Sunday, December 14, 2008

Weight Training Routines, Legs

By Ricardo d Argence

Whether you are a professional bodybuilder, contact sports player or just someone getting your body in shape, it is imperative that you don't neglect your legs for many reasons. The legs are often over looked when working out, as people tend to work towards the bigger chest and arms. There are important reasons to work your legs just as much as the rest of your body.

As you are more than likely aware the more muscle you have the more fat you burn, as muscle burns fat. To help your overall workout it is imperative to gain muscle weight; your legs are the prime example of that! Developing leg muscles is crucial to working out. Without leg muscles your body won't be able to work as hard.

A larger quantity of this growth hormone is produced from the large muscles of your legs than the smaller muscle groups in your body. The amount of muscle in your leg outweighs your arms easily, so this just makes sense. The point of releasing these hormones is to stimulate the growth of new muscle tissue.

For the sake of appearance, who wants to see somebody bulky on the top and thin at the bottom? Working out your legs provides a balanced body. You want to look great all over when exercising.

If you push yourself to leg failure is considered to be one of the best way to work out your legs. This will in the long run help you build more muscle in your legs. Perform 8 to 12 reps per set, doing 2-4 sets per exercise. It's advisable to work each major muscle with 2-5 different exercises (depending on your tolerance level and workout experience). It is imperative to rest between sets. Rest 45-60 seconds between each set so that your muscles can recover. What this allows is for you to get back to lifting heavier weights again without the release of anabolic hormones from stopping.

There are a lot of exercises to help you strengthen your legs. Once you have selected the goals for your legs (lean and strong, or muscled up for strength), you will be able to select the right exercises. When working your legs it is important to warm up by running or some other form of cardio for at least five minutes. This prevents injuries by warming up your joints.

Exercises you can do include leg extensions, power cleans, squats, Romanian dead-lifts, hamstring curls, and calf rises, seated and standing. The number or reps and sets can be changed to match your skill level.

Be safe when doing any exercise routine, and make sure to ask a trainer about the proper form. All it takes is a little time and effort, and you'll have great looking legs in no time. If you can raise your metabolism and do workouts that target intensity training, you will find an improvement in many different activities. On top of improvement in your general activities you will feel a lot better physically and mentally. - 15343

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