. Second question, is BLS 2.0 only for men? Or can women benefit from the book and from the workout program as well?

And three, which book and program is right for me? BLS so bigger than or stronger, or B B L S 2.0 and bonus question when? Should I switch from BL S to B B L S 2.0? And in this podcast, I’m gonna answer those questions. Also to celebrate this momentous occasion. I’m giving away over $6,000 of glorious goodies, including a 30 minute zoom call with yours, unruly.

That’s priceless. Of course, a Vitamix blender, a whoop fitness tracker, a $200 Lulu Lemon. Gift card, one month of Legion v i p coaching and more. Now all you have to do for a chance to win all those cool things is head over to www.bblsbook.com and buy a copy of BBLs 2.0. Any format, be book paperback.

Audiobook, whichever one you want. And then forward the receipt. Email to [email protected], L E G io n supplements.com. And voila, you are entered in the giveaway. You have to act fast though because the book Launch Bonanza ends and the winners will be chosen on October 16th. Now, you can also increase your chances of winning by buying extra copies of the book.

Again, any formats, and specifically, if you buy three copies of the book instead of one, you will get five giveaway entries. So that is a plus 400% chance to win. If you buy five copies, you’ll. Eight giveaway entries. That is a plus 700% chance to win. And if you buy 10 copies, you are going to get 15 giveaway entries, which is a plus 1400% chance to win.

And if you buy 10 copies, you are going to get an. Autographed copy of the book as well, that you don’t have to win, you’re just gonna get it. So for instance, if you buy the paperback ebook and audiobook, that’s three copies, you’ll get five entries to win. And then if you buy three paperbacks as well as the ebook and audiobook, that is five copies, and you’ll get eight entries.

And. And what are you gonna do with extra books? You’re wondering, well, you could give them to your workout buddies, you could donate them to your local library. You could hurl them at Unpleasant Children. I don’t know. There are many options when you think about it. Anyway, to learn more about the giveaway and to get your copy or copies of Beyond Bigger Than or Stronger 2.0, head over to www.bblsbook.com.

Okay, so here is the first question. How does BBL S 2.0 compare to 1.0? What’s new and how new is new? Very good questions, and the simple answer is this 2.0 is different than 1.0 in just about every meaningful. Way you can really just think of it as a brand new book, because I released the first edition about six years ago, and since then I have been keeping a list of readers suggestions and questions as well as my own ideas of things to add, change and remove based on my ongoing research and experience and my own training, as well as my experience working with others and particularly other experie.

Weightlifters and these points range from stuff like typos and awkward phrasings. You know, little things. Two major things like new dietary protocols, new methods of training, programming, new inner game tips and more. A lot more. So much in fact that this second edition, BBLs 2.0 is really reorganized and rewritten from scratch.

and I am tickled with the result. I think it came together very nicely. Here are some of the highlights. For example, 2.0 has an inner game section that better addresses the unique challenges of the intermediates and the advanced weightlifter, including establishing the right habits, enhancing consistency, and managing expect.

Patients and the diet section of 2.0 contains a bonanza of new material, including updated methods for mini cuts, intermittent fasting, and calorie cycling. It also includes my favorite functional foods, not super foods, and I talk about the difference between those terms for boosting health and wellness, as well as the four types of supplements that experienced weightlifters should.

Taking in addition to the basics, of course, no supplements are necessary, but the right ones can help. The training program in 2.0 has also been overhauled STEM stern, and it provides powerful and easy to implement, which is a very important point. Workout routines based on the latest research on how to gain muscle and strength as effectively as possible.

I’m also. A better writer now than I was six years ago. And so I think everything in 2.0 is even easier to follow and understand and apply. So the bottom line is if you have read BLS 1.0 and you are on the fence about 2.0, you will not be disappointed Scouts on her. And if you have not read 1.0 but have read, let’s say, bigger, leaner, stronger or thinner, leaner, stronger and liked either of those books, you will love B L S 2.0, I promise.

