Squats vs Lunges

meg512

Cathlete
Cathe, first of all let me congratulate you on your announcement of your new arrival. Also, I bought all five of the new videos and love them all. My question to you or anyone out there who might know this anwer is - I have arthritis in my knees. When I do a lot of lunges or reverse lunges, my knees are screaming. Someone told me that squats work basically the same muscles. I have incorporated all squats for lunges and it has not bothered my knees, problem is I'm worried that I might not be getting the full benefit. The person who told me this is no expert. I was also told that when you place your feet further apart on a squat, you work more glut and when they are closer together, you work more quads. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Thanks so much and have a great weekend. Keep us posted on how you are feeling. Take care. Mary
 
I am really interested in this, too. I feel like my lunges are not that great because I just can't go way, way down there on them, and if squats would be just as good, I'd prefer them. I have improved by wearing a hinged knee brace on one of my knees that's really bad and I also seem much much better from taking 1500 mg. of glucosamine every day.
 
>How much glucosamine and chondroitin do
>we need to keep the
>joints happy?
Hi Chubbychick, I take it too and it tells on the bottle to take 3 tablets a day to start, which is 1500 mg of glucosomine and 1200mg of chondroitin for 2 months and then put yourself on a maintenance dose of 1 -2 tablets a day. I did not think it was doing anything at first so I took the 3 tablets for about 3 months before I lowered the dosage. My knees feel much better. I now take 2 tablets a day for maintenance. It is supposed to help maintain what cartlilege (sp) that you still have. Some doctors believe in it totally (ie my doctors partner) and some don't (my own orthopedic), but I swear it has done wonders. Hope that helps. You can find it right at Walmart, Kmart, etc. The main thing I have heard to look for is to make sure it is made in the US because since it is a supplement, there are no federal regulations on it. Hope that helps. Mary
 
I started taking glucosamine sulfate late in January after hearing about a study on the Today show. It was only about glucosamine sulfate, and no mention was made of chondroitin, so I have only been taking the glucosamine sulfate. The study indicated that 1500 mg. per day was required. The study was one year long. The study showed that people with osteoarthritis who took the glucosamine sulfate either kept the knee cartilage they had or actually gained some more cartilage cushioning. The people who took a placebo--also with comparable osteoarthritis--lost cartilage. It also reduces aches and pains in the knees. I tried taking the stuff 5 years ago, but only took it for a month and had no idea how much to take, so I probably was not taking enough. It did nothing for me, so I thought it was a hoax. My orthopedic surgeon at the time said it worked for some people and not for others. Now he says try the 1500 mg. dose for a year before giving it up. I started to really notice a change early in June.
 
Thanks for the replies! Must go by GNC then ... Going back to the original post, I sure would like to know if I could just squat instead of lunge too!
 
I believe--based on personal experience and articles read--that you are correct about leg positions and the areas hit when squatting. However, this is with reference to toes pointed forward. If your toes are pointed slightly out and your legs are wide, as in a plie squat, you will also hit the inner thigh a great deal, in addition to the rest of the quads and the glutes.

The latest issue of Muscle & Fitness has an extensive article on how to protect your knees when exercising. Jeanne
 
Bumping up to see if I can still get Cathe's opinion. I like to hear it from the expert. Thanks everyone. Mary
 

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