Why train legs?

[kller]

I genetically have thick legs and a ghetto booty. Its disproportionate to the rest of my body. I cant and never could fit into slim/skinny or even some normal cut jeans. Training legs is just making them thicker. Seems like im working hard to achieve something i dont want?

So my question is, why should i train legs if i dont want them to grow??

[sgt2jay]

I think i heard it here best. dont think of it as training legs think of it as training the other 50% of your body. i am paraphrasing but the point tha i believe is dont expect 100% results if you only train 50%. Maybe with legs use lower weight and higher reps. i always like to end i am not close to an expert but i have read a lot. someone will sure correct me if im wrong.

[Times Roman]

Good question mate.

There is no hard and fast rule you must train legs. There is no hard and fast rule you have to train anything. But as the gentleman above me said, legs are the biggest, strongest muscles in your body. I would be hard pressed for me to come up with a valid reason to 100% ignore your legs.

If your legs and "ghetto booty" (your words) are disproportionately large compared to the rest of your body, then you may want to consider hitting them lightly with low weight and higher reps and maybe not even to failure, say 80% of max? You are not only exercising muscle tissue, but tendons, ligaments, and even improving bone density. Instead of the standard three sets, maybe cut back to two or even one set. Remember to warm up!

We have a variety of types of people here, and not everyone wants to compete (certainly not me). If you are primarily seeking to get strong and fit, and reduce body fat, then you may want to consider adopting the strategy i've laid out for you. But to completely ignore legs is probably not a good idea.

Good luck!
---Roman

[zaggahamma]

Serena?

[Turkish Juicer]

Why train legs?

When you train legs, your body starts to produce and release a greater amount of naturally occurring anabolic hormones such as testosterone, human growth hormone, serotonin and etc. which contribute to burning of body fat as well as increasing protein synthesis, leading to quality gains that results in development of a better form and stronger physique altogether.

Take a pair of identical twins and have one of them NOT ever work legs, whereas the other works legs like a pro, let's say. I can personally guarantee you that one twin will have better size to the rest of his muscle groups than the other due to higher hormone levels.

This is something that curl monkeys will never understand, simply because they don't want to.

PS: This is more of a general reply to the question ''why train legs?''. I understand that you are already uncomfortable with your lower body proportions, so in your case, I would not hit legs very hard, especially with heavy weights.

[jypoll]

where are the largest muscles in your body?
legs

what part of your body do you use when you stand
legs

walking running biking movement of just about any sort?
legs

which muscle group (excluding core) is used in just about every exercise at the gym?
legs

unless you have the unfortunate disability of a paraplegic, i think your question should be why train arms, rather than legs. If you are concerned about size work on strength no hypertrophy.

if you wanna be mike from the jersey shore and look like a fool with arms that are bigger than your legs go for it.

and skinny jeans are for women and 110lbs 6ft tall hipster kids who wear glasses without lenses, since your on this website i dont think you are a 110lbs hipster kid

[adamjames]

i always feel great after training legs

[Times Roman]

where are the largest muscles in your body?
legs

what part of your body do you use when you stand
legs

walking running biking movement of just about any sort?
legs

which muscle group (excluding core) is used in just about every exercise at the gym?
legs

unless you have the unfortunate disability of a paraplegic, i think your question should be why train arms, rather than legs. If you are concerned about size work on strength no hypertrophy.

if you wanna be mike from the jersey shore and look like a fool with arms that are bigger than your legs go for it.

and skinny jeans are for women and 110lbs 6ft tall hipster kids who wear glasses without lenses, since your on this website i dont think you are a 110lbs hipster kid

he already said he had huge legs, it's the rest of his body that is lagging

[falco21]

I LOVE that I can't buy my true waist size in pants because of my legs! There was one thing I surely was blessed with, that was legs with great genetics. I absolutely LOVE lifting legs and nothing beats huge tree trunks. When someone is big up top, you immediately question their legs. More than half of the time, their legs are sticks. When someone is big up top and has enormous legs, a new form of respect is drawn.

Lift legs and lift them hard.

[jypoll]

I LOVE that I can't buy my true waist size in pants because of my legs! There was one thing I surely was blessed with, that was legs with great genetics. I absolutely LOVE lifting legs and nothing beats huge tree trunks. When someone is big up top, you immediately question their legs. More than half of the time, their legs are sticks. When someone is big up top and has enormous legs, a new form of respect is drawn.

Lift legs and lift them hard.

^^ x10

[t-gunz]

i wanna see these tree trunks.

get some pics up

[kller]

my legs are 23" with zero training. glutes 40", waist 32". Amrs only 15" dont think im in danger of having chicken legs any time soon.

If i dont train legs, or train them minimally, would i have to eat less when bulking etc?

[falco21]

my legs are 23" with zero training. glutes 40", waist 32". Amrs only 15" dont think im in danger of having chicken legs any time soon.

If i dont train legs, or train them minimally, would i have to eat less when bulking etc?

Not necessarily. If you train your upper body hard enough, than you should be eating the same.

