Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews

Ep. #787: Dan John on “Easy Strength” For Quick, Efficient Workouts That Really Work


Listen Later

In this podcast, I interview Dan John, and we chat all about his concept of “easy strength.”

Easy strength is a style of training Dan writes about at length in his latest book, Attempts: Essays in Fitness, Health, Longevity and Easy Strength, which I highly recommend.

We’ll get more into the nitty gritty details in the podcast, but “easy strength” is all about effective workouts done with key exercises that you can get done quickly. This gets you in and out of the gym quickly, giving you more time to recover and train for your sport. The best part is you’ll get stronger without beating up your muscles and joints, which means less soreness and joint pain.

If you’re skeptical, I understand, but Dan isn’t exactly the new kid on the block. In fact, he has quite the resume—he has competed in the Highland Games, written more than 14 books, and coached athletes and weightlifters for over 40 years now. As you can imagine, he has seen and heard it all, and knows a thing or two about coaching athletes.

In this episode, Dan and I discuss . . .

  • The benefits of not “destroying” yourself in the gym
  • Exercise as practice
  • The importance of not missing reps
  • How to program your workouts and progressively overload with “easy strength”
  • And more . . .
  • So, if you want to learn how to incorporate easy strength workouts to get stronger without beating yourself up or spending hours in the gym every day, listen to this episode and let me know your thoughts!


    Timestamps:

    15:46 - What is easy strength?

    28:57 - What does an easy strength program look like?

    35:11 - How do you progressively overload?

    39:44 - What is "easy" as a percentage of 1RM?

    44:56 - How much weight do you add to the bar?


    Mentioned on the Show:

    Books by Mike Matthews: https://legionathletics.com/products/books/

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    Muscle for Life with Mike MatthewsBy Mike Matthews

    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8

    4.8

    4,537 ratings


    More shows like Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews

    View all
    Boundless Life by Ben Greenfield

    Boundless Life

    5,002 Listeners

    The Model Health Show by Shawn Stevenson

    The Model Health Show

    7,258 Listeners

    Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth by Sal Di Stefano, Adam Schafer, Justin Andrews, Doug Egge

    Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth

    12,061 Listeners

    Muscle Science for Women by Ashleigh VanHouten & Rachel Gregory

    Muscle Science for Women

    469 Listeners

    High Intensity Health with Mike Mutzel, MS by Mike Mutzel shares interviews with Peter Attia, Jason Fung, Stan Efferding,

    High Intensity Health with Mike Mutzel, MS

    1,225 Listeners

    Choose Hard with Cody McBroom by Cody McBroom

    Choose Hard with Cody McBroom

    784 Listeners

    Mark Bell's Power Project by Power Project Studios

    Mark Bell's Power Project

    1,558 Listeners

    Optimal Protein Podcast with Vanessa Spina by Vanessa Spina

    Optimal Protein Podcast with Vanessa Spina

    781 Listeners

    The Genius Life by Max Lugavere

    The Genius Life

    4,889 Listeners

    The Jordan Syatt Podcast by Jordan Syatt

    The Jordan Syatt Podcast

    3,781 Listeners

    The Peter Attia Drive by Peter Attia, MD

    The Peter Attia Drive

    8,529 Listeners

    Muscle Intelligence by Ben Pakulski

    Muscle Intelligence

    16 Listeners

    Huberman Lab by Scicomm Media

    Huberman Lab

    29,186 Listeners

    The Dr. Gabrielle Lyon Show by Dr. Gabrielle Lyon

    The Dr. Gabrielle Lyon Show

    1,202 Listeners

    The Macro Hour by Nikkiey Stott

    The Macro Hour

    587 Listeners