Chris Barakat on Optimizing Peri-Workout Nutrition – Legion Athletics 0 Written by Michael Matthews  If you like to geek out, this episode is for you. That’s because I’m getting into the weeds with Chris Barakat on peri-workout nutrition. If you don’t know what that means, peri-workout nutrition refers to the food you eat before, during,…

Few exercises are as visually stunning as a well-executed power clean: Someone rips a loaded barbell off the floor, swings it overhead, drops into a quarter squat to catch it on their shoulders, and then stands up. In addition to looking cool, the power clean is also one of the best exercises for developing explosive…

Learning how to start a diet is tough, but learning how to stick to a diet is even tougher. Diet motivation is easy to come by in the first few weeks—your weight plummets, hunger rarely rears its head, and you wonder why you didn’t start earlier. After a month or so, though, weight loss comes…

Ep. #756: Should You Be Taking Reishi Mushroom Supplements? – Legion Athletics 0 Home / Blog / Podcast / Ep. #756: Should You Be Taking Reishi Mushroom Supplements? Written by Michael Matthews Mushrooms seem to be all the rage these days. What are the health benefits of mushrooms, though? Well, it depends on the type,…

How many months’ progress do your pictures represent? What were your stats for each picture? They represent 8 weeks. In the first picture, before I started the program, I weighed 136 pounds and I was about 33-34% body. In the after picture, I weighed 125 pounds and I was about 23-24% body fat. I cut…

“Can you recommend a book for…?” “What are you reading right now?” “What are your favorite books?” I get asked those types of questions a lot and, as an avid reader and all-around bibliophile, I’m always happy to oblige. I also like to encourage people to read as much as possible because knowledge benefits you…

BMR stands for basal metabolic rate and is the average amount of calories your body requires to keep your organs alive every day. That is, it’s an estimate of the absolute minimum number of calories your body requires to sustain basic functions like breathing, hormone production, cellular repair, and nothing more. You can accurately estimate…

How Do You Increase Urgency and Necessity? – Legion Athletics 0 Written by Michael Matthews  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,…

Says You! Why Do Front Squats? – Legion Athletics 0 1622130811 1622174340 — DAYS — HOURS — MINUTES — SECONDS Written by Michael Matthews I’ve written and recorded a lot of evidence-based content over the years on just about everything you can imagine related to building muscle, losing fat, and getting healthy. I’ve also worked…

You’ve probably heard that you need to eat plenty of carbs to maximize your ability to gain muscle and strength, but why is this the case? Here’s how the logic breaks down:  The primary source of fuel for your muscles during intense exercise is a form of carbohydrate stored in the body known as glycogen…