If you find yourself skipping leg day like Farris Bueller skips school, you’re not alone. But as a rule, it’s not the ladies who are doing the skipping. It’s the guys. The gym rats. The lean-mean fighting machines. But when it comes to legs, they cry like a baby at daycare. Why is that? Here’s the consensus amongst the self-proclaimed gym rats.
7 Reasons Why You Want to Skip Leg Day
- The majority of men say Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) is their number one reason for not working the legs. You need your legs to stand on, move and run the next day and the soreness that legs produce seems to top any other muscle group. Guys start anticipating the age-old question, “How bad will this hurt?” And suddenly skipping becomes a viable option in their minds.
- Another popular answer among the gym’s finest, no one sees your legs. Or, that’s how it feels during fall and winter. But as we all know, summer comes, and suddenly you’re Chicken Little.
- They say, “No pain, no gain.” But the reality is that when you do squats, you are working a huge muscle group, and you’re going to feel it! Not just the DOMS pain later, but sweating like a pig, vein-popping pain is happening NOW. Many times, squats are paired with an upper body exercise as well, which means, even more, misery for you.
- According to some guys, no one is looking at your legs. You don’t hear, “Check out that guy’s legs,” very often. But strut up to beach volleyball with your t-shirt stretched around gigantic guns and everyone pays attention.
- Several guys noted that your upper body looks weak on leg day, because you aren’t working it. So if you get a kick out of staring at yourself as you pump iron, you might never make it around to the legs.
- The guys who say they are hitting the gym solely to make themselves more desirable to the ladies say that they feel like leg results take too long. They say there is too little payoff up against the bravado of strong shoulders, sculpted chest, and biceps.
- Even your ego can keep you from working your lower body. If you never consistently work your legs, you feel even less confident at the gym with what exercise or machine you should try. If you’re a veteran at your gym, you’re not ready to feel like a fish out of water, and so you just stick with the upper body and head to the weights.
But really, if you don’t want to end up in like the picture below, you better be consistent with leg day!
7 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Skip Leg Day
- Symmetry is crucial to any toned body. If you don’t want the proverbial chicken legs, you need to work your lower body daily in your gym rotation.
- Your legs are part of one of the biggest muscle groups of your whole body. As such, an increase of leg muscles will also boost your ability to grow muscles anywhere.
- As your legs are pumping and your whole entire body is pushed to the max, the hormones you are secreting intensify. That means you’ll have more testosterone going through your body. That means you’re also getting increased upper body, chest muscles and burn long after the workout is over.
- When it’s 15 below zero, it may feel like summer is far away, but before you know it, Macy’s is selling shorts. And you’re going to be seen in those shorts. Just take a moment to let that thought sink in.
- Don’t train for the girls. Don’t train for the guys. Train for you. Do what is best for your body. For most guys who are at the gym, that means working their entire body.
- You may or may not realize this now, but as you age, the power of health begins to hit home more and more. What you are doing in the gym now will empower your health, hopefully for years to come. So don’t stare too hard in the mirror at your guns and instead, do a hardcore balanced workout and get the legs in.
- Quit being a baby! If you have a toned upper body, you earned it. Earn the legs as well. You’re used to doing hard things so why not challenge yourself by doing what other guys avoid? Get hooked on leg day. Your body will thank you.
So there you have it. Without leg day, you are the draft dodger of the workout world. But with the right leg routine in place, you’re ready to kick some booty and take control of your health. You’re ready to have legs that command respect. You will have conquered the beast that is leg day.
If you need help feeling the leg burn, give us a call at Jeanetix Fitness, we are here for you.
