England has recently made it the law that any restaurant or pub chain that employs over 250 people must place calories on menus. This has been welcomed by some and derided by others. After reading several articles online I thought that it would be a good idea to take a look at what the science says, and give my own opinion. Calories on Menus This podcast was incredibly tough to plan, as people justifiably have strong periods for and against calories on menus. When making any decision that can be...
May 27, 2022•Season 3Ep. 7
In today’s podcast, I talk about five fitness influencers to follow, the importance of forming simple habits when embarking on a new diet or workout regime, and I drink Tangle Foot beer by Badger brewery in Dorset. Five Fitness Influencers to Follow This podcast’s original point was to talk exclusively about five fitness influencers to follow, and nothing else. But while planning it out I realised that this topic would only last five minutes. In fact it lasts 10 minutes! But still, I decided to ...
Apr 12, 2021•Season 3Ep. 6
In this week’s podcast episode, I attempt to answer the question “are abs made in the kitchen?”. After last week’s heavily researched podcast episode, I decided to have a more laid back approach to this one. The podcast is more of a collection of thoughts and anecdotes I’ve had around weight loss and body image in the fitness world, particularly for men. Not that women don’t have that same issue, but 1) I am not as qualified to talk about it, and 2) I feel that this topic is pretty well covered ...
Apr 05, 2021•Season 3Ep. 5
We’ve all heard of dieting documentaries such as “What the Health” and “Supersize me”, but I’m going to ask you to do something for me. Stop watching dieting documentaries! They are absolutely terrible, completely unscientific, and a plague upon mankind. As you can imagine, this podcast is going to involve a high degree of ranting. Stop Watching Dieting Documentaries I actually did quite a bit of research for this podcast. During the podcast, I talk about the importance of citing sources and dis...
Mar 29, 2021•Season 3Ep. 4
In today’s episode, I tackle six ridiculous fitness myths that have somehow entered the public subconscious. I chose this title a while back because I thought it would be an easy podcast to research. How incredibly wrong I was! Finding fitness myths that hadn’t been disproven 500 times already was really difficult. Six Ridiculous Fitness Myths I won’t name all six ridiculous fitness myths here, as they are all in the podcast. But I have to say, I’m starting to believe that the tide is turning ag...
Mar 22, 2021•Season 3Ep. 3
In this podcast, I teach you how to fix your bench press. This will involve leaving your ego at the door. Lowering the weight, working on your grip, learning how to set up properly. It will also involve a few training tips that can make huge differences over time. How to Fix Your Bench Press Considering that the bench press is probably the most important and iconic gym exercise for men (and increasingly for women). It surprises me just how many people perform it terribly. Even men who warm up wi...
Mar 15, 2021•Season 3Ep. 2
I’m a fence-sitter, I like to think that most people in the fitness industry should be. Fence sitting should be your default move in an industry as young as this. This is why I tend to be sceptical (cynical?) about any part of the fitness industry that reduces the world into black and white. Does the anti diet movement do this? That’s what this podcast looks to uncover. The Anti Diet Movement Another name for the anti diet movement would be the body acceptance movement. If you listen to the podc...
Mar 08, 2021•Season 3Ep. 1
In the final episode of the series, I will take a look at the best beers of season two. Naming my personal top ten out of the twenty beers I’ve tried. I also look back on the season and talk about how much it differs from season one and my initial plans for it. The Best Beers of Season Two I’m not going to mention all ten beers here, got to keep something for the podcast! But picking my ten favourite beers was quite fun. I’ve tried to have a varied selection of beers and I think I managed that. ...
Mar 01, 2021•Season 2Ep. 20
In today’s podcast, I talk about the worst exercises to perform in the gym. It’s more a look at exercises or workouts that you shouldn’t perform in a busy gym. Either because the exercises themselves are bad, or because doing so can be disruptive to your fellow members. Worst Exercises to Perform in the Gym The worst exercises to perform in the gym in my opinion are: Adductor/Abductor machine – pointless, works the muscles in isolation when they work best when performed in compound movements Wri...
Feb 22, 2021•Season 2Ep. 19
In this podcast episode, I look at the real reason behind the obesity epidemic, and I also attempt to dispel many of the incorrect theories out there. Now, while I am fairly confident that my theory is the right one, there is no single reason for the obesity epidemic, but more a collection of reasons. The Real Reason Behind the Obesity Epidemic Whilst researching an article for work, I stumbled across a study from 2002 that looked into how portion sizes have increased over the years. The study f...
