1. Johnny Bravo and Barbie are not real or ideal.

Being top heavy might be funny or even slightly demeaning in some cases but put either of these two body types in a body of flesh and bone without a leg to stand on and they will break down in a hurry.  Whether you are looking at performance or aesthetics, a great pair of legs carries every great physique.  Unless you plan on doing ads for KFC, you better find a home in a squat rack near you.

 2. Weak Legs are a Pain in the Back

Proper posture is often thought of as a spinal issue, but these issues start at the feet.  A tree is only as strong as the roots and stalk holding it up.  Here is just one of many common tales of poor lower body training working it’s way up. Weak glutes put more work on the lower back and hamstrings, leading to tight hip flexors that pull on the lumbar spine, creating an anterior pelvic tilt, protruding the abdomen, adding further pressure on the back and removing your sex appeal, this of course doesn’t matter because the excess pressure on the abdominal wall is transferred to the kidneys, increasing blood pressure and decreasing blood flow, which for a male leads to viagra over dosing which can cause blindness.  Don’t end up with no sex appeal and blindness, and erectile dysfunction, start doing some split squats this week.

 3. More Fat Loss

The exercises that exert the most physiological benefits for fat loss are Squats, Deadlifts, Step-ups, and their many variations.  The large muscles in the lower body burn more calories, create more lactic acid, and ultimately lead to a greater fat loss effect.  If you are going to depend on your bicep curls, tricep pushdowns and crunches to get you that six pack, you will be waiting a very long time.  You wouldn’t try towing a boat with a moped.  Don’t try burning fat without breaking out the big guns, which in this case are your quads, hamstrings, and glutes.

 4. Bigger, Faster, Stronger

Not only are lower body exercises better for creating the hormones the help you lose fat, but performed in a the proper variables also create more of the anabolic hormones for building muscles and increasing strength.  Heavy squatting alone will not increase your bench press, but if you do squats and bench press, you will increase your bench press faster than a guy doing leg extensions or treadmill sessions.  Ladies should not be afraid of these exercises either.  You wont get a masculine physique from these exercises, you will get a proper set of legs for conquering that bikini everyone wishes they could wear at the beach and the strength to wear it with pride.

 5. Quality of Life

Quality of life is perhaps one of the most important reasons to exercise.  Mobility impacts quality of life greatly as you age.  Proper lower body training helps maintain flexibility, strength, and mobility.  Being able to do the things you love doing long into you later years is much more likely when you have taken care of your legs with proper training.  If that’s not reason enough, maybe you would just like to prevent social mockery.

by Kassem Hanson

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