Why Does Everyone Hate Legs?
Photo by Nica's Photo from Pexels.
Nathan Tran and Henry Xue
Take a look down. You should see biological pillars that are responsible for your everyday movement. Those are your legs, if you don’t know already, and they help you get from point A to point B. They can look immaculate if you train them enough, especially those calves; you can become those handsome Englishmen back in the 1800s. So, at this point, you probably understand that legs are an extremely important part of your body that requires maintenance in order to properly function and thrive. So, the question is: How exactly do you maintain them?
The obvious answer is to hit them in the gym. However, a leg workout has been notoriously painted as a difficult and unforgiving exercise that makes you question if it is even worth it in the first place. Bodybuilders condemn and express disapproval over having to train these pillars. See, when you first step into the gym, you understand that your upper body and lower body are two different muscle groups. However, for boys at least, the upper body is often preferred over the lower body. There is nothing more common than skipping leg days. A lot of people we know hate training legs for one reason or another. They also know that training legs is good for you. So why does everyone skip legs? We will figure that out using our own personal experience (source: trust us, bro).
The number one reason why people don't like hitting legs is that it's damn hard. Your legs are the largest muscles in your body, so they demand huge amounts of oxygen and energy. Another reason is you are practically paralyzed after your workout. Soreness is a huge contributor to the negativity around leg day. It is never fun to hit your legs, go to bed, and become a vegetable the next day. Getting up after a night of rest and feeling like you have been shot in the kneecap is definitely a feeling that none of us want to go through. Plus, when we are talking about men, the chest and arms are more important for aesthetics. The media has made men who have a more aesthetically pleasing upper body seen as more attractive people. However, even from an aesthetic perspective, legs are still an important component that is being neglected upon. Even so, leg day skippers can shortcut this by wearing loose-fitting sweatpants every day to cover their undeveloped legs. Therefore, rather than train legs, most males hit upper body instead.
Let me, Nathan Tran, tell you a story. I was on vacation and walking along the coast of Miami Beach when I saw shipping containers and barbells. Unbeknownst to me, I had just discovered the second most popular beach gym in the United States: South Beach Muscle Beach in Miami. First place obviously goes to Muscle Beach in Venice, California, but that's besides the point. I would have had to be delusional to not hit a lift there, so that's what I did. Guess what every male was hitting? Either arms, back, or chest. The women were hitting both legs and upper body, but there was not a single male there who was squatting. In fact, when I came back there again on the second day, I felt out of place. Not because I didn't inject a whole pharmacy into my veins, but because that day was supposed to be my leg day. I'm pretty sure I was the only person on that whole beach who was hitting legs. I know that not everybody there was on gear, and I know that I won't look as good as anyone there, but this just goes to show how much more preferred upper body is than lower body, at least when it comes to males.
It's time to start training your legs. Ask yourself, who’s going to carry the boats? Remember, nothing in life comes easy. Balancing your body proportions is important for your health, and ignoring your legs can cause problems later that are hard to fix. Also, and this is really important, your body adapts over time. If you stick with leg workouts, your body will notice the extra effort and your legs will get stronger to handle it. That’s why gym-goers stop feeling sore after a while if they keep doing the same exercises. Training legs also releases hormones in your body, like testosterone, even more so than training other muscle groups. Thus, training legs positively affects your whole body. And if you’re only focused on looks and want bigger arms, just know that you will be worse off looking like a Dorito®. Yes, sweatpants can hide your Dorito® build to a balanced physique, but they won't make your legs any stronger. Good luck walking up stairs. In addition, what if you go to a pool party or something? You won't be able to wear sweatpants then, so how are you going to hide your Dorito® build? Legs are the foundation of your whole body. They're what hold you up and move you around. There's a reason why they're the biggest muscle group you have.
If you want to skip legs, be my guest. It's your life. However, if you do, you are missing out on many benefits that can make your life a lot easier. Saying that leg days are too hard is cope, wearing sweatpants to hide your chicken legs is ducking the issue, and thinking that training arms is everything is to neglect half of your physique. Stop making excuses; leg day isn't as bad as everyone says. “Success is what comes after you stop making excuses.”
