🏋️‍♂️ 12 high-protein veggies that pack on mass

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Here’s what you’ll find in today’s newsletter:

• Hit your macros with these high-protein vegetables.

• A look inside the infamous “Bulgarian Method.”

• The best exercises to grow your lats.

Nutrition

Meatless Gains

Hitting your protein amounts every day can be a challenge. After all, there is only so much chicken breast your taste buds can tolerate. But if you need a boost of protein that doesn’t involve temptations of the flesh, we’ve rounded up a list of some high-protein vegetables to indulge in.

Sure, spinach and peas don’t pack the punch of a quarter-pound of top sirloin, but these low-calorie veggies can help chip away at your lofty daily protein goals.

Other options include a cornucopia of beans and legumes, as well as side dishes you might have relegated to the “friend zone” that is carbohydrate intake, such as the mighty sweet potato. When prioritizing your protein intake, consider the plant.

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Feature

Eastern Bloc Periodization

Few training programs have as much mythology built up around them as the fabled Bulgarian Method. This high-intensity method of weightlifting training required complete devotion, a group of genetic outliers, and a single-minded focus on heaving up ever-heavier weights.

Bulgaria, a small country set on the Black Sea that allied with the Soviet Union during the Cold War, made Olympic Weightlifting its national obsession from the ‘70s through the early ‘00s. With limited funds and a smaller population, famed Bulgarian coach Ivan Abadjiev needed a radical training style to keep up with the Joneses. His method? Train 8-10 hours a day, and max out 50-60 times a day across the snatch, clean and jerk, and squat. Makes your training look pretty tame, doesn’t it?

The results speak for themselves: Between 1972 and 2012, the Bulgarian Method produced 37 Olympic medals. But the team hasn’t won anything since, and a series of drug-related controversies have dinged its reputation even further. Below, we dive into this infamous training style and talk to one of the athletes who actually partook in it.

Exercise Tips

Lats for Days

An important muscle for stabilization through the big compound lifts (and the key to filling out a T-shirt), the lats make up a significant portion of the middle and upper back.

While there are a whole host of exercises you can do to work the lats, BarBend has compiled the 10 best lat exercises to get you on the right track.

The latissimus dorsi muscle group responds well to both high load and high volume, making a combination of weighted chin-ups and lat pull-downs a great workout. You can also pull in the horizontal direction with barbell rows and inverted TRX rows. Whatever direction you choose to go in, we’ve got a detailed map for your goals in the link below.

Everything Else

Don’t Let DOMs Get You Down

• Figuring out if you need to push through or take a rest when muscle soreness hits you in the face is a challenge every lifter faces. Learn how to get yourself right when the DOMs attack.

• Top strongwoman competitor Hanna Coldiron sits down with David Tao on The BarBend Podcast to discuss her previous life as a CrossFitter, and the pros and cons of converting to Strongman.

• Former World’s Strongest Man Eddie Hall is getting back into the fight game. This time, he’s facing current WSM defending champion Mitchell Hooper in an MMA match, which is set to take place on February 17 in Qatar.

Sound Off!

Give Us a Grade

The Results Are In

How Do You Recover?

In the October 23, 2023, edition of The BarBend Newsletter, we asked you to name your favorite way to recover after a workout. Here’s how you voted:

1. Stretching (27.65%)

2. Sauna (24.88%)

3. Something else (21.20%)

4. Massage (10.60%)

5. Foam roller (10.14%)

6. Cold plunge (5.53%)