Chicken Shit = Chicken Legs

If there's one really big issue that plagues the gyms of today, it's that people are too chickenshit to do things right. And then they wonder and cry about how they can't gain weight, can't lose weight, can't put on muscle, can't "tone" up... when all it really comes down to is that they're pussies. You wonder why your legs are the size of my arms even though you've got five plates to either side of the leg press? It's because you're using the LEG PRESS. Worse yet is the big 6'5" linebacker-type who's grunting with 135lbs on the barbell, and stopping at a quarter, no less. And you look at me, the 5'6" Asian kid who isn't even that muscular, squatting down with two plates on each end with ease, still in my warm-up, and going through my full ROM... and what? Do you snicker a little, think to yourself, "Oh, that kid's going to fuck his knees up," and somewhere deep inside think, "How the hell can that little kid move that much weight so easily?"

I'm not trying to say I'm a guru of any kind. I'm not trying to say that I'm strong. In fact, I'm weak as hell. I look up to the guys who deadlift 5-6 plates on each end, or can squat three times their bodyweight, and I'm in awe. I am, 100%, a beginner lifter. You, though, spent all your time reading Muscle & Fitness, or Men's Health, and won't ever see any progress. Why? Because you're a chickenshit, and when you're a chickenshit, you're going to have chicken legs.

This is a squat. Notice how his hips are below his knees? The worst of you think that the leg press is going to get you big and strong. Truth is, leg press will just get you good at leg pressing. Oh sure, there are ways to use it for bodybuilding, but how many of you folks go to the gym JUST to bodybuild? And how many want to look good AND be strong? The better of you do quarter squats, and the better yet go JUST to parallel. But none of you can move real weight. I see you guys. I see so many of you trying so hard to get strong and never making any progress, but when I give any bit of advice, the backlash is almost always, "But isn't that bad for your knees?" or "I'm trying to keep my knees from going past my toes" or "Leg press just seems SAFER." But I've also seen you, those same folks who deride my attempts at lending a helping hand, look to me - a rank novice - with some sort of envy or astonishment that such a little kid could move so much weight.

So this is my final advice: Don't be chickenshit, and you won't have chicken legs. Don't be afraid of the barbell. Don't be afraid of going all the way down. I mean, some of you have no place in the squat rack until you fix some postural problems or increase your mobility, but for God's sake, don't take the "easy" way out and never LEARN to squat! By all means, learn! You have no idea how much moving serious weight through a full range of motion can do for you. The fat will get smaller. The skinny will get bigger. The weak will get strong.

Start out with the empty bar, if you have to, but for God's sake, go all the way down. Get away from that leg press. Get away from the Smith machine. DON'T BE SCARED! Free yourself from the shackles of fear, and you will get strong and you WILL look good naked. Throw away that magazine that, in three years, has helped you to only stagnate over and over again, and just LIFT.

And I can guarantee you that you'll go from this:

To this: