Advertise on podcast: Mondays with Matt

How the Westside Barbell program really works, and why most lifters aren't ready for it. Matt Reynolds explains Louie Simmons' Westside system, how to set it up, and where it fits in your training. He also tells how Westside got him into powerlifting. In this episode: Why the Westside atmosphere mattered as much as the program The four-day split: max effort and speed days Picking max effort lifts to fix your weak spot Speed day sets, reps, rest and bar weight Bands vs chains for raw lifters Where Westside fits: after 5/3/1, around block and DUP Who should wait, and why Matt's Links Website: https://ryanmattreynolds.com/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reynoldsstrong/?hl=en  PS - Busy dad wanting to coach yourself, but not sure which program to run. Get a digital log book that tracks your PRs and has all Matt's programs in it! https://barbell-logic.com/unspotted/

What comes after block training? The toughest program on the path. Matt Reynolds breaks down daily undulating periodization (DUP), where you train power, strength and muscle in the same week so you stay close to peak all the time. He compares it to block training and Westside conjugate, and explains why most lifters need a few easier weeks afterward. What to do after a block peak Westside conjugate, speed work and rate of force development Matt's 4-day DUP layout, with the sets, reps and percentages How long to run DUP (about 8 to 14 weeks) and how to pick your peak DUP vs. Renaissance Periodization Check out Unspotted to use TurnKey Coach for your training, free the first month: https://barbell-logic.com/unspotted/  Matt's Links Website: https://ryanmattreynolds.com/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reynoldsstrong/?hl=en  PS - Busy dad looking to take control of your health and fitness. Check out our free resource to ditch the dad bod here.

When your lifts stall on 5/3/1, the next step is block programming. Matt Reynolds explains how one three-week block grows into a 9–16 week program built on three phases: accumulation, transmutation, and peaking. In this episode: Micro, meso, and macro cycles, simply explained Accumulation: about 20–25 working reps at 75–79% to build work capacity Transmutation: moderate volume, rising intensity, and why it's supposed to feel hard Peaking: low volume, heavy singles, and new PRs Picking supplemental and accessory lifts for each block Adjustments for lifters over 40, short sleepers, and lifters who've just turned 60 Skipping the peak if you don't compete Block training's biggest drawback, and a preview of DUP next week Matt's Links Website: https://ryanmattreynolds.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reynoldsstrong/?hl=en PS - Busy dad looking to take control of your health and fitness. Check out our free resource to ditch the dad bod here.

Did your beginner program stop working? Good news: you don't need a brand new program. You need the next small change. In this episode of Mondays with Matt, Matt Reynolds walks through the intermediate strength program he uses with busy men over 40. It starts with a simple 4-day upper/lower split. Then it moves forward one minimum effective dose step at a time, from linear progression all the way to 5/3/1, block training, and DUP. You'll learn: • Why a 4-day upper/lower split works better than 3 full-body days for most lifters • How to go from adding weight every workout to setting PRs every week with a heavy day and a volume day • How a 5s/3s/1s wave and a simple deload keep you progressing for months, or even years • How to swap in a lift variation, like a pause squat or close-grip bench, to attack a weak point • When to try a 6-day push/pull/legs split, and how to train with only 30 minutes or just dumbbells at home Minimum effective dose doesn't stop working. You just have to make the right next change. Matt's Links Website: https://ryanmattreynolds.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reynoldsstrong/?hl=en PS - Busy dad looking to take control of your health and fitness. Check out our free resource to ditch the dad bod here.

Matt Reynolds has spent nearly 30 years and more than 30,000 hours coaching people to get stronger. But today, his definition of successful coaching goes far beyond adding weight to the bar. For busy dads in their 40s, 50s, and beyond, strength should serve what matters most. In this episode, Matt lays out his current coaching philosophy built around three principles: Ordered Strength, Useful Strain, and Steady Persistence. The goal isn't to make fitness the center of your life. It's to build enough strength, muscle, cardiovascular fitness, health, and physical capacity to better handle everything outside the gym—your family, career, responsibilities, travel, recreation, and eventually your grandkids. Matt also breaks the philosophy down into 12 practical actions a busy dad can begin using right now to dramatically improve his strength, body composition, health, and physical capacity over the next year. You'll learn why Matt emphasizes minimum effective action for maximum return, why harder isn't always better, why consistency matters more than the perfect program, and how to build your training and nutrition around the life you actually have. Matt's 12 recommendations include: Eat enough protein every day Establish a simple calorie target Plan your food ahead of time Eliminate alcohol Strength train 3–4 days per week Walk 10,000+ steps per day Take creatine consistently Make sleep a priority Know your important health and fitness numbers Train your cardiovascular system Hire a great coach Plan for the life you actually have The objective isn't strength for its own sake. It's to be strong at 50, capable at 60, and independent at 80. Order gives strain its purpose. Persistence gives strain its payoff. Strength is the result, and greater capacity is the return. Matt's Links Website: https://ryanmattreynolds.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reynoldsstrong/?hl=en PS - Busy dad looking to take control of your health and fitness. Check out our free resource to ditch the dad bod here.

