Hollywood does NOT like legs…
At least big muscular ones.
Apparently neither do cartoon animators.
I’m not even sure how Batman stood up…let alone pulled of 15 foot flying jump kicks.
But here’s the truth.
About 50% of your muscle mass is in your legs.
Yet a typical 5 day workout routine has you training legs once a week.
You train your upperbody 4 times and your legs once.
That’s probably not the quickest way to gain muscle mass.
(also..it becomes obvious why so many people have shoulder problems)
Bottom line: If you your looking to gain muscle…don’t neglect the area that contains 50% of your muscle.
What I’m trying to say is…squat.
BP
PS – (Don’t forget Eat Stop Eat…big legs are only really impressive when they aren’t all fat)
Most Commented Posts
Related posts:
- How much weight training do I need to do?
- How Many Calories Does a Pound of Muscle Burn?
- Muscle Growth at all Costs?
- Building Muscle
I grew up loving that show Batman the animated series. Oddly enough I never noticed how out of proportion his legs were as a child. Now that you point it out it looks comical. I read comic books too and just looked in a few to see if his legs were more anatomically correct in there. It appears that they are. Google “Batman Frank Miller” or “Batman Jim Lee” and check out the images to see what I mean.
I hate legs too. Squatting to me is like broccoli to everyone else. I only do them because I know they’re good for me, but I do so under great protest.
great point Brad!
For the longest time all I have concentrated on were my arms and chest. Hell with the rest of the body, just as long as I looked good in short short sleeves and had that chest pumping. Yeah I would attempt the obligatory row here or there. Maybe do some half-assed squats, maybe a little shoulders, or God forbid some abs (still don’t like doing crunches), but the real focus was on my arms and chest. In fact, I did chest so much that my shoulders now are rotated forward.
I think for the most part that is what every guy concentrates on. At least that’s all I see them looking at in the mirror at the gym. They don’t really even need to have a full length mirror because they just focused on the waist up.
Now for the ladies, don’t think they are immune to this. I have noticed they all look at their butt and thighs. Their mirror just has to be from the waist down! Lol!
Why not work the largest muscles in your body? Duh! Well obviously I am not the sharpest tool in the shed!
Do the legs, Man!
So now I have seen the light. Sculpt the whole body.
So no more total Gunshow. I have begun my legs.
Thanks for opening my eyes a little Brad. Oh, and don’t worry, I still love working the arms the best – so the GUN SHOW will still be on!
Are you saying that to increase upper body mass, people should squat more often? Please clarify.
I only train legs once per week, and for good reason. I do lots of sprinting, soccer playing and bike riding. My legs get more than enough work during the week. My upper body does not, so I must train it often. I think a lot of people are that way, as well. Some are just lazy, though, and have chicken legs as a result. It’s pretty easy to see who does and does not need to train legs very often. You just have to be honest with yourself. If you have trouble fitting into a pair of jeans because your thighs are too big (and not from fat), you probably needn’t train legs too often.
God I hate leg training. Especially with all of the running around and soccer I do, my legs are constantly tired.
And if Hollywood hates legs on men it’s even worse for women. Stick legs are a must. Not to mention the pipe stem arms.
This is why women are told to do lots of boring cardio and no heavy weights. God forbid you should have muscle definition.
oh no, not at all. What I’m saying is that if you are interested in increasing overall skeletal muscle mass, then don’t neglect legs..think sports and weight class events.
Despite the myths, big legs don’t equal big upper body.
B
What I’m trying to say is…squat.
LOL! I love squats of all kinds. I like snatches and clean and jerks as well. Anything to keep the legs well muscled and finely tuned. I learned a long time ago as an elite competitive athlete when the legs go, you can call it a day. No thanks.
I love to train legs! My current program (madcow 5×5) allows me to squat 3 days per week.
Who doesn’t want a good set of wheels?
Mike
Hollywood likes legs.
http://www.sixpacknow.com/brad_pitt_troy.jpg
Not like he has big legs or anything, but they were added with CGI. A psychological phenomenon called the Mere-Exposure effect can pretty much account for why we(men) pay so much attention to our upper body given today’s summer fashion for men.
Squats don’t just give you good legs, they give you something you have yet to mention in your adonis effect blogs: A GOOD BUTT!
Women actually love butts. But they usually won’t tell anyone who asks them, because most people don’t squat or deadlift, ergo they don’t have butts.(Layman logic right there).
I don’t have a clue what the Adonis Effect program consists of, but you should add weighted glute bridges. They look ridiculous but women will start slapping your butt(seriously).
“Despite the myths, big legs don’t equal big upper body.”
I was hoping that’s what you were saying. Craig had an interesting post on that a few weeks ago (I think) about leg training and upper body building.
Great point. When you look around in the gym you wont see anyone doing squats, dead lifts. All i see is bench pressing and bicep curls!!! I started to leg exercises 6 months ago and my back got stronger and my back pain and knee pain got better. Dead lifts are great for knee pain. Do not believe in the myth that they will screw your back. Just do the in the right way.
Thx BRAD for the remainder
I definitely have chicken legs, but not because I’m lazy, my great uncle was a chicken.
My legs repel two things, sunlight, and progressive overload. I can’t help it, its in the DNA.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Brad Pilon and PraiseWalker, lowfat_recipes. lowfat_recipes said: Leg Training: Hollywood does NOT like legs… At least big muscular ones. Apparently Either do cartoon animators. I… http://bit.ly/a8Sf4y [...]
