The Grip

The grip of the golf club is important because it is the extension of the golfer’s hands. According to the rules of golf, the grip has to be round, without obvious pockmarks which detract significantly from the roundness.

The Shaft

The shaft of the golf club connects the grip to the head and, like the grip, must also conform to accepted roundness rules. Most modern golf club shafts are made of either steel or a carbon-fiber and resin composite. Now it’s about time to explain the concept and the theory behind a golf club component. The operant word is assembly type. It’s like playing Lego set. So let’s say you want to fit your choice of shaft to the rest of the club components, you’ll be running into a vendor that sells a golf component kit. Now you’ve got to be careful about whom you trust in this business. It’s easy to ruin your investment. It can get scratched or worse, broken. It’s not a simple glue or Epoxy situation.

Some unscrupulous golf component vendors use a sacrificial laminate process, involving grinding the outside of the shaft. By cutting the fibers on the surface, energy and feel are lost. Solution: Look for a high grade modulus shaft fiber which results in very little loss of energy from your hands to the clubface.

Jonathan Berry has been publishing articles for over twenty years. Enjoy more golf related articles including merchant discounts at http://golf-clubs-reviews.info

To view this article on our website please visit http://golf-clubs-reviews.info/07-golf-club-components.html

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I am sorry to say, it is just not that easy. If it were then everybody would be a lot better. This, as we see every time out on the course is not so much the case.

In reality, no two people ever really swing the same way. Since each of us has a unique body build, some more unique than others, we need to develop our own individual set of muscles. A golf swing method used by one golfer who has a different build and has developed his or her set of golf muscles, is probably not of much value to you. Golf is an individual sport. So, find a method of playing that produces results for you, and then go with it. You will enjoy your time out on the links much more.

While it is often a waste of time to try and copy someone else, coaching by a pro can help you find your swing by getting suggestions and tips on how to improve. Just make sure you hire someone who will work with what feels comfortable for you and your natural swing.

If you hire a pro, make sure he is a superior player. You also want someone that is not going to just stand there and watch you swing. You want a pro that will actually show you how to get out of the sand and some less obvious shots you may come across in a round of golf. Make sure you are getting your money’s worth!

When you’re ready to play golf, and you’re faced with a shot, just make your decision on how you’re going to do things and stick with it. If you have a bad day of golf, don’t be inclined to change what you are doing. If you start changing things every time you have a bad game you will never get any better. But don’t be so hardheaded that you never try anything new either. We are looking for a middle ground. If after a few rounds something just isn’t working for you, then you need to change it. Just that. Keep the good and toss out the bad. Something about a baby and bathwater comes to mind.

Certain techniques are fundamental to the game and you should try to follow them. But don’t get too bogged down in these. It is almost impossible to make a good shot, when the whole time you are thinking of seven or eight things you need to be doing. When you are playing just play and when you are practicing then you can think about things like your grip, where your feet are, where the ball is, to keep your eye on the ball, to follow through, keep your head straight, etc. Hopefully the things practiced will just become natural for you when you get out on the course. This is the goal anyway.

Take your time and develop your own golf swing, one that works for you. When you’re playing at the top of your game, give those trying to imitate you the advice above!

About the Author: Jason Griffin loves playing golf and trying to help other golfers get more enjoyment out of the game. He is the guide behind the Guide to Golf Equipment - Your Information Source for Equipment Used for Golf. Get a little help finding the right golf equipment for you at http://www.guidetogolfequipment.com

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While changing your training variables is an integral part of the success of your training program, your workouts shouldn’t be drastically different every single time. If you are all over the place on each workout and never try to repeat and improve on specific exercises for specific set and rep schemes with specific rest intervals, then your body has no basis to improve on its current condition. The best way to structure your workouts to get the best results is to be consistent and try to continually improve on a specific training method for a specific time period. A time period of 4-8 weeks usually works best as your body will adapt to the specific training method and progress will slow after this amount of time.

