Are there floorwork substitutes for squats and lunges?

H

hippahips

Cathlete
I have been told to rest my knees for a week. No lower body weight work, no stepping, no kickboxing. I'm thinking of easing back into lower body work using the floorwork in PS-Legs, PLB and L&G without any weights for a week, then with light weights for another week after that. My main concern is losing the strength I've gained in my legs. I've worked so hard and so long for that, and I credit those squats and lunges for most of it. So are there any exercises I can do on the floor, that don't aggravate my knees or make them work too hard, and can strengthen my legs as well? I don't think there is anything better than squats and lunges for mass building and strength, but are there floor exercises that come close? Am I asking too much?

Pinky
 
Hi Pinky....I am sorry about your knees...:(...but I think you are in such good shape that if you just ease into the floorwork in those Cathe workouts you won't loose anything. When your knees can handle it just add weight for the floor exercises. How long is this break for? It's funny but now the Firm tapes would come in handy, alot of the legwork is on the floor with ankle weights. I don't really know what could take the place of lunges and squats, besides the floorwork you have mentioned. Nah...us women...we never ask for too much...:)...Carole
 
RE: Are there floorwork substitutes for squats and lung...

Pinky, this Freestyle Training book says Leg Curls are great for the hamstrings and glutes......and Leg extentions.......... happy exercising :7 ..... Rhonda :7
 
I've found increased strength in my legs and a tighter rear by doing the floor in Billy Blanks Abs and Glutes workout as well as the floor work in the Slim Series.

I too have to give my knees a break now and then and Debbie Seibers offers an floor exercise that has one on your rear, extending the leg up from the knee, toe pointed half the time, foot flexed half the time and raising it up and down with many, brutal reps. NO quad work has EVER made me cry like that exercise has! Plus its a recommended knee strengthener by physical therapists, so its a 2fer!
 
Thanks for all your suggestions. I'm into my fourth day of rest. Three more!:) But seriously, I honestly think my knees need more than a week to recover. I do have Billy Blanks Abs and Glutes. I tried that once and felt it more in my butt and abductors than in my abs, but it's a wonderful low-impact workout. Maybe it's time to dust it off... I don't have Firm tapes or a Freestyle Training book, but I can look them up. I've been doing standing leg work regularly for the last nine months and have been going as heavy as I could even for endurance. For the last three months my knees have been telling me to do a different kind of leg work. I just need to know how to do it because I can't think of any other way using the equipment I have here at home.:)

Pinky
 
Hey Pinky, re: FIRM tapes

I don't have anything from their recent stuff, but I still own all the old FIRM stuff and will be happy to loan you anything you want to use while you recover.

FYI, I suffer from much the same knee issues, and mine are twingy right now, too (sometimes I really do believe the winter weather affects them because this happens every winter). I am going back to the floor, too. I'll be using all of Cathe's floor stuff and I think if I'm careful about form and really reaching deep, it'll be pretty effective.

Another suggestion for you -- Karen Voight's Great Weighted Workout is an oldie but goodie for the whole body. It has a wonderful floor legs section, including quad work with ankle weights. It's surprisingly tough. That whole workout is endurance based, but it will definitely keep you toned, quads included.


http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/sport/sport-smiley-003.gif Kathy S. http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/spezial/spudniks/spudniklifter.gif
 
RE: Hey Pinky, re: FIRM tapes

I've been having knee problems too, and since I'm going skiing next week I want to baby my knees for the next few days. I did the floor work only on L&G, which clocked in at only 11 min but I'm embarrassed to say my booty was sooo sore the next day! I never use ankle weights when I do floorwork so that could have something to do with it. Have you thought about taking a glucosamine supplement? That has made a world of difference on my knees if I take it 3 times a day. I have all the vids mentioned above, so I guess I'll dust them off and do them this week. Good luck!
 
RE: Hey Pinky, re: FIRM tapes

Hi Kathy, thanks for the offer. I checked out collagevideo.com and found a FIRM workout (Sculpted Buns/Thighs) and the Karen Voight workout you suggested. I liked the floor work I viewed and will definitely be ordering them so I can insert them into my rotations.

I think doing leg work one day then step the next has done a number on my knees, so if I can do floor leg work one day then step the next, that would probably make my knees happier.:)

Leslie, I do take a glucosamine supplement twice a day, a total of 1500 mg. That's the strongest dose out there. My doctor thinks I have more overuse issues than cartilage-related (i.e., arthritis) issues. That's why I believe my knees need more than a week of rest and floor work for the next few months after nine months of heavy-duty standing leg work.

Pinky
 
Pinky, re: the FIRM tape you ordered

It's an oldie but a goodie.

You know (or if ya don't I'm cluing you in :)) that the FIRM has this bizarre tradition of re-issuing the same tapes over and over again with new titles. So I suspected I might know the floorwork tape you bought, but I'd never heard that title. Went to Collage to peek at it and voila, I own it. It was formerly titled "Lie Down & Workout," and it is recycled footage from a couple of even older FIRM tapes (Tortoise and Hare). Still, it's a great little half-hour floor legs tape and I think you'll enjoy it.

In my old FIRM collection I have one other floor tape I'd forgotten about. It's from the original "FIRM Parts" series (the very first time they ever cut 'n pasted), and it was originally titled "Floor Legs." I'll have to go see if it's still available and if so under what title. It runs about 20 - 25 minutes, and I used to combine it with the one you bought for a great, surprisingly tough 55 minutes.

