The Protein Corner

The seated French press is a top-drawer exercise for adding mass to your triceps.  It’s effective because it emphasizes the most voluminous part of the triceps—the long head. It’s also easier to set up and perform than most comparable exercises, making it suitable for weightlifters of all experience levels.  In this article, you’ll learn how to perform the EZ-bar French press with proper form, which muscles it works, the best French press alternatives and variations, and more.    Table of Contents + How to Do the Seated French Press Seated French Press: Muscles Worked Seated French Press: Benefits Common French Press Mistake The Best Seated French Press Alternatives & Variations How to Do the Seated French Press To master seated French press form, split the exercise into three parts: set up, descend, and ascend. 1. Set up Sit up straight on a flat bench. Grip a loaded EZ-bar with your hands 6-to-10 inches apart and lift it overhead so that your ar...

If you’re lucky enough to have a pendulum squat machine in your gym, you really ought to use it—it’s one of the very best leg exercises for gaining lower body size and strength. It’s so effective because it makes squatting deeply safe, stable, and straightforward, even if you have limited mobility. In this article, you’ll learn how to do pendulum squats with proper form. You’ll also discover which muscles they work, why they’re beneficial, the best alternatives, and more.  Table of Contents + How to Do Pendulum Squats Pendulum Squat: Muscles Worked Pendulum Squat Benefits How to Pick Your Pendulum Squat Starting Weight? The Best Pendulum Squat Alternatives How to Do Pendulum Squats To master pendulum squat form, split the exercise into three parts: set up, descend, and squat. 1. Set up Load the pendulum squat machine with the desired amount of weight, then position your back and hips against the back pad, your shoulders against the shoulder pads, and your feet...

In 4 months of Legion’s body transformation coaching , Vincent lost 12 pounds, around 10% body fat , and 4 inches from his waist, while gaining muscle and strength.  Before joining the program, he was following his own diet and training plan but was eating too little and exercising too much to see the results he wanted. With his coach’s help, he addressed these issues and was able to build the physique he had always dreamed of. Here are his results: Vincent’s Journey Vincent discovered Legion through the Muscle for Life podcast and was impressed by the information and values shared on the show. Motivated by what he learned, he decided to join the body transformation coaching program to train using Legion’s methods. His coach, Brian, created a 5-day training program and a meal plan tailored to help Vincent lose fat quickly.  During this cutting phase, Vincent’s biggest challenge was managing his hunger . Fortunately, Brian helped him overcome this by incor...

A push day workout is a strength training routine targeting all the muscles involved in pushing movements. Compared to training routines that focus on just one muscle group per workout, push day workouts allow you to train harder in less time and don’t cause as much soreness, making them excellent for gaining mass and strength. A common problem with push day workout routines, however, is that people program them poorly. They choose exercises that overemphasize some muscles and neglect others, or they try to do too much in each session. In this article, you’ll learn to avoid these common missteps. You’ll discover which muscles push day workout routines train, the best push workout for gaining upper body size and strength, tips for making your workouts more productive, and more.  Table of Contents + What Is A Push Day Workout Routine? Muscles Worked in a Push Day Workout The Best Push Day Workout Routine for Size and Strength What Are the Benefits of Push Day Workouts? ...

Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify | Listen on YouTube What’s the best way to boost your endurance without overtraining or getting injured? Should you try to “hack” your physiology with hard intervals, Tabata workouts, and HIIT? Should you mimic the training methods of famous athletes? Or something else entirely? In this episode, I chat with Dr. Stephen Seiler, an exercise physiologist renowned for his work studying and documenting the training practices of elite endurance athletes, including cross-country skiers, cyclists, rowers, swimmers, runners, skaters, and others, and for extracting the key principles from these training programs and adapting them for recreational athletes. In this episode, you’ll learn . . . The importance of endurance training for overall health and fitness How to use optimize your endurance workouts with the “three-zone model” The best intensity for improving your cardiovascular fitness over time How to effectively balance the frequenc...

Arching your back while bench pressing is a point of undue controversy in the fitness space, with many labeling it a “risky” way to “cheat” at the lift. This criticism is unfounded.  Arching your back is a legitimate technique that can help you lift more weight and reduce the risk of injury . It’s not only useful for powerlifters, either—anyone looking to gain muscle and strength can leverage its benefits. In this article, you’ll learn what a bench press arch is, why people arch their back while bench pressing , how much it benefits your efforts to gain strength and muscle, and more.  Table of Contents + What Is Back Arching in the Bench Press? Why Do People Arch Their Back When Bench Pressing? How Much More Can You Lift When Benching With an Arch? Is Arching Your Back While Benching Cheating? Is Arching Your Back While Benching Safe? Should You Arch Your Back When Benching? How to Improve Your Bench Press Back Arch What Is Back Arching in the Bench Pres...

Emphasizing exercises for the triceps lateral head is vital for two reasons.  First, the lateral head is the strongest part of your triceps, so strengthening it can significantly boost your performance on key pressing exercises like the bench and overhead press. And second, it’s the most visible part of your triceps when your arms are at your sides, so developing it plays a big part in making your arms look bigger when you’re standing naturally. Fortunately, building the “outer” head of your triceps is straightforward. It mostly comes down to doing the following nine exercises: Close-grip bench press Bench press Dip Overhead press JM press Triceps pushdown Skullcrusher Diamond push -up Bench dip In this article, you’ll learn how to perform these exercises with proper form, understand how to organize them into an effective lateral head triceps workout, get tips for maximizing your gains, and more.  Table of Contents + What Is the Triceps Lateral Head? ...