What really inspired me to write on this topic today was the number of people I see in the gym who don’t do enough, or completely neglect exercising their legs. Moreover they seem to spend more time on isolated upper body exercises like arm curls, which, don’t get me wrong have there place, but not as important in building overall body strength as leg exercises. This article will be written under the supposition that the larger percentage of it’s readers will be men, but that doesn’t mean that it wont be of interest to women as well, it will, as leg exercises as such are a necessity for all.
Various studies have shown that testosterone can be increased through exercise and what you eat, thankfully negating the need to do so by way of performance enhancing drugs.
Testosterone: A Brief Description
Before we start let’s just go over the basics of the hormone testosterone and what its function is in the amazing human body. Testosterone, known as the male hormone, is a potent androgen which is produced chiefly by the testes. Put simply testosterone is a muscle building hormone which works by synthesizing proteins and rebuilding muscle fibers damaged by resistance training. This process in turn gives us size as the body uses it’s defense mechanism by making the muscle bigger to protect it from the same damage again next time, invariably though we will hit it harder again anyway.
Exercise and Eating Well, the Key
The catch to all this though is that you need to have your testosterone levels up in order to build more muscle. What I am proposing here then is that studies have shown that the natural way of keeping these levels high is by exercise and eating well, no question the best method for longterm overall health benefits.
Exercise Intensity and Compound Exercises
Alas though you wont achieve a spike in testosterone levels by simply going through the motions, studies have shown that your exercising needs to be of a certain type and intensity. Strength training is the way to go and what has been shown to be the most effective is the use of compound exercises. (For those of you who need a refresher on these multi-muscle group exercises please go to compound exercises).
It has been said that testosterone levels are optimally affected by the use of as many muscles as possible to your maximum level of intensity. Use a compound exercise such as a squat to the point where your muscles cannot complete another repetition safely and with proper form, another words take it to failure. The other good measure of whether your intensity is at the right level is your breathing as the mass of muscles being worked needs oxygen you will be breathing heavily during and after the exercise.
Just a warning though, do not attempt to do this by yourself if you are new to weight training, you need to build your strength up slowly and surely, start off with body weight squats and then progress to the bar, slowly building the weight week by week. Not blowing my own trumpet here but one of the best ways to ensure that you have the technical aspects down pat is to have some sessions with a personal trainer who specialises in these types of lifts.
Why Leg Exercises?
Considering the topic of this blog you have probably guessed where this is all going, as increasing your levels of testosterone is contingent on total muscle mass being involved and since legs (along with back) are the largest muscles in the body you simply cannot neglect leg exercises.
I think you all know some leg exercises, let me just give you a couple of example workouts that will help you get stronger not only in the legs but core and upper body as well. You will notice that I have included the deadlift in with two other compound non-leg exercises, I find that this gives you more chance to get the most out of the back squat in Workout 1 without the worry of being too fatigued, and it also gives you another leg session in the same week, and mixed in with the two upper body compound exercises it really gets your heart pumping.
Do these in the same week along with a chest workout (Will give you an example next time), varying volume, intensity, and tempo and within 8-12 weeks you’ll already start noticing how much better you look and feel as these exercises do wanders for your posture by building strong legs, core (front and back:rectus abdominals front, and erector spinae, back),and back, moreover they help keep you upright.
Workout 1
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Tempo | Rest between sets |
| Back Squat | 4-5 | 8-10 | 3:0:2 | 90 seconds |
| Barbell Lunges | 4-5 | 8-10 | 3:0:2 | 90 seconds |
| Leg Curl | 4-5 | 8-10 | 3:0:3 | 90 seconds |
Workout 2
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Tempo | Rest between sets |
| Deadlift | 4-5 | 8-10 | 2:0:2 | 180 seconds |
| Bent-over Barbell Row | 4-5 | 8-10 | 3:0:1 | 90 seconds |
| Pullover | 4-5 | 8-10 | 3:0:3 | 90 seconds |
As mentioned above please seek help from a professional if you are new to weight training before attempting the above workouts. The six exercises mentioned can be done using your own body weight, light barbells, and dumbbells increasing the weights as you progress, these are not gender specific so all can do and enjoy the benefits of a stronger healthier body and upright confident posture if done with method, regularity and above all safely.
What about Food?
As I have alluded to above the other important ingredient in anything we do where our specific aim is to put on a bit of size or more generally be fit and healthy is of course, what we eat. In the past this has been the neglected other half of the equation, we have all been guilty of thinking, if I exercise then I can eat and drink what I desire.
Whilst some people do seem to get away with doing this, exercise alone doesn’t do it, you need to have a well balanced food plan, comprising of quality proteins, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. For muscle growth and particularly for heavy lifting there are specific foods that are more beneficial than others, many foods most notably red meat, chicken, fish, broccoli, sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage and various beans, nuts and some dairy products are a good start. Take a look at some other information on nutrition in my “Info bytes” on this website for more specifics about recommended daily intakes of the major nutrients.
The Point
So guys don’t forget your leg workout/s as these are the bodies largest muscles and as we have discussed will help increase your levels of testosterone benefitting all over muscle development and strength. For the girls leg exercises will keep your backside high and shapely and contribute to overall health and fitness.
Zol
Fitness Moves