Get ready, because I’m not sure there are many things I could get more fired up about than this. The answer to “Do I Need to Train My Legs?” from me is a serious, and definite, look-you-in-the-eye…HELL YES! You need to train your legs. Your legs are half your body!!

Leg training is probably the toughest and most exhausting type of resistance work you can do, and for this reason every excuse in the book is made to skip it. Here are some of the more classic excuses and their resolutions..

Excuse #1: I do my legs when I’m doing my cardio. Cardiovascular training, in general, is not going to provide the maximal training effect necessary to have your legs be in optimal shape. Cardiovascular training is rhythmic and repetitive in nature, and therefore provides minimal loads over long periods of time on the legs. Though this may help leg definition when you are just starting to exercise, it will not provide the best muscle shape and strength that resistance training your legs can provide.

Excuse #2: I don’t want to train my legs because it makes me sore and makes my cardio harder. Resistance training your legs has been proven to strengthen cardiovascular performance over time. Ok, I will give you that a hard legs day can make you more sore prior to a cardio day and decrease the performance on that one day. This is an indication that you need to re-arrange your program, not that you should skip legs entirely. Plan leg workouts to land before rest/recovery days. Or better yet, try doing your short cardio workouts before strengthen training on the same day as your leg routine once you’ve built up the stamina.

Excuse #3: I don’t want my legs to bulk up because my pants won’t fit any more. If your pants don’t fit because you’re in better shape, more power to you. You should be proud. It is common for there to be some inflammation or building out of the muscle for a day or two after a workout. Don’t plan skinny jeans days to coincide with these days. Over time strength training should decrease fat on the leg and make a more dense compact and shapely leg. You can anticipate that proper strength training of the lower body will increase the thickness and concavity of the glute muscles. The glutes are the powerhouse for all hip extension work, especially as you get into heavier faster movements. A strong, firm, outwardly rounding butt, is a healthy butt. Own it and love it.

On the whole, there are huge benefits towards developing full body strength and tone from including leg workouts. Lifting legs can strongly increase your metabolism and help with weight loss. It will help to substantially improve your cardiovascular fitness and your calorie burn per workout session. Lifting legs will also enable you to be more strong throughout your musculature as more strength hormones will circulate throughout the body from training these large muscles. This may even improve your performance on upper body exercises.

Here are 8 leg movements that you should work towards including for 3 sets of 10 to start in every week of training at least once, and twice if you can find a way:

Front Squat- Racking the weights on the front of the body increases the involvement of the gluteal muscles which power so many leg exercises and help to correct for the often dominant hip flexors most of us have from sitting and driving 10-12 hours of the day.
Back Squat- Squats are a great way to develop standing core strength and stability. Be sure to engage your abdominals by drawing in as you enter the working (or up phase) of your squat. Squats also will help maintain bone density.
Romanian Deadlift- This large movement involving hip extension is often missed by the gym-goer because they are not sure how to keep their low back from becoming overly involved. (The low back is a secondary mover, here. Not the dominant muscle of the exercise.) The key is to start with very light weight, keep your eyes towards the ground a couple feet in front of you, move with a flat back and begin the movement from your gluteals. Imagine squeezing a quarter between your cheeks, engage the abdominals and then stand up into the movement.
Reverse Lunge- This quad dominant lunge is a great starter lunge for working on strength in deceleration. Start with just your body weight if you’re not used to moving backward.
Forward Lunge- Forward lunges have awesome crossover effects to cardiovascular exercise, by working on your gait, push-off, full range of leg motion, and increasing your heart rate.
Step Up- Start with step ups where you repeat on one leg, leaving that leg on the step surface as you step on and off with the other. Focus on open-chest posture, and pressing through the heel of the leg on the step.
Lateral Lunge- Moving sideways is something we do less often that is a great neuromuscular challenge for the body. As you lunge to your side, make sure knees and feet stay facing forward and that knees stay aligned with second toes. Most sports includes a large amount of lateral motion, so get ready to see some benefits on your tennis or basketball game.
Leg Press- The leg press is a fantastic place to develop sheer leg strength. Be careful to read your machines directions and keep your knees tracking safely towards your shoulders as you move through the motion.

Add one or even two leg days into your week and get ready to really lose some body fat. Expect to be tired and plan your rest accordingly. The best of your fitness level is yet to come!