Deep Squats for the Long Legged

~Elsie said:
The Jefferson stance is also beneficial for folks like me with scoliosis. Thank you Dave D, right? :) I have to do more reps on one side than the other though. So happy that you found a great foot stance to kill those DLs! I actually love doing DLs. Lunges though? Not so much. the 45 degree one I don't mind.
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Hi Elsie,

I admire you for still trying out modification/variation despite scoliosis issue. I wish I could persuade a close friend to lift
and strengthen his back muscles to be pain free. Your post made me lurk T-nation forum on this topic.
Lol:D could not surf digging up info any further cause the screen is too dark, not friendy to my eyes IMO.

Anyway---Why do you do more rep on one side? Is it on the weakest side you are doing more reps?
 
nckfitheart2009 said:
Hi Elsie,

I admire you for still trying out modification/variation despite scoliosis issue. I wish I could persuade a close friend to lift
and strengthen his back muscles to be pain free. Your post made me lurk T-nation forum on this topic.
Lol:D could not surf digging up info any further cause the screen is too dark, not friendy to my eyes IMO.

Anyway---Why do you do more rep on one side? Is it on the weakest side you are doing more reps?
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Thank you Nathalie for the positive reinforcement. I've been having a rough week, so it's nice to hear.
I think different modes and paces of active rehab work best for different people at different spaces or times along their pain or mobility management journey. I have had times where I could hardly walk across the distance of the kitchen, so exercise would not have been very helpful then. I went through 7 months of near immobility..I'm not kidding. I would advise anyone though who has a spinal issue to get some foundation in stabilizing before getting into lifting. I'm sorry to hear of your friend. I hope he is getting some form of therapy? Keep encouraging him. :)
I just started trying this out lately with the greater amount of reps on one side. I have a C curve. It is an experiment. We'll see how it goes! lol. So far, so good. Some therapists recommend it, but others do not. I feel I am listening to what my body wants. I hope it turns out well.
 
~Elsie said:
I'm sorry to hear of your friend. I hope he is getting some form of therapy? Keep encouraging him. :)
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He's fine. I would like him to go and see a competent specialist in the field and eventually get into lifting consistently.
This would be, IMO better action to take rather than wait for any possible deterioration! He has knee injury at the moment
and can not play soccer. I can only try to persuade;);)
 
MomInVT said:
This! I'm realizing more and more how true this is. I've been utilizing range of motion testing while lifting to basically see how my body 'likes' certain movements, as well as micro-variations (which, in the case of this thread would be a slightly wider or narrower stance, toes slightly in or out, etc.).
I've been having some foot troubles, so I approached deadlifting carefully today, and once I'd determined that conventional deadlifts won out over sumo or Jefferson, I tested different stance widths. A narrow stance (narrow than hip width) tested (and felt) AMAZING(ly). This is not 'textbook' form, but it tested well so I went with it, and had a fantastic DL session.
I know Justine and Elsie use biofeedback in various ways, too. I learned a lot from Dave Dellanave's free e-course -- on his website (dellanave.com) you can get it if you sign up for his emails. Interestingly, he notes that most women who have children tend to squat best with one foot slightly ahead of the other, due to carrying their child/ren on the same side of their bodies most of the time. Sounds crazy, but makes sense. And one way to find out what works is to use biofeedback testing.
So much great info. And you can use it for any activity -- it doesn't have to be 'barbell front squat or barbell back squat?', it could be 'running or spinning or walking?'.
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I'm not extremely tall (5'7"), but I have longer feet, flatter arches, broader shoulders, have an hourglass shape, possess really long arms, and just generally have a larger build in general (with the exception of my waist and hands) than many women do. I do not like the feel of sumo deadlifts AT ALL. No matter how hard I try, I cannot get them to feel good or to have them really work the target areas without having to dangerously compromise form in some other area. I find stiff-legged ones to be so much more comfortable, and I feel them working much more in their intended area- the hamstrings (and to a less extent, the glutes).

I also cannot do lunges with my back leg elevated on a step for similar reasons. Also, someone brilliant here on the forums jogged my memory about "Morton's toe", where the second toe is longer is longer than the big toe. It creates a slight forward tip already to the body, and if combined with flatter feet, can REALLY make movements with that forward angle very challenging to execute. The taller you are, the longer your legs and/or the flatter your feet, the harder this movement is likely to be. (Forgive me for not giving them credit, I forget which intelligent soul it was that reminded me of this. Memorizing college algebra has stolen my memory ATM.) If one is wearing shoes with any sort of heel rise (as most non-zero-drop shoes are), then you're at even more of a disadvantage.

That was a major a-ha moment for me. I had always found working out in shoes to completely throw off my form. I never could make it feel normal or natural to work out in shoes that weren't zero-drop, and there are some workouts I simply have to do barefoot- period. It makes no difference how thin or fit I get, my bio-mechanics are already set to some degree by nature. This knowledge also "let me off the hook" just a bit, from trying to master moves that have always felt inherently wrong and a bit dangerous to my joints and ligaments. Like doing handstands, there are just some things I am not built for- I accepted it and moved onto mastering what I can do much more safely and successfully without unnecessary risk.

I believe in working hard, I believe in balancing our bodies, and doing everything we can to remove painful limitations to our goals. We just need to be careful in trying to modify for the right purposes over the long haul. Using the right format of deadlifting for our body types is a great example of this. :)
 
Justinef said:
Elsie - this article made me think of you:
http://www.dellanave.com/follow-your-body-to-better/
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Great article, Justine! I think one thing it points out (maybe without explicitly saying it) is that more advanced exercisers, like the trainer profiled in the story, often intuitively know where they should be putting in more training time for their particular body. Also, where they may need to put less time. We all need different focuses in training because our body types, injury history, problem areas, bone structure (including the spine), height, weight, and physical condition are different. There is no one right, rigid way to follow in training and sometimes I need a reminder of this. The article served as a good one! :)
 
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