What weight loss technology is actually worth buying — and what's just expensive noise? Matt Reynolds walks through the fitness, nutrition, health, and recovery tech he personally uses to lose fat, track progress, and make better decisions about his health. From smart scales and blood testing to Apple Watch, WHOOP, Oura Ring, continuous glucose monitors, macro tracking apps, sleep technology, and even the kitchen tools that make eating well easier, Matt breaks down his personal weight loss tech stack and explains which tools provide the most value. He covers: Hume Body Pod and smart scales for tracking weight and body composition Rhythm Health and SiPhox Health for at-home blood testing Blood pressure and blood glucose monitoring Continuous glucose monitors like Dexcom, Stelo, and Abbott Lingo Apple Watch, WHOOP, Oura Ring, Garmin, Fitbit, and Strava Why increasing daily steps matters more than obsessing over calorie-burn estimates MacrosFirst and nutrition tracking Sous vide, air fryers, and other tools that make healthy eating easier Sleep tracking, CPAP, Eight Sleep, sleep masks, white noise, and other recovery tools How TurnKey Coach brings training, nutrition, recovery, and health data together Why objective data can help keep you accountable without becoming the goal itself You do not need to spend thousands of dollars on fitness gadgets to lose weight. The goal is to identify the tools that give you the best return on investment, help you stay consistent, and make it easier to measure real progress over time. Matt also explains why the fundamentals still come first: strength train, eat intelligently, move more, sleep well, and consistently do the work. Matt's Links Website: https://ryanmattreynolds.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reynoldsstrong/?hl=en PS - Busy dad looking to take control of your health and fitness. Check out our free resource to ditch the dad bod here.

If weight loss is your main goal, should you lift lighter weights, do more reps, or spend more time doing cardio? Not necessarily. In this episode of Mondays with Matt, Matt Reynolds explains how men can lose body fat while maintaining strength and muscle—without completely changing the way they train. Matt breaks down how his own training has changed as he's gotten older and lost weight, and why he still prioritizes heavy barbell training even when fat loss is the goal. You'll learn: • Why your strength training doesn't need to change dramatically when you're trying to lose weight • How to keep lifting heavy while reducing training volume • Why accessory exercises can help you build muscle without beating up your joints • How walking and daily activity support sustainable weight loss • Why nutrition matters far more for fat loss than trying to burn calories in the gym • How much protein to eat when you want to lose fat and maintain muscle • Why crash diets often cause unnecessary muscle loss • How to use body weight, waist measurements, and gym performance to track progress • How training should change as you move through your 40s, 50s, and beyond The goal isn't simply to weigh less. It's to lose body fat while keeping as much muscle, strength, and physical capability as possible. If you're a busy man who wants to get leaner, stronger, healthier, and more capable without making fitness your entire life, this episode gives you a simple approach you can sustain long term. Matt's Links Website: https://ryanmattreynolds.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reynoldsstrong/?hl=en PS - Ditch the dad bod HERE.

Most lifters either overcomplicate their warm-up or barely warm up at all. In this episode of Mondays with Matt, Matt Reynolds explains how to warm up properly for strength training without wasting time or turning your warm-up into a workout. The purpose of a warm-up is simple: prepare your body for the working weights and movements you're about to perform. Matt breaks down how to warm up for squats, bench press, overhead press, and deadlifts, including how many warm-up sets to perform, how to choose weight jumps, how many reps to do, and how long to rest between sets. He also explains why accessory exercises usually need only one activation set and why bodyweight movements like chin-ups and dips often require no separate warm-up at all. You'll also learn how to adjust your warm-up when training in a cold garage gym, whether you should stretch before lifting, and how to handle cranky knees, elbows, tendon issues, and other aches with targeted warm-up work. The key: get warm, reinforce good technique, progressively prepare for heavier weight, and then get to your work sets. Matt's Links Website: https://ryanmattreynolds.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reynoldsstrong/?hl=en PS - Get your home gym started HERE.

