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How to Fix Muscle Imbalances in 3 Simple Steps

Almost every major muscle in your body has a twin—left pec, right pec; left quad, right quad; left triceps, right triceps, and so on. Thus, one type of muscle imbalance is a size or strength discrepancy between a pair of such muscles. Bodybuilders refer to this as “asymmetry.” Another type of muscle imbalance can exist between pairs of major muscle groups, like your chest and back, triceps and biceps, and upper legs and calves. If any of the muscles in these opposing pairs are smaller or weaker and less developed than the other, visual symmetry and performance suffer, and sometimes, the risk of injury rises. Bodybuilders call this “disproportion.” So, the ultimate physique goal is twofold: Symmetrical-looking muscles on each side of your body Proportionate development of the upper and lower and front and back parts of your body Fortunately, 80 percent of this is following a well-designed strength training program that’s built on compound exercises that train your entire body ...
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How Harry Lost 37 Pounds & Dropped 20% Body Fat in 9 Months

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In 9 months of Legion’s body transformation coaching , Harry lost 37 pounds, 20% body fat, and gained significant muscle and strength. Before joining the program, Harry wanted to get down to lose fat, lower his blood pressure, and improve his endurance. His biggest struggle was overeating, especially after hard workouts and while traveling for work. He was also managing a repaired ACL and a bulging disc in his lower back, both of which made certain lifts painful. With his coach’s help, he worked around those injuries, through travel, and built a nutrition approach that actually fit his life. Here are his results: Harry’s Journey Harry signed up for Legion’s coaching program looking to finally get his health under control. “I know that I have bad habits that need to be challenged,” he admitted. His coach built him a training plan that worked around his injuries, and custom meal plans based around his preference for low-FODMAP and limited dairy...
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The 4 Best Biceps Workouts and 12 Best Biceps Exercises

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To build your biceps you need to follow three rules: Do a small number of effective exercises with proper technique. Take most of your sets close to failure and incrementally add weight over time. Do about 5-to-6 sets per workout, about 6-to-10 reps per set, and about 30-to-60 total reps per workout. Note what’s not on this list: Doing a dozen different biceps exercises to “hit them from all angles.” “Chasing the pump” with sets of 15–30+ reps. Training your biceps every day or with excessively high volumes (20+ sets per week). The Best Biceps Workout Chin-Up (weighted if possible): 3 sets | 4–6 reps | 2–3 min rest Incline Dumbbell Curl : 2 sets | 6–8 reps | 1–2 min rest Barbell Curl : 2 sets | 6–8 reps | 1–2 min rest Total Sets: 7 Total Reps: 36–50 Effective Reps: ~21–28 Estimated Duration: ~14–23 min Biceps Sets: 5.5 Biceps Effective Reps: ~17–22 This is as close to an “optimal” biceps workout as you can get. It starts with the e...
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Can Daydreaming About the Future Help You Stick to Your Diet?

Imagine you’re given the choice of $90 now or $100 in two weeks. Which would you choose? Most people would take the $90 because “good now” is more enticing than “better later.” This tendency to discount the value of future events and outcomes underlies a host of self-destructive behaviors, including substance abuse, pathological gambling, risky sexual behavior, and most notably for us, an inability to stick with health-promoting habits. There are ways to short-circuit it, however, and one is something scientists call episodic future thinking, which simply involves imagining a specific, personal, and detailed future event linked to a personal goal. Productive daydreaming, essentially. In a study conducted by scientists at the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, researchers split 29 overweight or obese women who wanted to lose weight into two groups: one that used an episodic future thinking (EFT) protocol, and another that used an episodic recent thinki...
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How Jacob Lost 75 Pounds & Dropped 25% Body Fat in 12 Months

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In 12 months of Legion’s body transformation coaching , Jacob lost 75 pounds, 25% body fat, and gained significant muscle and strength. Before joining the program, Jacob was about a year into remission from cancer. Chemo had drained his body, and he used to run 5Ks and had finished the 75 Hard challenge more than once, and he wanted to get back to that. He had purchased Legions supplements and several of Mike’s books, but he didn’t know where to start again, and procrastination kept winning. With his coach’s help, he addressed these issues and found the consistency he’d been missing. Here are his results: Jacob’s Journey Jacob signed up for coaching looking for a plan he could actually stick to. His coach built him a 5-day training plan and a nutrition plan around his real schedule. Jacob’s job took him out of town about once a month, so whenever he landed in a hotel or an unfamiliar gym, he’d send his coach a photo of the eq...
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The Best Way to Do the Lat Pulldown

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Table of Contents + Instructions (Cable Lat Pulldown) Instructions (Plate-Loaded Machine Lat Pulldown) Expert Tips Mike's Take Lat Pulldown Alternatives 3 Lat Pulldown Workouts Lat Pulldown vs. Pull-Up: Which Is Better? Muscles Worked by the Lat Pulldown More Back Exercises Instructions (Cable Lat Pulldown) Adjust the thigh pad so that it locks your legs in place and prevents your butt from rising off the seat when pulling the bar down. Grab the bar with your palms facing away from you and a few inches wider than shoulder-width apart, and sit down, letting your body weight pull the bar down with you, and then wedge your legs underneath the thigh pad. Sit slightly behind the cable rather than directly under it, with your chest proud and a slight arch in your lower back. Relax your arms and shoulders, letting the weight pull your arms straight and your shoulders as high as possible (they should be almost touching your ears). Staring straight ahead, initiate the rep ...
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The Best Way to Do the Shrug-Back (Straight-Arm Row)

Table of Contents + Instructions (Seated Machine Shrug-Back) Instructions (Seated Cable Shrug-Back) Instructions (Chest-Supported T-Bar Shrug-Back) Instructions (One-Arm Dumbbell Shrug-Back) Expert Tips Mike's Take Shrug-Back Alternatives 3 Shrug-Back Workouts More Trap Exercises Instructions (Seated Machine Shrug-Back) Adjust the seat height so the top of the chest pad is level with the top of your breastbone, and grip the handles with your arms straight. If the handles are adjustable, set them so they’re just out of reach when you extend your arms. Grab the handles and relax your arms and shoulders, letting the weight pull your arms straight and your shoulders as far forward as they’ll go. Staring straight ahead, retract your shoulder blades and pinch them together as close as you can, without bending your elbows. Pause briefly, then let the weight pull your shoulder blades forward and return to the starting position. Instructions (Seated Cable Shru...
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