At this point, it is time to change around some of your training variables as I described in the "exercise variables" article, and then stay consistent with your new training program for another 4-8 weeks. To refresh, some of these variables are the numbers of sets and reps of exercises, the order of exercises (sequence), exercise grouping (super-setting, circuit training, tri-sets, etc.), exercise type (multi-joint or single joint, free-weight or machine based), the number of exercises per workout, the amount of resistance, the time under tension, the base of stability (standing, seated, on stability ball, one-legged, etc.), the volume of work (sets x reps x distance moved), rest periods between sets, repetition speed, range of motion, exercise angle (inclined, flat, declined, bent over, upright, etc), training duration per workout, training frequency per week, etc.

For example, let’s say you are training with a program where you are doing 10 sets of 3 reps for 6 different exercises grouped together in pairs (done as supersets) with 30 seconds rest between each superset and no rest between the 2 exercises within the superset. If you are smart, I’m sure you are tracking your progress with a notepad (weights used, sets, and reps) to see how you are progressing over time. Let’s say that after about 6 weeks, you find that you are no longer improving with that program. Well, now it is time to change up your variables, and start a new program.

This time you choose a classic 5 sets of 5 reps routine, but you group your exercises in tri-sets (three exercises performed back to back to back, and then repeated for the number of sets). This time you decide to perform the exercises in the tri-set with no rest between them, and then recover for 2 minutes in between each tri-set to fully recoup your strength levels.

There you have it…a couple examples of how to incorporate both consistency and variability into your training programs to maximize your results. Want to take the guess work out of all of this? Pick up a copy of my book today at http://truthaboutabs.com and try the scientifically designed programs already illustrated within.

Michael Geary is a nationally dual certified personal trainer (NCSF-CPT, AFAA-CPT), and author of “The Truth about Six Pack Abs” ©2004-2005.

Visit http://truthaboutabs.com to receive several free bonuses that are yours to keep with no purchase necessary

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- Pre-Contemplation: When you’re not active, not thinking about it, and really don’t see why you should be;

- Contemplation: When you’re thinking about getting active, but not quite ready to get around to it yet; and

- Preparation: You’ve thought, you’ve decided, and you’re making arrangements as you read this ? you’re just about to start, honestly!

PRE-CONTEMPLATION

If you’re at the Pre-Contemplation stage, you don’t really want to change. Others might have said you should, or you may have read something about why activity’s supposed to be good for you, but deep down, you’re not convinced. As far as you’re concerned, there’s nothing wrong with your life exactly as is.

If this sounds like you, I invite you to take a candid look at your life. Are you truly happy with how things are? Look back over where you are now compared to where you were ten years ago. If the same trend continued for another ten years, would you honestly be happy with where you’d end up?

If so, congratulations! You’re the only person who knows what’s right for you, and no-one, including me, can tell you how you should feel about it. If there’s nothing you’d like to change about your exercise habits, you probably don’t need to be reading this article. If you find, however, that there are things about your life that could be better, let yourself think about them. What’s not exactly the way you want it?

What would your life look like if it *was* the way you wanted it? What would you feel like? You don’t have to do anything right now to change ? just let yourself think about what could be better.

CONTEMPLATION

If you’re at this stage, you know you want to make a change, and you’re thinking about what your life might be like if you make it. You’re not quite ready yet though, and that’s OK. Instead of beating yourself up for not having started yet, take a deep breath and give yourself a chance to really explore why you want to get more active.

What exactly do you want? To become healthier? Stronger? To slim down or tone up? Why do you want it? What difference will it make in your life? These are questions that will help to make it easier to stay motivated in future.

Think about how you could turn what you want into a specific, measurable goal. Ensure sure that goal is big enough to inspire you, but realistic enough that you don’t believe it’s doomed to failure from the beginning. If you have a *really* big goal (for example, to lose a large amount of weight, or to compete in a sporting event), think about breaking it down into a series of smaller goals.

