balance or more weight?

[treelizard]

All right, so I'm doing circuit training for weightlifting (Cybex), and I've noticed, of course, that my legs are a heck of a lot stronger than the rest of my body. My question is, should I keep trying to add weight to all the machines so I can get stronger and improve my metabolism and all that, or should I just be adding weight to the upper body machines and keeping the same weight (while increasing reps) for the lower body machines so I can be more balanced? How much stronger IS your lower body supposed to be anyway?

[The Munster]

I wouldn't worry to much about the strength difference between your upper and lower body. Keep progressing in everything. As long as your training is balanced between muscle groups, your body will balance itself the way it's supposed to.

[Tom Yum]

How much stronger IS your lower body supposed to be anyway?

I think a woman's lower body will be proportionally stronger to her upper body relative to a man's.

From my own personal experience, my combined leg muscles are anywhere from 2 to 2.5 times stronger than my combined upper body muscles, but this will be different for you.

Yesterday I did a set of bench press with 225 for 8 reps and leg pressed 495 for 6 reps (prior to all of this, I did a mile run at my best time).

Does anyone else have a good gauge of leg strength vs. upperbody strength?

[blitz]

I have more weights on my legs too. But in my case I do about 130 lbs on my legs in leg presses for 20 reps * 4 sets. And I only bench 100 for 15 reps * 4. But my routine is much different than yours, Tom. Each day is for two or three muscles tops, with lots of different excersizes. Like for chest I do normal flat bench press, then I do an inclined/declined bench press and dips each for 12+ reps and 4 sets, then I do biceps for 7 sets, 4 sets on a barbell and 3 on dumbells.

[blitz]

Sorry about the bump btw, I just saw this post

[ultimatefan]

im getting some good points here.i hope to gain more pounds and get a firmer abs and legs.any suggestions?

[blitz]

Run and do situps/crunches. And do squats.

[shirase]

Definitely squats(real barbell squats, not rack squats), and also deadlifts if you want to strengthen up your lower body. If you work on those two youll notice improvements in your functionability and balance right away, not to mention your explosiveness. I personally have weak hamstrings(compared to my quads) so I do hamstring curls once a week, but if your legs are balanced the deadlifts should take care of that.

[The Munster]

... youll notice improvements in your functionability and balance right away, not to mention your explosiveness. I personally have weak hamstrings(compared to my quads) so I do hamstring curls once a week, but if your legs are balanced the deadlifts should take care of that.

Shirase,

On that same note, and for the same benefits you've mentioned, try working some sprints into your training. Works your hams in a way you'll never be able to with weights (don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of weightlifting). Once I added sprints to my training regimen, my ham strength skyrocketed and overall explosiveness in my kicks dramatically improved.

[Tom Yum]

im getting some good points here.i hope to gain more pounds and get a firmer abs and legs.any suggestions?

I'm not a certified trainer nor a medical practitioner, so here's my advice (for what its worth) and you should check with your doctor:

You want to gain muscular weight and keep a low body fat %.

To gain muscular weight you should eat healthy foods that are low in fat and high in protein: Fish, chicken, eggwhites etc. (avoid ground beef and minimize read meet).

Keep your bodyfat low by doing cardiovascular excercises (running/swimming/jump-rope/ski) for 30 minutes a day 3 times a week.

Lift weights to excercise your major muscle groups, 1st lifting as much weight as you can handle for 15 reps. After 5 weeks of doing this, start increasing your weight and lowering your reps to 8.

** Allways start your workouts with plenty of stretching. Finish them with plenty of stretching or walking.

[shirase]

thanks for the tip munster, actually I have noticed that my hamstrings get tired whenever i sprint in soccer(i play out on occasion, usually im the keeper), and the next day they are often sore whereas i barely notice any fatigue in the rest of my legs. My problem right now though is that its winter up here and not the right conditions for running outside. I personally hate running on the treadmill so I think im gonna have to start swimming more or doing bear crawls for cardio, but its fun to mix it up so no worries.