Matt MacDuff: Enjoy the bad times too

For me, it all started with an injury. All I wanted to do was ride—it's all I ever did. But, of course, that kind of life comes with risks, and sometimes those risks land you in the hospital… LOL. I was breaking bones so often that I had to find ways to speed up my recovery just to get back on my bike, shredding hard again ASAP.

That sent me down this crazy rabbit hole of health and well-being, so deep that there’s no turning back now. So, to answer your question: no, I haven’t always been this health-conscious. In fact, I was probably one of the unhealthiest dudes ever when I was younger. But through all my injuries and recoveries, I discovered techniques so powerful that I knew I couldn’t live without them.

Yeah, I’m deep into personal development. I believe you have to grow in all areas of life as evenly as possible. Otherwise, setbacks will keep you from performing at your best. That’s why I practice a mix of things - healthy eating, reading, partying with friends, meditation, and training. It’s all about keeping my savage lifestyle balanced so I can keep growing and loving life!

When it comes to training, my approach is pretty simple. But first, let me say that I’m no pro. Right now, I have two trainers teaching me completely different methods because there’s just so much info out there. I believe the body is only as strong as the mind, so you gotta train both. I also think routines can kill your progress, you gotta switch things up. And before you even step into the gym, you need to ask yourself why you’re there in the first place… otherwise, you might just get really good at “exercising” but start sucking at life, haha.

My training takes place every morning. It takes about 2 hours and consists of:

- cold shower
- drinking water
- yoga/movement (30-60 min)
- meditation (10-30 min)
- workout (20-40 min)

Then I kick the day's ass!



I usually don’t do much right before riding—my morning routine gets me ready for anything. But when the sun goes down, I switch from beast mode to “chillllllllllll mode.”

A lot of people overtrain and wreck themselves in the gym. The main thing is to stay strong and flexible so that if shit goes sideways, you’ve got the best chance of walking away. That’s my priority - damage control. Riding hard for a living is brutal on the body, so the more I stay on top of recovery, the longer and harder I can shred and do more cool shit!

Regeneration is the name of the game! And I’m no master - this is still pretty new to me. Lately, I’ve been super into breathwork and how it affects the parasympathetic nervous system. Guys like Wim Hof are blowing my mind! Your nervous system is supposed to kick in and recharge you, but stress can block that, even when you’re trying to sleep. And let’s be real, riding bikes (and life in general) can be stressful as hell! So I’ve been practicing resting, haha! Sleeping more, winding down properly, and maxing out my “recharge time” so I can go full-send when it matters.

For the muscles, nothing beats stretching, cold therapy, and rest. But I take a 360-degree approach to recovery—firing up my engine in the morning (body & mind), sending it all day, fueling up with proper food, shutting my system down at night, and resting hard. Always keeping my dream in mind and making decisions that support it.

Food-wise, I do my best. There’s so much info out there, and a million crazy diets to try. I just listen to my body. I’m no master, and yeah, I still emotionally eat sometimes grabbing snacks at 2 AM, haha! But I make an effort, and those small efforts add up.

I focus on low-inflammation foods. I’ve broken so many bones, so I don’t need to be eating anything that adds more inflammation to the mix. I do my best to eat organic and keep my diet clean.

At the end of the day, your body is how you experience life. Take care of it so you can enjoy the ride! Eat well, and enjoy it, food is awesome!

When it comes to mindset, nobody’s perfect. Even I end up in dark places sometimes. Usually, it’s because I’ve lost sight of my mission or finished a big goal and feel lost. That’s when I have to refocus. If you’re chasing a dream and taking steps toward it, chances are you’ll be happy. That’s what keeps me going. I have big dreams, and yeah—I suffer a lot. Growth means throwing yourself into tough situations. But I take full responsibility for that. There are no good times without bad ones, and nothing lasts forever. So if I push through the hard times, I know there are plenty of good ones ahead.

Lately, I’ve taken it a step further, I’ve started enjoying the bad times too, haha. Maybe I’m just weird. But hey, sometimes you just gotta laugh at your situation, you know?

At the end of the day, every 24 hours is a gift. It’s up to you what you do with it.