Consider starting a fitness journal to answer these questions (if you already keep a journal, just write them in there). Once you’re sure you’re crystal clear on why you want to exercise, you’ll find yourself moving naturally into the next stage ? your ‘why’ will drive you to thinking about the ‘how’

PREPARATION

At this stage, you’ve decided that the need for change is stronger than the need to stay the same, and you’ve started thinking about how to make it happen. You might contact a gym, call a personal trainer, or just decide to go for a regular walk.

If you’re here now, it’s time to start exploring how you’re going to make your goal happen. There are many ways to be active, and it’s important to find what’s right for you. The quickest way to kill your motivation is to just throw yourself into the first exercise programme you come across and expect willpower to keep you going. Willpower may be a factor, but your programme also needs to be enjoyable, convenient, and work for your budget. Some possibilities you may want to consider include:

- Gym classes
- Dance
- Martial arts
- Mind/body activities like yoga or t’ai ch’i
- Walking/hiking/running
- Cycling
- Swimming
- Weights training

Record your research and thoughts in your fitness journal. If you can’t find anything that sounds like it will be convenient, enjoyable and affordable, think about consulting a fitness professional. Chances are, if you understand where you want to be and why, as you start investigating how you can create routines that will get you there *and* let you enjoy yourself when you do, you’ll find yourself itching to get started.

Which is when you move into the next stage - Action.

Copyright 2005 Tanja Gardner

Optimum Life’s Tanja Gardner is a Personal Trainer and Stress Management Coach whose articles on holistic health and relaxation have appeared in various media since 1999.

To read more articles like this one, please subscribe to Optimum Fitness News at http://optimumlife.co.nz/Newsletter%20Signup.htm. To find out more about how you could benefit from online personal training, please visit http://www.trainerforce.com/optimumlife/.

To find out more about holistic fitness and stress management please contact Tanja on tanja@optimumlife.co.nz

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I mean, how difficult could it be? You stand still, look at the hole at the other end of the green, look at the ball and then hit it as hard as you can with a metal or wooden club. Even better, once you do, you don’t have to run as fast as you can to the hole. Instead you take a taxi in the form of a golf cart. How sweet is that!

I had a rude awakening one day when a friend of mine managed to talk me into playing a few rounds down at one of the local courses. For starters there were no golf carts, so we had to walk around all 18 holes. That wouldn’t have been so bad but for the fact there were no golf caddies on that day either so we had to carry the bags of clubs around too. Damn those things are heavy! Golf caddy’s do not get paid enough.

To make matters worse, it began to rain half way through the game. So there I am, soaked, sore, tired and about to drive my tuft of grass another 100 yards, for that is all I seemed to be hitting all morning.

Someone must have super glued the golf ball to the tee because every time I looked down after swinging that freakin club, there it was, smiling up at me, wondering why I wasn’t hitting it. On the few occasions that I did manage to hit it, it made a lovely plopping sound as it hit the water, sinking into the murky depths of the nearest water hazard, never to be seen again.

Or I spent the rest of my time doing a David Attenborough as I searched through the rough long grass (in vein I might add) looking for that elusive white golf ball. I actually managed to find many day glow and colored golf balls on my safari for my own but alas it was never found.

In all I lost 12 golf balls that day but managed to recover 9 multi colored ones that didn’t belong to me. This leads me to believe I’m not alone in my inability to hit a golf ball straight. I didn’t come across the dead bodies of any lost golfers looking for their own golf balls but I was fully expecting to.

Just when I was about to assign golf to a watery grave by hurling my 9 iron as far across the nearest water hazard as I could, two extremely attractive females came walking over the hill behind us. They too were searching for their lost golf balls. (I swear you couldn’t make this stuff up if you were writing a film.)

We exchanged golfing disaster stories and after a bit of chatting decided to retire to the club house for the day to escape the rain and plan a new strategy of attack.

Thanks to my golfing disaster we now have dates for this Friday night and although I caught the cold, lost my balls and was thoroughly pissed off for most of the game. (I was losing a bet with my friend) I can’t help but feel that meeting girls at a stadium of 90,000 screaming fans just would not have happened.

