Michael Matthews’s Bigger Leaner Stronger: A Review

Here is my personal review and takeaways from the fitness book by Michael Matthews. This book is the biggest and best selling of Matthews’ book series that now includes a total of 10 books.  I have read 3 of them.  Bigger Leaner Stronger (BLS) is targeted towards more towards men, but I believe he has a similar book specifically written for women called Thinner Leaner Stronger. 

Read more about the book series here.

BLS is a great guide for beginners and it worked to lay the groundwork and stoke my desire to learn more.  Such simple concepts like lifting heavy weights in compound exercises is a better path to sustainable fat loss than cardio.  He does a good job of dispelling the generally accepted fitness ideas that I think many of us grew up with.  Examples of notions he dispels:

• Cardio is critical to weight loss
• You can’t lose fat while eating carbs and sugar
• Special genetics are required for a lean physique

He offers step-by-step advice (that I found very useful) on designing a nutrition plan and monitoring progress.  I find myself routinely incorporating his rules of thumb on numbers-based nutrition planning into my thought process for my own nutrition.

The training program is fine, it did help me get involved in some compound lifts and to work in a lower rep range.  But it basically operates on a body-part split where you are doing the main movements (squat, deadlift, bench, overhead press) once a week, which is sub-optimal. 

I believe novice lifters should run a full body program where they can train the main movements (or close variations) at least twice a week to start with.  Rather than some of the exotic movements included in Matthews’ program, novice or beginner lifters should be gaining competence in the big compound movements before getting too involved in mastering other lifts.  Also, I ended up staying with that program for a whole year (way longer than I should have) and there was little in the way of guidance on progression from that program.

Introduction and Hook Sections – Part 1 and 2

He starts with a few chapters talking trash about fitness experts and typical fitness trainers who tend to not know what they are talking about, followed by a few chapters going through basic dictionary definitions of fitness and nutrition keyword terms like:

• Calorie
• Healthy
• Insulin
• Fiber
• Anabolism
• Catabolism

Then he gets into dispelling popular fitness and nutrition myths in Chapter 7, which is where he started to deliver on the content I was seeking when I first read the book.  Main learning points:

• Calories in vs. calories out matters above all else
• Spot reduction of fat in a specific area is not possible
• Meal timing doesn’t matter
• Weight training is superior to cardio for fat loss

That chapter is followed by one on major strength training myths.  Topics here include: perceived injury risk of lifting heavy, strength vs. size development in training, newbie gains, muscle confusion, compound vs. isolation exercises, and progressive overload.  These are foundational concepts to understand if you want to get strong or have a great physique, explained in succinct language with supporting evidence. 

After that chapter comes more nuanced discussion of nutrition that includes macro-nutrient breakdown that I found useful and easy to understand.

Inner Game – Part 3

What followed was a less interesting discussion of willpower and ways to improve overall adherence to a diet or program.  Tips boil down to reducing stress by sleeping more and reducing technology usage.  Good general advice, but not super informative or critical to my fitness journey.  There is a chapter on motivation and goal setting, which isn’t something I have struggled with, but will probably be helpful to those struggling to get started.

Flexible Dieting – Part 4

Building on those earlier foundational truths and dispelled myths, Chapters 16-20 discuss how to build a nutrition plan that matches your goals and then put that plan into action. Very helpful rules of thumb if your knowledge base is nil.  Basal Metabolic Rate, Total Daily Energy Expenditures (TDEE) are discussed. 

Then Matthews outlines clear plans for designing separate calorie and macro-nutrient plans built on that TDEE for: (1) someone looking to cut weight, (2) someone looking to maintain weight, and (3) someone looking to bulk. Finally, he describes how to convert that plan into an actual meal plan.

The final chapter of the section talks about mistakes around cheat meals.  This chapter summarizes content I read on a blog by Matthews about his specific protocol for the entire day that involves a cheat meal.  His strategy for maximizing the cheat meal stuck with me and remains a part of my overall protocol when I do end up eating out or having a cheat meal.  Click here to read the blog post that inspired me to read more from Matthews.

Part 5 – Training Protocol

This section is when Matthews gets into how to train.  There is a single chapter overview of basic training rules of thumb to be followed.  He advocates a push, pull, legs program with working sets in 4-6 rep range, 9-15 sets, 2-4 minutes of rest between sets, 1-2 days of rest per week, and add in breaks or de-load weeks every 8-10 weeks or as needed.

That single weight training chapter is followed by a chapter on cardio and how it’s not as important as people say.  He describes HIIT training and walking, his two recommended forms of cardio.  I agree with the utility of including both of those into an overall fitness program, ahead of traditional treadmill cardio.

After that brief interlude into cardio, Matthews has two chapters that delve more specifically into weight training, with super basic stuff on different exercises that target different body part, and a chapter on the big three strength movements (Squat, Deadlift, Bench).

Skip the Supplement Talk

There is then a few chapters on supplementation which I mostly skipped.  Supplementation for me consists of creatine daily and some BCAAs just to make my water taste good and cost more (because I’m worth it).  I think he advocates for fish oil and vitamin D supplementation, neither of which I find necessary.

After that he wraps up with a few chapters that tie everything together and offer a simple, step-by-step roadmap for getting started, some final motivational words followed by several cross-selling efforts and that’s book.

Summary

The content of the book was just what I needed at the start of my serious efforts at a more fitness focused lifestyle.  The book covered a range of topics and provided a great base of information that served as a springboard for me to take deeper dives into the topics touched on and to learn even more.  

The book had great introductory content and concepts that everyone should know, but the program included with the book can be skipped. If you want to read more reviews of mine, check out the one of Tim Ferris’s Four Hour Body.