Skip Leg Day? Not if you want to live longer!

Strong Legs really do save lives!

You’ve seen it on t-shirts and memes but did you know it’s actually true?

There’s science behind it - Research consistently shows a connection between strong legs and a longer life.

There have been a few major studies on this now, including a recent one that followed thousands of participants for several years and used leg exercises to measure strength and compare it to health outcomes.

It has shown, alongside other meta-analyses of data from millions of people, that even when factoring in age, gender and existing health conditions, people with stronger legs had an up to 65% lower risk of mortality. For older adults, being unable to go from seated to standing easily means they are 3 times more likely to have earlier mortality and 85% more likely to be hospitalised.

People with stronger legs recover faster from surgery, illness and injury and are less likely to be hospitalised or require long-term care

More leg strength means better overall health

Strong legs help with balance and movement. If your lower body strength is good, you have more lean muscle mass, functional mobility, coordination and a lower risk of frailty and falls.

More lean muscle mass, especially the large muscle groups in the legs are important for glucose uptake and insulin sensitivity, which affects metabolic health. When you contract skeletal muscle, the muscle secretes myokines that go throughout the body and help with bone health, brain health, and metabolism. Glucose is moved out of the bloodstream and into the muscle cells.

There are two key things to do to build that leg strength: Strength Training and Nutrition!

All of the leg-based strength movements that Coach Ben programs for us at FGHP (like squats, deadlifts, lunges and everyone’s favourite Bulgarian split squats) are going to build that upper leg skeletal muscle and get those longevity benefits.

Eating enough protein will give your body what it needs to actually create those muscles after your hard work on leg days. A diet high in protein will allow your muscles to function more efficiently by giving them what they need to work, and will also help you to feel full to improve how you fuel yourself throughout the day.