Although I’m still useless at golf, my opinion of the sport has changed completely. Not only for obvious reasons but I’ve come to learn there is a great deal of skill required to hit a ball straight with a bent club in a cross wind.

So the next time you laugh at the poor guy or girl who is hitting a golf club into the ground repeatedly, show them a little sympathy as they may be at the end of their teather. And the next time you see a pro sink a ball in 2 shots, stand in awe at the amount of time, patience and effort they must have put in to their game to become THAT good.

Jack Crow is a freelance writer and part time golfer. When he’s not writing articles he’s trying to improve his golf swing at his local course. To read golfing tips and secrets he has discovered visit: Golf

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Those that are just beginning to strength train, those that are rehabilitating a body part, those who want to isolate a particular muscle, and those that want to lift large amounts of weight would be better off selecting a machine. It is safer for your circumstances.

Here’s why, free weights require users to have a base of strength, balance and coordination. Machines provide that balance for you. Using a machine the strength trainer can lift a weight in a relatively safe manner. The exercise is guided along a pre-set path that does not allow for unsafe movements. With free weights you are left to your own devices. Your exercise path is whatever feels best for you.

If you are setting up your own in-home gym, I would go with a set of dumbbells. They are less expensive and take up less space. Less is good. Buying an all-in-one machine may be what interests you more and that’s fine. Just be sure that all of the cable lines are of strong and high quality material. Otherwise they will wear out over time.

If you want variety in your exercise program, try free weights. You can virtually do any exercise you want. You can also add in fun side kicks such as a stability ball or balance board. With machines you are limited to the one exercise it was built to perform.

In the end, the decision is yours. I think everyone has their own opinion on which is better because we all have different goals and tastes. Go with what you enjoy and prefer. Just be sure to keep your routine fresh and fun.

Copyright 2005 strength-training-woman.com

Lynn VanDyke is the proud owner of http://www.strength-training-woman.com. She is a certified personal trainer, nutritionist, and yoga instructor.

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A great question that has a good answer, but before we give you the answer let us provide some background so the answer makes a little more sense to you. First of all, discussing the golf swing for the time being will get us rolling.

What exactly is the golf swing? The golf swing is an athletic movement that requires using of the entire body from "feet to fingertips" in order to complete the swing. Realize that the golf swing is not about the club, not just about your grip, or where your head is during the swing. The golf swing is a movement that requires your entire body to move through a sequence of movements with the correct timing. To perform the "athletic movement" of the golf swing requires the body to begin at address, move through the actual phases of the golf swing and complete it with the follow through. In order to perform this activity with efficiency and repetitively, the body must have certain physical parameters.

These parameters, as I call them, are actual physical categories of the body that need to be developed to a certain level. These categories of the body are the platform from which the body is able to perform the athletic movement of a golf swing efficiently. The categories are probably familiar to many of you, but for the purpose of this article let us briefly run through them.

The body is required to have certain levels of flexibility, balance, endurance, strength, and power to complete a golf swing. If the body lacks in any of the above categories, then the results will be seen in the golf swing. The results are usually in the form of poor mechanics, bad shots, or poor scores on the course. So, now that we know what the connection is between the "body" and the "swing" let us address the question about the best exercises for golf.

The Best Exercises for Golf

Let’s say you walk into your local health club and see all the fancy machines and aerobic machines at the facility to get you shape. What ones would choose? Would you choose running on the treadmill for 30 minutes, or would it be better to push out a couple sets of bench presses? Well, the answer to our question really lies within the connection between your swing and your body.

I will tell you that exercises meant to "pump you up!" or give you that "six pack" are not necessarily the correct exercises for your golf game. Neither is that weight training program you used back in high school. So, with those thoughts in mind what do you think the best exercises for golf are?

Right now we know, in general terms about the golf swing, what is required of the body for the golf swing and what exercises are not good for the swing. Armed with that knowledge we can decipher what the best exercises for golf are for you.

