I don’t know why people shirk from working the leg muscles, I really don’t. Although it could be down to a few reasons:
- Laziness
- Disinterest in a balanced physique
- The thought of: ‘What you can’t see, doesn’t need to be worked.’
- Fear of hard work
Personally, I think it’s a combination of all 4, with the latter 2 being the biggest excuses. Yes, people tend to take much less notice of the size and shape of legs than the biceps or shoulders, and if you wear trousers legs aren’t very noticeable – but – if you are a natural bodybuilder, there is a very good reason why you shouldn’t shirk from leg work, and it could be severely hindering your gains in the rest of your body.
I’m sure you already know that by working out your body produces more testosterone and human growth hormone? Well, think about it… the legs are the biggest muscle group in the whole body, therefore by working them well, your body is going to release so much more testosterone and growth hormone – and it doesn’t just stay in your legs, it goes throughout your body to where it is needed most. Therefore, if your arms took a beating from a killer workout, they will get a huge boost in recoverability and growth from working the legs, see?
Ok, enough about that. Let me tell you the two best exercises you can utilize to get your legs in shape, and boost the muscle gains in the rest of your body: they are squats, and calf raises.
Personally, I like to alternate squats and hack squats, as I feel they hit the legs in different ways to give better development. I always use free weights for hack squats, although I sometimes utilise machines.