Typical

[clevermanka]

I think I found another tee shirt I need. DAMN IT.



Everybody knows by now that I workshop at the Altar of the Squat, but I know Squats Are Hard and it took me a long time and a lot of work to do them adequately. I still have to pay enough attention to form that I wouldn't say I yet do them well. Yet. Anyway, a lot of people have issues with squats and I know from personal experience that you can do yourself some serious damage if you do them consistently wrong. So here is another Breaking Muscle article on two common squat/hip dysfunction problems, how to identify them and how to correct them. Lots of helpful videos for the movements, too! Breaking Muscle, man. I LOVE THAT WEBSITE.

Speaking of exercise (because when don't I?), I went to the gym last night despite feeling really MEH about it. Mostly due to the cold. Brrrr. But I had a great workout and the weight room population was abnormally sparse. Probably a lot of other people were deterred by the temperatures. WIMPS. Anyway, such a good workout. Man, I walked out of there feeling like a motherfucking champion. And then two hours later I felt like someone ran over me with a truck. Just. So. Exhausted. That progression is typical of adrenal fatigue, and I guess I shouldn't be surprised that my cortisol levels are a little wacky again after last week's hormonal mess. Still frustrating. I gave up and went to bed at 9:15, woke up at 6:30 this morning, and I'm still feeling a little worn down. Gonna have to really think about how I want to handle Thursday's workout.

This does not bode well in regards to my hopes of returning to CrossFit WODs this summer.

Comments

[ms-danson.livejournal.com]

I like the T. A friend of mine gave me one that said: "Atheism isn't a religion. It's a personal relationship with reality."

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Love it! I thought about making one that said "A is for Atheist. That's good enough for me."

[hdsqrl.livejournal.com]

Here’s a puzzle for you:

When I was 19, I was in a car wreck that crushed both ankles. As a result, both ankles have plates and screws and the left one also has a pin. Neither ankle can flex too much beyond 90 degrees, and I’ve found that it’s physically impossible for me to maintain proper squat form, even without using any bar at all.

In order to lower myself down to as close to parallel as possible, I have to lean my torso so far forward for balance (so I’m nearly bent in half, torso trying to go parallel to the floor as well) and my weight then transfers to the balls of my feet. If I put plates under my heels to reduce the leaning-forward-ness, again the weight is on the balls of my feet, not in my heels. If I squat as low as possible and still manage to keep the weight in my heels, I’m not even CLOSE to parallel, and I’m really just working the tops of my quads.

Any ideas?

[hdsqrl.livejournal.com]

Oh, wait – here’s something to add to the mix – if I hold on to something, like the edge of a big piece of equipment, I can lower myself down to parallel, with decent form. The catch is that I can’t be balancing a big bar while doing that at the same time. Maybe I can find a way to rig myself with some weights (like attach them to my body) and then hold onto the equipment? I’ve seen people connect a plate to a belt when they do pullups – I wonder if there’s a way to do something along those lines, but attach it higher up than dangling from a belt?

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

A great way to find your balance on squats when you have this problem is to do goblet squats (http://breakingmuscle.com/kettlebells/how-to-do-the-perfect-goblet-squat).

Side note: check out the photo of the guy demo'ing this. His ankles are very nearly at 90 degrees. Hardly any bend. All the bend is in the hips and knees.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

I think that your knees and hips aren't taking as much of the bend as they should be.

Putting the plates under there should help. If your weight truly is in your heels and your glutes aren't firing, that sounds like you've got a weak posterior chain and your body isn't used to turning that on. I bet that the ankle mobility issue has caused you to overdevelop your quads and that's why they take all the strain on the squats.

These are similar to the problems I had with my own squats. Weak posterior chain is incredibly common in our culture.

Regarding your followup message about being able to hold a weight in front of you to keep you balanced: DING! Yes, that is EXACTLY what I used to have to do, as well.

You are definitely not screwed in the squats department. Not yet. Next time I see you in person, let's go over some basic build-ups to squats (I even have an old therapy band that you can borrow) and how to develop your posterior chain in everyday habits, not just the gym.

Edit: Just because you can't get ass-to-grass in a squat doesn't mean you fail at squats, either. Parallel-or-below is the ideal, but as long as your posterior chain is firing through the whole lift, you're still getting benefit from the movement. Even if you never quite get to parallel.

[hdsqrl.livejournal.com]

Ohhhh....I will try this! Thank you!!

[kazoogrrl.livejournal.com]

The image followed by, "Everybody knows by now that I workshop at the Altar of the Squat . . . " made me thing the next paragraph was going to be about your atheism and how you believe in . . . squat. I had a moment of, "What the hell is she talking about here?"

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Ha ha ha ha ha ha!

[1-rhiannon-1.livejournal.com]

I felt like a boss when I left the gym yesterday, right up until it hurt to walk up the steps to get back to my office! *g* Screw it, I did the steps anyway. I wasn't about to wimp out and take the elevator up one floor.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

OH GURL I know that feeling.

GO YOU!

[1-rhiannon-1.livejournal.com]

There was a time when I wouldn't cross the street to the cafeteria to get food because it was just too far to walk. I've come a loooooong way, baby :D