Surely you meant NEITHER do cartoon animators?
I agree people should develop their legs but I think there should be some proportion. Overdevelopment in proportion to the upper body can be just as unsightly as underdevelopment.
On second thoughts, another view is that many people will probably have the problem of being able to gain enough muscle rather than too much!
Doesn’t the AI program have 4 days of high volume shoulder dominant movements and 1 day of legs?
I did my leg day this morning (week eight of build) and i can’t describe how much reverse lunges just destroy me. I cringe at the sight of those words, they just butcher my insides and make me feel grose inside. Throw in some dumbbell squats and/Squat and press and im shaking in my boots, literally.
I follow the stronglifts 5×5 routine, so it feels like I’m always squatting. What’s crazy is that I am the ONLY person at a decent-sized gym that’s ever doing squats and deadlifts.
c’mon Brad. we all know that lots of squats and deadlifts cause a HUGE increase in test and gh production, therefore heavy squats will make your entire body grow magically….
I kid.
Depends on the program and issues that it’s adressing.
B
Yep, reverse lunges are the worst. I’d rather do squats then reverse lunges, which is why I should probably do more reverse lunges.
B
That was the only good part about training at a commercial gym…you knew you’d always be able to use the equipment you wanted on your leg day!
I use squats to improve my delt/trap/pec tie-ins.
B
Agreed…speed skaters are a great example of massive legs / small upper bodies. Could just be genetics..but is probabl a combo of genetics plus training..either way, it looks weird to me.
okay, I’ll say it – what do I do if I want muscle definition, but not MASS in my thighs? So I am a total girl (well, if at 57 I can say girl still) and want slim yet defined thighs. Squats and lunges?
I dig the post. I used to race bicycles competitively and I have (well, had) a tiny upper body and rather large legs.
I used to be really embarrassed when doing arms exercises since my arms are weak. Bring on the leg press and squats any time though. I’m a small guy but I can lift with the bigger dudes.
Funny note: Recall B Howard once saying that if your legs look too big, wouldn’t that make your *stuff* look smaller proportionately? Then again, that was B Howard.
Whoa wait a minute! JC said something that I have been told on the bodybuilding sites, “c’mon Brad. we all know that lots of squats and deadlifts cause a HUGE increase in test and gh production…I kid.”
This isn’t true? How many freakin myths are out there regarding bodybuilding! DANG!!!!
Brad, what do you think about Lars’s point about women liking a nice butt? Should that be a focal point for men?
What Leg Training Can Do For You…
Hollywood does NOT like legs… At least big muscular ones. Apparently Either do cartoon animators. I’m not even sure how Batman stood up, let alone pulled off 15 foot flying jump kicks….
Brad, I follow a program where I squat 3 times a week (I use compound lifts almost exclusively). I have gotten really good results thus far and have seen my flat butt actually take on mass. This is also true of my thighs and even calves. I am making very slow progression with weight to prevent injury…What is your particular lower body routine look like?
according to Rusty, you can depend on hill sprints and bicycle intervals to work your legs.
I’d agree with that…at a high level of intensity, both of those exercises can be brutal.
B
What to do when you cannot squat nore deadlift.
I blew my ligaments in the lower back 8 years ago from both squatting and deadlifting, now today after a year of prolotherapy treatments, i am back in the gym, i still have some pains.
When i do squat and not heavy i feel it in the lower back ligaments. I am fine doing leg pressing and leg extension.
When i deadlift i also feel it in my lower back ligaments. My forms are perfect on both exercises.
A lot of men look like triangles because they don’t workout legs at all.They make big arms,chest,back but their legs stay skinny and they look ridicolious.
What to do when you cannot squat nore deadlift.
I blew my ligaments in the lower back 8 years ago from both squatting and deadlifting, now today after a year of prolotherapy treatments, i am back in the gym, i still have some pains.
When i do squat and not heavy i feel it in the lower back ligaments. I am fine doing leg pressing and leg extension.
When i deadlift i also feel it in my lower back ligaments. My forms are perfect on both exercises.
Oh and i have the opposite problem. My legs are too big/muscular! Pure genetics in my case. I could leg press 500 pounds on first day in the gym ever.
Question to brad:
if i dont exercise legs am i speeding up muscle gain in upperbody. In other words is my growth limited in total or per body part. They say you can gain 10 pounds a year. Does that mean if you excercise just chest and shoulders you’ll gain all 10 pounds there? Is there a set amount of anabolism your body can distribute or is it more each muscle has its own set amount of anabolism?
How does that work?
HI Alex,
If you don’t need bigger legs, then there doesn’t seem to be much of a reason to spend time trying to get bigger legs.
Most people gain ten pounds in a year once in a lifetime, usually in their early twenties. NO ONE does 10 pounds a year, ever year.
If your legs are the size you want them to be, then concentrate your time and effort on other bodyparts.
B
Leg Training and What It Means…
Muscle Building – Hollywood does NOT like legs … At least big muscular ones. Apparently Either do cartoon animators. I’m not even sure how Batman stood up….
Brad Pilon Blog – What Leg Training Can Do For You…
Muscle Building – Hollywood does NOT like legs… At least big muscular ones. Apparently Either do cartoon animators. I’m not even sure how Batman stood up, let alone pulled off 15 foot flying jump kicks….