The Protein Corner

The Bayesian cable curl is unlike any other biceps exercise. For starters, the form is unique: you curl a cable one arm at a time with your arm behind your body and your back to the cable stack (hence why people often refer to it as “the face-away cable curl ” or “ behind-the-back cable curl ”). It also trains your biceps while fully stretched and applies tension to your muscles throughout the entire range of motion—something you don’t get with free-weight alternatives. Crucially, these facets make it particularly effective for building biceps mass.  So, if you want to understand how to perform the Bayesian curl, why it’s so effective, and how to avoid mistakes people often make while performing the exercise, this article is for you.  Table of Contents How to Do the Bayesian Cable Curl 1. Set up 2. Curl 3. Descend Bayesian Cable Curl Benefits They’re ideal for building biceps mass. It trains your biceps unilaterally. It maximizes biceps growth. Bayesian Cable Curl: Mus

In 12 weeks of Legion’s body transformation coaching , Sarah lost 12 pounds, 3 inches off her waist, and 6-to-7% body fat, while maintaining muscle and strength. Before joining the program, she struggled with accountability and didn’t know how to troubleshoot fitness issues when things didn’t go as planned.  However, with the guidance of her coach, Sarah gained the knowledge she needed to achieve her fitness goals, both now and in the future. Here are her results: Sarah’s Journey Sarah had followed Thinner Leaner Stronger for five years, building a significant amount of muscle, yet she still wasn’t completely happy with how her body looked. Additionally, injuries had limited her progress, and she struggled to continue gaining muscle.  She said, “I’d like to build specific body parts and need help with which exercises will help, but I don’t want to lean bulk right now since it’s summer.” Her coach, Alyssa, set up her program with this goal in mind. With Alyssa’s guidance,

Losing weight is a balancing act.  On the one hand, the faster you lose weight , the more excited you are to continue, but on the other hand, the faster you lose weight, the more you run the risk of muscle loss, hunger , irritability, metabolic slowdown , and eventually eating your way back to your previous weight (or even heavier). One way to thread this needle is to maintain a fairly aggressive calorie deficit (20-to-25 percent) and take periodic breaks from your diet—an approach has been validated by a University of Tasmania study where scientists found that taking short, planned, highly structured breaks from dieting made fat loss more efficient and sustainable. In this study, researchers split fifty-one men into two groups: one group dieted every day for sixteen weeks, and the other dieted on a “two week on” (calorie deficit), “two week off” (maintenance calories) schedule until they also reached sixteen weeks of dieting (the second group taking twice as long).  The res

Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify | Listen on YouTube In this episode, I talk with Shaun, who achieved remarkable results with Legion’s body transformation coaching service. Shaun had struggled with his weight for over a decade. But at 270 pounds, he faced a health scare that prompted him to make a serious change. After failing to lose weight on several popular diets, Shaun discovered Bigger Leaner Stronger, and by following its principles, he started losing fat and building muscle. However, Shaun felt he could achieve even better results, so he signed up for Legion coaching. With his coach’s help, he learned the principles of effective and sustainable dieting and training, and in 6 months, he dropped from 233 to 198 pounds, greatly improving his body composition and health. In this podcast, Shaun shares valuable insights into staying consistent, the importance of accountability, and navigating challenges like injury. His story highlights how following straightforwar

Want to know one of the best-kept “secrets” of the elite influencer physiques? It’s not two-a-day workouts, eating disorders, or designer steroids. It’s creatine.  That’s right, good old creatine monohydrate. … Just kidding.  It’s two-a-day workouts, eating disorders, and designer steroids. And it’s mostly just designer steroids. But there’s a reason some of these toads pretend that creatine is their “one weird trick” for bigger biceps, bouncier booties, and beautiful abs: It works. Not as well as vitamin S, of course, but it also won’t swell your prostate to the size of a cantaloupe or put hair on all the wrong places of your body. (And no, it won’t make you lose your hair, either.) In fact, creatine is the most studied molecule in all of sports nutrition, and hundreds of studies confirm that it can safely: Boost muscle and strength gains and improve muscular endurance Reduce muscle damage and soreness from exercise, helping you recover faster Preserve lean mass an

The leg press is a popular gym machine because, unlike many lower body exercises, it lets you train your legs without stressing your spine. While this is beneficial for most weightlifters—exercises that put little pressure on your back are typically easier to recover from—it’s especially beneficial for those with lower back issues, as it allows them to work their quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves without discomfort. However, not everyone has access to a leg press machine. Most people with a garage gym lack the space or budget for a leg press at home , and basic commercial gyms often prioritize simpler equipment like leg extensions and curls. That’s why it’s helpful to know effective leg press alternatives you can do with other equipment.  So, if you want to learn how to get all the benefits of training with a leg press without a machine , this article is for you.  Table of Contents The 8 Best Leg Press Alternatives for Gym and Home Workouts 1. Hack Squat 2. Barbell Fron

If you’re already on Team Completist (“you make it, I buy it”), go here to grow your collection: I Want This Legion But if you’re still pinching your pennies, let me ask you a few questions: Did you know that out of the millions of physiological processes that occur in your body every day, a handful have an outsized impact on how you age? And that you can mitigate many of the negative effects associated with aging by assisting those physiological processes? And that there are a number of simple things you can do to support those processes and thereby enhance your “functional age”? For instance, oxidative stress is a major factor in aging primarily because it causes cellular and mitochondrial damage, promotes inflammation, and disrupts DNA repair. Oxidative stress is caused by an imbalance between highly reactive molecules containing oxygen (reactive oxygen species) and the body’s defenses against them (antioxidants).  Therefore, anything that reduces the impact of reacti

Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify | Listen on YouTube Is artificial intelligence a quantum leap forward for humanity? The key to world peace, the cure for disease and aging, and the springboard to the abundant, leisure-filled future depicted in science fiction novels? Or is it the death knell for humanity as they know it? Or something in between? In this episode, I talk with Cal Newport, a renowned computer science professor, author, and productivity expert, to delve into the complex landscape of AI. Cal has been studying AI and its ramifications for humanity long before it was cool, and he has a number of counterintuitive thoughts on the pros and cons of this new technology, how to get the most out of it right now, and what the future of AI will look like. In this interview, you’ll learn . . . How to use existing AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude to be more productive and successful in your work and personal life The pros and cons of existing AI tools What the f

Many weightlifters wonder about the shelf life of creatine. That is, they question whether, if ever, it expires. The worry is that if creatine is past its expiration date, it may be ineffective and potentially harmful. Online opinions on this topic vary widely. Some treat creatine as eternally potent, dismissing expiry dates as merely a formality. Others argue creatine degrades pretty quickly once opened, especially in hot and humid conditions. In this article, we’ll examine the scientific evidence to cut through the noise. We’ll clarify how long creatine lasts , what to do if you think your creatine has expired , and more.    Table of Contents Does Creatine Monohydrate Expire? Creatine’s Shelf Life How to Recognize Expired Creatine What Happens if You Take Expired Creatine? How to Store Creatine to Extend Its Shelf Life What’s the Best Type of Creatine? FAQ #1: Does creatine go bad faster in the heat? FAQ #2: Is clumpy creatine bad? FAQ #3: Is expired creatine safe?