What should you do when your beginner strength program stops working? When linear progression stalls, the answer usually isn't to throw out your entire program and jump into something dramatically more complicated. Instead, make the smallest effective change that allows you to keep progressing. In this episode of Mondays with Matt, Matt Reynolds explains how he transitions lifters beyond beginner linear progression using the Minimum Effective Dose approach. Matt covers: Why linear progression eventually stops working Why progress can still be "linear" even when it no longer happens every workout How to separate intensity and volume When to move from 3 sets of 5 to 5 sets of 3 How to use top sets and back-off sets How a 5/3/1-style progression can extend strength gains When to introduce supplemental squat, bench press, deadlift, and press variations How to use accessory exercises without turning training into a two-hour workout How circuits and myo-reps can efficiently add hypertrophy and conditioning work When to move from three full-body training days to an upper/lower split Why most lifters should not jump straight from novice programming into highly complex advanced programs The goal isn't to make your training more complicated. It's to keep doing enough to force adaptation while making only the changes that are actually necessary. If you've hit a plateau and want help figuring out what's holding back your training, talk to a Barbell Logic coach for free at barbell-logic.com/experience. Want Matt Reynolds as your personal coach? Visit barbell-logic.com/plans and request Matt. Matt's Links Website: https://ryanmattreynolds.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reynoldsstrong/?hl=en PS - Talk to one of our coaches about how to keep or start progressing HERE.

Back pain makes a lot of people stop lifting altogether. Matt Reynolds argues that, in many cases, that is exactly the wrong response. Your back is not a fragile mechanical structure that inevitably wears down every time you bend, squat, or deadlift. The muscles, bones, discs, tendons, and ligaments of the back are living tissues that can adapt to appropriately applied stress. If you want a stronger, more resilient back, at some point you have to train it. Matt explains why pain and tissue damage are not the same thing, why an MRI finding does not necessarily explain your symptoms, and why deadlifts are not inherently dangerous for your back. He also walks through how he approaches ordinary back tweaks in training, including reducing load, adjusting range of motion, changing exercise variations, modifying reps and sets, and using symptoms to guide the session. The goal is not to ignore pain or push through serious warning signs. It is to stop treating every episode of back pain as proof that your spine is fragile. A stronger back is generally a more capable back. Instead of organizing your training around avoiding stress, learn how to apply stress intelligently so your body can adapt to it. In this episode: Why back pain does not necessarily mean back damage Why deadlifts can help build a stronger, more resilient back The problem with treating the spine as fragile What to do after an ordinary back tweak When symptoms may warrant medical evaluation How to modify load, range of motion, reps, sets, and exercise selection Why complete inactivity carries its own risks How progressive strength training increases your physical capacity Matt's Links Website: https://ryanmattreynolds.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reynoldsstrong/?hl=en PS - Get coaching with Matt HERE.

The best coaches never stop being students. In this episode of Mondays with Matt, Matt Reynolds explains why years of experience don't necessarily equal years of growth—and why great coaches continue learning, testing, reflecting, and refining throughout their careers. Matt breaks down the different areas coaches need to keep developing, including programming, exercise selection, technique, anatomy, communication, behavior change, and the ability to build trust with individual clients. Knowing more about training matters, but technical knowledge alone doesn't make someone a great coach. He also discusses how education, mentorship, experience, and reflection turn information into judgment and wisdom—and where AI can help accelerate that process without replacing the human judgment required to actually coach people. Finally, Matt explains one of the biggest traps coaches fall into: spending years studying coaching while barely studying business. If coaching is your career, you also need to understand sales, marketing, pricing, retention, client experience, systems, technology, and scaling. Being a great coach and building a great coaching business are two different skill sets—and serious professionals need to become students of both. Plus, Matt shares details on the upcoming Scalable Coaching Conference and how coaches can learn the business side of coaching from people who have built successful in-person, online, and hybrid businesses. Matt's Links Website: https://ryanmattreynolds.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reynoldsstrong/?hl=en PS - Get coaching with Matt HERE.

AI can write a surprisingly good workout program in seconds. If your value as a fitness coach is simply choosing exercises, sets, reps, and progressions, that part of the job is rapidly becoming commoditized. In this episode of Mondays with Matt, Matt Reynolds explains why that does not mean coaching is dead. It means coaches have to become more valuable in the areas AI cannot easily replace: trust, accountability, judgment, communication, adaptability, and genuine human relationship. Matt breaks down how AI is already changing workout programming, how coaches can use AI as a tool instead of competing against it, and why high-touch coaching may become even more valuable as basic programming becomes cheaper and easier to access. He also explains how he uses AI inside TurnKey Coach to analyze client history, identify trends, assist with programming decisions, and reduce administrative work—freeing up more time for actual coaching. Plus, Matt announces that he is opening up a limited number of online coaching spots for clients who want long-term, high-touch coaching directly from him. If you're an online strength coach, personal trainer, or fitness professional trying to figure out where you fit in an AI-driven industry, this episode lays out what you should be focusing on now. Matt's Links Website: https://ryanmattreynolds.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reynoldsstrong/?hl=en PS - Get coaching with Matt HERE.