I'll get back to ya if I find it. :)

http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/sport/sport-smiley-003.gif Kathy S. http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/spezial/spudniks/spudniklifter.gif
 
RE: Pinky, re: the FIRM tape you ordered

Hey Kathy and Pinky...I've got "Floor Legs"....never use it anymore....let me know if you want it Pinky...have no clue if I can copy it....:)...Carole
 
Hey Carole and Pinky, interesting re: "Floor Legs"

Carole, pull that puppy out and add it on to one of Cathe's floorwork sets -- I'm gonna try that today! :)

And ladies, FYI -- I did find this tape at eBay. It's no longer available at Collage. It took me a while to find it at eBay because it's (of course) under a different name. Typical FIRM confusion. Get this: "FIRM Parts: Floor Legs" was reissued in around 1996 under the title "Lower Body Sculpting." THEN -- Several years later the FIRM issued a new tape called "Lower Body Scupt" (minus the "--ing"). It is still available but is NOT the same tape. I think there's even a "Lower Body Sculpt 2" now.

There are a couple of auctions at eBay where "Lower Body Sculpting" is being sold with its companion tape, the original FIRM Parts "Standing Legs," which is a pretty decent standing leg segment, if I recall -- I own it but haven't done it in years. I do remember that "Standing Legs" was not as difficult as the original compilation called "Tough Tape," which was so crammed with tall-box step-ups that even when I was much younger my knees would SCREAM at me the next day! :-()


http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/sport/sport-smiley-003.gif Kathy S. http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/spezial/spudniks/spudniklifter.gif
 
RE: Hey Carole and Pinky, interesting re:

Another good floor work video is Winsor pilates bun and thigh sculpting. It's 20 min. I used this one and the 2 older lower body Firms, after my knee surgery(2 years ago). I didn't have any Cathe's at the time, but eventually got PSlegs and did the floor work on that one too.
 
RE: Hey Carole and Pinky, interesting re:

Sunnyside,

You're right about the Winsor tape. I've actually specifically used that at times when my knees were sore. It helps a lot!
 
RE: Hey Carole and Pinky, interesting re:

Alright ladies, you talked me into it.:) I got:

-the Firm's Sculpted Buns, Hips and Thighs (vhs)
-Karen Voight's Great Weighted Workout (in dvd, so I could use the upper body and lower body work on separate days)
-Karen Voight's Pilates Total Body Toning (lots of floor work for legs in this one)

That's as much as my budget will allow right now, so Winsor Pilates will have to wait. I'd like to see if it's at our local Target. If they have a set, and the price is reasonable, I'll have my hubby get it for me. He owes me a Valentine's present.:)

Carole, I would love to have a copy of that tape, if you can copy it.

Kathy S., thanks for clueing me in on the Firm workouts. I had some of those before and somehow never got the hang of them so they ended up on E-bay, and whatever I got for them went to Cathe.:) I DID like the one you suggested so much when I viewed it at collage, that I knew it'd be in my collection.

Thanks again, everyone. My knees thank you as well. Two more days of rest, but I'm not pushing it. I woke up this morning to knees that feel better than they have in the last few months that I know PLB will have to wait 'til who-knows-when. It's a bummer, but I have this great fantasy about chasing my grandkids around one day, so I have to take care of these knees.:)

Pinky
 
RE: Hey Carole and Pinky, interesting re:

I also have a Karen Voight "Lean legs, and Buns" although I don't remember it real well, and a Cory Everson "Abs & Glutes", I don't believe she uses any weights and the Voight one says just ankle weights...Looks like you are covered well and can give those knees a rest. Good luck Pinky...:)...Carole
 
RE: Hey Carole and Pinky, interesting re:

Hi Carole, I checked out Karen Voight's Lean Legs and Buns. It's similar to Kathy Smiths Great Buns and Thighs workout, where you do lots of squats and leg lifts on the step. I need floor workouts, so I took the other two that Karen offered. Carole, I now know how you felt when you had to rest due to your heel. I keep telling my hubby that "I am sooooo tempted to not listen to the doctor". He's counting down the days with me, bless his heart.:) But seriously, I might start with the leg workouts on the floor first week of March, which is next week. This gives my knees an extra few days. Not too long to wait...

Pinky
 
RE: Hey Carole and Pinky, interesting re:

Pinky:

I have two trick knees, so wanted to pass on some advice I've gotten from my PT who also has funky knees. Some floorwork is not so good because it is what is known as "open chain", meaning the foot is not braced against the floor or some other form of fixed resistance. In this position,(knee curls and extensions) the patella will not track well. If your pain is patella-related, I would stick to hip flexion and extension (standing or floor)which will work your quads and hams to a lesser extent than your glutes and hip flexors, but will get you through the gap till you can return to working your quads and hams with knee extension and flexion. Firm classic Vol. I floorwork type of stuff would be good. The excercise Mindy mentions above is a great burner for the quads, but will have your patella dancing around like crazy. Try it with straight legs; only one of the four quad muscles will be engaged (rectus femoris I think, correct me anyone if that's wrong), but your hip flexors(rf is one of these) will get a good workout and they are often neglected, so it's an opportunity for them to catch up. Turn over and do all the donkey kick variations, but do them from the hip, not the knee. You will still recruit a lot of hams, and get extra focus on the glutes. HTH.
--Ann
 
RE: Hey Carole and Pinky, interesting re:

Hi Ann, thanks for the tips. I'll definitely keep them in mind when doing floor work.

Pinky:)
 
Pinky

Yes it has been the pitts not running, so I know how you feel too. I never did figure out how to copy....:)...so if you want that tape its yours. Since it's a compiliation of some of the Firms I already have (and rarely use) I don't mind giving it away. I tried to email you instead of using the boards..didn't work, so let me know either way. ...:)...Carole
 
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