Alright, next question, which I just alluded to by mentioning Thinner, leaner, stronger. And that is, is B B L S 2.0 only for men? Or can women benefit from this book as well? And the answer here, While the book is skewed toward men, let’s start with the title. There aren’t very many women out there who come to me saying, Hey Mike, I really wanna get bigger.

But this book does have a lot to offer women. If you’re a woman and you’re into training and you are in. Intermediate or an advanced trainee, you are going to learn a lot of very immediately practical stuff. In this book, you are going to immediately make changes to your diet and training for the better.

Also relevant is yes, I do plan on doing a female version of the book A Beyond Thinner, leaner, stronger, but I will not be able to do it. Sometime kind of a long story, not worth even sharing, but it just boils down to publishing agreements that I have made with Simon and Schuster in particular because I’m doing a book with them for the 40 plus crowd that’s gonna be releasing next summer, and they want me to not self-publish anything for a year before their book comes out.

So if I want the book I’m doing with them to come out next summer and I do, I have to refrain from self-publishing anything for the next. Basically that said, if you are a woman, then read BBLs 2.0 and just shoot me an email, mike muscle for life.com. And if you need help modifying the training program to better fit your needs, that’ll be the primary question you’re gonna have is, uh, how do I make this training more in line with what.

I want to accomplish with my physique because as it is a program for men, there is quite a bit of upper body volume. There is quite a bit of lower body volume as well, but most women will not want to do as much volume for their upper body as you will find in BBL S 2.0. They will want to shift some of that.

To increase their lower body volume, and I can help you do that. Just email you [email protected] and if you have any other questions about making the information in the book work for you, I will be happy to help. Also, keep in mind if you do this, if you are a woman and you read the book and you reach out to me and share, even, just share feedback, even if you have no questions, you know exactly what you want to do.

Your feedback can help me make beyond thinner, leaner, stronger, that much better, which would be awesome.

If you are liking this episode, you should know that it is one of the chapters of the new second edition of my best selling book for experienced Weightlifters Beyond Bigger Leaders, stronger, which is live right [email protected]. Also, you should know that to celebrate this momentous occasion, I am giving away over $6,000 of glorious goodies, including.

30 minute zoom call with yours unruly. A Vitamix blender, a whoop fitness tracker, a $200 Lululemon gift card, one month of Legion v i p coaching in Iner, weightlifting belt, and much more. And all you have to do for a chance to win is head over to B B L S book.com. Buy a copy of the book, any format, and forward the receipt.

Email to [email protected]. And voila, you are entered in the give. You have to act fast though because the book launch Bonanza ends and the winners will be chosen on October 16th. All right. Question number three, which book is right for me? Bls, bigger than or Stronger, or B, BBLs 2.0? And let’s, let’s do a bonus question.

When should I switch from BLS to B BBL S 2.0? Well, if you’re a guy who has yet to gain his first, let’s say, 20 to 25 pounds of muscle, regardless of how long you’ve been training for, Bigger, leaner, stronger is for you. It’s really all you need to get to that point. And why make things more complicated or more difficult than they need to be?

Right? Because BLS 2.0 is a little bit more complicated and the workouts certainly are more difficult, but if you’ve already done that, If your newbie gains are well behind you, then beyond bigger lean or stronger, BLS 2.0 is probably gonna help you more than bls. And as for when to change from BLS to BL l s, you should make the switch when you are no longer gaining.

Strength and muscle on the bigger, lean or stronger program. It’s really that simple. If it’s still working for you, you don’t have to change unless maybe it’s barely working. You are making very slow progress. Then BBS 2.0 will probably be better for you and to put some simple numbers to that. Based on my experience working with a lot of guys over the years, I would say after maybe a year on the short end and two, maybe three years on the long end of bigger, leaner, stronger, it’s time to upgrade.

