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 their lower body, we’ve got the answer for you. Even better? I’ll tell you what happens when you don’t skip leg day in the gym!
Why People Skip Leg Workouts
Not everyone who jokes about skipping leg day actually does it, of course — but some people do. People skip leg workouts for 2 main reasons, in my estimation:
- Leg workouts are hard
– There is no getting around this fact - Movies, magazines, and social media have long prioritized your “show muscles” or the “muscles you can see” over lower-body muscles.
– This means people generally prioritize their arms and their chest
So… are leg workouts harder? They certainly can be. Training your legs creates a larger amount of systemic fatigue because you end up using your entire body all at the same time. And you can generally lift more weight with your legs than with your arms, anyway!
Compare a seated dumbbell bicep curl with a barbell back squat, for example. Someone might curl 30lbs to 50lbs using this single joint (your elbow). This is called an “isolation” exercise. If this is what you’re looking for, there is nothing wrong with it if you want to focus on building your biceps.
But in a barbell back squat, a person might move 200lbs, 300lbs, or even 500lbs. The whole of your lower body is involved to move the weight. However, in order to stabilize the bar, your core muscles as well as your upper body muscles have to be involved otherwise it simply wouldn’t happen. This is an example of a “compound” exercise and compound movements are generally more effective for driving results.
This doesn’t mean you couldn’t create a challenging upper-body workout (you certainly can), but lower body workouts tend to take a little more effort and create a bit more fatigue (and better results).
What Happens When You Don’t Skip Leg Day?
If you spend 90% of your time working 50% of your body, you can create significant imbalances that don’t translate to everyday function [let alone athletic performance]. Again, if your only goal is a monster chest, we can help you build it.
However, most people are interested in weight loss, fat loss, functional fitness, athletic performance, pain-free movement, and greater total-body strength. If you have any of these goals, it is best not to skip leg day.
Why leg day?
- You’ll boost your total energy expenditure
- This is really an ‘on average’ thing.
- More muscle = higher metabolism
- You’ll improve your athletic performance
- Building a base level of strength will help with athletic pursuits and power output
- Not to mention more durability, in general — translation? You’ll get hurt less often
- You’ll increase your bone density
- Your body changes based on what you do to it. Bone density is no different
- You can support your hormonal health
- Heavy lower body strength training can trigger the release of more growth hormone and testosterone
- These hormones can help build muscle, burn fat, and more healthily manage your daily stressors
- A muscular butt
- Because why not?
We Can Help You Reach Your Goal
Now that you know why some people skip leg day, you shouldn’t be that person. If you have a very specific reason for avoiding it (an injury, for example), then sure you could make that argument. But, and this is a big but, it should be for a very limited amount of time. Then, leg day!
How often should you train your legs? Depending on what your goals are, twice per week could be a very good 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.
To find out more about using a coach to accomplish your health and fitness goals, book a free consult HERE. We’re here to help you!
