Life After Leg Day
Aug 22, 2018
Life after leg day got you like, “can I borrow your wheelchair, Grandma?”
Leaving the gym after leg day can leave you cringing, but there’s nothing more cringeworthy than wide shoulders and chicken legs
Learn why you shouldn’t skip leg day, and how to recover from the aftermath.
The Strengths and Why You Shouldn't Skip Leg Day
Leg day gets a bad rap. This is mainly because it hurts so much, and probably because it impedes daily activities such as walking. Or moving. This being said, there are LOTS of reasons why you should be doing leg day. Here are some of our favorites:
Reason #1 Boost Hormones, AKA Get Ripped
Your legs have the biggest muscles in your body. This is important because working large muscles gives big love to your endocrine system. The endocrine system gets revved up and starts releasing lots of those crucial hormones like testosterone and HGH.
Result? You get bigger, and stronger, everywhere. Skip leg day again? I don’t think so.
Reason #2 Build Your Whole Body
Leg Day acts as the foundation for your exercise routine, literally. Working on your legs help you create foundational strength that translate into a stronger core and better functional movements.
Because of the revved endocrine response from Reason #1, you also get a boost to anabolic response to help build size in the shoulders, back, and arms.
Reason #3 Reduce Lower Back Pain
The pain you experience after a hard leg day, it’s brutal. Leg day pain may make it impossible to move for about three days. BUT, leg day will loosen those hip flexors and strengthen your hamstrings, two surprising contributors to that low down backache.
You don’t have to be 92 to have low back pain. And please, don’t wait until you’re 92 to start protecting your back.
Reason #4 Run Harder and Stronger
A lot of people are running these days. Are you? Athletes start in the legs, and what you do in the gym translates to the track or field, and vice versa. Leg day uses strength training to power up your ability to run, jump, and also loosen you up to prevent running injuries.
Hit it hard on leg day, and you’ll be pounding the pavement, track, or field like a beast.
The Struggles, And How to Recover From Leg Day
Struggle #1 D.O.M.S!
All that pain in your legs keeping you from walking? It has to do with lactic acid. After you killed those lunges and deadlifts, delayed onset muscle soreness (D.O.M.S.) hits with a vengeance.
Drop your keys? Have to get out of bed? You’ll be begging for mercy.
Answers?
Don’t face the pain alone. Use these smart tips to reduce soreness, combat lactic acid build up, and recover stronger for your next leg day.
Struggle #2 Injury
Because of the heavy weight and multiple muscle groups involved, leg day can take a heavy toll on ligaments and cartilage in the hips, knees, and ankles.
Follow these tips to maintain an orthopedically safe leg day.
Answers?
1) Use good form – Good form can be the difference between sculpted legs and scoliosis.
You’ve probably heard a few common tips; “You should never let your knees never pass in front of your toes during heavy squats!”
This is true. But before hitting the heavy rack, beginners should consider starting with machines or simple, lightweight free-form exercises in order to practice proper movement and control.
One of the easiest ways to learn is watching someone experienced demonstrate common movements.
Our Personal Trainers demonstrate proper form and give tips for a few good Leg Day Exercises for beginners and experts alike:
2) Feed your Joints – Healthy ligaments and cartilage are composed of a balance of nutritional building blocks. Much like muscles, your joint tissue can grow weaker and more vulnerable with neglect, and may struggle to recover without the ingredient necessary.
NutraKey’s Innoflex contains a mixture of key nutrients that nourish joint tissue including Collagen, Hyaluronic Acid, and Glucosamine Chondroitin MSM. With 10 active ingredients, Innoflex can help support strong, healthy joint tissue with a full range of motion.
Following the tips above can help avoid injury, build strength and size, and recover from the crippling soreness. Jump into those elevated reverse lunges without fear of falling, and don’t be afraid to take the stairs.
What do you think? Are you still going to avoid leg day?
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