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Michael Collins

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How to Turn Your Body Into a Fat Burning Furnace

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Getting that Elusive "Six- Pack"

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Want a stronger upper body? Work your legs! By Michael Collins

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I don't know how many times I've heard people in the gym complain that their upper body is weak and small but they don't work legs because they "already do plenty of running for legs".

You usually hear this from the skinny (muscle- less) long- distance runners. “I always throw some pushups and sit ups into my running workout, but I don't know why I'm not getting any stronger”

Here's why. Your program stinks.

If you're a runner or simply want to increase your upper body strength, you need to train for it.

Why sit ups and push ups won't cut it

A lot of people do push ups and sit ups to increase their upper body strength. This is a great first step, but to get stronger, you need progression. You need to work with an ever- increasing resistance. You must put the body under a resistance that will cause micro tears in the muscle fiber, which will cause the body to rebuild by adding more muscle fiber. It will also increase the neural drive of the muscle group.

First and foremost, you need to perform a proper upper body strength training program. However, to really reach the full potential of your upper body you need to strength train your legs, which is the focus of this article.

Why running just doesn't cut it for legs

So why would would you need to strength train legs if you already run? Because running, like push ups, does not provide increasing resistance. You can run longer, but that'll only make you skinnier and weaker by losing muscle mass. You can run faster, like doing sprinting drills, which will work to strengthen your legs but only up to a point.

Why you need to work legs to get a stronger upper body

By working legs I mean strength training with the basic weight based exercises. Squats, deadlifts, leg press. Performing these compound exercises also stimulates growth of the upper body muscles. The upper body muscles are activated to handle the weight during these exercises.

Another reason to strength train legs is that the entire body gets used to handling heavy weights. You can handle a lot of weight on the compound leg exercises you because all the muscle of the body are activated, not just legs. As you increase the weight on movements like squat and deadlift, upper body strength goes up as well.

More upper body strength= more weight to be used during the exercise (overload)= more muscle. 

Heavy compound movements also cause a natural release of testosterone and growth hormone, which help stimulate the entire body grow. Remember that after a workout, protein synthesis is raised for several days.
 

Because you worked chest on Monday, doesn't mean Tuesday's and Wednesday's nutrient intake is irrelevant. In fact, it's the opposite. Working chest on Monday, and then doing a heavy leg workout on Wednesday, benefits chest because chest is not yet fully repaired and can take advantage of the increased hormonal profile along with the extra nutrients.

This effect isn't limited to chest. All body parts are effected. Biceps, triceps, back etc..

With all this benefit to be had from hitting legs hard, why would you avoid doing them? You wouldn't, not that you know better!

Don't forget that you need a solid eating program to provide a nutrient foundation. You'll also need some solid pre and post workout nutrition to bolster your efforts

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