When people put on weight, most of the fat is deposited on the midsection of the body or on the legs. The hips, thighs, and calves are the areas on which fat is deposited. Leg workouts are an essential part of daily workout routines.
It is vital not only for weight loss but also for toning the leg muscles. Well-built and toned leg muscles are capable of properly supporting the entire weight of the body.
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Why leg workout is important?
Legs consist of a large muscle area hence they have the capability to improve overall athletic performance. A stronger lower body leads to active life, smooth daily movement also averts injuries. Diseases such as arthritis and diabetes can also be prevented.
5 Reasons Why A leg Workout Is Important & How Many Times A Week Should I Workout My Legs
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Burn more calories and build large muscles
Legs consist of the largest muscles of our body. Targeting larger muscles requires more energy and strength. Hence, training larger muscles increases the heart rate, makes you sweat more, and allows you to burn more calories.
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Symmetrical body
Training only the upper body gives the appearance of “chicken legs”. To avoid that, a leg workout is essential. It maintains the symmetry of the upper and lower body. It also balances the appearance of the overall body.
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Reduced risk of injury
Leg workouts help in achieving stronger body foundations. Well-built and trained muscles make you more athletic and reduce the risk of injury.
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Boosts Metabolism of the body
Leg workouts improve your physical health by boosting the metabolism of the body.
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Improved big lifts
Consistency in leg workouts will allow you to have improved big lifts. The improved core strength will enable better performance during big lifts.
When it is necessary?
In order to stay fit and to achieve your defined fitness goals, leg workouts become necessary. As soon as you start your daily workouts, leg workouts become an integral part of it. However, a leg workout is not needed every day. The legs must get rest in order to tone and build muscle.
How Often Should I Workout My Legs?
The number of times you should work out in a week varies for beginners and experienced athletes. The experienced athletes carry out leg workouts about two or three times a week. Every leg workout is non-consecutive to give time to the muscles to rebuild. The recovery time between each workout is mainly for optimal muscle growth of the powerlifters or athletes. The beginners however have the leverage to have a leg workout session about four times a week. Again, the four sessions have to be non-consecutive to prevent sore legs.
The newbie fitness enthusiasts can work out their legs more times in a week as compared to the experienced athletes is because they work with lighter weights. Due to the low-intensity workouts, they can work out their legs more times. All the fitness enthusiasts whether experienced or beginners, must not have a leg workout consecutively. Also, if they are still sore from the previous leg day then they must not have another one even if it’s on their schedule.
Exercising consecutively leaves body tissues in stress and ends up harming the body in long term instead of providing benefit.
Set plan workout
A leg workout usually lasts for about 15-20 minutes along with a full-body workout. The 15-20 minutes of leg workout are usually a section of a complete body workout for experienced athletes. However, the beginners may solely target the legs on a day. Planning your workout routine is extremely important to achieve your fitness goals. You cannot randomly perform different exercises.
Some people want to build and tone leg muscle while others are only focusing on weight loss. Hence, planning the workouts accordingly is extremely important. You can plan your leg workout to specifically target different parts of the leg on each leg workout day.
One day, you can target your hips in the leg workout session, the other day you can target your thighs in the leg workout session, and lastly, you can target your calves. This way, you can achieve the desired shape or chiseled appearance of the leg muscles.
Some easy and popular leg workout
| Exercise | How to perform? |
| Lunges | One of the most popular leg exercises is lunges. By keeping your shoulders pulled back and face straight in the forward direction, you take one step in the forward direction. Then you drop the other knee as low as possible. Both the knees should make an angle of 90-degrees. Make sure that your spine is upright while you are performing this exercise. |
| Glute Bridge | The Glute Bridge is quite effective to target the glute muscles. All you need to do is lay down on a flat surface. Then bend your knees and make sure that your feet are flat on the surface. Next, thrust your glutes upwards while pushing your heels on the floor. This way, a bridge would be formed. |
| Calf Raises | Calves are not really easy to target but with the easy calf raises you can target your calves. Stand straight and then push your feet towards the floor, make sure that you push your heels upwards. This way, you will be on your toes. Stand on your toes and then lower your heels. To increase the impact of this exercise, you can add weight by holding dumbbells. |
| Squats | Squats are performed by having some gaps between the feet. By keeping your chest up, push your hips downwards. Just like a sitting position. Make sure that your back is straight and your thighs are parallel to the flat surface. Then you can come back to the starting position. Inhale when you start and exhale when you end. |
Benefits of legs workout
The benefits of leg workouts are as follow:
| Stimulates hormone production | Leg workouts play a vital role in the stimulation of a large number of hormones. Some of the hormones include cortisol, testosterone, and HGH. With the release of these hormones, immunity is boosted, damaged muscles are repaired, muscle growth is boosted and many other benefits are achieved. |
| Creates symmetrical body | The imbalance between the appearance of the upper body and lower body is averted through leg workouts. They create symmetry in the body. |
| Lower back pain alleviation | At times, athletes or even beginners experience lower back pains. Leg workouts boost metabolism and help in lowering lower back pain. |
| Strengthened bones | The leg workouts not only contribute to the appearance of the individuals but also improves the overall health and physical strength. The leg workouts strengthen bones while ensuring a stronger lower body foundation. |
| Chiseled muscles | Leg workouts allow achieving chiseled muscles by toning different leg muscles. |
| Improve posture | Leg workouts also contribute to improving the posture of the body. They also make sure that your bones are properly aligned. |
Do’s while exercising
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Be patient and have a proper warm-up
When getting started with your workout, make sure that you have a proper warm-up. Don’t switch to heavy-duty training right away as it can cause muscle damage. Injuries caused can lead to long-term tissue damage. Hence, it is essential to prepare your muscles for an extensive workout with a warmup.
