LauraMax
Cathlete
My leg routine is pretty basic & old fashioned--squats & lunges on the smith machine, leg press, extensions, curls, calve raises.
Last night I was feeling tired so I skipped leg presses. When I did my extensions & curls I felt so much stronger! So I started thinking maybe I should eliminate leg presses from my routine b/c I'm not doing my quads & hams justice? Also, am I maybe overtraining my glutes, which could be why I'm not building shape there?
I was talking to one of the trainers about it & he said I should keep the presses & eliminate the squats. He also said instead of presses I could do weighted step-ups (I'm a little skeptical about this b/c I can't imagine using heavy weight w/step-up, & therefore not sure how I'd be building muscle), & also that I should do deeper squats w/my front knee going above my hip line--this kind of scares me, I'm 40 & I've been doing high impact, high intensity for 19 years, I'm trying to save my knees for another 19 at least!
So, bearing in mind my work schedule has gone haywire & I'm trying not to add extra sets & reps to my routine (which currently takes me 20-30 minutes), what do you think? Should I eliminate squats & presses & do step-ups instead? Should I do those scary deep lunges?
On a side note, towards the end of my conversation w/the trainer I said something like OK, I'm gonna "Ask Cathe" before I make my final decision on changing my routine. Well, he got SO INSULTED! He said why would you want to ask someone else when you've already gotten advice from me? (personally I think if he was confident in his knowledge he'd have said go ahead, she'll tell you the same thing I did) So this PT at this teeny tiny podunk gym in Millburn is supposed to be my ultimate resource for fitness advice?
I think I'll stick w/you.
Last night I was feeling tired so I skipped leg presses. When I did my extensions & curls I felt so much stronger! So I started thinking maybe I should eliminate leg presses from my routine b/c I'm not doing my quads & hams justice? Also, am I maybe overtraining my glutes, which could be why I'm not building shape there?
I was talking to one of the trainers about it & he said I should keep the presses & eliminate the squats. He also said instead of presses I could do weighted step-ups (I'm a little skeptical about this b/c I can't imagine using heavy weight w/step-up, & therefore not sure how I'd be building muscle), & also that I should do deeper squats w/my front knee going above my hip line--this kind of scares me, I'm 40 & I've been doing high impact, high intensity for 19 years, I'm trying to save my knees for another 19 at least!
So, bearing in mind my work schedule has gone haywire & I'm trying not to add extra sets & reps to my routine (which currently takes me 20-30 minutes), what do you think? Should I eliminate squats & presses & do step-ups instead? Should I do those scary deep lunges?
On a side note, towards the end of my conversation w/the trainer I said something like OK, I'm gonna "Ask Cathe" before I make my final decision on changing my routine. Well, he got SO INSULTED! He said why would you want to ask someone else when you've already gotten advice from me? (personally I think if he was confident in his knowledge he'd have said go ahead, she'll tell you the same thing I did) So this PT at this teeny tiny podunk gym in Millburn is supposed to be my ultimate resource for fitness advice?
I think I'll stick w/you.