Skipping Leg Day - Blog Copy
BLOG TITLE: Why Do People Skip Leg Day in the Gym?
If you’re interested in fitness, you’ve probably heard a few jokes about “skipping leg day.”
If you’ve ever wondered why people avoid training the lower body, I’ve got the answer for you.
Even better, I’ll tell you what happens when you don’t skip leg day in the gym.
HEAD: Why People Skip Leg Workouts
Of course, not everyone who jokes about skipping leg day actually does it—but some people do.
People skip leg workouts for two main reasons:
1. Leg workouts can be challenging.
2. Movies, magazines and social media have long prioritized “muscles you can see” over lower-body muscles, so people prioritize upper-body muscles—usually the chest and arms.
So are leg workouts harder? They can be, mostly because almost everyone can move more weight with the legs than the arms. And when you train the legs, you often end up using many parts of the body all at once.
Compare a seated dumbbell biceps curl to a barbell back squat. Someone might curl 30 or 50 lb. using just the biceps and a few shoulder and forearm muscles. This is called an “isolation exercise,” and there’s nothing wrong with it if you just want to focus on the biceps during that exercise.
But in a barbell back squat, a person might move 200 or even 300 lb. The calves, quads, hamstrings and glutes are all involved, but so are all the core muscles, and many great lifters even tense their upper-body muscles during a squat to provide the most support for a heavy bar. This is an example of a “compound exercise,” and these movements pack a punch!
That, of course, doesn’t mean you can’t create challenging upper-body workouts. You can. But leg workouts tend to take a little extra effort.
As for aesthetics, many people want big arms and a huge chest, so they work the upper body more than the legs. There’s nothing wrong with that if your goal is only to have large upper-body muscles, but most of our clients who have aesthetic goals actually prefer a more balanced look.
HEAD: What Happens When You Don’t Skip Leg Day
If you spend 90 percent of your time working 50 percent of your body, you can create significant imbalances that don’t translate to athletic performance or everyday function.
Again, if your only goal is a monster chest, we can help you build it.
But most of our clients are interested in weight loss, fat loss, functional fitness, athletic performance, pain-free movement and greater total-body strength.
If you have any of those goals, it’s best not to skip leg day—though I’ll be sure to state that we can absolutely help someone with a lower-body injury accomplish their goals without leg training.
But if someone can work the lower body, doing so has a host of benefits. The large muscles of the legs use a lot of fuel, so working them is great for weight and fat loss.
Almost all sports use the legs, so strong, powerful stems always improve success on the field or court.
In everyday life, the legs are always active, so training them makes everything easier. If you need two examples, imagine carrying heavy bags of groceries up a flight of stairs or picking a small child off the floor.
Training the leg muscles also prevents imbalances. Imagine if an older person has strong arms but weak legs. In that scenario, it’s much more likely that person will experience lower-body pain because the muscles that support those joints are too weak.
Finally, people who have aesthetic goals are often looking for a more muscular appearance overall. In fact, the best bodybuilders train their legs hard so they achieve a “balanced” look.
HEAD: We Can Help You Reach Any Goal
Now you know why some people skip leg day.
Our advice: Train your legs regularly unless you have a very specific reason for avoiding it, such as an injury or a very narrow focus on one aspect of fitness.
How often should you work your legs? Twice a week is a general starting point.
Remember, whatever you’re looking to accomplish in the gym, we can help. We’ll meet with you, answer your questions and give you a detailed plan to help you reach your goals.
In almost all cases, your plan will involve leg training. But if an injury doesn’t allow you to train your legs, we can adjust the plan to suit you.
To find out more about using a coach to accomplish your health and fitness goals, book a free consultation here [LINK].