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Breathe correctly
Inhale and exhale correctly while exercising. Breathing properly prevents your blood pressure from rising. Dizziness, exhaustion, and cramping are also avoided by breathing. By breathing correctly, you allow oxygen to easily reach your lungs.
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Adjust your posture
Whenever you are performing any exercise, make sure that your posture is adjusted. A bad posture will take away the effectiveness of the workout. So, make sure that your posture is right.
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Drink enough water
While working out, it is extremely important to stay hydrated. During workouts, the body temperature rises pretty quickly however, staying hydrated keeps the body temperature stable.
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Stay consistent and motivated
Fitness goals cannot be achieved overnight. A lot of hard work and determination are needed to be able to enjoy the fruit. So, make sure that you are consistent with your workouts and are also motivated to follow the set plan.
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Give your body rest
Lastly, make sure that you have rest days between leg workout days. Working out too much can cause long-term tissue damage. So, make sure that you are working out on non-consecutive days.
Don’ts while exercising
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Don’t move on to heavy weights right away
If you are a beginner then you may be excited about heavy weight lifting. But you must not move on to heavy weights without the needed experience and training. This is because lack of experience and training can lead to a number of fatal accidents. Hence, you must avoid heavyweights during the beginning.
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Don’t exercise on consecutive days
Some people have a misconception that working out too much will make them achieve their fitness goals. The truth is, you have to follow a plan and target different body parts. For leg workouts, you must not work out on consecutive days because you need to give time to your legs to rest.
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No jerky movements
Avoid jerky movements at first, try to start off with the right posture and smooth movement of the body. Then as you advance, you can adjust the posture and movement of the body.
How long should you wait between leg workouts?
Typically, it is said to wait for about 24-48 hours between leg workouts. This way, the muscles have time to rebuild and overstraining is prevented. If there is no gap, then the muscles will be extremely strained and will lead to long-term damage. Professionals also say that if your legs are sore then you must not perform the leg workout. You should wait for the soreness to go away and then you can carry out the workout.
Which is better, lifting a heavier weight or doing more reps?
Lifting heavy weights helps in building muscles but constantly increasing the weight can cause tissue or muscle damage. Lifting slightly lighter weights and then doing more reps gives the body an opportunity to recover from the previous workout and to build endurance. So, while building muscle, you can focus on lifting weights but when you are focusing on improving endurance and recovering the body then you can use lighter weights with more reps.
What should I do on rest days?
You don’t have to take a complete break on your rest day. You can aim for a light impact exercise for the rest day. You can even go for relaxing exercises with yoga. If you don’t feel like doing both of these then the best option is to go for a walk.
This way, you are taking a break from the hardcore gym exercises but you are also not abandoning your body from exercise. People who do not do any physical activity on the rest day are taking away the effectiveness of the workouts.
What happens to your body on rest days?
Rest days allow your body muscles to rebuild, recover and become stronger. Your nervous system also gets the opportunity to regenerate during the rest days. However, you must not completely stop any physical activity. By stopping physical activity, the high-impact workout will not remain as effective. Also, it will take you longer to reach your fitness goals than what is anticipated.
Verdict
Leg workouts play a vital role in the overall strength-building and toning of the body. They ensure symmetry, a balanced appearance and also provide a variety of health benefits to the body. Leg workouts must not be carried out every day because they can cause muscle strain.
Gaps in between workouts allow the legs to rest. Twice or thrice a week is the most suitable number of leg workouts for professional athletes. However, beginners can perform leg workouts four times a week as they are not lifting extremely heavy weights.
References:
https://www.bodybuilding.com/content/10-best-muscle-building-leg-exercises.html
https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/strength-training-building-leg-muscles
https://www.menshealth.com/uk/workouts/g753901/the-muscle-building-leg-day-workout/
Working out is my life. I love to help others see the potential of their bodies as they transform into their best selves.