Leg Workout

The Leg Workout is the most demanding workout routine in the gym. It is for this reason that it is the one most shy away from or ignore completely. After all, legs cannot be displayed as prominently or as often as the big guns, can they?

One can easily identify those who are serious and well-informed about their training by taking a quick glance at their lower-body development.

The Dreaded Chicken-Legs 

Do you see something not quite right in this picture?

Excellent physique when the pants are on. Show-off material to woo the women, yes, but what about the time you go for a swim? Are you going to keep your long pants on even then?

This is known as the dreaded chicken-legs and no serious heavy-metal lifter would be in this situation.

The body looks disproportionate, cartoonish-ly silly even.

But there is an even more serious drawback to the chicken-leg physique. This imbalance in muscle mass puts a lot of pressure on the underdeveloped lower half of the body. That half of the body should be strongly developed as it carries, and balances, the  entire upper half.

This can lead to serious injury.

Why do we need to match our Upper and Lower Body Mass?

It is often said that you should not skip leg workouts. Incorporating leg day in your weekly or bi-weekly gym routine is important, and even deemed compulsory, for many reasons as we will discuss. However, they are the ones that are the first to be dismissed in favour of the upper-body workout.

Leg workouts are an integral part of a whole-body fitness routine. It develops strength, speed, and stability originating from the feet, moving through the core and into the upper body.

Consistency is key with your leg training as these are large muscles that support the entire body, the entire day, every day. So, they are used to being used and worked just performing our everyday activities. In order to work them for further development, they need to be pushed past what they are accustomed to. This is where the problem lies for most people. 

Developing such a large and powerful muscle group demands commitment and a whole lot of effort. The reason why legs are usually trained by themselves is that, if done correctly, one rarely has any steam left over for another body part.

Strong leg muscles keep your body balanced and forms a strong connection between you and the ground.

Just like the tires of a car, if they are bad, it doesn’t matter how powerful your car is as it won’t stay on the road.

Achieving this connection is not possible if you focus solely on your upper body.

Overtraining your quads and neglecting your glutes and hamstrings is another common issue. Do you only work out your biceps and not triceps in an arm routine? Unless you are doing a split routine where they are exercised on different days, NO we don’t. Even on a split routine, both are worked on in the same cycle.

The quads balance the hamstrings and glutes and focusing only on the quads would leave the rear part of your legs dangerously unbalanced and weak. 

Most people do not realize that lower-body strength indirectly comes into play while performing all types of upper-body movements such as throwing, pulling, lifting, or grabbing something overhead.

The picture shows balanced leg development between the front (quads) and back (hamstrings) sections of the leg.

What you need to know

The most important point to understand:

The biggest muscle groups in your body are all found in the lower half of the body. The muscles of the Legs are designed to bear heavy loads and for a long period of time. The combination of your glutes, hamstrings, calf, and quads dwarf all muscle groups found elsewhere in your body, both, in terms of muscle fiber quantity and muscle fiber density.

There are thicker and more numerous muscle fibers in your lower body than anywhere else.

Build muscle: Lose Fat

Your body is one whole organism that functions as a whole and not a sum of parts. A strenuous leg workout will leave you with a higher metabolism. This causes the burning of body fat from all over your body. There will also be a lot of damaged muscle fibers that need repairing and your body repairs muscle fibers by releasing more Human Growth Hormone and Testosterone, thus signaling for increased protein synthesis.

Testosterone: repair of damaged muscle proteins and building of skeletal muscle.

HGH: promotes muscle growth, boosts immunity, and fat metabolism.

Keeps the core tight

The core is usually the weakest link in everyone’s chain unless you already have a six-pack. It allows the transition of strength and energy from the upper to the lower body and vice versa.

A weak core would drastically lower your lifting capability and put a lot of pressure on your lower back and groin muscles. Lower-Body workouts automatically force you to tighten your core. Together with your normal abdominal routine and fat loss, those six-packs need not be a dream.

Lower Back Pain

Yes! you read that right.

The back muscles, the glutes, and the hamstrings are all interrelated. If really strong back muscle fibers are followed by weak glutes and hamstrings, it results in a weakened structure. Many people do not realize that strengthening these muscles alleviates lower back pain.

That is why it is important to not overtrain the quads but balance the training with the glutes and hamstrings. Just like the biceps and triceps in your arm.

Risk of Injury

If you avoid your lower half, either due to laziness or misinformation, you are inviting the injury reaper.

Muscle imbalances between muscle groups, poorly developed glutes and hamstrings, and a lack of mobility will eventually haunt you with low back pain and ACL injuries. The main exercises at the very least, i.e. Squats, lunges, and deadlifts, help develop your hamstrings, build muscle around weak joints and promote stability.

 If you’re on a three-day-a-week workout split, one day should be dedicated to leg workouts.

Do not neglect the calves

This is another area which is often neglected. There are a group of people who may work their legs, albeit half-heartedly, and ignore their calves completely. They are mostly hidden, right?

The calves support the legs, which in turn support the upper body. It’s a whole remember. Underdeveloped calves would result in muscle imbalance issues and injuries, especially putting a lot of pressure on the ankles and knees.

Make sure you include calve training in your leg workout.

Main compound exercises for your leg workout

Compound exercises recruit the highest rate of muscle fibers. These exercises would give you the best results and isolation exercises for the lower body should be performed after some gain in muscle mass, at the very least. The best examples of lower body compound lifts include:

• Squats
• Deadlifts
• Leg Press
• Hip Thrusts
• Barbell Lunge
• Barbell Step-Up

Is it alright to skip a leg workout day?

Yes, it is. Sometimes you may need to take a break.

It has already been confirmed that the leg workout takes the most effort and puts heavy stress on the body. Skip a leg workout day if you are still sore, have an injury, or are just not 100%. This could also be the day you are feeling very tired.

If you have a cold, you can still work out. But you should reduce the duration and intensity.

Skip the workout totally if you have chest congestion, a stomachache, or a dry cough. Other symptoms that warrant a break include fever, tiredness, or extensive muscle pain.

Taking time off will contrarily help to ensure a speedy recovery.

Also Read: Muscle Imbalance