If You Skip Leg Day, Your Arms Won’t Grow As Much As They Could
Summary
TLDRThe video script discusses the interconnectedness of muscle growth, emphasizing that skipping leg day can hinder arm growth due to systemic effects of resistance training. It explains that while the trained muscle receives the most benefits, there are also whole-body responses, including hormone changes and muscle protein synthesis. The speaker uses an amplifier and speaker analogy to clarify this concept, suggesting that working larger muscle groups like legs can indirectly enhance the growth of smaller muscle groups, such as arms. The script also touches on evolutionary reasons for these systemic effects, advocating for balanced training to prevent imbalances and maximize muscle development.
Takeaways
- 💪 Skipping leg day can limit overall muscle growth, including in the arms, due to systemic effects on muscle development.
- 📚 Historical observations from the 1970s support the idea that leg strength training can indirectly affect arm size.
- 🧬 Scientific studies show that working out one arm can reduce muscle atrophy in an incapacitated arm, indicating a systemic muscle-building effect.
- 🤔 The systemic effect is not just attributed to the central nervous system (CNS) but also involves other factors like isometric contractions for stabilization.
- 🔊 The 'amplifier and speaker' analogy is used to explain how training large muscle groups (like legs) can enhance the development of smaller muscle groups (like arms).
- 🌱 Evolutionary perspective suggests that the body avoids imbalances for survival, which could explain the systemic muscle-building effect.
- 🏋️♂️ Large muscle group training, such as leg exercises, has a more significant systemic effect on overall muscle growth compared to smaller muscle groups.
- 🚫 Skipping certain body parts during workouts not only stunts the development of the skipped area but also limits the muscle-building potential in other areas.
- 🏋️♀️ Female clients who avoid upper body exercises may also limit their potential for building a larger butt, emphasizing the interconnectedness of muscle groups.
- 🤲 The importance of engaging the CNS for maximal strength output is highlighted by the grip strength example, showing the mind-muscle connection.
- 🧘♂️ The difficulty of activating muscles maximally while maintaining relaxation illustrates the body's natural tendency to engage the CNS for strength tasks.
Q & A
What is the main claim made in the script about skipping leg day?
-The main claim is that skipping leg day can limit the growth of your arms, as there is a systemic effect of resistance training that impacts muscle growth across the body, not just in the trained area.
How does the script explain the concept of systemic effects in muscle building?
-The script explains that while the muscle directly trained receives the most muscle-building effects, there is also a systemic effect that influences muscle growth throughout the body. This is supported by studies showing that training one arm can prevent atrophy in an incapacitated arm.
What is the role of the central nervous system (CNS) in the systemic effects of training?
-The script suggests that the CNS plays a significant role in the systemic effects of training. It is hypothesized that the CNS, through mechanisms like irradiation, helps to stabilize and contract muscles isometrically, contributing to the overall muscle-building effects.
How does the script relate the concept of an 'amplifier and speaker' analogy to muscle training?
-The script uses the analogy of an amplifier and speaker to explain how training one muscle group (like the legs) can indirectly affect other muscle groups (like the arms). Just as a stronger amplifier enhances the performance of all connected speakers, training large muscle groups can have a systemic effect on the entire body.
What evolutionary perspective does the script offer regarding muscle imbalance?
-The script suggests that from an evolutionary standpoint, the body seeks to avoid significant imbalances because they are disadvantageous for survival. The systemic muscle-building effect is seen as a mechanism to maintain balance and homeostasis in the body.
Why might someone experience increased upper body strength after focusing on leg training?
-The script explains that focusing on leg training can lead to increased upper body strength due to the systemic effects of training. As the body works to maintain balance, it may enhance muscle growth and strength in other areas, even if they are not directly trained.
How does the script address the impact of training large muscle groups on overall muscle growth?
-The script states that training large muscle groups like the legs has a more significant systemic effect on muscle growth than training smaller muscle groups. This is because working out large muscle groups involves more of the body, leading to a broader impact on muscle protein synthesis and hormone levels.
What is the script's stance on the effectiveness of free weights versus machines for muscle building?
-The script implies that free weights are generally more effective for building muscle and strength than machines due to the additional stabilization and systemic effects they provide. Free weight exercises often engage more muscles and require more from the CNS, leading to a greater overall impact.
How does the script illustrate the concept of CNS activation with a grip strength example?
-The script uses the example of grip strength to show how activating the CNS can increase strength. It suggests that squeezing while relaxed will yield less strength compared to squeezing while tensing the entire body, demonstrating the CNS's role in muscle activation.
What does the script suggest about the importance of training all body parts for optimal muscle development?
-The script emphasizes that training all body parts is crucial for optimal muscle development, as skipping certain areas can limit the potential for growth in other areas due to the body's systemic response to training.
