Leg Exercises: Top Health Benefits Of Leg Exercises You Never Knew

Many dread 'leg day' in the gym. It involves rigorous strengthening exercises which engage leg muscles in extremely strenuous ways. But did you know that leg exercises can do much more than tone and strengthen your legs. A recent study says that leg exercises can be critical to the brain and the health of nervous system. Conducted by Frontiers, the study says that the neurological health depends on the signals sent to brain by body's large leg muscles. These signals are as important as the signals that brain sends to the muscles. The study focused on altering the brain and nervous system medicine by giving doctors new clues as to why some patients decline shortly after their movements become limited. These patients included the ones suffering from spinal muscular atrophy, multiple sclerosis, neuron disease and other neurological diseases. The study shows that people who are unable to do load-bearing exercises, such as those who are bed-ridden or even astronauts who are extended travellers, tend to lose muscle mass and have an altered chemistry at the cellular, a researcher was quoted by ANI. He added that even the nervous system of such patients is impacted negatively.

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The study which was conducted on mice, observed that the number of neural stem calls reduced significantly when their physical activity was decreased. When exercise was reduced severely, specialised cells like neurons and oligodendrocytes didn't maturely properly. These cells are responsible for supportive and insulating nerve cells.
 

Using legs for weight-bearing exercises can send signals to the brain and assist production of beneficial neural cells which are important for the brain and nervous system. When you cut back on exercising, it makes it difficult for the body to produce new nerve cells which are the building blocks for handling stress and adapting to challenges in life.

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Furthermore, it was also found that cutting back on exercising can reduce the amount of oxygen in the body. This creates room for anaerobic environment in the body and alters metabolism.

The results, according to researchers, shed light on various important health issues which arise from living a sedentary lifestyle. These include cardio-vascular diseases, motor neuron disease, multiple sclerosis, muscular atrophy and numerous others.

In the mean time, leg exercises have numerous other health benefits. From boosting metabolism to building strength and gaining muscles, there are numerous ways in which leg exercises benefit the body.
 

Moving largest muscles of the body require a lot of energy. Exercises like squats and deadlifts engage almost every muscle in the body. They give a great boost to metabolism.

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Leg exercises require upper body strength, mental strength and functional strength. Leg exercises can be both physically and mentally challenging. Deadlifts, squats and lunges are some exercises which require a great deal of mental endurance.

They engage the entire upper body along with the lower body. From chest muscles to abs and arms, nearly all muscles are at work when you are doing leg exercises.

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Lastly, leg exercises help improving functional strength which helps you become faster and have an improved athletic performance. Functional strength helps in making these functional tasks much easier, even if you are not into sports. 

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.