Guys, are you heavy?

How is your physique?

Many times men tend to work their upper body, chest, and arms leaving their lower body and midsection to the side. This is wrong for several reasons, one of which is the way it makes the body look unbalanced. There are many men, whether they train at the gym or at home, who have spent a lot of time on the bench or doing push-ups and have made substantial progress, but their legs feel like they belong to someone else. Also, I have heard several women make comments about how this very fact is a turn off when it comes to the area of ​​physical attraction. While women like to see a guy with big guns, they also like the symmetry. While they may not talk about it openly with men, they are very impressed with the way jeans fit on a man.

Now two lower body exercises that will definitely address this are the deadlift and the squat. These exercises specifically target the lower core, hips, quadriceps, and hamstrings. Both are great ways to build muscle mass and improve the appearance of your lower body. Before you start doing this, contact a health professional or professional trainer to determine if you are ready to start any of these.

Exercise #1: The deadlift

The deadlift is the most primitive exercise you can find. It mainly involves movement at the hip, and that’s about it. Basically, you lift something heavy from the ground to mid-thigh. It is usually done in the gym with a barbell and is just a concentric movement. Once you pick up the object, you don’t put it back down, you just drop it into place. The deadlift can be done with anything really. It doesn’t have to be a bar. However, using a bar makes it easier because of how it’s made. But, creative people can think of other options. To do this particular move correctly, your lower back must be kept straight and in the “neutral position.” This means that the hamstrings must be quite long to do the exercise correctly and avoid injury. A stretching program may be needed. Also, when starting out, one should focus on form rather than stamina. This means avoiding using a lot of weight until your body gets used to the movement.

Exercise #2: The Squat

The squat is a more dynamic exercise than the deadlift in which you raise and lower the weight. You will get movement in the ankle, knee and hip with this one. Also, the upper body works to some degree because the weight rests on the upper back and shoulders or the upper chest and shoulders. Because the squat is dynamic, weight amounts may be limited due to things like knee pain or ankle or knee strain. As with the deadlift, you’ll want to start out fairly conservatively when it comes to weight. Again, because you need to know how your body will respond. Using your body weight or Olympic bar weight will be fine for this. To do it correctly, whether using a bar or not, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart or slightly wider. Then, lower your body towards the floor by bending at the hip and knee. Your hips will move back as you keep your knees above and slightly in front of your feet. Lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the floor, and then rise up to starting point.

Your chances of avoiding injury are greatly increased when any of these exercises are performed in a controlled and consistent manner. Due to the nature of these exercises and the muscles they target, they are a great way to increase lower body muscle mass and add symmetry to any physique.