How to avoid chicken legs.

Chicken legs are the inevitable result of working out extensively the upper body while ignoring the lower body.

 Any gym is filled with these guys that think that in order to achieve the magazine adonis look, they need to just work chest and biceps, and the rest will be covered with shorts or pants.
What they probably ignore is that after a certain point, even with shorts and pants covering the legs, it will be noticeable. Another negative aspect is that it will destabilize the whole body, making it more difficult to engage in full body workouts and general movements, staying in balance becomes harder and injuries because of cramps are more frequent.


I know this will surprise nobody, but the solution for the chicken leg phenomenon is to work the legs out. Squats, lunges and kettle-bell lifting with a resistance band attached to it are excellent exercises for increasing leg strength and definition.

The frequency must equal to that of upper body. If the upper body is exerted three times a week, then the lower body should also be worked out three times a week.

That aspect of full body workout that I keep mentioning: all in one, time efficiency; is another way to avoid the lower body lag. When the full body is exercised, the concentrated exercises can be left for another day.

Real athletes are not voluminous.

There is a tendency of people to misjudge volume with actual exercise proof. The reality it is just proof of hypertrophy(heavy and concentrated weight lifting with few repetitions.)

The athelte will have a more

slim appearance, in fact nobody will notice he/she is an athlete unless shirtless or wearing shorts. Well shaped limbs and concave waist are part of the body of the athlete.

So to achieve such body and to have muscular definition, the best way that I know of is the Spartacus workout, which is 1 minute of a repeated exercise followed by 15 seconds of rest. 10 times in a row.
Depending on the types of exercises, this varies from difficult to overwhelming.

Push-ups, squats and sit-ups are tough, but the toughest exercise is the burpee. I will create an article just to address that specific exercise and why it is so effective(and devastating, because it works cardio and some variations really work all the main muscles in the body.)

I can assure you, you will hate 50 burpees in a row. It is tough, exhausting, detestable, irritating, humbling and despairing. But that's why it works. Done well, produces no damage to the articulations.

Bare in mind that the most effective exercises are the most exhausting and swelling. At 30 repetitions, My reward system starts to shun me and convince me to give up. It will happen to you as well, but you must continue up to the limit you have set yourself from the beginning, hopefully as much as your cardio resistance allows you to(this is when a pulse meter is handy.)

It is also time efficient because it only takes ~12 minutes, and if you want you can do three rounds with 2 minute rests in between for a total of ~ 45 minutes. All of it without any equipment, just your body and 4 square meters.

Volume or definition?

There is a false dichotomy on the body fitness and sports circles, which divide the exercises in volume enhancers and toning up exercises.

Yes the less repetitions and more weight do create more hypertrophy , but to a certain degree. Fast and explosive movements repeatedly do create a more toned up muscle, but to a certain degree.

From my perspective and experience, the best exercises are the ones that work everything. Full body exercises with low weights in 1 minute or more intervals, changing exercises for every interval. In other words Spartacus workout. Tabata workout is also fine, but because it is only 20 seconds of exertion, the exercises must be more intense and the rounds prolonged in order to compensate.

They are more intensive, harder and of course scary than the usual gym exercises, however, 2 to 3 times a week is more than enough.

Don't listen to the people at the body building and overdosed gym fanatics. They have altered their normal hormonal balance and their health will sooner or later toll.

All those swelled muscles you see on body building and model(gossip, show business, fashion, etc.)magazines come from hormonal imbalances either due to excessive exercise or steroid injections. I would never recommend playing with your thyroid or pituitary gland.

The athletic body you should expect to build visually are those seen on professional sports athletes.

Will power.

Apparently there really isn't much that a person with will power and patience can't achieve. Everything is really a dependent variable of time and effort. People that fail at exercising the mind and body are generally associated with lack of will power.

Admittedly, workout shouldn't disturb or harm the body or the mind, yet exhaustion is a normal process after the exertion of muscle movements, coordination and resistance. If exhaustion is not reached, it is probable that you are not doing your best and your muscles and conditioning will not develop. In fact, development occurs because the body adapts to whatever stress is being tested with. An excess of this stress can lead to negative side-effects though, therefore I do not recommend exercising more than 1 hour a day. 7 days a week is perfectly fine as long as good sleep is accomplished.

Some people arrive at home from work exhausted, however mostly it is a mind fatigue, so the muscular fatigue may challenge the mind even further, but after the workout sleep and relax time will be easier to achieve because the body excretes endorphin.

What makes the 'ripped' looking body is those extra repetitions of an exercise, when the muscles do not respond anymore, and the will power is ultimately tested.

5':10'' lower plank record.

Yesterday I reached the 5'10'' mark while holding the lower plank position. It is a great achievement. I must confess that it was tough, especially given that the shoulders and arms were giving in, the chest was sore, and my hip wanted desperately to touch the floor, but I managed to stay in the lower plank position for 5 minutes and 10 seconds.

Other achievements are more cardiovascular, like running 10 miles fast(did no count time), 80 jumping squats after other workouts, Spartacus, and so on,.

Low plank position.

The low plank position, also known as the elbow plank position, is obtained by bending the elbows  and placing the arms perpendicular to the floor, while supporting the opposite side with the tip of the toes(or metatarsals), maintaining the back and legs straight. It is a challenge after ~2 minutes if one is fit.

Of course the biceps triceps and quadriceps are worked, but the core, especially the transversus abdominis is the most benefited from this exercise. My record is 4:30 minutes but it keeps increasing as I continue gathering sessions. One series every other day can help one improve the sitting posture, let alone the abs and arms workout.

Towards muscle build up and mind enlightment.

As specified before in this blog, physical exercises not only help the muscles and circulatory system, but also the mind.

According to various recent studies, the brain produces a protein called BDNF when running is performed which allows the brain to develop new cells.

Aerobic exercises tend to increase verbal capacities, while weight training and aerobics increase both spatial and verbal faculties.

So even if you are only interested in developing mental power, physical exercise will help out a lot.