"My results weren’t as fast as other people, but I learned how to appreciate my hard work."
Matan's Progress
Before
12 Months
12 Months
What has happened so far on the program?
I am 28 years old and in 12 months I went from 154 pounds and 16% body fat to 150 pounds and 9.5% body fat.
Because I was “skinny fat”, I didn’t know if I should start by cutting or bulking. I decided I should cut first because I had too much belly fat.
I did a cut for around 3 months (I didn’t lose much weight because I didn’t count calories), then bulked for 5 months, and finished with a 3 month cut.
After using Bigger Leaner Stronger in the beginning, I switched to Beyond Bigger Leaner Stronger and I’m enjoying every second of it. In addition, I started my next bulking phase and I find myself appreciating food much more than before (I used intermittent fasting while cutting to save calories for big meals).
My form has improved and my lifts have gone up significantly.
My bench press went from 90lbs to 145lbs and my military press went from 75lbs to 130lbs
I improved my form and my weights on my squat. I went from 175lbs with poor form to 240lbs with proper form.
My deadlift also had a huge improvement. Before, I lifted 155lbs with terrible form, and now I lift 285lbs with good form (more than twice my weight).
What, if anything, almost kept you from buying the book or starting the program?
We live in a world where everything has to be instant. The idea of buying and investing my time into reading a book instead of watching a 5 minute, well edited video kept me from buying it the most. I tried other programs, but they all left me frustrated.
After I watched some of Mike’s videos, I got the feeling that he was an honest person who wants to help other people, unlike other, bigger companies that just want to sell you their products.
My results weren’t as fast as other people, but that was OK for me, because I learned how to appreciate my hard work.
These days, I am actually finding myself getting addicted to cooking (I bought the latest version of The Shredded Chef) and lifting.
How does this program compare with others you’ve tried?
I tried some other programs that did not explain why you were doing the things they told you to do. They just told me what to do and left it at that, which left me frustrated.
First, when trying the workouts in BLS, I had a strange feeling I was doing things wrong; three minute breaks between sets sounded ridiculous. But, with time, I actually enjoyed the breaks and started doing some chores in between sets (I workout at home because don’t like the vibes I get at gyms).
When comparing BLS to the other programs I’ve used, I enjoy it much more, because I learned the science behind the program and now know how to tweak things to fit my needs.
How has what you’ve achieved with your body changed other areas of your life?
I am absolutely more confident. Now I have the motivation to help other people close to me improve their lives.
Along with more confidence, I am much more productive and have much more energy.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I found that, for myself, my food intake was more important than doing cardio for weight loss. Whenever I hit a plateau, I had much easier time adding to my deficit than doing more cardio.
I got rid of all the sugary snacks I had in my home (removing all the temptations made it a lot easier) and I started using an app to weigh and track all the foods I ate. From there on, I was on the track to success.
My last tip is, when cutting, stick to mostly low calorie foods (like salads, cauliflower, broccoli, and soups). That way, you can finish your meals feeling full and at a caloric deficit.
Mike Matthews is the founder of Legion as well as the author of several award-winning fitness books, including Bigger Leaner Stronger, Muscle for Life, and The Shredded Chef.
His simple and science-based approach to building muscle, losing fat, and getting healthy has sold over a million books and helped thousands of people build their best bodies ever, and his work has been featured in many popular outlets including Esquire, Men’s Health, Elle, Women’s Health, Muscle & Strength, and more, as well as on FOX and ABC.
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Also, if you don’t absolutely love our stuff for whatever reason, we don’t request you deliver it to a PO box in the Gobi Desert by carrier pigeon.
We just . . . wait for it . . . give you your money back. No returns. No forms. No nonsense. Holy moo cows.
That means you can say “yes” now and decide later. You really have nothing to lose.
Free Worldwide Shipping & Returns
Many companies use shipping and handling fees to increase their profit margins, but here at Legion, we hate profits, so our shipping is free!
Okay, so we do dig on profits, but we also go in for happy customers, and free shipping works like gangbusters. So, if you live in the UK or Canada, your order ships free when it’s over $99.
Why the restriction on international orders? Unfortunately, shipping abroad is very expensive, and if we didn’t require a minimum order size, we’d lose a lot of money. But! We're also hustling to improve our international logistics and will be passing our savings along to our international customers.
Also, if you don’t absolutely love our stuff for whatever reason, we don’t request you deliver it to a PO box in the Gobi Desert by carrier pigeon.
We just . . . wait for it . . . give you your money back. No returns. No forms. No nonsense. Holy moo cows.
