I've heard working the leg muscles will increase my gains in my upper body & all-around, because of a gain in testosterone from working these larger muscles. In the past I've only done major resistance training in my upper body, being mostly content with my lower body since I'm an avid hiker & fairly active person. & my gains have been moderate but steady ( 30 lb's over 5 years ) I'd like to hear some educated answers from people with either very communicable personal experience or knowledge in physiology or exercise physiology. I do NOT want advice on raising testosterone by any un-natural or supplemental methods.

1. The specificity principle is very critical to exercise physiology. The muscle you are using is the area you will gain. You will not gain arm muscle if you are working your leg muscle. Exercise is VERY specific, that is why there are SO many exercises available. This concept is proven true for every aspect of exercise, including cardio.

   I am not an advocate on supplements so I'm glad I don't have to talk about it! However, especially if you've been exercising for over 5 years and have made that many improvements, very likely you will not be gaining that much anyway. One's gains occurs the most the first 6 months. After a few years, it'll be difficult to even make a 1 percent difference because:
   -You're not using supplements (which is not the point anyway)
   -I think it is like a 1% decrease in muscle mass every year a person ages anyway, even with training.

   So, either you can up your training intensity more, or just make sure you maintain your strength and not be so worried about increasing it (since it was always be decreasing).

   I have not heard about this testosterone bit. It sounds like there is a possibility it can be true, but from my perspective, seems like it has not been proven in research significantly enough for me to come across (I love physiology!). A LOT of exercise myths come from bad reasoning and people who don't know how to research research and then restate it wrongly.

   Honestly, I don't think my answer is that great, but I think your question is difficult to answer with a simple yes or no.

   However, you may benefit from some additional leg muscle work. For example, additional strength in your lower body may help you tolerate lactic acid better, since this runs throughout the blood in your entire body. This may help you perform your upper body exercises better. Stronger leg muscles may help bring blood back to the heart faster, which increases chances of oxygen return, and help you perform your arm workouts better.

   Finally, everyone is different. If you realize it doesn't work, oh well. Maybe a help of a personal trainer is needed.

2. exercise science major.

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