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How Brenda Lost 13 Pounds & Dropped 10% Body Fat in 6 Months

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In 6 months of Legion’s body transformation coaching , Brenda lost 13 pounds, 4 inches from her waist, and improved her relationship with food, all at 70 years old. For years, Brenda tried to lose the stubborn fat around her middle. She made some progress, but it never stuck. She spent most of her day at a desk, and planning meals felt like one more job on a long list. Like so many people, she believed the answer was to eat less. But the less she ate, the more stuck she felt. Ready for a real change, she signed up for Legion coaching to finally break the cycle. Here are her results: Brenda’s Journey When Brenda started coaching, her coach found the real roadblock fast. It wasn’t her effort. It was the way she thought about food. Years of dieting had taught her that eating more meant gaining weight. So even when her coach set a higher target, Brenda would stop eating once she hit a number that felt safe in her head. “I am just not sure of food choices some...
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The Best Way to Do a Pull-Up for a Stronger, More Defined Back

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Table of Contents + Instructions Expert Tips Workout Programming Mike's Take Pull-Up Alternatives 3 Pull-Up Workouts Muscles Worked by the Pull-Up More Back Exercises Instructions Grab a pull-up bar with your palms facing away from you and your hands about shoulder-width apart. If you can’t reach the bar without jumping, put something on the floor under the bar that you can step on. Lift your feet off the floor and relax your arms and shoulders, letting your body weight pull your arms straight and your shoulders as high as possible (they should be almost touching your ears). Keeping your arms straight, pull your shoulder blades down and back to raise your chest and lean back slightly. Pull your chest toward the bar and your elbows toward your sides, bringing your feet slightly forward as you rise. Pull until your chin clears the bar, or touch your chest to the bar if you can do so comfortably. Pause for a brief moment, and then lower yourself to the starting...
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The Best Way to Do the Preacher Curl for Stronger, More Defined Biceps

Table of Contents + Instructions Expert Tips Workout Programming Mike's Take Preacher Curl Alternatives 4 Preacher Curl Workouts More Biceps Exercises Instructions Adjust a preacher curl station so the top of the pad sits in your armpits when you’re seated. Grab an EZ-bar (as shown in the videos above) or straight bar with your palms facing up and slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, rest your upper arms on the pad, and extend your elbows until your arms are nearly straight. Keeping your upper arms on the pad, curl the bar toward your shoulders until you can’t curl the bar any further. Hold this position for a brief moment, then lower the bar and return to the starting position. Expert Tips Make sure you keep the backs of your arms and elbows glued to the pad throughout the entire rep. Some folks cheat on this exercise by jerking their torsos backward and lifting up their elbows or pushing their shoulders forward, which defeats the point of using a ...
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The Best Way to Use the Hip Thrust Machine to Build Your Glutes

Table of Contents + Instructions (Floating-Bar Hip Thrust Machine) Instructions (Lever Hip Thrust Machine) Expert Tips Workout Programming Mike's Take Machine Hip Thrust Alternatives 3 Machine Hip Thrust Workouts More Leg and Glute Exercises Instructions (Floating-Bar Hip Thrust Machine) Sit with your upper back against the machine’s padded backrest and place your feet on the footplate. Position the padded bar across the top of your hips. Position your feet about shoulder-width apart with your toes pointed slightly out. Adjust your foot position so your shins are roughly vertical and your knees are bent about 90 degrees at the top of each rep. Grip the bar and roll your wrists backward (like revving a motorcycle) and slightly elevate your hips to release the hooks supporting the weight. Lower your hips until your butt just barely touches the floor (or as low as you comfortably can without letting your back slip off the pad), then thrust your hips up by press...
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The Best Way to Do the Barbell Front Squat

Table of Contents + Instructions Expert Tips Workout Programming Mike's Take Front Squat Alternatives 3 Front Squat Workouts Muscles Worked by the Front Squat More Leg Exercises Instructions Position a barbell in a squat rack at about the height of your collarbone and grip it with your palms facing the floor about shoulder-width apart. Squat down, press the tops of your shoulders against the underside of the bar, and push your elbows up and out in front of the bar. Stand up so the bar is resting on your shoulders and take one step back with each foot, setting your feet about shoulder-width apart with your toes pointed out about 45 degrees. Sit down by pushing your hips backward and bending your knees at the same time until your thighs are parallel to the floor or slightly lower. Stand up to return to the starting position, keeping your elbows high throughout each rep. On the last rep of a set, finish it fully (legs straight, bar motionless), then move the bar bac...
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Can Taking Fish Oil Help You Gain Muscle and Strength?

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Nearly every doctor, researcher, and health expert agrees that nearly everyone should take fish oil . It’s well-established that it can support heart, blood vessel, brain, immune, and joint health, as well as mood and memory. Emerging research shows that fish oil may also support strength, muscle gain, and workout recovery. One of the best examples of this comes from a 2023 study conducted by researchers at Baylor University on 28 men and women with at least six months of weightlifting experience. One group took 4.5 g of fish oil daily (~2.3 g of EPA and ~1.6 g of DHA), and the other took a placebo for 10 weeks. During the study, participants trained 3 times weekly on nonconsecutive days, doing 3–4 sets of the squat , leg press , leg extension or leg curl , bench press , shoulder press , seated cable row , and lat pulldown in each workout. The results showed that the fish oil group experienced a 73% greater increase in their bench press one-rep max relative to the placebo group ...
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How Eddie Lost 38 Pounds & Dropped 20% Body Fat in 5 Months

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In 5 months of Legion’s body transformation coaching , Eddie lost 38 pounds, 20% body fat, and gained significant muscle and strength. Eddie is no stranger to hard work. He’s a former college hockey player and a dad of four competitive athletes. Between long days at the office and a packed family schedule, his own health kept landing at the bottom of the list, and he spent years trying to fix this. He bought several Legion custom meal plans and liked them a lot, but a plan on paper wasn’t enough on its own, and his weight barely budged. So he turned to Legion coaching for help. Here are his results: Eddie’s Journey By the time he reached out about coaching, he’d had enough. “I’m fed up with feeling gross. I can use help with programming and accountability,” he said. His diet was the weak spot. “I’ve been winging it, no plan and eating like a 12-year-old,” he admitted. He signed up with a clear goal to lose 30 to 35 pounds of fat. His biggest challenge wa...
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