Feb 15, 2021•Season 2Ep. 18
If you’ve been reading my blog, you’ll probably know about the downsides of steroids , and many of the benefits . But what is my actual opinion on them? Should steroids be legal? By which I mean, should they be legal to buy without a prescription? Or should the status quo remain? Should Steroids be Legal? My opinion on the legality and benefits of steroid use has lurched from one extreme to another over the years, and it has taken 15 years to establish my current belief. This is that steroid use...
Feb 08, 2021•Season 2Ep. 17
Most diets fail. They either fail immediately, within a couple of weeks or after a number of weeks. Sometimes they can appear to succeed, but after a year, you’re back to square one. Which if you think about it is a fairly common result. In this podcast, I give five reasons why your diet is failing. Why Your Diet is Failing I won’t go into each specific point, that’s what the podcast is here for. But the main reason for a failing diet is not taking it seriously enough during planning. What is yo...
Feb 01, 2021•Season 2Ep. 16
The inspiration for this podcast came from an article I wrote a few months back , it was looking at the potential health benefits of drinking beer, and weighing them up against the downsides. The article was fairly interesting to write, and I thought that it might suit podcasting even better. So, is beer healthy? Let’s find out. Is Beer Healthy? There is a lot of evidence that light to moderate beer drinking can provide some health benefits, but heavy drinking is guaranteed to cause health issue...
Jan 25, 2021•Season 2Ep. 15
In this podcast, I talk about the seven mistakes I made as a personal trainer. This was not the most enjoyable thing for me to do! But it led to a pretty damn good podcast (in my opinion). Much better than if I’d named my seven greatest successes or my best features. The Top Seven Mistakes I made as a Personal Trainer Analysing my mistakes as a trainer helped me improve, and now that I’ve got some perspective on my time as a PT, it’s really helping me to plan for the future. I’m not going to lis...
Jan 18, 2021•Season 2Ep. 14
I’ve been planning on writing an article that answers the question “can bodybuilding be considered a sport?”, but decided to do a podcast first. I’ll write the article at some point and may come out with a completely different answer! Can Bodybuilding Be Considered a Sport? In the podcast, I first discuss my relationship with bodybuilding. Anyone who has met me in person will NOT be surprised to know that I have never had any interest in being a bodybuilder. But after 60+ articles on bodybuildin...
Jan 11, 2021•Season 2Ep. 13
I talk about creatine a lot, I’ve written hundreds of articles online about its benefits, drawbacks, and supplements that contain it. I’ve been a freelance fitness and nutrition writer for 6 years now, and clients are always asking for articles about it. This podcast talks about five surprising benefits of creatine. What are the Five Surprising Benefits of Creatine? I am not about to ruin the surprise for my podcast listeners here, that would be pointless. If you want to find out the hundreds of...
Jan 04, 2021•Season 2Ep. 12
In the past, I’ve written articles for other websites that have argued for and against the paleo diet. This may sound hypocritical, how can I write one article while having an opposing opinion? Well firstly, I got bills to pay y’all. Secondly, I am not for or against the paleo diet. So I can write positive and negative articles while staying true to my beliefs. So, what is wrong with the paleo diet? What is Wrong With the Paleo Diet? In the podcast, I talk a lot about some of the illogical aspec...
Dec 28, 2020•Season 2Ep. 11
Today’s podcast is all about discovering why personal trainers hate cardio. Obviously, not all personal trainers hate it, but there are enough PTs spouting off about their hate for traditional cardio for it to be worth looking at. Do they have a point? This episode explores the truth. Why Personal Trainers Hate Cardio The podcast looks at the legitimate reasons why personal trainers don’t often add cardio into their sessions. High injury rate, practical issues, coaching issues, and risk/benefit ...
Dec 21, 2020•Season 2Ep. 10
Can You Lose Weight While Drinking Beer? That is the type of question that Beer n Biceps was created to answer! In fact, I’ve already written an article about it, check it out here . But not everyone has time to waste reading words on a page, so I decided to do a podcast on the subject too. Can You Lose Weight While Drinking Beer? Looking at the question in the most simplistic way, yes of course you can lose weight while drinking beer. If you stopped eating for 20 days and only drank one can of ...
Dec 14, 2020•Season 2Ep. 9
I try not to lean too heavily on one side or the other when it comes to fitness arguments. Partly because I hate conflict (unless I’m drunk) but mostly because I think that having strong views on scientific subjects should only come once you have mastered your field. The truth about keto diets is that they can work for some people, but are not ideal for most people. That isn’t a particularly controversial stance though, and it won’t get me hundreds of followers or hundreds of enemies. But it’s a...