I understand where you are coming from, but I think it is completely wrong to just go about not training legs, because you feel they're "too big already". Truth is, when are we ever big enough? Haven't you heard of the disease we all seem to develop? Every person who works out will never be big enough. Your arms will always look small, your chest will always be lacking, etc. It's just a mindset we develop to become better than what we currently are. Your legs are not too big, they can never be too big. You're taking your genetics for granted. Some people would die to have the ability to grow huge legs.

IMHO, work them out. If you feel that they are too big, then at least lift for strength. I don't see the point in training only 50% of your body. Not to mention your body will start to produce mass amounts of Testosterone while training your legs. Helps the upper body to grow

[600@50]

There's a couple other reasons to train legs other than the usual strength and size stuff. When you train legs with squats or any load bearing movement you're building bone density in your spine and other bones. This will help prevent fractures and osteoporosis later in life.
When you train legs they demand huge amounts of blood to function. This will build and strengthen your cardiovascular and pulmonary systems. Benefits for now and later in life.
Don't neglect training legs. You can work them and not blow them out of proportion.
I believe Arnold had a quote back in the 80s about his legs. It was something about why would you want to build a house with a weak foundation.

[kller]

how much harder can i train uppder body if i do minimal leg training?

[600@50]

Train as hard as you want. Just give yourself rest so you'll grow.

[jypoll]

my legs are 23" with zero training. glutes 40", waist 32". Amrs only 15" dont think im in danger of having chicken legs any time soon.

If i dont train legs, or train them minimally, would i have to eat less when bulking etc?

23" is not big at all compared to 15" arms, I just lost a few pounds but before that i had 29"legs with 16" arms and i want bigger legs

[kller]

23" is not big at all compared to 15" arms, I just lost a few pounds but before that i had 29"legs with 16" arms and i want bigger legs

thats nice. but this thread is about what i want, and thats for my legs to not get any bigger.

[Turkish Juicer]

thats nice. but this thread is about what i want, and thats for my legs to not get any bigger.

so don't train your legs and benefits are gone, but this is what you want after all so it is all dandy.

[Schmidty]

i think of doing legs as a chore. It is not fun but it must be done to get the gains you really want. Idk if its true or not but to me it makes sence. When you train a muscle consistantly its tissue is broken down, those amino acids are put into your blood and any muscle trying to recover receives those aminos and it helps it try to recover and grow.

[kller]

if i dont train legs can i train upperbody muscle groups more frequently/harder than someone that does? will this give me faster growth?

How can i take advantage of my tree trunk legs to get my upperbody bigger faster?

[DeadlyD]

Train upper body hard and lots if that's what you like but on one of your rest days do a couple sets of legs aswell !! Your legs might be big but are they strong? And with high reps and lower weight, maybe you'll cut those trunks down a bit while making them stronger and getting some of the benefits that training legs has!!

[phoenix44]

23" are you measuring at the knee, come on man that's not big at all.

Don't stop training the legs just keep at the upper body eat right and it will grow.

[falco21]

I didn't even realize that. 23" is no where near too large, but maybe for you it is. You asked in your OP why you should train legs. We have given you our opinion. It seems like you have made up your mind already about it and you want people to say it is ok not to.

Don't train your legs if you don't want to man. Train only your upper body and move on. I don't know what else to tell you. I, personally, think you will gain a great deal by training your legs, but again, this all lies in your hands. Do what you want with it.

[V-ROID]

Legs. Ugh. Just got home from legs and ended up getting an arm workout as I had to drag myself up the stairs. Excuse me I have to go puke now.

[oatmeal69]

Is it just me, or are measurements in isolation pretty useless? It's all about proportion isn't it?
Example - a 6'3" guy with 24" legs vs a 5'8" guy with 24" legs?

[jypoll]

Is it just me, or are measurements in isolation pretty useless? It's all about proportion isn't it?
Example - a 6'3" guy with 24" legs vs a 5'8" guy with 24" legs?

he also gave glutes waist and arms, so one should have a good idea. I agree height would definitly top it off.

[abstetic]

My legs. Hurt leg day is a female dog

[Gaspari1255]

If you don't care about having big legs, then don't train legs. All these guys are putting way too much thought into these technical answers. As far as training legs releasing more testosterone, does it really matter when we're all pumping juice into ourselves anyway? I think not.

[Robot Body]

my legs are 23" with zero training. glutes 40", waist 32". Amrs only 15" dont think im in danger of having chicken legs any time soon.

If i dont train legs, or train them minimally, would i have to eat less when bulking etc?

You may not be in danger of having "chicken legs", but 23" isn't that big, then again I don't know how tall you are. By comparison, because you and I are in the same boat when it comes to having a disproportionate lower body, I am 5" 10 and have 32 1/2 inch legs with a 36 inch waist.

[951thompson]

I look at legs like this, do you like looking at a nice pair of ladies legs, maybe a nice butt too ( I know I do) well my guess is ladies also like the look at mens legs. doing legs gives you a nice butt too, now you know the girls like a nice ass lol so my point is if you want to look more attractive to the opposite sex, then working your legs is maybe a good idea!