The Protein Corner

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...

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 ...

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...

Table of Contents + Instructions Expert Tips Workout Programming Mike's Take Incline Dumbbell Curl Alternatives 3 Incline Dumbbell Curl Workouts Muscles Worked by the Incline Dumbbell Curl More Biceps Exercises Instructions Sit back on a bench set to about 45 degrees. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and let your arms hang straight down with your palms facing forward. Curl the dumbbell in your right hand up as close to your shoulder as you can without letting your elbows move forward. Pause for a brief moment and then lower the dumbbell and return to the starting position. Repeat with your left hand, and continue alternating like this until you’ve completed your desired number of reps for each arm. Expert Tips Keep your elbows behind your torso—avoid the temptation to push your elbows forward at the top of each rep to eke out a bit more range of motion. This does increase the range of motion, but it’s mostly your shoulders doing the extra work, not your...

Table of Contents + Instructions Expert Tips Workout Programming Mike's Take Barbell Hip Thrust Alternatives 3 Barbell Hip Thrust Workouts Muscles Worked by the Barbell Hip Thrust More Leg and Glute Exercises Instructions Sit with your upper back resting across a regular bench or against the padded backrest of a dedicated hip thrust bench (as shown in the videos). Roll a barbell over your thighs so it sits in your hip crease (use a bar pad or folded yoga mat to protect your hip bones), and plant your feet on the floor or footplate about shoulder-width apart with your toes pointed slightly out. Position your feet so that your shins are vertical and your knees are bent about 90 degrees at the top of each rep. Push the bar up with your hips by pressing through your heels until your torso and thighs are parallel to the floor and your shins are vertical. Hold this position for about one second, and then reverse the movement and return to the starting position. Expert ...

Table of Contents + Instructions Expert Tips Workout Programming Mike’s Take Seated Cable Row Alternatives 3 Seated Cable Row Workouts Muscles Worked by the Seated Cable Row More Back Exercises Instructions Attach the handle to the cable row machine, sit on the pad, and place your feet against the footrests. Lean forward, grab the handle, and lean backward slightly so that your back is perpendicular to the floor and your arms are straight out in front of you. Keeping your back straight and staring straight ahead, let the handle pull your shoulder blades forward as far as they’ll go. Pull the handle toward your abdomen by bending your elbows and retracting your shoulder blades simultaneously. Keep your elbows close to your sides and pull until the handle touches your abdomen, your forearms are roughly parallel with the floor, and your shoulder blades are pinched together and down. Once the handle touches your torso, straighten your arms and let the weight pull you...