What truly is the indication of someone who puts time and effort into carving the ultimate physique? Is the classic Hollywood bulging biceps, or the trapezius muscles that arch out like a venomous cobra ready to strike? Some men see the classic boulder-shoulder as the mark of a masculine body that exudes brute force and a highly trained trim. Too many people focus on being symmetrical, without focusing on their weak points first. Everyone in the avid fitness community has heard the term, ‘don’t miss leg day bro.’ But, even the most hulking guys, dread leg day. Working the largest muscles in the body is painful, exhausting and relentlessly merciless. Most professional bodybuilders even set out a specific day, just to work on legs, because they’re that difficult to train without the rest of your workout suffering. However, what if leg day, was every day, would you even notice? You don’t need to put yourself through a torturous gym session because there are better ways to do it.
Morning shock therapy
When you wake up in the morning, the body is waking up with you. This is the perfect time to shock the muscle, fast twitch fibers and start an early morning sweat. The night before, pack a rucksack or other backpack full of milk jugs full of water. Put the weighted backpack on, and perform squats for sets and reps. The weight of the water in the jugs will challenge you, but because it’s more evenly spread than a barbell with heavy plates, you won’t feel as if you’re lifting as much as you are. With enough water-filled jugs, you could be lifting between 20 – 30kg. With a high rep volume each set, you fool and then shock your legs into working hard and getting a pump.
Source – Pexels
A part of work
Commuting to work on a bicycle is a surefire work to demand more from your quads, calves, knee and ankle joints. If the distance you travel to work is around 30 minutes, this puts you into the endurance category, so your muscles get to heat up, circulate and then dig in for the long haul. Put your bike into a higher gear to really pour the weight on your glutes and force your calves to contract and extend. The type of bike is important too, so look up hybrid bikes for men, that merges the modern mountain bike with the speedy road bike. This concept is great to absorb bumps that would hurt your pelvic structure, and allow you to light the afterburners and sprint to a thundering speed in no time. If you relinquish the drab dragged chore of public transportation for the pump of getting a leg workout every day, you’ll have legs like tree trunks in no time.
Photo by – dyess.af.mil
Your own resistance
Resistance bands are fantastic for beginners because they work with and from your bodyweight. Simply put the bands around your legs near the top of your feet, just above the ankle and achilles heel. Then perform regular lunges, and you’ll see how difficult and rewarding it is. The band is elastic, so it pulls your legs back, and with each lunge, your muscles start to feel the lactic acid building; which means it’s working. This workout can be done anywhere and doesn’t require free weights to compliment the stress level. The bands can be tightened so if you’re looking for a challenge without the assurance of collapsing after a leg workout, this is a great tool.
As always…Happy Lifting!