Why Does Everyone Hate Leg Day?

If you have ever had a chat with some of the members of your local gym, you may well have discovered that most people dread leg days. Indeed as a result of this, some people will ignore leg workouts altogether and just concentrate on their upper body, which can look very strange indeed.

So why does everyone hate leg day?

Well speaking from my own personal experience, I can think of several reasons why people hate working specifically on their legs, which are as follows:

1. Long And Painful Recovery Times

I think the main reason why people dislike leg days is because if you are doing some of the more effective leg exercises, such as squats, lunges and deadlifts, for example, and are using sufficiently heavy weights, it can take several days for your legs to fully recover after a particularly strenuous workout.

You can almost guarantee that you will still be in pain the very next day, and maybe a few days after that. You will suddenly find that walking up and down stairs is a real challenge, and even something as simple as sitting on a toilet can be immensely uncomfortable.

2. Slow Results

It can be discouraging when you first start working on your lower body, particularly if you have really skinny legs to begin with, because it can take quite a long time before you see any noticeable results.

Although you will feel your legs becoming stronger as the weeks go by, and may well have gained an extra inch or two in the process, your legs will often look pretty much the same to the naked eye, which can put a lot of people off.

3. Squats Are Hard As Hell

There is another obvious reason why everyone hates leg days and that’s simply because squats are hard as hell.

Although they are widely considered to be one of the most effective leg exercises you can do, the fact is that they require a great deal of physical effort and never really get any easier because once they become too easy, it’s time to increase the weight of the barbell or dumbbells in order to keep on progressing.

4. Leg Workouts Make You Feel Ill

The one good thing about leg workouts is that because your legs are so big, you can use much heavier weights than you would otherwise use when working other parts of your body.

However this puts immense pressure on your body, particularly when you are doing squats, and so you can sometimes feel dizzy and sick if you really push yourself to the limit, which is obviously not a nice feeling, and is sometimes enough to put many people off leg workouts altogether.

5. A Wasted Day

I often hear people telling me that they hate leg day because to them it feels like a wasted day, and I can understand this view to some extent.

The fact is that in most western countries your legs will be covered up for at least 9 months of the year, so after all the effort that you’ve put in, nobody’s going to see your legs anyway.

There’s also the fact that arm and chest workouts are simply a lot more fun, and the results are generally a lot more satisfying. Therefore you want to be working on your upper body all the time, despite knowing deep down that you need to work on your legs as well in order to create a balanced appearance.

6. Risk Of Injury

The final reason why many people dread leg day is because there is always a small chance of getting injured. Squats in particular put tremendous strain on your knees and back, and so if your technique isn’t absolutely perfect, you know that there is a chance you could do some damage if you’re not concentrating on what you’re doing.