Leg day, the alleged day of death for anyone in the weight room. For some odd reason, everyone seems to be absolutely appalled to the notion of increasing one's leg strength by lifting weights. To be honest, I'm not sure why. Leg day is an exceptional type of workout. Not only does it strengthen your lower extremities, but it also serves as a phenomenal ab workout in most cases, really making your whole body contribute to what you're doing.

Leg day in and of itself can be grueling, but the benefits far outweigh the pain during the exercise. First off, 2 of the big 3 lifts are vital to leg day; squats and deadlift. These lifts are necessary to build muscle in other parts of the body because both of these exercises can almost be considered as full-body workouts. The muscles in your hips and legs are the largest in your body. Training these muscles causes a massive release of growth hormone and testosterone, key elements for building muscle.

Assuming you do it correctly, training your lower-body muscles causes them to grow. But it also creates an anabolic environment in your body that can improve the muscle-building effects of your upper-body lifts. Want to get a thicker torso? Do Deadlifts. Although it's considered a lower-body lift, holding hundreds of pounds is one of the best ways to build your upper back, traps and grip.

Secondly, leg day is vital to help you not suck at sports. Sports are played from the ground up. Obvious skill examples are sprinting and jumping. However, even upper-body-centric skills like throwing a ball, swinging a bat and taking a slapshot follow this rule. Your lower-body muscles drive into the ground to create power, which travels up through your core and into whatever upper-body movement you are performing. Put simply, skipping leg day will make you a weaker and ineffective athlete.

Lastly, leg day is vital to prevent injury. If you're an athlete, you probably understand the concept that a stronger lower body is more resistant to injury, but sometimes athletes fall into a trap where they think their sport trains their legs sufficiently. Problem is, most athletic movements overemphasize the quads, creating what's called quad dominance. One common result of quad dominance? ACL injuries, which seem to happen all too often.

The moral of the story is clear, leg day, though it can be extremely tough, is vital to everyday wellness.