Charlie Martin, Late-Blooming Athlete: Week 2 – ‘Quality of Life’ and ‘The Un-Calloused Butt Mystery’
Butts are not supposed to be weight-bearing surfaces. Feet and hands are. And you are supposed to use the below position for active rest or for getting yourself down and up:
Indeed, what you see in the above picture is normal, healthy human range of motion. Just about everyone alive prior to the spread of chairs had this range of motion. Today, you typically only see this among people heavily involved in certain activities, like martial arts.
Think about what mobility issues generally plague the elderly: getting in and out of a car, or a chair, or picking things up off the ground. Or, in more serious situations, picking themselves up off the ground. Now, think about how much better their lives would be if they could competently do full squats.
Listen up, Brad from Newark: among other things, “functional” movements are A) movements invented by your genes, not by people, and B) movements that a proficiency with is necessary for quality of life.
You could live well now without being able to do full squats, but you most definitely could not 100,000 years ago. And you still could definitely have a safer adulthood today if you can do them.
If you don’t do anything at the gym for the rest or your life besides attempt to master the squat — doing it fast, and repeatedly for different intervals of time, and with increasing weight, and with a full range of motion — you will still be an incredibly fit person, and more ready for the demands of life and of aging.
Heh, I just linked this on Facebook with the comment “see David Steinberg kick my ass”
A couple of corrections, though: the only shiv wound I have was in my knee, and when my knee isn’t hurting I’m actually quite flexible. I’ll get a picture of me doing the more or less same squat as above.
Thanks for this David, I’ve been doing kettlebell goblet squats (all the way down) and deadlifts this week.
Charlie, David, you might be interested in this (came across it this week):
http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5×5-beginner-strength-training-program/
It appears to be structured completely around squats, bench press, and row (which then morphs to deadlifting). 3 exercises that pretty much work out the whole body.
Fundamentally, if the only exercises you do are squats and push-ups, you are doing great. Do push-ups and squats in sets of 10. Do a set of each every hour. When I am at work and start to get the “I want a snack” feeling, I bang out one set of squats and one of push-ups. That snacky feeling goes away and I feel re-energized. By the end of the day I’ve done 70 – 100 push-ups and squats. This is in addition to my morning workout.
You know, there’s something appealing about this scheme.
It’s part of how soldiers get really fit in basic training. Of course they do a great workout every morning, walk everywhere and eat quite well for the weeks they are in Basic. But they also do 20 pushups every hour or so because their drill sergeant is “punishing” them for some minor thing or another. Since I’m 45, not 18, I figure I’ll do 10 pushups at a time instead of 20. In any case, if you do 100 pushups and a 100 squats a day, it will make a difference. And it is really helping with the desire to snack when I’m bored.
How do you do a squat if your knees respond by clearly saying, “No. Don’t do that.” when you try? (I don’t get stabbing pain or anything, but there’s a very unpleasant sensation inside the joint, and I don’t feel stable.)
I’d say do leg extensions , dont go past parallel for as long as it takes to get those old joints working.
If you do squats do baby squats don’t feel guilty about going light and not going all the way down.
These old guys that are still doing squats will neglect to mention they have been doing them for 30 years and kept their joints flexible.
Never do leg extensions. Don’t even look at the leg extension machine. Better yet, melt it down into something useful, like a coffee table.
Simplified, the knee is not designed to take stress from one side and not the other — in this case, from the quads and not the hamstrings, glutes, etc. You are literally shearing your patellar tendon off the bone.
Best thing to do — which is the point of this entries, as per week one — is do your homework online, look through the Crossfit comments, message boards, videos, and ask questions.
Comeon. I haven’t noticed anything but benefit. You do have to watch how far down you go.
I wouldn’t normally argue , but i do want people to know what can help them avoid pain.
No acl in right knee along with most of the cartilage. Arthritis in both knees due to 30 years of basketball. Doctor a long time ago told me no squats. Any suggestions? Cheers -
Talk to a few more doctors.
Find one that generally works with athletes and is focused on “how” rather than “whether”.
It may be that your first doctor was right, it may be that you just need to use less weight and go slower.
I’ve been following Charlie since he started this a few months ago, and have been cheering him on. I’ve been on my own journey, and am down to 203 (from an all-time high of 243 four years ago, and a local maxima of 223 in September). That’s the least I’ve weighed in probably a decade, and I can honestly say I feel it. And people are noticing, which is always a good thing!
I’ve done this primarily through diet. I complete cut Coca-cola out of my diet at the beginning of September, and went low-carb in October. I haven’t been perfect, but the results indicate that what I’m doing is working so far.
