Training the Legs, Sampling the Squat

I don't really post much about my weight training but I probably should because its an integral part of my fat loss plan. Generally speaking, when I find something that works and I like it, I tend to stick to it. This is the case in exercise, diet, well anything really.

When it comes to weight training I've always done my own thing, and designed my own workouts. However when I joined my new gym a few months back I let one of the trainers design a routine for me and I decided to give it a good go. The one thing I didn't like too much was the leg workout. I had two major leg exercises - step ups and lunges. I hated them both :-)

The Big Three of Weight Training

I got rid of the step ups a few weeks back and replaced them with deadlifts and I felt okay about that as the deadlift is generally accepted as one of the big three of weight training. The big three are bench presses for the chest, squats for the leg and deadlifts for the back and legs. Even though the deadlift is more of a back exercise, as I use fairly light weight at the moment I feel it on my legs more than my back. If that changes I would move it to back day and try something else for legs. Being a rather short woman, I do the sumo style of deadlift which is described very well by Mistress Krista here.

I still had the lunges. I spoke to my trainer about them last week and she urged me to continue with them saying "but they're so good!" Yeah they are but I hate them, they hurt my ankles. Over the last two weeks I've been trying really hard and I've upped the weights but yesterday morning I found myself almost falling over; I was wobbling all over the place. Enough! They had to go!

Introducing the Squat

I had a chat with one of the other trainers, Peter, who used to be a power lifting champion (I must grab his surname so I can Google him!) and he pointed me at the Hack Squat. There's a lot one can say about the squat. In bodybuilding circles it is known as probably the best exercise you can do for the legs, and maybe even the whole body. However, in casual gyms almost nobody squats. It is difficult to squat correctly and it can be very dangerous if done incorrectly and there is always the danger of getting stuck if not performed inside of a rack.

However there are many versions of the squat and nowadays many can be performed inside machines that take away some of the danger. The Hack Squat is one such exercise. It is performed leaning slightly back, your lower back is fully protected and the machine provides brakes so you can stop and escape if you cannot push yourself back up. This is one of the advantages of belonging to a good gym; you just can't do these kinds of exercises at home unless you have some serious cash to spend on equipment.

I quite liked this machine as it protects the lower back and you are relatively safe because you can put the brakes on at any time. I just had a play with it to start with without using any weight and Peter suggested to get used to it for a while before piling on the weight. I've added that one to my routine.

Smith Squat

He also showed me a squat using a Smith's Machine. I didn't really want to try that as I've had horror stories about Smith's Machine but I had a quick go anyway. Hmm that was a mistake. I felt a twinge in my knee and it was playing me up all day until about 5pm. It hurt every time I went up or down the stairs at work. I wont be trying that again.