CoachNoodle’s BodyBlog

“I found my legs.”

“Where were they?”

“In my pants. I had forgotten I put them there when I got up this morning.”

Sometimes I work out with my roommate.  When you work out with somebody sometimes you can’t call them a lifting partner. That’s like a lottery winner calling himself a self-made millionaire.  It’s not that they aren’t; but they’re not. He says to me the other day “I think I’m going to skip leg day” I said “that is the best day for you to skip”.

My roommate is not a hardcore dedicated bodybuilder or fitness addict.  I don’t even think it’s fair to call him a dabbler.  That would be unfair to those guys who spend more time leaning on equipment than actually using it. At least they are there. Given the brief amount of time he dedicates to developing muscle, his priorities should rest elsewhere than on his wheels. Let’s face it; developing legs that would make a Clydesdale envious aren’t going to impress too many people. Really, for most of us, legs are only for moving our chest, back, shoulders, and arms from paint A to point B. I heard this guy say, “Man, I’m so glad I did squats.  Now I’ll be able to carry my arms so much easier.” Idiot.

When will anyone see our legs? During the summer?  You can get away with jeans and pants.  At the beach? A whole week in board shorts, big deal.  Who needs a balanced physique when you have limited time to put into something and any results you can reap from one component won’t even be noticed. Sure you will look like a tool every now and then, like propping an apple up on some toothpicks, but that’s a small price to pay for arms that are straining against the cuff of your t-shirt. Seriously, train above the waist; work on the show.

Now, for those who are dedicated to the sport of body building, striving for symmetry and proportions, and who allot a significant amount of our waking hours to the gym, then training legs is essential. To our trained eye, the guy with the well developed torso and underdeveloped lower body looks like a moron. Being fair, maybe he didn’t have time to fit in a day to train those stilts he’s walking around on but if he’s been in the gym long enough, he knows he looks ridiculous.  When you create an illusion that your arms are bigger than your thighs, then the ‘skip the leg day routine’ isn’t for you. In fact, you are painting a target on yourself. “Hey, look at me.  I’m a cartoon character. My body was the template for Mr. Incredible.”

My roommate is not disproportioned and does not shy away from leg training anymore than the rest of us. I hate training legs. And if I weren’t interested in competing and creating a well rounded physique, I wouldn’t train legs either; or at least often. This is not a cop out. I just feel it’s important to work on the things that will be noticed. If we are at the gym for aesthetics, then let’s do something that will stand out.  Let’s get the results that most people care about and will make us feel good when that guy is looking back at us in the mirror. When you find the time, then train your legs.  If two or three days is all you got, leave the leg press alone and create an illusion you can be proud of.

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 22nd, 2009 at 7:46 am and is filed under Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.