Bad Apple or Golden Delicious?

[silk_noir]

Yeah, I know, I was all happy the other day about myself and my life.

It's true I am feeling better. I got up before 6 today (which was a surprise, because I didn't realize that's how the clock was set) and got myself to the gym, where I did some happy crunches, tried some squats (don't get excited, it was with a wooden bar only, about 20), and

Comments

[amichaels]

With my bum shoulder, I had to do squats, plus squats instead of pushups so I have gotten to the point where I can do them with weight despite also having knees that aren't in great shape. The way I got to being able to do good, deep squats was to work on proper form and flexibility at the same time. It took a couple of months before I could start squatting down and have my legs hit the 90 degree angle. Now after almost a year I can do them and squat deep, passing the plane of my knees without a lot of pain. You still will have to listen to your knees and go easy on them on days where they are cranky. But not I'm squatting 20 extra pounds with weighted bars at the gym doing deep squats. You just need to take it easy and squat as deep as you can without discomfort, keeping your back straight and head up. It looks goofy, but I try to think as if my lower back and butt were attached to a pole and I am trying to stand and squat along that vertical plane. I think when a lot of people start to do squats, they lean too much which puts more stress on the lower back and changes the distribution of weight. My husband says I'm starting to get butt dimples, so I must be doing something right. I'd like to start squatting a lot more weight but I've found that my knees can't handle it yet. I just don't do a lot of lunges because I find them uncomfortable.

I've also found that if I increase the incline of my treadmill work out my ass and calves hurt like nobody's business the next day.

[silk_noir]

Yes, I am leaning forward a bit, but I do keep my head up. How the heck do I not lean forward? I've seen some people squat when setting their heels on something, such as a big weight plate. But is this cheating? If I keep workign atthis, will my flexibility increase?

[amichaels]

You have to lean forward a little so you don't fall over. What I did to learn to squat with good form was watch some videos that Duke Eduard recommended to me when I first started lifting weights. I watched this video (well, and all of them on this site)

http://www.gymjunkies.com/how-to-squat/

This is a good site woo with videos on squats and other lifting techniques he also recommended, geared specifically towards women:

http://www.stumptuous.com/

I try to think of myself as driving my heels through the ground when I squat, look straight ahead, with my back straight and my weight over my hips. When I started I couldn't squat all the way down, now I can do 3 sets of 10 reps with my butt almost hitting the floor. Some days I can't do as much because my right knee hurts or is creaky but I've made a LOT of progress. It took a lot of time but when I do squats I always feel it the next day in my butt and my thighs. I like to squat with a weighted bar. At my gym they have padded metal bars and I've been doing 20lb, with the bar cradled in my arms in front of me (because my stupid shoulder hurts when I do it behind my head). If you want I can have my husband take pics when I get home saturday morning.