Why You Should Train Your Legs

Sam, I hate to train legs. I know I should, but I really don't care. I already have decent leg size. I'm more concerned about my upper body and how that looks. Can you tell me why I should give a rat's ass about training legs? --Nick, San Diego

The reason you should care is that your legs are the base of ALL of your lifting. Think about building your body in terms of building a house. Your legs are the foundation. Strong legs will give you the strength and stability you need to build the rest of your body.

Working legs also helps to release a great deal of testosterone into your bloodstream, because they're the largest muscles in your body. This is a major anabolic hormone, meaning it causes muscle growth (hypertrophy).

This indirectly helps increase your upper body strength and size. If you don't work your legs, you're actually short changing yourself when it comes to your "beach body" or upper body progress.

Weve all seen guys with a huge, muscular upper body and thin chicken legs. And that physique, in my opinion, just doesn't look right. Because it's not symmetrical. Symmetry is beauty. If you want to create a beautiful, well-balanced physique, then leg training is essential.