I know the title sounds like an S&M post but let me
assure you, it’s not. Although there’s a lot of pain involved, it’s not that
kind of S&M that you’re thinking of. I call it the S&M of bodybuilding.
The pain or obsession of pain that goes hand-in-hand with lifting heavy
weights, which results in achieving bubble glutes, thunder thighs and monster
calves!
I am a diligent gym goer, in fact almost to an extent of
obsession. I just love the gym and in fact, I go to the gym almost everyday!
People go to the gym for different goals and reasons but ultimately to maintain
and increase their health and fitness level. So besides the latter, why do we
go to the gym? I would dare to say that most do because of VANITY’s sake! Yes,
we want to look better. Look more attractive regardless of how old we are.
In my more than 20 years of weightlifting, and aside from
the serious semi-pro and pro bodybuilders, one thing that struck me was that
most gym goers worked on their upper body the most: to have bigger pectorals,
shoulders and arms. The few machines and weights that were always occupied are
the bench press and shoulder raise machines as well as free weights.
Although having a big and strong upper body and arms are without
a doubt very masculine and tough looking, this will not be the case if your
lower half of your body is small and undersize. The ignorance of not exercising
your legs and therefore not having a balance body symmetry will result in the
“chicken leg” syndrome.
So what is the “chicken leg” syndrome? The obsession of
having huge pectorals and upper body that leads to a visually unpleasing, top
heavy and a relatively insignificant bottom. If the result is so unflattering,
the next question will be why are some of us still not doing anything about it?
One of the main reasons I realized is that most guys don’t
really bother because they think that their bottom halves are covered with long
trousers most of the time, while they are at work and some even at the gym with
long track pants. So it’s not that important after all, you may think. But wait
a minute; what about those times that you decide to wears shorts, Bermudas or
swimming trunk? Wouldn’t you be exposing your skinny legs then?
The other common excuse of not working out the legs is that the
exercises that involved the leg muscles are tough and painful, and they don’t
see results as fast. Yes, unfortunately that’s is very true. For most men, both
the thighs and calves are the most difficult muscles to make them grow. The simple
reason for that is our leg muscles are always being exercised everyday, working
out every time when we walk and run. So to make them to grow, we need to work
them extra hard, with higher reps and weights.
The process of getting a stronger lower body is lengthy, not
just for the muscle growing part, but also the exercise regime. Most men are
impatient and want to have results fast. So after a few weeks of hitting the
lower half body muscles, they expect miracles to happen! And when the results
are not obvious or as significant as they anticipated, most will just give up
altogether and stop exercising their legs.
Sorry guys, unfortunately it really doesn’t work this way.
There’s no shortcuts to having a muscular lower half body. If you’re looking for
magic, I can give you three: They are consistency, perseverance and endurance. If
you exercise those muscles regularly, keep at it consistently and tolerate the
pain throughout, then only you’ll see results in the end. The No Pain, No Gain
philosophy really applies here and believe me, the final results are definitely
worth the effort and pain that you will have to go through.
So you may think that alright, I am ready now to bust my ass
for this, but just how to? Google it and you’ll find many leg exercise routines
to enhance your buttocks, thighs and calves. Most of these leg exercises have
been tried and tested by professionals hence to make things simpler, I suggest you
to choose the exercises that work on these four muscle groups namely glutes,
quads, hamstrings, and calves.
As explained in my previous post, the king of all exercises,
which is the Full Squat, works on almost all the muscle groups of your legs. The
close second, has to be the Dead Lift. This is especially good for working out
the glutes and hamstrings as well as the lower back. One more exercise that you
should include in your routine is the lunges, which is great for “carving” your
legs and buttocks so as to achieve a more define look. As for calves, nothing
works better than the calf raise and remember to alternate with the different available
variations.
Most important to remember though is that to get the muscles
to grow, you have to lift heavy and until failure. My suggestion is to start
with the first set of 10 reps with a lighter weight and continue to increase the
weight until you can only perform 6 reps in a set. For the last set, increase
the weight further (can be additional 5 to 10kg), and lift until muscle failure
(which may be only a few reps) and immediately drop to a half-weight set of 12
reps. For example, if the maximum weight to perform the last few reps is 50kg,
then the drop set will be a 25 kg weight in correlation.
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| Filling the trousers with fuller buttocks and bigger thighs to achieve a manlier look! |
So besides looking like a complete and balance man-beast
with huge pectorals, shoulders and arms coupled with strong buttocks, thick
thighs and calves, what are the benefits of working out your legs? Well,
firstly you will have a better and stable posture. Training the lower half will
assist in stabilizing your core. You will walk and stand better. The other benefit is that you’ll be able to lift heavier
things without hurting your back. Squatting down will no longer be a challenge
and your feet will not be in chronic pain as you are able to carry your body
weight better. In addition, your clothes, specifically the trousers will fit
better. The fuller buttocks and bigger thighs will fill the breathing space of
your pants resulting in a more manlier and stronger look.
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| Still training hard to be a muscle bear! |
So guys especially those who wants to be muscle bears, the next time you exercise, please remember not to
neglect your lower body and spend as much time working your legs as your upper
body. Get rid of your “Chicken Legs” once and for all, then only you can
achieve the balance body symmetry that you have always longed for. In no time,
you’ll be proud to show off your legs and will not be afraid to hide them
behind your long trousers anymore.
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Say NO to chicken legs! (pic from blackouttrainer.com)
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Before I sign off, I would like to remind my readers that I'm not a qualified Personal Trainer and I am only sharing my personal experience in weightlifting and being a muscle bear. Please exercise with caution and don't start any routine without consulting professional advise especially for those who have prior medical conditions and problems. Till the next time, this is Jimen signing out! Be happy and be safe always! Cheers.
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