Dec 07, 2020•Season 2Ep. 8
This podcast was recorded in October, but due to severe procrastination I have only just got around to publishing it. In fact, I have a backlog of SIX podcasts that still need to be uploaded. I guess it’s just a lot more enjoyable to drink beer and moan about the world than it is to upload podcasts! Today’s podcast is about the biggest dieting mistake people make. The Biggest Dieting Mistake People Make The answer isn’t exactly a massive secret. In my opinion, one of the biggest mistakes that pe...
Dec 02, 2020•Season 2Ep. 7
Finally! After several tear-fuelled phone calls and an ill-advised trip to Watford with a boombox in hand. I have managed to secure the podcasting services of Mr Todd Davies. In this week’s podcast we discuss beers we’d love to drink but can’t. The sound quality is not amazing. This is thanks to the social distancing requirements of holding a podcast (Todd was on the phone). But it was definitely worth it. Having two people on a podcast definitely improves it (in my opinion). Going forward, I wi...
Jul 13, 2020•Season 2Ep. 6
My website is named Beer n Biceps, and that is the name of the podcast that I run. The idea behind the podcast/website was to teach people how to drink good beer while leading a healthy life and losing weight. So, I feel uniquely placed to answer the question “Why are pubs opening before gyms?”. It is an emotive subject and one that has generated a lot of hurt over the last few weeks. It has also created quite a lively debate. My personal opinion is that pubs should be opened before gyms. But th...
Jul 08, 2020•Season 2Ep. 5
As a qualified personal trainer and qualified Boxercise coach (don’t laugh, it’s a real qualification) I feel perfectly placed to discuss whether personal training and boxing is a good mix or not. Which is why I have dedicated a podcast to that very subject. Personal Training and Boxing Boxercise is a very underrated qualification in my opinion. It is held back by the ridiculous name. A more accurate name for the course would be “Teach boxing to clients safely”, but I guess that doesn’t have the...
Jun 21, 2020•Season 2Ep. 4
In this podcast, I attempt to answer the question “are meal replacement shakes a good idea?”. It’s quite a controversial topic and one that often leads to arguments. So, of course, I immediately decided to hump in with both feet. Are Meal Replacement Shakes a Good Idea? Yes, meal replacement shakes can be a good idea in specific circumstances. But there are often better alternatives out there. Herbalife is often seen as the face of meal replacement shakes, but there are better products out there...
Jun 13, 2020•Season 2Ep. 3
Is a vegan diet healthier than a regular diet? This is a question that I’ve really struggled with over the years. On the surface, it seems quite straightforward. Vegan dieters are shown to live longer, have fewer health issues, and are generally fitter and leaner than people who follow regular diets. But does that mean that a vegan diet is actually healthier than a regular diet? Or is it just that people who are healthier and more conscious of their fitness are more likely to be drawn to a vegan...
May 11, 2020•Season 2Ep. 2
This is the first podcast that I’ve done alone. Just Matt, no Todd. The reason? In September 2018 I moved from London (technically Watford) to Nottingham. After several tear-fuelled discussions with our respective partners, Todd was not allowed to come with me and live in my shed. So until I work out a way to record podcasts over the phone (not gonna happen) I’m going to try and go it alone. This first episode is titled “Why I Quit Personal Training”. Why I Quit Personal Training In High School ...
May 04, 2020•Season 2Ep. 1
In the second episode of our new-look podcast, we are discussing perfect warm-ups and drinking Badger beer. Well, we call it badger beer, but actually, the brewery is called Hall & Woodhouse brewery . We really enjoyed ourselves during this podcast, mostly thanks to the excellent beers! We’re loving this 30-minute format, it’s easier to listen to, and more importantly – it is a LOT quicker to perform. Perfect Warm-Ups I’ve changed my mind a lot about warm-ups over the years, when I started t...
Feb 23, 2018
On the 4th of June 2017, Todd and I got drunk, very drunk. The kind of drunk where you stand up after a while on shaky legs, walk outside the pub and decide to create a podcast about beer n biceps. You’ve probably done exactly that yourself right? What were our qualifications to do so? I knew quite a bit about fitness and nutrition after a degree in Sports Science and 7 years as a personal trainer. Todd had been my most successful client ever. Neither of us knew anything about beer except that w...
Jan 26, 2018
Our last Beer N Biceps episode of the year is a xmas special where we drink Elf Juice by Bad Company and talk about the ways in which you can maintain your weight, prevent weight gain, or even lose weight over the Christmas holiday. This is not something that you need to do, and Todd and I are quite honest about why we’re not going to be following the rules too strictly ourselves. But if you decide that this is the year when you don’t gain weight over the holidays, then this podcast can really h...
Dec 23, 2017