And the reason for that mostly is just because the amount of volume in bigger, leaner, stronger, if we view it in terms of hard sets per major muscle group per week is no longer enough to continue gain. Strength, it becomes maintenance. It actually becomes more than as necessary for maintenance. If all you wanted to do is maintain your body composition, you could do probably half of the volume in bigger or stronger and do just fine.

So it is more volume than is needed to just maintain muscle and strength, but not quite enough to gain it. That said, People do find that they can follow bigger, leaner, stronger principles for three plus years, four, five years with consistent muscle and strength gain. It’s rare, but I’ve seen it Oftentimes though, they are adding some volume to the program.

They’re not changing anything else. Just doing a bit more in their workouts. And if you’re one of those people, if you are moving along at a normal rate, and if you’re curious as to what is a normal rate of muscle gain, actually talk. In BBLs 2.0, there’s a whole chapter on how much muscle can you gain naturally and how quickly will you gain it.

But if you’re moving along nicely, you don’t have to switch after one, two, or even three years of bls. Hey, if it’s working, then why change it? , right? That said, if it’s barely working, then you might get better results with beyond, bigger than or stronger, or even if BLS is working well for you, you might get better results with BBL S 2.0, and you also might find it fun to change it up and experience a new style of training that is mostly just more difficult.

A lot of it’s gonna feel familiar. If you are a veteran of bigger lean or stronger, it’s just gonna be a bit harder. Uh, one other way that you could determine when you’re ready to transition from bigger to beyond to bigger lean or stronger is looking at your strength levels. And so I have some simple targets that you can think with and if you haven’t hit at least two of them, I would say chances are pretty good that you can still profit from bigger than or stronger, and you don’t need to switch just yet.

So here they are. It is a. One rep max of about one and a half times your body weight. It is a bench Press one rep max of about 1.2 times your body weight. A deadlift one rep max about two times your body weight an overhead Press one rep max of about 0.8 times your body weight and a chinup or. Pull up target of eight reps with your body weight, or at least one rep with your body weight, plus 20%.

So basically what I’m saying is bigger, leaner, stronger can get most guys to those targets, or at least a couple of those targets. And going further usually requires upgrading. Now, if you’re wondering why I said two out of those targets for moving from bigger to beyond bigger, it’s just because it’s normal for people to be above average in a couple of key lifts and below average in the others.

So for example, I have long legs and I have long arms. So I’ve always struggled with the bench press, overhead press and squat, but less so on the deadlift because the advantage provided by my long arms. Negates the disadvantage of my long legs. Alright, well that’s it for this short and sweet Q and A episode regarding B L S 2.0.

And you’ve probably gathered this from the stuff I’ve been talking about, not just in this episode, but in the other episodes that have been promoting the release of this book. If your newbie gains are behind you and you are itching to gain real muscle and strength again and to look forward to your workouts again, and really just feel like your fitness is finally under your control again, then my new book Beyond Bigger, leaner, stronger.

2.0 needs to be at the top of your TBR R pile because in the book, you are going to learn science-based and time proven formulas for eating and training that’ll help you shatter muscle and strength plateaus, set new personal records, and build your best body ever. And better yet, you’re gonna do that without following restrictive or exotic diets, without putting in long hours at the gym or doing crushing workouts that leave you aching from tip to.

Alright, well that is it for that answer and that wraps up the three questions I wanted to address in this episode. And to close, let me just quickly tell you about beyond bigger, leaner, stronger 2.0. It’s really this simple. If your. Newbie gains are behind you, and you are itching to gain some real muscle and some real strength again, and to actually look forward to your workouts again, and really to just feel like your fitness is finally under your control again.

Then this book. Needs to be at the top of your TBR pile. You can get your copy right [email protected] and in it you will learn science-based and time proven formulas for eating and training that are gonna help you shatter muscle and strength plateaus. Set new personal records and build your best body ever.