Beginning with flexibility, we know that the entire body must move through certain ranges of motion to perform an effective golf swing. And what happens if your body is not able to move through the required ranges of motion of the golf swing? The answer: the golf swing will mechanically suffer resulting in shots that are less than optimal. So part of the exercises that are good for golfers are flexibility exercises and, even more so, flexibility exercises that work the muscles used in the golf swing through the movements involved in the golf swing. So first and foremost flexibility exercises should be on the top of your list.

The second category of exercises that would be conducive to the golf swing would have to do with balance. We hear about balance in reference to the golf swing all the time. "Stay balanced through the swing; transfer your weight to maintain balance during the swing?" But what does balance exactly mean? Balance is the ability to control your body through a specific movement pattern. The movement pattern we are discussing just happens to be the golf swing. We know the importance of balance in relation to the golf swing, so how do we train our body for better balance in the golf swing? Before we answer that question we need to know a little more about balance. Balance in relation to the body has to do with the connection between your nerves and muscles. Essentially your nervous system, as a result of messages sent from your brain, tells your muscles how to move to maintain the body’s balance. The more efficient your nerves and muscles are to these messages the greater balance abilities the body develops. So balance exercises train both the nervous system and muscular system to become more efficient at this function. Summing it all up, balance is the second category of exercises that will assist your golf game.

The third category of exercises that are beneficial to golf have to do with your muscles. The golf swing requires the muscles of your body to move through a specific range of motion (flexibility) and help with your balance capacities. In order to perform these actions and others, your body needs certain levels of strength and endurance. The definition of strength is the ability of the muscles to exert force for the given "athletic action" (simplified definition but a good working definition for us). Endurance is the ability of your muscles to do the same activity over and over again for a specific amount of time.

First off, let us discuss strength. The golf swing has one intention of developing club head speed while maintaining balance through the swing. The muscles in your body must have enough strength in them to do both. Now, when we discuss building strength for the golf swing it is NOT the type of strength needed to bench press 250 lbs. Or squat 500! It is strength geared towards the improvement of your swing. I refer to this type of strength as "golf strength." So when you get to the gym, performing strength exercises like bench press will not help your swing. Exercises that train the body in the positions and through the movements of the golf swing will help your swing.

In addition to strength, we need to develop endurance in your muscles. Think of how many swings you may take over the course of 18 holes. In order for you to be able to swing the club the same way on the 18th hole as you did on the 1st hole. Your body has to have high levels of endurance. This will allow your body to perform the golf swing without getting tired. You develop endurance similar to how you develop "golf strength." Utilize exercises that train the body in the positions and through the movements of the golf swing. Lighter loads with higher repetitions will be used for these exercises. The end result will be the development of "golf endurance."

The final segment of exercises beneficial to your golf swing is power training. Power training is geared towards the ability of your body to generate high levels of club head speed. Power development by the body is what allows for greater distance on your shots. Clubs help, golf balls help, but it really comes down to the piece of machinery, your body, swinging those club and hitting those golf balls. Development of power for the golf swing is very similar to the development of "golf strength and endurance." It is the utilization of exercises that place your body in the positions and move you through movements similar to the golf swing.

Summary

So there you have it, the answer to the types of exercises best for the improvement of your golf swing. I think you now realize it is not one exercise, but a group of exercises that incorporate flexibility, balance, endurance, strength, and power. A combination of these exercises is what will enhance your golf swing. Looking for specific exercises? Take a look at our website www.bioforcegolf.com

Sean Cochran is one of the most recognized golf fitness instructors in the world today. He travels the PGA Tour regularly with 2004 Masters Champion Phil Mickelson. He has made many of his golf tips, golf instruction and golf swing improvement techniques available to amateur golfers on the website http://www.bioforcegolf.com. Check out his manual and DVD, Your Body & Your Swing, on BioForceGolf.com. To contact Sean, you can email him at support@bioforcegolf.com.

