5 Things Only Those Who Never Skip Leg Days Can Relate To

I first started lifting weights when I was 18. My parents bought a house in Setia Alam near the Canopy Club at Setia Eco Park (the house was finished only recently and my parents moved in last December – I have yet set foot in there). With the house being close to the Canopy Club – where the weight room is located – I would tag along with my parents as they'd drive there to check on the house, meet up with the contractor and what not. In the mean time, I would workout. At first, it was only a once a week routine, in which I would do a full body workout. However, over time, I started heading there by myself during the weekdays, which was when I started doing split day workouts. Whether I was doing a full body workout or a split day routine, one thing remained the same – I would work on my legs at least once a week. Going through a week without a leg workout would have me feeling weak, and I take pride in knowing that I do my best in never skipping them. Week after week, workout after workout, there's a sense of accomplishment in every completed session of lifting – and I know I'm not alone on this. Just as how I'm not alone in facing these issues that only those who never miss leg days can relate to:

1. We walk slower than our non-leg day buddies and get laughed at/ridiculed for it. 

"Why are you the slowest? What's the point of all those muscles if you're moving this slow?" "Aren't you an athlete? You should be moving 10x faster than us!" Whichever way you put it, we get a lot of heat for being slow walkers. For those non-leg day people, here's the reason why we walk slow: our legs are sore ALL the time. Chances are that when you see us in person, our legs are tired and recovering from the squats and leg presses. You see, after having completed a leg day, we take a few days to rest. At this point in time, our legs are at its worst. They're so sore and stiff that even the simple task of standing up after watching a movie will have us grimacing in pain. Then once the soreness is gone (or not sometimes), we're back at it again punishing our quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. It's a never ending cycle that we leg day goers have to live with – unless of course if we're injured (which means we would still be walking slower than you, or not walking at all). That is why when we walk, we want to put in the least amount of energy possible into it. 

2. Stairs are our worst enemy. 
 This pretty much sums up our feelings about staircases:

3. Our jeans are loose at the waist, but tight around the thighs. 
That's right, for us leg day goers, it's tough to pick out a pair of jeans that fits perfectly. Often times we have to squeeze our thighs through our jeans thanks to our bulging quads and hamstrings. And if we try to get one that is comfortable at the thighs, it's almost always too loose at the waist without having to wear a belt. We can't have it both ways, but we'll take either one of it over having those unsightly chicken legs. 

Jeans specifically.

4. Picking up an object from the floor is a hassle. 

We all been there, having dropped something in front of us, or worse, someone else drops something that lands within our radius. Do I squat? Do I do a semi-straight-legged deadlift? Which would hurt less? Do I just wait for that someone to pick it up and risk being labeled unhelpful? By the time we're done thinking, someone would have picked it up. Thank you kind person. 

Nuff' said.

5. We often question the reasons as to why we would punish ourselves. 

Leg day is grueling. It's the most feared day of all. There's a reason why people skip leg days. We wince at the sound of leg day with thoughts of agony and pain that will come from the upcoming sets of squats, leg presses, and calve raises. Nevertheless, we go through with it. We feel the burn that comes with every rep. We exert ourselves to the point of exhaustion at the end of every set. We push on week after week of extreme physical and mental torture. There will be times when we question ourselves. During breaks in between sets, we ask with heavy breaths, "why am I even doing this?" And then we push through another set, barely managing to stand up on the last squat, thinking, "is this torture even necessary?" No matter what the question is, at the end of the day, we all know the answer to our questions — "Because it's worth it." 

Not today, not ever.

P.S. Intramural basketball games are starting next week! Excited to see how I can elevate my game and work with my teammates. I'll be doing some analysis after my games. Stay tuned!