there is a popular saying in gyms nowadays: "If you don't train your chest but not your legs, you will regret it sooner or later; if you want to last longer, train your legs every day". For beginners who have just joined the gym, this phrase may not have been heard, but on the contrary, senior veterans are familiar with it and have a deep understanding of it in their practice workouts, which shows that both upper and lower limb exercises are closely related to the legs, and we should exercise and protect them.
how important is leg training?
Increase basal metabolism and grow muscle strength
in terms of the muscular structure of the whole body, the leg muscles are the largest muscle group in the body. Regularly strengthening it will increase the metabolic rate of the legs, reduce the accumulation of fat, better promote the growth of thigh muscles and therefore improve the strength of the thighs.
delaying the body's ageing
as the saying goes, "The legs age before the person ages." -tells us how to look at a person's aging, mainly by looking at his legs. This is because the legs are furthest from the heart and the nutrients needed are transmitted more slowly, so if you exercise regularly, you will promote blood circulation, so that the blood transmits nutrients to the legs in time, enhancing the density of the bones in the legs and delaying the degeneration of the bones.
ability to produce more androgens
improving leg exercises will boost the production of testosterone in the body, which is a beneficial thing for male friends.
Enhances cardiopulmonary function
by exercising the legs you can increase the speed of blood circulation and provide the heart and lungs with a sufficient amount of blood, ensuring that they work properly, from which they increase their efficiency and capacity, avoiding blockages in the blood vessels and reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
How can we protect our legs after training?
some bodybuilders often neglect static stretching of their legs after high-intensity leg exercises, resulting in the consequence of not being able to walk out of the gym. Therefore, if you want to protect your legs, you should carry out targeted stretching as a way to improve your exercise effect.
Stretching action i: Side straddle deep squat stretching exercise
preparation posture: Step across the legs in a deep squat, lean slightly forward with your upper body, straighten your arms down between your legs, press your hands palms down on the ground and keep your body stable.
Stretching process: Adjust your breathing, stretch your quadriceps, medial muscles and calf muscles to the maximum, hold the position for 10 seconds, then relax and stand up, switch to the other leg and practice, it is recommended to do 10 reps on each side of the set, 3-4 sets in total.
Stretching action ii: Knee lift and thigh rotation
preparation position: Standing position, arms hanging naturally at the side of the body, feet one foot wide apart.
Stretching process: Tighten the core, lift one leg upwards, thigh parallel to the ground, calf perpendicular to the ground, the other leg upright, support to maintain the stability of the body, then lift the leg from the front to the outside of the rotation, do a large stretch and contraction of the leg muscles, then restore the leg change exercise, left and right leg practice 20 times each, do a total of 3-4 groups
stretching action iii: Bowing stretch
preparation posture: Stand with your body in a standing position, distance between your feet hip-width apart, arms bent at the elbows holding the back of your head, keeping your body stable.
Stretching process: Keep your legs taut, then make a downward bow, bend your upper body down, keeping your back parallel to the floor and hold the position for 1 second to maximise the stretch of the hamstrings and the posterior calf muscle groups. Then lift the upper body up, return to the starting point and repeat. It is recommended that this stretch be practised 20 times for a total of 3-4 sets.
The above 3 stretches, although seemingly simple, it can well relieve the tension of the muscles after practicing legs. In addition to the above movements, we can also do massage to the leg muscles with the help of foam shafts, so that the stiff muscles of the legs are relieved and the lactic acid after exercise is discharged through stretching and massage, which will not affect the next day's exercise and therefore improve the exercise effect.