Legs
February 15th 2007 10:58
An old maxim is that you are in the shape your legs are in. It makes plenty of sense. If you take the quads, hamstrings, calves and gluteus maximus into account you have four very large muscle groups. If you are persistently training each one of these, there cannot help but be a very significant effect upon the the heart and lungs. In addition leg workouts which emphasize enough intensity to sculpt the legs will have an effect on the entire body's composition.
Research long ago proved the holistic centrality of leg training. A study group was placed on a rigorous leg training routine for several weeks. No upper body exercise was allowed. You can probably guess that before and after comparisons of upper body measurements showed that leg training spurred measurable growth in these untrained muscle groups. This seems at the bare minimum to support the proposition that someone who really wants to grow a big chest and arms should head on over to the squat rack with regularity in addition to his upper body work.
Additionally it would seem a truism that those who want to just "shape up" need to consider leg work. Muscle in the legs and using that muscle is a good way to burn up the calories. Hard leg work will also yield a more shapely pair of legs,rear end and lower back. In short leg training is a fitness elixir.
A complete leg program includes work for all the major muscle groups. I propose the following as a starting program which you can adapt as you wish. First, I never train hams and quads on the same day. If you are working each seriously, there is too much to be done in a workout to give 100% to each. In fact I suggest that you train one leg part three days in a row. Day 1 might be hams, 2 quads, 3 calves and rear end. This sends a strong signal to your system and yet does not promote over training. My post Splitsville shows how to integrate this routine with your upper body so that you can optimize your work and not over tain.
What are good movements for legs? For quads you can do two: leg extensions and squats. Your squats can be done on the various squat sled machines your gym probably has,if the real McCoy scares you. For hams two also: stiff legged deadlifts and leg curls. Stifflegged deadlifts can be done quickly by using dumbbells off the rack. Calves need two types of toe raises. One is seated raises preferably on a machine with a stack. The other is standing one legged
raise, holding a dumbbell in a hand for extra weight and with a block under the balls of your feet for stretch. Your rear end needs a regular exposure to the hyperextension machine and/or a Roman chair, along with whatever version of the butt blaster etc. your gym boasts.
Put yourself on a routine with leg work every day and you will soon see the wisdom of your shape being that of your legs and your shape will be markedly improved. Your servant, as always.
Research long ago proved the holistic centrality of leg training. A study group was placed on a rigorous leg training routine for several weeks. No upper body exercise was allowed. You can probably guess that before and after comparisons of upper body measurements showed that leg training spurred measurable growth in these untrained muscle groups. This seems at the bare minimum to support the proposition that someone who really wants to grow a big chest and arms should head on over to the squat rack with regularity in addition to his upper body work.
Additionally it would seem a truism that those who want to just "shape up" need to consider leg work. Muscle in the legs and using that muscle is a good way to burn up the calories. Hard leg work will also yield a more shapely pair of legs,rear end and lower back. In short leg training is a fitness elixir.
A complete leg program includes work for all the major muscle groups. I propose the following as a starting program which you can adapt as you wish. First, I never train hams and quads on the same day. If you are working each seriously, there is too much to be done in a workout to give 100% to each. In fact I suggest that you train one leg part three days in a row. Day 1 might be hams, 2 quads, 3 calves and rear end. This sends a strong signal to your system and yet does not promote over training. My post Splitsville shows how to integrate this routine with your upper body so that you can optimize your work and not over tain.
What are good movements for legs? For quads you can do two: leg extensions and squats. Your squats can be done on the various squat sled machines your gym probably has,if the real McCoy scares you. For hams two also: stiff legged deadlifts and leg curls. Stifflegged deadlifts can be done quickly by using dumbbells off the rack. Calves need two types of toe raises. One is seated raises preferably on a machine with a stack. The other is standing one legged
raise, holding a dumbbell in a hand for extra weight and with a block under the balls of your feet for stretch. Your rear end needs a regular exposure to the hyperextension machine and/or a Roman chair, along with whatever version of the butt blaster etc. your gym boasts.
Put yourself on a routine with leg work every day and you will soon see the wisdom of your shape being that of your legs and your shape will be markedly improved. Your servant, as always.
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