Only working out upper body

[Flex500]

You make a good point here. While there are obviously many health benefits attached to leg training, the truth of the matter is that leg training (when done for the purpose of growth) will cause one's caloric requirmements to rise more quickly...by virtue of the fact that they will be carrying more overall muscle tissue.

This means more total calories will be needed just to maintain muscle tissue, let alone gain more, forcing the individual to consume a larger amount of caloroies to fuel the growth of other bodyparts.

For example, if I were to gain 25 pounds of additional leg mass, taking me from 250 bs to 275 lbs, my caloric requirments--from a mainetance standpoint alone--would increase by a good 1,000-1,500 per day. In other words, I would need to eat an extra 1,000-1,500 caloroies just to maintain the same amount of chest, arm, back and delt mass I had at 250 lbs...and if I wanted to gain additional upper-body mass, I would now be required to eat even more calories just to make that growth possible.

Now, for bodybuilders who want to maximize their development/compete, this is just part of the game. If they stop playing, they stop progressing, but what about those people who don't have competitive aspirations and/or are already content with their leg size? Should they be forced to build additional leg mass--thereby drastically increasing their caloric requirments--just so they can continue adding muscle to their upper-body? Of course not.

So, while the notion of leg training may seem like an automatic prerequisite for serious bodybuilders, we should also understand that not everyone has the same goals.

At a minimum, I think it would be wise to at least train legs for mainetance and general overall health purposes, but there is no rule that says those who want to continue building muscle/strength in other areas must continue growing their legs as well.

Often, as bodybuilders, we have been pre-programmed to think that those who don't train legs hard, or don't train them at all, do so simply because they are lazy, undisciplined, weak-willed or have a poor work ethic. In the case of a professing, aspiring competitive bodybuilder, this may very well be the case, but this is not so for everyone else. Some people may indeed just be lazy, but many people just don't have the desire to grow their legs anymore.

In the end, to each their own, but I would still recommend including at least some maintanance leg training for health purposes.

You hit on something that I do not think should be overlooked "overall health". I"m intrigued by the studies about leg strength and leg work and overall health. It's also great for bone health and something any aging person should include.

But it doesn't have to be a ball busting leg workout, as you noted. I mean hell throw in 3 sets of 10 with 135-225 on squats twice a week and call it a day.

 

[LK3]

You hit on something that I do not think should be overlooked "overall health". I"m intrigued by the studies about leg strength and leg work and overall health. It's also great for bone health and something any aging person should include.

But it doesn't have to be a ball busting leg workout, as you noted. I mean hell throw in 3 sets of 10 with 135-225 on squats twice a week and call it a day.

honestly thats more weight then i have put on a bar in 2 years. lol
i really get nasty with a smith machine and no weight! :headbang:
lol

 

[Fit2Serve]

You make a good point here. While there are obviously many health benefits attached to leg training, the truth of the matter is that leg training (when done for the purpose of growth) will cause one's caloric requirmements to rise more quickly...by virtue of the fact that they will be carrying more overall muscle tissue.

This means more total calories will be needed just to maintain muscle tissue, let alone gain more, forcing the individual to consume a larger amount of caloroies to fuel the growth of other bodyparts.

For example, if I were to gain 25 pounds of additional leg mass, taking me from 250 bs to 275 lbs, my caloric requirments--from a mainetance standpoint alone--would increase by a good 1,000-1,500 per day. In other words, I would need to eat an extra 1,000-1,500 caloroies just to maintain the same amount of chest, arm, back and delt mass I had at 250 lbs...and if I wanted to gain additional upper-body mass, I would now be required to eat even more calories just to make that growth possible.

Now, for bodybuilders who want to maximize their development/compete, this is just part of the game. If they stop playing, they stop progressing, but what about those people who don't have competitive aspirations and/or are already content with their leg size? Should they be forced to build additional leg mass--thereby drastically increasing their caloric requirments--just so they can continue adding muscle to their upper-body? Of course not.

So, while the notion of leg training may seem like an automatic prerequisite for serious bodybuilders, we should also understand that not everyone has the same goals.

At a minimum, I think it would be wise to at least train legs for mainetance and general overall health purposes, but there is no rule that says those who want to continue building muscle/strength in other areas must continue growing their legs as well.

Often, as bodybuilders, we have been pre-programmed to think that those who don't train legs hard, or don't train them at all, do so simply because they are lazy, undisciplined, weak-willed or have a poor work ethic. In the case of a professing, aspiring competitive bodybuilder, this may very well be the case, but this is not so for everyone else. Some people may indeed just be lazy, but many people just don't have the desire to grow their legs anymore.

In the end, to each their own, but I would still recommend including at least some maintanance leg training for health purposes.

i dont think ANYONE on this thread, definitely not the OP is in jeopardy of gaining 25lbs of lbm ONLY on their legs lol.
-F2S

 

[Elvia1023]

Even if you have bigger legs I don't think anyone should not train them at all. Sure everyone has different goals but for a variety of reasons you should continue to train them. As others have posted you don't need to go all out on squats.

