LEG DAY
The dredded Leg Day. The one day we love and hate at the same time. We love it because working out our legs means exercising our entire body, and we hate it because leg day takes a toll on our entire body.
Why is exercising our legs so important? As mentioned, exercising our legs thoroughly is simultaneously exercising our entire body. Our legs are the foundation of the body. We use our legs to walk, run, bend, sit, kick, shuffle, scissor, as well as many other functions. When performing a back squat, we are utilizing lower body muscles in the; glutes, hamstrings, quads, and calves. Not to mention hips and core. Upper body muscles we are utilizing are back, traps, shoulders, and arms. Our entire body is functioning based on this one compound movement. The back squat puts a lot of stress on the central nervous system (CNS), allowing the body to feel the weight causing shock waves through our body to react to the weight as we are attempting to push up from our weakest point (squat position). Barbell Squat is a power/strength movement in which you are activating and strengthening the CNS.
Why do people hate leg day? In general, leg day is not the most desired. Personally, leg day is the best day for me, because I know I will get an entire body workout. When you have strong legs, it translates to a stronger bench press, deadlift, barbell row, shoulder press, and core. Performing only the barbell squat is not the only movement to build strong legs, however, it is the basic compound movement for building power and strength in your legs. If done correctly, safely, and efficiently, will build you an overall strong foundation.
I make it an effort to workout legs at least twice a week, maybe three depending on how my body feels. But I would recommend making leg day your most critical day of the week.