Outlines
💪 The Impact of Skipping Leg Day on Muscle Growth
This paragraph discusses the widespread belief in the fitness community that skipping leg day can hinder overall muscle growth, including in the arms. It references historical observations and scientific studies that suggest training larger muscle groups like the legs can have a systemic effect on muscle growth throughout the body. The explanation involves concepts like muscle atrophy prevention, the CNS (central nervous system) effect, and the body's evolutionary drive towards balance and homeostasis. The speaker uses an analogy of an amplifier and speakers to explain how training one muscle group can indirectly benefit others.
🏋️♂️ The Systemic Benefits of Free Weight Training
The second paragraph delves into the systemic benefits of free weight training, particularly for the legs, and how it can affect upper body strength as well. It emphasizes that most free weight exercises inherently involve the upper body to some degree, either in stabilizing or holding the weight. The paragraph also touches on the idea that free weights generally promote more muscle and strength growth than machines, possibly due to the increased demand on the body's stabilizing muscles and CNS activation. An experiment is suggested to demonstrate the increase in grip strength when the whole body is engaged, highlighting the interconnected nature of muscle training.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Leg Day
💡Anecdotal Observation
💡Systemic Effect
💡Muscle Atrophy
💡CNS (Central Nervous System)
💡Irradiation Effect
💡Muscle Protein Synthesis
💡Hormone Levels
💡Myostatin
💡Evolutionary Standpoint
💡Free Weights
💡Imbalance
Highlights
The concept that skipping leg day can limit arm growth is scientifically supported.
Anecdotal evidence from the strength and bodybuilding community supports the systemic muscle building effects.
Studies show that training one arm can reduce atrophy in an incapacitated arm.
There is a systemic effect from resistance training beyond the trained muscle.
The central nervous system (CNS) may play a significant role in the systemic muscle building effect.
The analogy of an amplifier and speaker is used to explain the systemic effect on muscle growth.
Evolutionary perspective suggests the body avoids imbalances for survival.
Systemic muscle building effect is more pronounced with larger muscle groups.
Skipping certain body parts can impede muscle building effects on other parts.
Free weights generally build more muscle and strength than machines due to the systemic effect.
Upper body is involved in most free weight lower body exercises, contributing to the systemic effect.
The body's response to training can be demonstrated by comparing grip strength with relaxation versus full body tension.
Studies on incapacitated limbs show less muscle loss when the opposite limb is trained.
The body's mechanisms to prevent imbalances are crucial for optimal performance and health.
The importance of training both upper and lower body for overall muscle development is emphasized.
Female clients avoiding upper body exercises can limit their lower body muscle development.
Transcripts
time for some truth if you skip leg day
your arms aren't going to grow as much
either all right let's talk about this a
little bit i remember the first time i
read that somewhere i thought that was
an inch you know i don't remember i
think it was like a um i feel like it
was a t nation article that i read that
where it was like the article was titled
something like um you know hit a plateau
or your arms won't grow then um work on
your squat yeah it was like what yeah i
know yeah that blew my mind so so here's
the science behind it right so and by
the way this has been anecdotally
observed in uh strength building and
must bodybuilding world for a long time
i mean
there were articles
written in the 70s that would talk about
how adding
weight to the squat would get your arms
bigger or if you gained muscle in your
legs you would notice that you get
bigger arms so people have observed this
for a long time
what does this mean like how do we
you know explain this scientifically
well there are studies that show
great studies by the way
where if somebody has let's say an arm
that's broken or an arm that's
incapacitated
it will atrophy less
if you work the arm that's available in
other words
if i break my left arm
i'm better off training my right arm
because it actually prevents muscle loss
from happening in my left arm so
what's happening here in the weights is
explained is that there isn't a
localized acute effect from resistance
training in other words the muscle you
train is going to get most of the muscle
building effects but there's a systemic
effect yeah that happens as well do you
think this is all attributed to the cns
or do you think there's other factors at
play oh that's a good question or is it
just the irradiation effect
which would be the cnn which would be
the cns so it's yeah i mean in terms of
it also being able to stabilize and have
that isometric contraction
uh i'm sure would play a factor in that
because
if i after i read that the way that i
would explain it to like a client and
i wouldn't do it exactly this way but
i'll refine it with your analogy because
i like it so much and i've brought up
your analogy many times on the show
since you've brought it up because i
think it's one of the best analogies and
i think it works here also which is your
um amplifier and speaker analogy and
it's a good example of i don't use it in
your analogy
you just come up with random ones
like rap water yeah well
it's just so uh because this is hard to
explain to somebody right it's like
really like huh squatting more but if
you can explain the the amp and the
speaker analogy then it does make sense
it's like oh even though you're not
directly working on the speaker like for
example or one of the speakers you're
building the amplifier and of course if
you build a bigger better stronger
amplifier
it is going to directly affect
all the other muscles or speakers and so
i think that's how i would explain it to
a client is like even though we may not
be working on these specific speakers
right now by you squatting it's
squatting
amplifier so much to uh building a uh i
don't know the
more sophisticated cns you may say or a
a stronger cns signal yeah because of uh
its difficulty right so and that
carryover bleeds into the other mouth
