The Protein Corner

No specific exercises are mandatory for gaining muscle and strength. All exercises have pros and cons, indications and contraindications, so if you can’t or don’t want to do one, there’s always another that’ll do the trick. For example, the barbell deadlift is a first-rate exercise for training just about everything on the backside of your body, but if you can’t or don’t want to do it for whatever reason, you can do a deadlift variation like the trap-bar deadlift or Romanian deadlift or other exercises that train the same major muscle groups like the hamstring curl , hip thrust , Bulgarian split squat , hyperextension, and dumbbell row . The same applies to the barbell back squat and bench press . Cracking exercises . . . if you can do them properly without pain or other problems. If you can’t, however, many others will more than suffice, including the barbell or dumbbell front squat , safety bar squat , goblet squat , leg press , dumbbell lunge , dumbbell bench press , dumbbe...

There was a saying in medieval alchemy, in sterquiliniis invenitur , that roughly translates to “in filth it will be found.” Carl Jung later expounded on this, explaining that what we most want to find in our lives will be found in the places where we least want to look. How true this is in fitness. Only in the “filth” of energy balance , macronutrient balance, progressive overload , patience, and consistency—unsexy, unpalatable subjects that many want to avoid—will you discover the “fitness secrets of the super-fit.” So it is with most everything in life. Only in the filth of all the things that are difficult, complicated, uncomfortable, unexciting, and exhausting are the true gems found. Often, this is nothing grander than detail—the small, exacting, easily skipped work that others overlook or can’t be bothered to do. George Lucas understood this. In The Star Wars Archives , he described how an obsession with the smallest details let him create not j...

Table of Contents + Instructions Expert Tips Mike's Take Nordic Hamstring Curl Alternatives Nordic Hamstring Curl Workout Muscles Worked by the Nordic Hamstring Curl More Hamstring Exercises Instructions Kneel on a pad with your feet anchored under a secure object (the bottom of a squat rack, a partner’s hands, the edge of a treadmill, or a dedicated Nordic curl bench). Keep your body in a straight line from your knees to your shoulders, brace your core, and squeeze your glutes. Lower your torso toward the floor in a controlled manner, resisting the whole way down with your hamstrings. When you can no longer control the movement, place your hands on the floor to take just enough weight off your hamstrings to allow you to lower your chest to the floor (like a push-up). Push off the floor to raise your torso, then use your hamstrings and glutes to continue raising your torso and return to the starting position. Expert Tips Kneel on something soft. A yoga m...

In 6 months of Legion’s body transformation coaching , Peter lost 23 pounds, 15% body fat, and gained significant muscle and strength. At 67 years old, Peter was retired and had been exercising regularly for six years. But he felt stuck at a plateau. He did not know if it was even possible to build muscle and lose fat at his age. Nighttime eating and weekend junk food kept undoing his hard work. On top of that, he did not know which exercises to do or when to change his workout routine. With the help of his Legion coach, Adam, Peter learned how to fix his diet, lift weights safely at home, and build a healthy lifestyle that will last for the rest of his life. Here are his results:   Peter’s Journey Peter wanted to lose fat and build muscle, but he doubted whether he could make real progress in his late 60s. It wasn’t just about losing weight. He wanted to build a healthy lifestyle where he never had to diet again. He also wanted to get stronger...

Table of Contents + Instructions Expert Tips Mike's Take Overhead Press Alternatives 3 Overhead Press Workouts Overhead Press vs. Military Press vs. Shoulder Press Muscles Worked by the Barbell Overhead Press More Shoulder Exercises and Workouts Instructions Adjust the hooks in a power rack or squat rack so the bar is at the height of your midchest, slightly below your collarbones. Face the bar and grip it with your palms facing forward and thumbs wrapped around the bar, slightly wider than shoulder-width. Hold the bar low in your hands, closer to your wrists than your fingers, with your wrists bent just enough to let the bar settle into the base of your palms (not folded back at a 90-degree angle). Bend your knees slightly and position the bar on top of your shoulders and upper chest, then stand up to lift the bar off the rack and take one step back with each foot. Take a deep breath into your stomach, arch your upper back enough that the bar is directly over your...

Table of Contents + Instructions (Seated Leg Curl) Instructions (Lying Leg Curl) Instructions (Lying Leg Curl With Hip Extension) Expert Tips Mike's Take Leg Curl Alternatives 3 Leg Curl Workouts Seated vs. Lying Leg Curl: Which Is Better? Muscles Worked by the Leg Curl More Hamstring Exercises Instructions (Seated Leg Curl) Sit in the leg curl machine and adjust it so the heel pad sits across your Achilles tendons, the thigh pad rests snugly across your lower thighs, and your knees are a couple of inches off the front edge of the seat. Adjust the back pad so that it’s as far forward as possible while keeping the bottom of your thighs securely anchored to the pad (this increases the tension on your hamstrings). Grab the handles, press your back against the pad, and pull your heels down and back toward your butt as far as they will go, typically until the machine runs out of range of motion. Pause for a brief moment, and return to the starting position under c...