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Unfortunately, the information that gave lactate this unearned reputation is outdated and very questionable since the research on which this theory is based was isolated frog muscle experiments from 1910-1914. The experiments were performed and the lactate theory proposed by A.V. Hill and associates. Basically, these investigators took excised frog muscle and continuously stimulated it with electric shocks until failure and then took lactate samples for analysis. Lactate levels were extraordinarily high, and from this finding the scientists came to the conclusion that lactate buildup must have been the culprit for the fatigue and ultimate failure of the muscle. Hill also concluded that since there was no blood and therefore oxygen supply to the muscle, that this condition must have been the cause of the accumulation of lactate.

These investigations however were highly flawed in their design, since the muscle had been removed from both its nervous and its circulatory (arteries and veins) systems. Since the electrical stimulus was applied at a fixed voltage from an external source, one cannot correlate this with the situation of a live muscle in an animal with a nervous system and brain that regulates nervous and motor input to the muscles. One must account for the possibility of central or nervous fatigue limiting activity. With the absence of a circulatory system, how was the generated lactate supposed to be transported away from the working muscle via the veins? Also, the regulation of metabolism, which is highly dependent on hormonal control, was eliminated with the loss of blood circulation. Clearly, there were big problems with these early experiments, but amazingly the theory in all its weakness has been upheld to the present day!

Few people realize that lactate generation is actually necessary to allow moderate to intense exercise to occur. It is the conversion of a product known as pyruvate to lactate that enables the glycolytic (a fast energy generating metabolic process using glucose) system to continue working at a fast rate. Lactate is formed during moderate to intense exercise, when the human body relies heavily on carbohydrates and the glycolytic system to produce energy. All metabolic processes are highly regulated and only a fixed amount of energy-supplying product or substrate may be used at a time before a backup or "metabolic bottleneck" develops. A good analogy to visualize the regulation of a metabolic pathway is to consider energy substrates as an army of soldiers marching to, and through a tunnel. When the first few soldiers enter, they can move quickly and unrestricted, but as the number trying to enter increases, the process slows down dramatically. The conversion of pyruvate to lactate prevents the excess pyruvate from clogging up the pathway, bringing glycolysis to a grinding halt. This slowing of glycolysis obviously does not occur, because if it did running events such as the 400m would be impossible. As we shall see in another article on this site, the accumulation of lactate in the blood is the direct result of this "redirection" of energy in the body not because of a lack of oxygen in the muscles as Hill proposed. (see The Lactate Threshold - Reality or Fallacy? ). Lactate as will be described below, is actually a useful and readily available source of energy for the body to utilize.

Recent research is supplying some very interesting information concerning the role of lactate and muscle performance. George Brooks at the University of California at Berkeley has dedicated much of his career to exploring the role of lactate during exercise. Brook’s investigations indicate the presence of a "lactate shuttle" that allows for the transportation of lactate from one muscle to another. The glycogen (stored carbohydrate) stored in muscle is destined for use in this tissue only, unlike liver tissue, which is able to release glucose into the bloodstream to be used by the rest of the body. The lactate shuttle is proposed as being a means for muscles to be able to "share" and redistribute their glycogen stores to other muscles and tissues in the form of lactate not glucose. For many years it was thought that lactate was a metabolic by-product that to be of any use it had to be transported via the blood to the liver to generate glucose via a process known as the Cori Cycle, but there is evidence to indicate that tissue such as red muscle, heart and brain tissue can directly oxidize the product. Therefore lactate can be utilized by tissue very close to, or even far from the source of generation. The shuttle works via the interaction of the circulatory system and the presence and operation of special transporter proteins located in muscle called mono carboxylic acid transporters (MCTs). These transporters are able to efficiently transport lactate from the blood into adjacent or distant muscles in the body. The inactive muscle can actually store the lactate, thereby further lowering the concentrations in the blood and active muscle. According to Brooks, lactate is far from a metabolic dead-end and may in fact be the most important metabolic fuel used by muscles especially during exercise. Estimates are that approximately 70% or more of the lactate generated during exercise is actually consumed or oxidized while only 19% is converted to glycogen.

