I thought it'd be a good idea to post a thread on this-
Everyone here probably knows someone who's only interested in working out their upper body, or perhaps only their arms and chest, or maybe even less than that. I've seen some new posters here asking only about those muscle groups, and I figured it'd be good to have a thread to point them to that encourages working the entire body and gives good reasons why.
I used to do nothing but curls and bench presses myself until a couple of years ago, (Of course, I got nowhere with that plan) and here's what I've learned from the change to working out everything.

Working out all your muscles benefits all your muscles
Can't get your arms bigger? Stuck on a certain weight for your bench press? Could be you need to work your legs. Each exercise uses neighboring muscles as stabilizers to assist with the movement. Some exercises involve a lot of major muscles such as deadlifts, squats, bent over rows and bench presses- Sure, squats are billed as a leg exercise, but if your lower back is not up to the task, you won't be able to squat much. The bench press targets the chest, but it involves the triceps and the shoulders too. If you don't keep up on the shoulder and arm training, it won't matter how strong your pecs are, those weak stabilizers will hamper your presses, and bring your gains to an eventual stop.
These are just a couple of examples, but the bottom line is this- Everything's connected. If you want a big chest, you also need big shoulders. You want big shoulders, you need a strong lower back for those military presses. A strong lower back goes hand in hand with strong legs.

Working every muscle helps prevent injury
If you're only targeting a few muscles, it could lead to injuries. Every muscle depends on the support of others in its range of motion- Some are directly involved with each other. Take the quadriceps and hamstrings for example- The basic function of the leg requires both of them to work in balance with each other. I have seen people who are addicted to squats, but refuse to work the hamstrings to the same degree as the quads. This can lead to strength imbalances, which can result in knee injuries, lower back injuries, ankle injuries, etc. The body will try to compensate for the difference in strength between any two muscles that rely on each other- But this overcompensation can be dangerous to the joints and the muscles themselves.
Another possible form of injury from ignoring other body parts comes when we try to call on one of those body parts to handle weight it's not used to- People seem to think that because they can bench press a certain amount, it makes them an overall strong person. Picture this- You're laying on the bench, having finished the last rep of a set of heavy bench presses when you decide to go for one more. You bring the weight down, but can't get it to move off your chest. The guy who's spotting you can't handle the weight, which is sinking into your chest now, making breathing hard- While he starts calling for help, you decide out of panic to try and sit up, rolling the weight down your torso onto your thighs- But your abs are not up to the task, and the sudden stress on a body part you may have been neglecting tears something down there.
Just a long winded example, but we all know it can happen in many ways with any muscle- If you prepare all your muscle groups for stress, they will treat you well when faced with stress.

Anyway, if anyone else has anthing to add to this thread, please give me a hand here- What I'm trying to do is present a good solid argument for a total body workout.

Very true...check out my website at
http://www.expage.com/brianlifting

Working out you're legs is probably the best thing you can do for yourself... They are the largest muscles in you're body and help release growth hormones. That can spark growth in you're upper body too.

For more tips like this check my site out in my signature

This is part of an article from askmen.com, I thought it would be good reading for anyone who doesn't train the entire body, especially legs:
__________________________________________________________________________


Your body does not want to grow new muscle. It wants to stay the way it is right
now. This is due to the phenomenon called "homeostasis." Homeostasis also works to
keep body temperature where it needs to be, heart rate in moderation and a hundred
other metabolic functions.

Growing new muscle is demanding on the body's energy systems and growth will not
happen unless it absolutely must. So we go into the gym to trick our bodies into
believing heavy manual labor is part of our everyday lives and we really need
bigger, stronger muscles.

This is exactly why high intensity of overload is so important. We need to trigger
the central nervous system (CNS) to engage the anabolic mechanism that builds new
muscle... and the CNS is not easily convinced. Lightweight exercises will not
trigger the CNS.



This is why leg training is so important to the overall development of the body. The
massive stimulus sent to the CNS during and after an ultra-high intensity leg
workout is what triggers the greatest response from the body's anabolic systems.
That anabolic effect carries over into all your other training.

Want a bigger, more powerful chest, biceps and triceps? Want "barn-door lats" and
"cannonball delts"? Want "six-pack abs" and "bowling-pin forearms"? Proper high
intensity leg training can take all of those muscle groups to the next level.

You're kidding right? Askmen.com? That site is awful.

Maybe the site is awful but the post is in line with CPL's original.

Yeah, but it could have been from a more creditable source...

I'm not promoting the site, just giving them credit for the article. It was forewarded to me and I felt it was good. If you think the article is "awful", then let me know why.

it could have been from a more creditable source...

The Author was Pete Sisco, here are some of his credentials. He writes articles for many publications and websites.

From Bodybuilding.com

"Pete Sisco has over a decade of experience researching innovative bodybuilding methods designed to increase strength and increase muscle. Sisco pioneered the Power Factor, Power Index and Relative Static Intensity measurements of muscular overload. He is the co-author of the best-selling fitness books, Power Factor Training, Static Contraction Training, as well as several other titles.

His techniques have been lauded in the "Health & Wealth" and "Get the Edge" video programs, courtesy of motivational guru Anthony Robbins, who declares in the latter that Sisco shows "how you can produce the greatest results you ever thought possible in the shortest time." Sisco's method's have also been coined "revolutionary" and "cutting edge" by magazines such as Men's Journal, Muscle & Fitness, IRONMAN, and many others.

Pete is also president of Precision Training, LLC and co-founder of Explosive Fitness, Inc., manufacturer of innovative home gym equipment engineered based on his training methods. He resides in Idaho with his wife and six children. "

Still he could be totally wrong, so if you disagree with his article let me know why!

To begin with, the topic of this thread is a given. Each muscle group should be worked out directly or indirectly, just as long as all groups get hit. It's a given.

IMHO, everyone makes mistakes and Sisco's was writing an article for askmen.com regardless of what the article contains.

i totally agree!
I mean how strange it would look if you had developed legs but not upper body or the opposite!But , how do u exercise your ankles, fingers, the bit under your chin or the bottom part of your legs(under the ankles)?

I totally agree last time i used to think my legs were too strong and only worked upper body. But ever since i started legs ive seen far more gains on upperbody.