But I really want to get back into an exercise routine. My one real concern has been my back. I’ve had chronic problems, and have been immobilized on more than one occasion. I am to the point where the serious spasms are no longer an issue (thanks to both chiropractic care, and a set of cortisone injections), but I’ve been leery about going back to the gym. The thought of re-injuring myself is, frankly, terrifying.
I did a little 15 minute google session re: CrossFit, and I’ve found a facility about 15 minutes away. Right now, I can’t do a whole lot with a squat regimen. Are the trainers at CrossFit qualified to advise me on how to exercise and really get my back strength up the point where it will support a full regimen? I would love to be able to work with someone on a regular basis who really knows how to re-train my body into fitness.
Keep up the good work, Charlie. And keep it coming, David. This is already looking like a killer column.
Only way to find out is to contact that specific Crossfit and to ask how experienced they are with someone like you. But my experience has been that the most out-of-shape, injured person at a Crossfit ends up being the heart of the place as they start to progress.
Mr. Steinberg, lay on your back and hold your knees to your chest for 10 min. while concentrating on relaxing and breathing and then lay on your stomach for 10 min. with your elbows propped. Do that regularly and I guarantee you you’ll never have a twinge in your leg again. It’ll unfreeze that entire area and work that disc back into place – forever.
I go through a few similar routines when I get a twinge — it only happens occasionally when I’ve been very active, and the muscles tighten again as I cool down.
The point is to do it away from the twinge, because once that occurs, the horse is out of the barn. This is no quick fix, but one that requires at least some weeks or even months to restore balance and hip flexibility that’s been compromised by that area shying away from pain and normal movement.
Not every one agrees. Most people stretch immediately before and after activity. I believe that’s wrong and leads to injury. I stretch on days in between activity and not at all surrounding an activity itself.
Anyway, it worked for me. I went from limping around with spasms half a dozen times a year in my 30s, even using my bicycle as a walker one time in my apt. and unable to play even a little frisbee, to working in a warehouse in my 40s squatting and lifting tons per day – that’s tons – no problem. Our bodies naturally get out of balance. Yoga stretches are designed to restore that balance.
“This would be like some 31-year-old affluent perma-student declaring a “right” to free birth control.”
And as always, the taxpayers wind up getting screwed.
Squat. My favorite exercise. I’m working on box squats now to increase my glute and hamstring involvement. My last 1RM high bar squat was 240#. I’m 58 YO and weigh around 170. My next test of 1RM will be 245# and 250# after a month of increasing box squats. Last night was 6×2 @ 200# on the box. I follow Westside Barbell methods for squat training.
Just don’t eat like the Westside guys do. You’ll squat half a ton, and weigh a quarter. They have put together the premier powerlifting program though, no better place to get your powerlifting info from.
Degree of force with which the hamstring muscle can contract stabilizes the knee joint when any quadriceps muscle torque occurs (ex: if body weight destabilizes balance).
Exercises to build hamstrings up(rather than quadriceps)improves one’s potential of knee stabilization.
Fast movement lessens muscles’ local actin & myosin filaments’ connection with each other offering less muscular response if one finds squatting hard to do.
Pushups are good. I am now at a place where I can do 3 sets of 33 in fast succession, at a regular pace, or a single set of 100 fast (not complete motion, though), or a set of 65 uninterrupted, full range of motion.
Basically with pushups you should have a goal, and have a minimum set, and keep pushing your minimum up until you hit your goal. Then (this is the key, I think) set another goal. Probably this is true of most exercise, where the goal is increasing fitness.
The thing that I would suggest beyond what David did (I am not a fitness consultant) is ab work. Planks, side planks, crunches, or full situps, or leg lifts. Pick something, and do that. I favor full situps AND side crunches, as part of a set. You’re going to want those abs and obliques because they stabilize your torso.
Just curious about why the leg press is a bad idea. Seems like it works the same muscles as a squat but with less chance of injury.
Thanks this is very helpful. Perhaps I will be able to climb trees gain but not like monkey…those were the the glory days
I was born and raised in a 3rd world country.
When I came to the US I was surprised to see Americans keeling back on the floor when trying to do the squat as shown in the picture of your article.
But then the latrines in my home country is just a hole in the ground. Full squat position is the only way. From what I gather, defecating in the squat position decreases the incidence of rectal cancer (feces get flushed out more fully).
“The plan should start with gaining competence with the basic functional movements, the ones a human is designed to do: raising and lowering your center of gravity (the squat); picking things up (the deadlift); and pushing things (the press).”
Oh yeah. Now that’s talking sense! I would add pulling to that list (rows, standing bent rows and/or seated rows).