Getting older doesn't mean you need to stop training hard. In this episode of Mondays with Matt, Matt Reynolds explains what really changes with strength training after 40—and what stays exactly the same. Progressive overload still matters. Compound lifts still matter. And you can still get very strong. But as recovery capacity changes, you may need to adjust your training volume, exercise selection, frequency, and approach to fatigue. Matt covers why recovery becomes increasingly important, why you can still lift heavy, when to reduce barbell volume, how to use lower-impact accessory work, and why sleep and protein should become part of your training plan. He also explains how to modify exercises without abandoning strength training, why shorter and more efficient workouts may work better for busy adults, and how to think about progress over decades instead of just chasing the next PR. If you're in your 40s, 50s, 60s, or beyond, the answer isn't to stop training hard. It's to train intelligently enough that you can keep getting stronger for years to come. Matt's Links Website: https://ryanmattreynolds.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reynoldsstrong/?hl=en PS - Get tips for how to lift for life HERE.

Most people calculate the cost of losing weight: the time, money, effort, and habits they may need to give up. Far fewer consider the cost of waiting. Matt shares the personal turning point that helped him lose weight, improve his health, and prioritize longevity. For him, the biggest obstacle was alcohol and the poor sleep, recovery, food choices, and inconsistency that came with it. He explains why doing nothing is not neutral, how another year of waiting can affect your health, energy, confidence, and family life, and why some people need to address one major habit before smaller changes will stick. Matt also answers: Should you focus on nutrition or training first? What are the most effective first steps for improving health and longevity? What mistakes make weight loss unsustainable? How can accountability help you stop starting over? Change has a cost, but staying the same does too. The question is which price you are willing to pay. Matt's Links Website: https://ryanmattreynolds.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reynoldsstrong/?hl=en PS - Begin your last weight loss journey HERE.

How do you become a strong man in the fullest sense? Physical strength matters, but a bigger squat or heavier deadlift does not automatically make a man virtuous, disciplined, or dependable. Matt Reynolds is joined by strength coach and Catholic men's coach Mike Pantile to discuss how physical training can help men develop self-mastery, embrace voluntary hardship, and become better husbands, fathers, leaders, and Christians. Mike shares his journey from an overweight young man to an elite powerlifter with an 811-pound deadlift, as well as his return to the Christian faith after atheism, addiction, and a period of profound personal struggle. He explains why strength training became more than a physical pursuit and how it helped him practice discipline, restrain destructive appetites, and prepare for his responsibilities as a husband and father. Matt and Mike also examine the purpose of physical strength. Strength pursued merely for attention, vanity, or status eventually becomes empty. Genuine strength should increase a man's capacity to serve, sacrifice, protect, provide, and carry burdens for others. Training offers men a practical way to choose constructive hardship in a culture increasingly organized around convenience, comfort, and immediate gratification. They discuss why sustainable discipline matters more than extreme challenges, how small decisions gradually form virtue or vice, and why men should begin with realistic actions they can repeat. For a sedentary man, that might mean lifting once or twice per week, improving one meal, or simply walking around the neighborhood. The goal is not a dramatic transformation that lasts 90 days, but a stronger and more responsible way of life that can be sustained for decades. Matt and Mike also address bodybuilding and vanity, governing the eyes and mind in modern gym culture, leading a spouse toward better health without pressure or criticism, and the importance of fathers teaching primarily through their example. Matt and Mike come from different Christian traditions, but they share a conviction that men should deliberately cultivate physical strength, virtue, self-control, and fortitude—and then place that strength in service of God, their families, and their communities. In this episode: Why physical strength matters but is not enough How voluntary hardship prepares men for adversity The relationship between strength, virtue, and self-mastery Why comfort and convenience can weaken men Mike Pantile's journey from atheism and addiction back to Christianity How training teaches personal responsibility Why sustainable habits outperform extreme challenges The difference between strength for ego and strength for service Christian masculinity, sacrifice, leadership, and fatherhood How fathers influence their children through example  Leading a spouse toward better health with patience Bodybuilding, performance, and the temptation toward vanity Governing the eyes, mind, and appetites How to take the first practical step toward becoming a stronger man Matt's Links Website: https://ryanmattreynolds.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reynoldsstrong/?hl=en Mike's Links Website: https://mikepantile.com/  YT: https://www.youtube.com/@MikePantile  IG: https://www.instagram.com/mikepantile/?hl=en  PS - Get started today with your free Novice program HERE.