Do I need to train my legs i hear you ask? Surely this type of question is asked in hope more than seriousness. Hell yeah you need to train your legs! One of the most common misconceptions of beginners looking to build muscle is that they do not need to train their legs because no-one can see them. This is complete rubbish and is definitly not an excuse to neglect your leg workouts. Your legs are half of your body, they need to be trained just like the rest of your body.
Do I Need to Train My Legs?
Lets take a closer look as to why you should train your legs.
Increased Muscle Mass. Just like any other body part, training your legs will add additional muscle mass to your body giving your legs more shape and definition overtime. Studies have actually shown that by performing regular leg training, the release of testosterone and growth hormone are actually increased. Testosterone and growth hormone are both classed as natural muscle building hormones meaning a better chance of muscle growth from occuring throughout the body.
This could result in additional growth for other muscle groups and is why a lot of people on forums will tell you to squat to get big arms. Obviously squats work your leg muscles and core but due to the additional release of hormones it may to a certain extent help other areas of your body to grow and progress!
Balance and Support. Training your legs will balance out your body. No-one wants a top heavy physique. With a good looking upper body and a weak skinny lower body your going to look a bit stupid so bang them leg workouts out and become strong and muscular throughout your whole body.
Easier Day to Day Tasks. Day to day tasks and real life situations will become a lot easier if you have a strong lower body. Kneeling down for prolonged periods of time to sort the washing out, Picking up and moving your sofa or TV around the room, or simply carrying bags of shopping in from your car, all of these situations require the use of your lower body to perform effectively. In fact, the majority of physical tasks will require the use of your leg muscles whether your aware of it or not so a strong muscular lower body can go a long way in helping day to day tasks and real life situations become a lot easier.
Athleticism. Leg training is great for improving your athleticism. All athletic movements involve your lower body body to a certain extent so strong muscular legs will do wonders for your athleticism. Also if you play a sport that requires a certain amount of athleticism, leg training will help you a lot!
To Move Some Real Weight. Dumbbell bicep curls and tricep extensions are all well and good but how about packing some real weight onto the bar. Squats and deadlifts allow you to add a lot of weight to the bar and progress can normally be made a lot quicker on these two exercises than any other. Nothing beats the feeling of knowing you’ve just put (depending on the lifting experience of the athlete) 100+ pounds onto your back and squatted down to the floor and back up until failure. A lot of people shy away from such training so be prepared to turn a few heads in the gym once you start loading up that bar.
To Prove Your Man Enough. Its true that leg work is some of the most tiring and exhausting work you are likely to do in the gym but that doesnt mean you should neglect it. If you have time to work the smaller muscles in your body you can make time to work the larger ones! Legs are one of the biggest muscle groups you have and play a big part in any physical work you do. If your continously skipping leg day and shying away from it because its too hard, you should really think about why you are working out in the first place.
This type of attitude can carry through to your other workouts and eventually you will quit. Learn to love the challenge. Love the progress you make and strive for more, love the feeling of continously adding weight to the bar and knowing you can do something 99% of your friends and family cant. Now go squat!!
Sex Appeal. Yep thats right. Training your legs can actually increase your sex appeal. Strange one I know but the fact of the matter is, performing heavy compound exercises such as deadlifts and squats will shape your bottom half as well as your bum! Now, studies have actually shown that a great looking bum is one of the biggest turn ons for both men and women.
Hopefully there are enough reasons here as to why you should train your legs. As I mentioned earlier, legs are half of your body and should be trained! Strong legs will make any physical work a lot easier for you and will greatly improve your performance in certain sports where running and sprinting are key to your success. Training legs can also increase your chances of staying injury free from your sport so DO NOT neglect your leg training!
