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One of the most amusing things I see at the local gym is people who have enormous upper body strength but failed to strength train their lower body. This leaves them with a rather unbalanced musculature -- something that I call the "punk look." The punk look is what happens when you focus on bench press, curls, triceps, and other upper body excercises without strength trainig your lower body, and the punk look is surprisingly common, especially among younger males.

What people who sport the punk look may not realize is that their bodies look absolutely silly to those who are serious about strength training and overall health. In order to be healthy you have to have a balanced physiology that's made up of both lower body and upper body strength. Gym punks also like to cover their skinny legs by wearing extremely long basketball shorts. Doing this, they hope that nobody notices their legs and only looks at their upper body which is normally quite large.

This is what I call the "cosmetic approach" to strength training. It's the result of someone who is interested only in the way they appear and not their actual health. But it's even worse than that: avoiding strength training your lower body actually hampers your ability to build a strong upper body as well. Here's why: the largest muscles in your body are found in your lower body -- your glutes and hamstrings. By strength training these muscles, your body generates an enormous quantity of growth hormone. Once this growth hormone is circulating in your bloodstream, it actually enhances the growth of muscles throughout your body. In this way, working out your lower body actually helps you build more muscle mass in your upper body and gives you a much more balanced, healthy, fit look.

It's not just for looks, either: when you have a strong lower body, you are able to engage in more physical activities. You can jump higher, lift more, run faster, and basically be a more active, higher performing human being. Are you currently following a punk workout? It's easy to tell. Just look in the mirror. If your biceps are bigger than your calves, you're probably following a punk workout. You need to lay off the bench press and spend more time doing leg extensions, leg curls, squats, leg press, and other lower body excercises. Doing so will not only rapidly enhance your production of growth hormone and increase your muscle mass, it will also make you appear a far more balanced individual -- someone who is interested in holistic health, not just large biceps for showing off in public.

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About the author: Mike Adams is a holistic nutritionist with a strong interest in personal health, the environment and the power of nature to help us all heal He has authored and published thousands of articles, interviews, consumers guides, and books on topics like health and the environment, impacting the lives of millions of readers around the world who are experiencing phenomenal health benefits from reading his articles. Adams is an independent journalist with strong ethics who does not get paid to write articles about any product or company. In 2007, Adams launched EcoLEDs, a manufacturer of mercury-free, energy-efficient LED lighting products that save electricity and help prevent global warming. He's also a successful software entrepreneur, having founded a well known email marketing software company whose technology currently powers the NaturalNews email newsletters. Adams volunteers his time to serve as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and enjoys outdoor activities, nature photography, Pilates and adult gymnastics. Known on the 'net as 'the Health Ranger,' Adams shares his ethics, mission statements and personal health statistics at www.HealthRanger.org

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Related Articles: • Why weight loss requires strength training, even in women and seniors • Diet Rich in Plant-foods Aids in Preserves Muscle Mass in Older Adults • Diet Rich in Plant-foods Aids in Preserving Muscle Mass in Older Adults	Take Action: Support NaturalNews.com Email this article to a friend Share this article on: NewsVine | digg | del.icio.us Permalink to this article: http://www.NaturalNews.com/001506_upper_body_strength_muscle_mass_leg_exercises.html Reprinting this article: Non-commercial use OK, cite NaturalNews.com with clickable link. Embed article link: (copy HTML code below): <a href = "http://www.NaturalNews.com/001506_upper_body_strength_muscle_mass_leg_exercises.html">Strength train your legs to avoid "punk" look at the gym</a>