leg day

Leg day is the workout day dedicated to training your legs: squats, lunges, deadlifts. It’s also a famous joke, because it’s the day people are most tempted to skip.

What leg day means

Wiktionary defines leg day simply as a day dedicated to leg exercises, part of a “split” where different days train different body parts (chest day, back day, arm day). What made it slang is the reputation. Leg workouts are exhausting, leave you sore for days and don’t show off as well in a mirror selfie, so they’re the first thing some lifters skip.

“Never skip leg day” became the internet’s favorite gym advice, usually attached to pictures of a huge upper body balanced on tiny legs. Wiktionary links leg day to “chicken legs,” the insult for exactly that look.

Examples

• “Can’t go out tonight, it’s leg day and I won’t be able to walk tomorrow.”
• “Took the elevator one floor. Leg day was yesterday.”
• “Nice arms. Now do leg day.”

Where it came from

The phrase comes from ordinary gym programming, where splitting the week by body part is standard. Its rise as a meme is harder to pin down, and we haven’t found a documented first use of “never skip leg day.” By 2015 the idea was familiar enough that the kids’ cartoon Teen Titans Go! had an episode called “Leg Day.”

Related terms

• Gym rat: someone who never skips leg day.
• Deload: an easy recovery week.
• Pump: the swollen-muscle feeling after training.
• Swole: very muscular.

See more terms like this in our gym slang guide.