You obviously don't want to do a big leg day every rotation (few days) from your post. So I would recommend either adding them in every 2-3 rotations (6-9 days) or simply add a leg movement at the end of each of your upper body days. The later will make things much easier mentally and actually give you good results. So it's essentially an upper body day with 5 sets of leg press, ham curls or calf raises at the end.

 

[Turkishexpress]

About 10 years ago I stopped hitting legs with any serious frequency and intensity. I got tired of having to buy pants a waist size or two too big to fit in them. I'm 40 now and they're still pretty big but I think they're one of my better genetic areas. I usually work them out once every other week. Extensions, curls, adductor/abductor work, walking lunges, calves, and maybe some super squats. Get a good pump and walk away. I only do them to stimulate my metabolism really.

 

[Creation]

You make a good point here. While there are obviously many health benefits attached to leg training, the truth of the matter is that leg training (when done for the purpose of growth) will cause one's caloric requirmements to rise more quickly...by virtue of the fact that they will be carrying more overall muscle tissue.

This means more total calories will be needed just to maintain muscle tissue, let alone gain more, forcing the individual to consume a larger amount of caloroies to fuel the growth of other bodyparts.

For example, if I were to gain 25 pounds of additional leg mass, taking me from 250 bs to 275 lbs, my caloric requirments--from a mainetance standpoint alone--would increase by a good 1,000-1,500 per day. In other words, I would need to eat an extra 1,000-1,500 caloroies just to maintain the same amount of chest, arm, back and delt mass I had at 250 lbs...and if I wanted to gain additional upper-body mass, I would now be required to eat even more calories just to make that growth possible.

Now, for bodybuilders who want to maximize their development/compete, this is just part of the game. If they stop playing, they stop progressing, but what about those people who don't have competitive aspirations and/or are already content with their leg size? Should they be forced to build additional leg mass--thereby drastically increasing their caloric requirments--just so they can continue adding muscle to their upper-body? Of course not.

So, while the notion of leg training may seem like an automatic prerequisite for serious bodybuilders, we should also understand that not everyone has the same goals.

At a minimum, I think it would be wise to at least train legs for mainetance and general overall health purposes, but there is no rule that says those who want to continue building muscle/strength in other areas must continue growing their legs as well.

Often, as bodybuilders, we have been pre-programmed to think that those who don't train legs hard, or don't train them at all, do so simply because they are lazy, undisciplined, weak-willed or have a poor work ethic. In the case of a professing, aspiring competitive bodybuilder, this may very well be the case, but this is not so for everyone else. Some people may indeed just be lazy, but many people just don't have the desire to grow their legs anymore.

In the end, to each their own, but I would still recommend including at least some maintanance leg training for health purposes.

Solid Post - thank you sir

 

[Ashop]

Even if you have bigger legs I don't think anyone should not train them at all. Sure everyone has different goals but for a variety of reasons you should continue to train them. As others have posted you don't need to go all out on squats.

You obviously don't want to do a big leg day every rotation (few days) from your post. So I would recommend either adding them in every 2-3 rotations (6-9 days) or simply add a leg movement at the end of each of your upper body days. The later will make things much easier mentally and actually give you good results. So it's essentially an upper body day with 5 sets of leg press, ham curls or calf raises at the end.

I'm with you. I think you should at least do some maintenance work for your legs. You want to look balanced and proportioned.

 

[1bigmofo]

you could always look into a training routine like the Waterbury method...that way ur not focusing just on legs for an entire session, but your get some legs incorporated every few days.

 

[concreter]

When I Did train Legs the workouts were Intense!
Negatives Squats with nearly 800lbs, Plus high Volume.
Only trained them every 10 days as it took this long for them to Fully recover.
Which is Another point! Taxing such a large muscle group cuts into your ability to recover systematically!

 

[Biggerp73]

It's good for metabolism. Unless you're like Dexter Jackson and can't not have ripped abs year round, I'd suggest keeping them in the rotation as long as possible. Plus one day you'll have bad knees like me and you'll realize what a privilege it was to have the ability to squat.

 

[Mike Arnold]

i dont think ANYONE on this thread, definitely not the OP is in jeopardy of gaining 25lbs of lbm ONLY on their legs lol.
-F2S

Maybe not, but that is kind of besides the point. The point is that if one is training their legs for growth, it will indeed increase one's caloric requirments more rapidly.

I stopped training my legs back in 2003 after I blew out my knee doing 600 pound famers walks. If I didn't have the knee issue...and started training my legs for the purpose of maximizing growth, I could add gain 25 lbs on my legs alone in 3-4 months.

With that said, I am about to take my own advice (from the previous post) and begin implementing some light leg training. I told myself years ago I wasa going to start...and now, at age 42, I feel like it would be wise to begin implementing some light leg training before things begin to deteriorate.

 

[LK3]

Maybe not, but that is kind of besides the point. The point is that if one is training their legs for growth, it will indeed increase one's caloric requirments more rapidly.

I stopped training my legs back in 2003 after I blew out my knee doing 600 pound famers walks. If I didn't have the knee issue...and started training my legs for the purpose of maximizing growth, I could add gain 25 lbs on my legs alone in 3-4 months.

With that said, I am about to take my own advice (from the previous post) and begin implementing some light leg training. I told myself years ago I wasa going to start...and now, at age 42, I feel like it would be wise to begin implementing some light leg training before things begin to deteriorate.

im sure you know that age related muscle loss is a big thing, in cases like yours and others here who previously built some leg mass with big weights n shit, i think very easy to sort of "wake" up those cns connections and maintain a lot of what was previously gained with basically nothing.

i find the smith very helpful because you can work around injuries and get good full range of motion.

i try to do some leg curls to warm up, occasionally a lil leg extension but put the focus of non leg work into squats and stiff leg dl's. then dc style stretching. riding a bike is also great for legs, especially calves if you learn the form right on how to use the bike right n foot placement and all that.

can double as cardio and some leg work, also good for the previously injured or crunchy as no impact! :lightbulb:

done with intensity you can have a great full body cardio sorta workout with some no weight legs and the bike! great weekend workout to make you feel like you did something without doing too much at all. lol:headbang:

 

[concreter]

Gotta Love the Hill profile on the Bike.
I used to end every workout with that Blast.
Now 12 hours on My feet is more than enough!
Tomorrow I will hit 5 sets of leg extensions, hip, thigh inner and outer plus calves in a Superset fashion after Abs and before the Sauna!
Zero Hammy Work!

 

[maldorf]

Gotta Love the Hill profile on the Bike.
I used to end every workout with that Blast.
Now 12 hours on My feet is more than enough!
Tomorrow I will hit 5 sets of leg extensions, hip, thigh inner and outer plus calves in a Superset fashion after Abs and before the Sauna!
Zero Hammy Work!

True, even doing a stationary bike with a lot of resistance can build up the legs, or cycling outside going up steep hills on a high gear will work the hell out of them. Good for the calves too. Look at the size of pro cyclists that sprint in competition.

 

[Fa Seeshus]

Gotta Love the Hill profile on the Bike.
I used to end every workout with that Blast.
Now 12 hours on My feet is more than enough!
Tomorrow I will hit 5 sets of leg extensions, hip, thigh inner and outer plus calves in a Superset fashion after Abs and before the Sauna!
Zero Hammy Work!

Concreter, I also have issues with hamstring tears, and find that the hip thrust machine and glute kick machine and reverse hyper machine let you work the ham and glute together, which greatly reduced the chance of another tear. Screw ham curls, not messing with those again.

 

[Creation]

doing HIIT workouts on a spin bike get my legs tired and PUMPED up

 

[lookslikesausage]

I really have not trained legs in 4-5 yrs seriously!
Tore half my hamstring off, not lifting related and still have some Major damage back there!
I used to Squat 600 for reps and Dead 500. Now some Extensions and hip machines those girls do is my complete workout.
My legs never really got big and have only lost a little size.
As Far as a Hormonal response I think that's only true with the Younger lifters. Plus I believe My body only likes carrying a certain amount of muscle.
I have seen where my legs have gotten bigger and the scale did not change. Stealing musculature from other parts of the Body. Same seems to-go with my Back development>
I would think I would need at least another 1000 cals just to feed new growth! With added cals come more anabolics were both in Extreme becomes even more Unhealthy as you gorge on 6000+ cals and 2 Grams + gear!!!

it's definitely not true with supplemented lifters. the only thing that really needs to be taken into account in regards to hormones and energy expenditure in regards to lower body training is that you will burn more calories typically in a leg session and if you're not doing more intense cardio, then leg training can act as cardiovascular conditioning (heart rate may get very high during intense leg training) in addition to building muscle.

 

[Elvia1023]

Gotta Love the Hill profile on the Bike.
I used to end every workout with that Blast.
Now 12 hours on My feet is more than enough!
Tomorrow I will hit 5 sets of leg extensions, hip, thigh inner and outer plus calves in a Superset fashion after Abs and before the Sauna!
Zero Hammy Work!

I can just imagine you now...

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA3zXLzHDvI&app=desktop"]How to use hip abductor - YouTube[/ame]



You should do it just to see if someone says anything.

 

[upeccmi]

I just went to my Ortho yesterday. 38 years of doing legs and he wants me to stop and do only cardio with some light extensions, my knees are bad.
Yes, I don't do the 600 lb squats anymore but I still push my legs (at 52) for all I am worth now, weight is much lower and reps are much higher, can't imagine ever stopping, I might as well stay home then.

 

[Kaladryn]

I love training because it is hard.

I love training legs the most because they are the hardest.

Legs at 46: