I Want Killer Legs! Why Can't I Workout Legs Every Day?
Updated: Jun 11, 2022
Why You Shouldn't Workout One Body Part Every Single Day.
Yes, it's true I am not a huge fan of leg day. It's my least favorite day. However, as I continue to work on my legs and I get stronger. I am actually starting to enjoy leg days. That does not mean that I should focus on legs every single workout! Just like I should not focus on upper body every single workout.
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Pitfalls of Over Training
Why shouldn't you only focus on one body part? Doing too much of one type of exercise, whether it's lower body or upper body, and not adding in adequate rest times can lead to risk of injury or pain.
For example, performing lower body exercises every single day is a lot of impact on your knees and legs and does not allow your body to fully recover. In addition, doing a full-body strength training workout on consecutive days can overwork your muscles and not allow for your body time to recover.
Even I have fallen into this pattern and not allowed my body to fully recover leading to some muscle tightness and pain. While teaching classes at the local YMCA this spring, I would complete my own strength training program and then teach a bootcamp style class. This led me to overworking certain muscles and not properly recovering.
Other pitfalls of over training include, hitting a plateau and getting bored.
How Often Should I Train?
If you absolutely love working out a certain body part I would recommend working out that body part no more than three times a week, and skipping a day in between. This allows for recovery in between training days.