In conclusion, the dubbing of lactate as a metabolic dead-end and as an exclusive cause of muscle fatigue was hasty but may have seemed appropriate at the time. Since then however technological advances in research have provided some quite contradictory evidence to the role of lactate. Amazingly, lactate may in fact be a "super fuel" for the body during exercise sessions that produce large quantities of the product. Exercise science will continue to investigate the role and contribution of lactate to exercise but in the meanwhile runners and athletes alike can rest assured that lactate is not the enemy but may in fact be an ally.

David Petersen is a Personal Trainer/Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and the owner and founder of B.O.S.S. Fitness Inc. based in Oldsmar, Florida. More articles and information can be found at http://www.bossfitness.com

NOTE: You’re free to republish this article on your website, in your newsletter, in your e-book or in other publications provided the article is reproduced in its entirety, including this note, author information and all LIVE website links as above.

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Believe me? I hated leg workouts. Until I realize the true potential that a simple set of squats could unleash.

Frankly? I see the same people on the leg press machine, leg extensions, doing lunges and doing squats week after week. But for every other muscle group, it’s like a new day. There’s the familiar faces of course, but there’s always new people. It’s like working leg is an exclusive club.

And yet that is 50% of your body! Your entire lower body you will neglect because:

? You don’t like working legs
? You don’t want bigger legs
? Your leg are big enough

But let’s suppose? you do work legs. And without much weight at all. Just enough to stimulate your entire body propelling it into new levels of growth. Do you think that is possible?

How can doing squats increase our bench press? If you are stuck on bicep curls, how can incorporating legs into your routine break you thru those plateaus?

I’m here to tell you right now, as you read this, that doing leg workouts is a whole lot more then just getting bigger, more toned, or stronger legs.

Think about it. Testosterone is a primary ingredient of building muscle. So you do a hard set of tricep pushdowns. Your body responds by making more testosterone. Let’s just guess at 10% more for the day. Phew. Hard workout. Good job!

Do you qualify as one of those people?

But,? let’s say you do a set of breathing squats at 100% intensity.

You just boosted your testosterone production 1000%.

Do you think I’m being facetious?

But back to the purpose of this question. Working your legs isn’t an option. It’s something you do. So you don’t want bigger legs? Fine. Don’t pile on the weight. Don’t overload them. Just stimulate your metabolism, and stimulate your body changing. So you don’t like legs? Get over it.

Fact is, by incorporating legs into your workout, you will see more gains in 6 weeks then most people do in 3 months.

Don’t take my word for it. Look around at your gym? The guy with a huge upper body and tiny chicken legs. Do you want to look like that? Who are the bigger guys in your gym? Who are the women that you most want to look like? I can assure you those people do legs. Any top notch physique does legs.

Doing a cardio machine that uses legs is not the same.

So that’s why working your legs is so important. Please do not make excuses. You do not have to train to failure where you cannot walk. You don’t have to squat 600 lbs. You simply must train the 50% of your body that pretty much 80% of everybody just doesn’t do.

Next time you are in the gym take a good look around. Notice the leg equipment. Notice the same people using that week after week.

Become one of the individuals at your gym that trains legs and discover the secret to growth.

Here are the reasons why working every muscle - not just certain ones - is the superior method of getting the results you want:

1. Builds lean muscle
2. Reduces body fat levels
3. Increases energy
4. Balances blood sugar in the body
5. Increases neuromuscular efficiency
6. Improves sexual performance
7. Lowers cholesterol in the body
8. Protects against heart disease
9. Improves mood

All the above reasons are by-products of increased testosterone. For men, this means better muscle gains. For women, don’t worry you don’t have enough testosterone to get big and bulky like a man. For everybody, working legs will help you with the above factors and assist you in reaching your goals.

Marc David is a bodybuilder, writer, and author of the the e-book “The Beginner’s Guide to Fitness and Bodybuilding” (BGFB): What Every Beginner Should Know but Probably Doesn’t. The Beginner’s Guide is oriented towards fitness minded men and women who are just starting or have worked out for years without results who want weight loss and to gain muscle. To learn more about the Beginner’s Guide, visit Beginning-Bodybuilding at: http://www.beginning-bodybuilding.com

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