That means you can say “yes” now and decide later. You really have nothing to lose.
Free Worldwide Shipping & Returns
Many companies use shipping and handling fees to increase their profit margins, but here at Legion, we hate profits, so our shipping is free!
Okay, so we do dig on profits, but we also go in for happy customers, and free shipping works like gangbusters. So, if you’re outside the USA, your order ships free when it’s over $199.
Why the restriction on international orders? Unfortunately, shipping abroad is very expensive, and if we didn’t require a minimum order size, we’d lose a lot of money. But! We're also hustling to improve our international logistics and will be passing our savings along to our international customers.
Also, if you don’t absolutely love our stuff for whatever reason, we don’t request you deliver it to a PO box in the Gobi Desert by carrier pigeon.
We just . . . wait for it . . . give you your money back. No returns. No forms. No nonsense. Holy moo cows.
That means you can say “yes” now and decide later. You really have nothing to lose.
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Many ingredients in supplements don’t have any scientifically validated benefits, and many ingredients that do are often underdosed to the point of irrelevance.
That’s why we only use the choice ingredients and precise doses shown to be effective in peer-reviewed scientific studies.
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That’s why all of our supplements are made in America in NSF-certified and FDA-inspected facilities that operate in accordance with the Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) regulations.
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That’s why we test every ingredient of every supplement we produce for heavy metals, microbes, allergens, and other contaminants and ensure they meet the strict purity standards set by the FDA.
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That’s why all of our supplements are naturally sweetened and flavored and contain no artificial food dyes, fillers, or other unnecessary junk.
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Many ingredients in supplements don’t have any scientifically validated benefits. That’s why we only use choice ingredients shown to be effective in peer-reviewed scientific studies.
No Chemical Junk
“Natural” doesn’t always mean “better,” but in many cases, natural ingredients are superior to artificial ones for various reasons, including purity, safety, and efficacy.
That’s why all of our ingredients in all of our products come from plant and animal sources, including sweeteners, colors, and flavors.
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In consideration of the services and/or products offered by Legion Athletics, Inc. (“Legion”) including, but not limited to, nutrition plans, exercise routines and coaching, and in addition to the payment of any fee or charge:
I knowingly and voluntarily enter into this waiver and release of liability and hereby waive any and all rights, claims or causes of action of any kind whatsoever arising out of my use of Legion’s services and/or products, and I hereby release and hold harmless Legion and its consultants, officers, contractors, agents, owners and employees from any and all responsibility, liability, cost and expenses, including for injuries, damages or disorders (physical, metabolic, or otherwise), resulting from my use of Legion’s services and/or products.
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This is the content
Some popular pre-workouts are all-natural. Some contain the right mix of high-quality ingredients. Some provide clinically effective doses. But only Pulse checks each of these boxes.
Pulse doesn’t just “contain natural ingredients''—every ingredient is naturally sourced from plants and animals. Pulse contains no artificial or synthetic substances of any kind.
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While these types of chemicals may not be as dangerous as some people claim, studies suggest that regular consumption of them may indeed be harmful to our health. And that’s why we don’t put any of them into our products.
Before you buy a sports supplement, you should know that it's clean, safe, and transparent. And that's exactly what Labdoor's third-party testing and certification means.
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If you don’t absolutely love this product, just let us know, and we’ll give you a full refund on the spot. No forms or return necessary.
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Analyzed for purity and potency in a state-of-the-art ISO 17025 accredited lab by Labdoor™, the gold standard of third-party lab testing.
Analyzed for purity and potency in a state-of-the-art ISO 17025 accredited lab, the gold standard of third-party lab testing.
This product doesn’t just “contain natural ingredients”—every ingredient is naturally sourced from plants and animals. This product contains no artificial or synthetic sweeteners or flavors of any kind.
Our scientific review board of nutritionists, dietitians, molecular biologists, doctors, and other accredited experts is responsible for reviewing every article, podcast, and video we produce to ensure they’re evidence based, accurate, trustworthy, and current.
Thanks to their connections, credentials, and academic experience, this team of MDs, PhDs, and other professionals has access to a wealth of research published in the largest and most prestigious journals in the world.
This allows them to not only review individual studies but also analyze the overall weight of the evidence on any and all topics related to diet, exercise, supplementation, and more.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, misleading, out-of-date, or anything less than factual, please let us know in the comments section of the article in question.
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We follow a detailed, rigorous, multi-step process to create content that meets the highest standards of clarity, practicality, and scientific integrity.
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