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Showing posts from June, 2021

Complete List of Weightlifting Cues for Perfect Form & New PRs

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When most people want to learn how to do an exercise with proper technique, they copy what other people do in the gym. While this method can help you find your feet, it can also teach you bad habits that are hard to uproot later on.  The reason for this is simple: most people don’t use proper technique, and if you ape them, you’ll end up making the same blunders. As the old saying goes, practice doesn’t make perfect—practice makes permanent .  A better approach is to learn and use what are known as weightlifting cues when you’re training, especially when doing compound exercises like the squat, bench press, deadlift, and their many variations. At bottom, a weightlifting cue is just a simple reminder that draws your attention to a particular aspect of your form. For example, the cue “spread the floor with your feet,” is a helpful weightlifting cue for remembering to keep your knees from caving in while squatting (more on this cue in a moment).  These mental mant...

Mark Bell on Finding His Calling and Becoming the “Meathead Millionaire”

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  In this episode, I interview Mark Bell, also known as the “Meathead Millionaire” who invented the Sling Shot. In case you’re not familiar with Mark, he’s not only a successful entrepreneur, and inventor, but he’s a world ranked powerlifter (top 10 all-time with a total of 2,628 pounds), and the owner of Super Training Products Inc. He’s also the host of his own podcast (Mark Bell’s Power Project, on which I was recently a guest), and has a popular Youtube channel . For this interview, we originally planned to chat about powerlifting, but the conversation naturally diverted into a veritable bevy of other topics, which I think you’ll find interesting. Specifically, we talk about . . . Natty expectations, the power of steroids, and the best way to compete without drugs Testosterone levels and what happens once you start taking exogenous T How Mark likes to learn (it’s not reading!) Finding your natural gifts and interests, developing them, and becoming “world class” Chan...

Using TDEE vs. BMR for Weight Loss

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When you begin wrapping your head around the grammar of weight loss, you’ll encounter a few new, confusing terms.  Three of the most common ones are . . .  Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) Basal metabolic rate (BMR) Energy balance What do these phrases mean and how can they help you lose weight? What’s the difference between tdee vs. bmr ? How does your TDEE or BMR relate to energy balance?  You’ll learn the answers to all of these questions in this article. What’s more, you’ll also learn how to calculate your TDEE and BMR, the best equations for predicting your BMR, and more. Let’s start by defining and demystifying TDEE. Table of Contents What Is TDEE?  What Is BMR? How to Use Your BMR & TDEE to Lose Weight What’s the Best BMR Equation? What Is TDEE?  TDEE stands for total daily energy expenditure , and it’s a mathematical estimate of how many total calories you burn throughout the day based on your weight, height, age, and activit...

The Best Arm Workouts for Building Mass

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  This podcast is all about building your arms. Whether you’re a guy who wants to put on mass or a gal who wants more defined and toned arms, this episode is going to help.  While most guys want arms as big as possible, and most women I’ve talked to care more about toning their arms than adding size, the solution is the same. You want to build muscle and strength in your arms, and reduce your levels of body fat. That’s the key. And the surprising truth for most women is they need a lot more muscle and strength in their arms than they realize. That is, they’re going to have to get a lot stronger and more muscular than the average woman who doesn’t train to get their desired look. That’s how you get sculpted, defined arms that aren’t big and bulky. Most arm workouts online are all about blitzing your biceps and triceps with huge amounts of volume and fancy techniques until you can no longer move your noodly appendages, which just isn’t as effective as what I’m going to sha...

The Best Dumbbell Bicep Workout Routine for Mass

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Building bigger biceps doesn’t require fancy equipment or workout programming. In fact, with just a set of dumbbells (ideally adjustable ones), you can create a simple, challenging, and effective dumbbell bicep workout that will add mass to your arms. Whether you’re looking to grow your guns in the comfort of your own home or blast your bis with dumbbells in the gym, this article is for you. In it, you’ll learn exactly how to get big biceps with dumbbells using five science-based tips and the best biceps dumbbell workout routine you can do to build bigger, stronger biceps. Table of Contents 5 Tips for Building Bigger Biceps 1. Change your upper arm position. 2. Vary your rep ranges. 3. Target the brachialis. 4. Focus on squeezing your biceps on every rep. 5. Control the eccentric. The Best Dumbbell Bicep Workout Routine for Mass Dumbbell Curl Dumbbell Preacher Curl Dumbbell Incline Curl Dumbbell Hammer Curl 5 Tips for Building Bigger Biceps There are two reason...

How Alexandria Used Thinner Leaner Stronger to Gain 15 Pounds of Lean Muscle and Got Stronger in Every Lift

The post How Alexandria Used Thinner Leaner Stronger to Gain 15 Pounds of Lean Muscle and Got Stronger in Every Lift appeared first on Legion Athletics . https://ift.tt/eA8V8J June 27, 2021 at 06:00PM Legion Athletics

Does the Blood Type Diet Work?

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  I’ve churned through over 150,000 emails, social media comments and messages, and blog comments in the last 6 years. And that means I’ve fielded a ton of questions. As you can imagine, some questions pop up more often than others, and I thought it might be helpful to take a little time every month to choose a few and record and share my answers. So, in this round, I answer the following question: What is the Blood Type Diet and should you follow it? If you have a question you’d like me to answer, leave a comment below or if you want a faster response, send an email to mike@muscleforlife.com. Lastly, if you want to support the show, please drop a quick review of it over on iTunes. It really helps! What did you think of this episode? Have anything else to share? Let me know in the comments below! The post Does the Blood Type Diet Work? appeared first on Legion Athletics . https://ift.tt/eA8V8J June 25, 2021 at 06:00PM Legion Athletics

How Thinner Leaner Stronger Helped the “Minny Hustlers” Get Their Fitness on Track

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  In this episode, I interview Ann and Lo (also known as the Minny Hustlers on Instagram), who read Thinner Leaner Stronger and used what they learned to dramatically change their physiques and lives. Before finding TLS, Ann and Lo focused on what many women do–lots of cardio and lifting light weights. While they managed to prevent weight gain (the dreaded “freshman 15”…or 20…or 30), they didn’t know how to build the bodies they really wanted with toned arms and glorious glutes. Ever since they read the book in 2015 and learned what really moves the needle in terms of body composition, they’ve totally transformed their physiques, adding muscle in all the right places while stripping away fat, and building their strength to levels they had never seen before. And the best part is by working together, Ann and Lo were able to keep each other accountable and motivate one another to push through the tough times. They also used what they learned in the book to become Legion Athle...