In 2022, my team and I published 160 articles on the Legion blog and another 161 episodes of The Muscle for Life podcast.
Exercise instructionals and articles about training were predictably popular, though posts about so-called “natural steroids,” such as turkesterone and bodybuilding peptides, were also surprisingly well-received.
We’re already hustling to rustle up all kinds of new content for the coming year, so if you like what you see on this list, you’ll love what’s coming in 2023.
Here are the top 10 articles published on Legion in 2022.
The Best Pull Day Workouts for Building Your Back and Biceps
Pull workouts are ten a penny online, but most miss the mark.
They either have you training some “pulling” muscles too much and others not enough, doing excessive sets and reps, or performing ineffective exercises that’ll never get you the strong back and developed biceps you want.
Learn a better way to organize your pull workouts in this article:
The Best Pull Day Workouts for Building Your Back and Biceps
The Definitive Guide on How to Lean Bulk
Many people shy away from bulking because they think it necessarily involves gaining a lot of fat.
It doesn’t have to be this way, though.
If you bulk intelligently by regulating your calorie and macronutrient intake, you can ensure the majority of the weight you gain is muscle, not flab.
This method of bulking is called “lean bulking,” and you can learn how to do it in this article:
The Definitive Guide on How to Lean Bulk
The 10 Best Rear Delt Exercises for Mass and Hypertrophy
Many lifters don’t give much thought to training their rear delts.
This is a mistake.
Training your rear delts makes your shoulders look more aesthetic and may reduce your risk of injury and improve your athletic performance.
This article teaches you how to make your rear delt training as effective as possible and the best rear delt exercises for gaining muscle and strength:
The 10 Best Rear Delt Exercises for Mass and Hypertrophy
The Best Upper Lower Split Workout Routines for Gaining Muscle and Strength
The upper lower split is a workout routine that separates your workouts into upper- and lower-body workouts.
It’s popular because it’s simple, flexible, and effective. Provided it’s “programmed” well, it also allows you to train your entire body efficiently without ever overextending yourself.
Like any workout split, however, if you follow a poorly designed upper lower workout routine, you risk overtraining, getting injured, and making little progress.
Avoid these pitfalls and learn the best upper lower split routines for gaining muscle and strength in this article:
The Best Upper Lower Split Workout Routines for Gaining Muscle and Strength
The Complete Guide to Turkesterone Supplements
Turkesterone is an “ecdysteroid” that some people take as a health and fitness supplement.
It’s a matter of the moment because studies apparently show that taking turkesterone can boost muscle protein synthesis and muscle growth, enhance physical performance, improve glucose sensitivity, appetite, and digestion, lower cholesterol levels, and more.
How much of this is true, though, and how much is internet hype and marketing hot air?
Learn the answers in this article:
The Complete Guide to Turkesterone Supplements
How to Do the Barbell Hip Thrust: Form, Mistakes & Alternatives
When it comes to building strong, powerful glutes, few exercises are as effective as the hip thrust.
That said, if you want to get the most out of it, you have to know how to perform it correctly and avoid a few common mistakes.
And that’s exactly what you’ll learn in this article:
How to Do the Barbell Hip Thrust: Form, Mistakes & Alternatives
The 12 Best Deadlift Variations for Building Muscle and Gaining Strength
Many people think that the “conventional deadlift” is the only type of deadlift worth doing.
While the conventional deadlift is a fantastic exercise, it’s not ideal for everyone.
Some think it’s uncomfortable. Others find that it beats up their joints. And still others don’t like it due to personal preference.
If you fall into any of these camps, here’s the good news: you can gain muscle and strength just as effectively with other deadlift variations.
In this article, you’ll learn 12 of the best deadlift variations, so no matter what your goals or circumstances, you’ll be able to find a deadlift that works for you:
The 12 Best Deadlift Variations for Building Muscle and Gaining Strength
How to Do the Lat Pulldown: Form, Benefits, & Variations
When it comes to “vertical pulling” exercises, many think the pull-up and chin-up are unrivaled.
While this isn’t off-base, it isn’t entirely accurate, either.
The lat pulldown trains the same muscles to a similar degree as the pull-up and chin-up. Moreover, it has a few advantages over the pull-up and chin-up that make it particularly useful for new weightlifters.
Learn what these advantages are and how to perform the lat pulldown with proper form in this article:
How to Do the Lat Pulldown: Form, Benefits, & Variations
How to Do the Dumbbell Step-up: Benefits, Muscles Worked, and Alternatives
The dumbbell step-up is an exercise most people should be doing but aren’t.
It trains all the muscles in your lower body, helps eliminate size and strength imbalances, boosts your squat performance, and is easier on your knees and back than many other lower-body exercises.
An all-around winner, basically.
Learn how to do it with proper form in this article:
How to Do the Dumbbell Step-up: Benefits, Muscles Worked, and Alternatives
Are Bodybuilding Peptides a Safe and Effective Alternative to Steroids?
Bodybuilding peptides are a type of drug that supplement sellers often portray as a safe, legal alternative to anabolic steroids.
In recent years, their sales have surged, mainly thanks to supplement companies’ claims that they boost fat loss and muscle gain safely and naturally.
Is this true?
Are peptides a kind of “steroids lite” that offer half the gains but none of the nasty side effects and thorny legal concerns?
Learn the truth in this article:
Are Bodybuilding Peptides a Safe and Effective Alternative to Steroids?
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