8 Reasons Why the Leg Day Struggle Is Real

Most people have a love-hate relationship with leg day, and for good reason: It’s not easy to work the largest muscle group in your body. Guys and girls, if you want a strong, sexy (balanced) body, you have to follow your legs. Here are eight reasons why the leg day struggle is real, and why you’ll always come back for more.

1. There’s always someone trying to one-up you.

Everyone is looking your way. You think it’s because of all the weight you’re putting up, and you feel unstoppable. Then you look to your side and see someone next to your showing off and lifting heavier weights with bad form.

2. Lunges are one of the toughest moves ever.

This move is going to make you work! Forward, backward, stationary, walking, you name it, lunges will have your legs begging for mercy. Sagi “The Beast” Kalev always includes plenty of lunges in his leg day workouts. If you think lunges aren’t tough, you’re probably doing them wrong. (They shouldn’t bother your knees, but with proper form you will feel the burn in your quads.)

3. You’ll drip with sweat.

While you usually associate sweat and high-intensity cardio, you’ll want to make sure you’re hydrated going into a leg day workout, too (and keep a water bottled filled with Beachbody Performance Hydrate nearby!). After those aforementioned lunges, step-ups, or sumo squats, you’ll be sweating like you can’t even imagine. Embrace it, because that’s just your body telling you it’s working. And boy, are you working.

4. Post-workout starvation is often a side effect.

After you kill your workout be prepared to get "hangry". While you might be dreaming of pizza after a calorie-torching leg day routine, your muscles will thank you so much more if you opt for protein instead, like chocolate Beachbody Performance Recover, which not only fuels muscle growth, but can also help reduce soreness. Speaking of which…

5. When you push it too hard, you pay the price.

There’s a moment when you’re sitting in bed the morning after a tough leg workout and you think, “No big deal, my legs feel great!” Then you get up to go to the bathroom and your muscles feel like they’re on fire. But hey, you totally blew away your old squat record yesterday!

6. The idea of taking the stairs the day after makes you want to cry.

All you want to do is tiptoe down the stairs, but even that sounds extremely unpleasant.

7. Even sitting down is hard.

Forget the stairs. Even just the thought of having to stand up and sit back down makes you just want to roll over and play dead. Looks like you’ll just be glued to your desk all day. Who needs to be able to move, anyway?

8. Just when your legs are finally starting to feel normal, leg day rolls around again.

When your legs finally stop feeling sore, it’s leg day all over again. Remember though, these muscles won’t build themselves and legs are the foundation of a healthy and fit body. So get to it!