Posted by alexandra_k on April 29, 2011, at 4:47:16
In reply to Re: walking poles/hiking poles » alexandra_k, posted by floatingbridge on April 28, 2011, at 12:36:25
about 5 years ago i smashed up my feet / ankles pretty bad. 30% loss in height to my lumbar / thoracic junction. fractured pelvis. burst calcaneus (heel). pretty smashed up midfeet. weber C fracture to left leg... have pins and screws etc still in both ankles. was told i'd probably never be able to walk without crutches, and i still have trouble walking, truth be told.
took me about 3 months to learn to squat. my hips didn't much like it to start with. some broken glass feeling in the joints. i persisted (fairly gently) and eventually the broken glass feeling went away and now i have the best range of motion in my hips i ever remember having. my ankle dorsiflexion is pretty much non-existent. not sure how much that is because of the pins in my ankles or how much it is soft tissue restriction. been working on that pretty hard for the last year. my feet are the best they have ever been since my injury, but they are still very far from normal.
i got some of these a couple months ago:
http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/barefoot-sports/
my toes are starting to uncurl. my arches are starting to strengthen (one flat arch is starting to develop, one cramped arch is starting to relax).
i need to squat in shoes that have 2x standard Olympic Lifting heel raise because otherwise I can't squat, though... You will notice I sit my butt back behind my midfoot rather than sitting my butt down between my legs (which would require my knees to move more in front of my ankles).
Where there is a will there is a way...
> 36 kg?
79.37 pounds.
I got 39.5kg two days ago (87 pounds).
This time last year I literally was not physically strong enough in my legs to stand up from seated without using my arms.
> I have spine issues with some damage. Right now I'd be pleased to walk and go in a warm pool.
I hear you. Squatting is simply sitting down and standing up without using your arms, though. There is a way of holding your spine (in a good lumbar curve) for squatting weight and for deadlifting (picking up things like potatoes or rice or toddlers or TV's). If you develop the mobility to hold a good lumbar arch and then practice holding your lumbar arch with weight (in the squat and deadlift) then you will be amazed at what weights you can lift safely.
> I've read that light weight training and
> cross training (not exactly crossfit) can increase muscle mass in people 80-90+ years of age. In fact, it's reccomended.Light weight training? You mean lifting things that are lighter than your bags of potatoes or rice or toddler or handbag even? Sorry... But that won't really do sh*t.
I mean... Something is better than nothing, true. If you are used to doing nothing then doing something will result in your body adapting to new demands... But you gotta keep making your body do that little bit more than it did last time in order to force it to adapt to those new demands.
I bet you are capable of being much much much much much stronger than you think. Safely.
1st - learn the functional movements:
Squat
Lunge
Deadlift
Horizontal Press
Horizontal Pull
Vertical Press
Vertical PullOnly when you can do the movement comfortably should you attempt to add weight (gradually!) By all means start with 1kg. But then when you can do three sets of 8-12 repetitions PUT THE WEIGHT UP. Gradually. The calf didn't become a bull overnight lol.
I've done one relatively informal competition. I can snatch okay (in the vid). Have trouble jerking, though:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXlcA7VCRyM
The second part of the lift when you jerk it from your shoulders to overhead. My toes claw a bit into the ground so I can't lunge / balance the weight comfortably on the ball of my back foot.
I'm going to need to learn to squat jerk for competitions. Like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP-eRlIvfF8&feature=related
I'm still working on developing the shoulder flexibility and balance. Will probably take me quite a while before that is stronger than my push-press:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLcntfkyXbM
You need to catch it with elbows locked out for competition (can't push it up).
I'll be 35 in a couple years... Hopefully I'll be competitive in the Masters Level :-)
poster:alexandra_k
thread:983787
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20110407/msgs/984045.html