yeah the systemic effect is very
interesting right there's a lot of
things that happen one is what you're
talking about then there's this like
general
you know increase in muscle protein
synthesis there's these general changes
in hormone levels
myostatin generally gets affected um as
well not just acutely or locally but
also kind of systemically
now i like to explain it from an
evolutionary standpoint i think the body
it to become super imbalanced
is evolutionarily disadvantageous so
although the body will allow you
to build a certain amount of imbalance
in order to make you better at whatever
you're attempting to do a lot of
too much of an imbalance starts to
become a detriment right
and i think that the the the systemic
muscle building effect is larger with
larger muscle groups and smaller with
smaller muscle groups so if i work my
biceps i'll get a localized muscle
building effect of the biceps and i'll
get some small systemic effect overall
but if it's like my lats or my quads or
my glutes or big muscle groups i mean if
you're working out your legs you're
working out half of your body
you get that localized effect but then
you get this again the systemic effect
and so when people skip body parts
they're actually not only are they not
developing the body part that they're
skipping which is most of the effect but
they're also impeding the
benefits or the muscle building effects
that they could get on other body parts
and you talk to anybody who's and i know
i had clients like this where they
skipped leg day all the time
and then they hired me and i'm like look
we can't do that i'm going to train your
legs i'm a trainer i have integrity so
we got to do it and then they also
gained upper body strength and mass yes
and they all comment on it why are my
upper body is getting stronger my arms
feel bigger like what's going on i'll
explain this and say well you know your
body
doesn't want to be that imbalanced
so skipping leg day yeah your legs are
small but your arms are not as big as
they could be as well that's why i
always trip on the human body has so
many of those mechanisms in place to um
prevent a lot of those imbalances from
happening or at least like kind of bring
it back uh to somewhat of a homeostasis
where it's it's most optimal and like
and this is the same thing with like you
know when you're in a state of famine uh
you know you're preserving calories uh
you know it has all these like
mechanisms in place to make sure that
you're utilizing you know the energy the
most efficient way possible totally if
you're training free weights also
there's actually not
very many i actually can't think of any
right now that are free weight i can
think of some machines but if you're
training legs there's you're almost
always incorporating upper body too oh
it's holding there's that factor too
yeah i mean you put 225 pounds or more
on your back um and your shoulders your
upper back your abs and core it has to
account for that load yeah so it's it's
getting worked of course it's not like a
direct
uh effect like if you were to do
shoulder press or do a row or whatever
like that but it's still it's still
getting worked you know so there's got
to be some value in that and right i
can't think of a free weight exercise
that you don't use a body now you could
do leg extensions leg curls leg press
where you where you take the upper body
out of it but most
free weight if not all free weight lower
body exercises still incorporates this
is one of the reasons why i think
generally speaking people debate this
all the time uh but i think if you were
to if you were to interview a hundred
top strength conditioning and muscle
building coaches
a majority maybe not all but a majority
would say that free weights generally
build
more muscle and strength than machines
do and i think that's one of the reasons
why right the free weights have you have
that that localized effect but they have
more of a systemic effect because so
many things are involved you have to
stabilize you have to stand with the
weight typically
if you're working your lower body you're
still holding the weight with your upper
body and all that stuff so
here's another example um if you if
you're watching this right now you if
you have something that can measure your
grip strength
go ahead and try squeezing as hard as
you can while maintaining total
relaxation in the rest of your body
don't grit your teeth don't squeeze
everything totally relax and just
activate your grip and then try it again
even though you might even be a little
fatigued from your first attempt and
then squeeze your entire body and see
how much stronger you are you'll notice
a 10 15 increase in strength by the way
you'll notice how hard it is to activate
maximally while relaxing everything it's
not a natural thing your body wants to
turn on its cns to generate oh i don't
even think you need something to measure
someone right now could literally just
make relax your mouth relax your body
squeeze your hand and then allow
yourself to grit your teeth and squeeze
the other hand and you can instantly
feel your your palm just get tighter oh
totally but the studies on like uh like
right to left like it's so interesting
like you'll have like one leg totally
incapacitated so of course it's gonna
atrophy
they'll train the other leg and they'll
compare this to groups where they don't
train the other leg and they just leave
them both
you lose less muscle
in the leg that's not trained
it's such an interesting but again
evolutionarily speaking it makes perfect
sense i mean our bodies evolved always
trying to make us help us survive
and so all of it makes sense from that
standpoint and like you mentioned you
know famine and metabolism adapting and
uh all that i mean it makes makes
absolute perfect sense but it is
interesting and a lot of people don't by
the way this is true for women too you
want to build big a bigger butt and
you're not working out your upper body
you're not going to build the butt that
you can because you're avoiding uh
training the rest of your point that
there is a lot of my female clients that
would avoid a lot of upper body exercise
especially a chest press or something
like that yes it all works together so
this is all very very important
hey if you enjoyed that clip you can
find the full episode here or you can
find other clips over here and be sure
to subscribe
[Music]
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