Comments on: Building Monster Legs or The Definitive Guide to Unleashing Massiveness in Your Tree Trunk Thighs

By: Israel Lagares

Israel Lagares — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 02:46:25 +0000

In other words, don’t neglect the legs.

By: Bodybuilding Workout

Bodybuilding Workout — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:23:22 +0000

You can always tell how serious someone is about weight training when you see them in shorts…

I hate squatting and I hate working out legs (especially the day after) but when you take into account all of the advantages that you get from training legs it’s really hard to not train them.

By: Zorik

Zorik — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 19:48:17 +0000

THE BEST

By: Antanas Sleckus

Antanas Sleckus — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 21:58:51 +0000

True programs not the bodybuilder created body splits are based around squatting frequently and heavy and pulling things of the ground. Im talking about the 5×5 type of programs they and huge amounts of food build tree trunk legs.

Anyways the whole training theory of today is flawing so badly its amusing, true training science can be gained by reading Mark Rippetoes, Madcows, Bob Smith, Bill Starr etc.

And the whole upside down pyramid- all pecs no legs look just looks weird.

-Rawgrip

By: Israel Lagares

Israel Lagares — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 01:22:47 +0000

Thanks Aaron. My cousin trains only his upper body, he has chicken legs. I try to make him understand that doing legs will help his whole body, but he likes to think it doesn’t.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:32:38 +0000

I’m about to begin training again. Sometimes people, most certainly myself included, need to be reminded about the importance of working the legs. When I first began weight training I did exactly as you mention in your article. I concentrated on upper body and neglected my legs. Just as you state, I am paying the price now and I need to play “catch up”.

For anyone who is just starting out, treat this article as the holy grail.

By: Israel Lagares

Israel Lagares — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:01:56 +0000

Sprints are a part of my routine.

By: John

John — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 18:51:15 +0000

Ever consider adding plyometrics or sprints to add explosive strength to your legs?

By: Israel Lagares

Israel Lagares — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 04:02:37 +0000

Speaking of lunges, that’s on my agenda for Wednesday morning…

By: 60 in 3 - Health and Fitness

60 in 3 - Health and Fitness — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 19:17:35 +0000

ahh, so true. Ask most guys and they’ll tell you that women check out their biceps and chest. Ask most women and they’ll tell you that they’re checking out a guy’s butt and legs. My wife is always amused when she goes to the gym and sees men trying to impress women with biceps curls when a good set of lunges or maybe some squats would be much better.

Gal

By: Israel Lagares

Israel Lagares — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:33:38 +0000

Testosterone!!!! Plus, women love guys with a nice butt.

By: Israel Lagares

Israel Lagares — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:32:24 +0000

19+ years of preparing bodybuilders! Wow.

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:11:09 +0000

Man I hate working my legs, but I know that it is necessary. They are definitely not the part of the body that you immediately think of when lifting, but it is still very important to do leg work.

By: DR

DR — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:46:19 +0000

Good post Israel.

It’s no surprise that YOU are willing to put in the hard work that effectively training your legs requires.

Too bad that the track pant wearing denizens of my gym don’t share your dedication to leg training.

If only they knew that your gut busting leg workouts have a huge impact on your body as a whole.

Guys who try to bulk up their upper body without devoting equal time to their legs are shortchanging themselves.

You can’t shoot a cannon out of a rowboat, and you can’t build truly big arms without a solid pair of legs to stand on.

It might sound counter intuitive, but 19+ years of preparing bodybuilders has helped me realize this truth.

By: Israel Lagares

Israel Lagares — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:08:07 +0000

Yeah that is a heavy lift. In high school we routinely squatted and deadlifted 400, 500, 600 lbs.

By: Israel Lagares

Israel Lagares — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:07:26 +0000

Good point, I like feeling good too.

By: Israel Lagares

Israel Lagares — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:05:26 +0000

My legs have always been bigger than my upper body, runs in the family. Some folks just like looking good in the mirror. I prefer to look good and feel good, and be able to lift something that is heavy if I ever needed to save a life.

By: SalutaryBlog

SalutaryBlog — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 13:46:47 +0000

500 is as heavy deadlift. No greater feeling than throwing plate upon plate on that bar and pulling it off the ground like its nothing

By: call center representative

call center representative — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 06:30:01 +0000

for me its not about if your body looks big or not, the important is your body are healthy and strong.

By: Yongho Shin

Yongho Shin — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 02:44:16 +0000

Excellent post on the importance of legs. Whenever I go to the gym, I see a handful of people who I see only working biceps and chest, day after day.

My lower body is actually overdeveloped compared to my upper body, so I only do squats for my legs. (Occasionally I do some hamstring curls or quad extensions)

By: Israel Lagares

Israel Lagares — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:45:19 +0000

Well said Muata! I was just on Dorian’s web site, which needs a major overhaul!

By: mrlowbodyfat

mrlowbodyfat — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 23:34:35 +0000

Good post Israel, and I couldn’t agree with you more about how guys like to work their upper bodies entirely too much, sacrificing the true source of power, which is a strong base.

However, for the genetically average, which is most of us, and those who decide not to use anabolic steroids, which all IBFF pros use, I suggest one exercise: the deadlift!

Leg extensions, leg presses, and leg curls don’t even come close to the deadlift, which old time strong men use to call the “health” lift. Not to mention the deadlift is essentially a full body lift that will actually work your core and help you develop a vice like grip. One unexpected benefit of doing deadlifts is that you’ll also see an increase in your military press!

Hell, when Dorian Yates was once asked about his “sick” six-pack and how he developed them, many folks were shocked to hear that he did little to no ab work directly and attributed his abs to, you guessed it, doing heavy deadlifts.

As my buddy Mike Mahler likes to say, until you can deadlift 500lbs, there’s no reason to even think about isolation exercises for your legs.