To squat or not?

RebeccaLansdown

Hi all. I've been a sedentary person for a while so I'm not fit at all. For the past two months I e been taking the stairs at work instead of the elevator and get between seven and sixteen flights of stairs per day. Two days ago I decided to start a 30 day body weight squat challenge. It started out with thirty squats then had me do fifty yesterday. It's asking for me to do seventy-five squats today but my calves are really sore today. My question is should I push through this and do this challenge for 30 consecutive days or do I need to be doing something different? Please advise me on what to do because I'm clueless about what the best course of action is.

Thanks in advance,
Rebecca

JoanneKendrick

You are supposed to have rest day on the squat challenge. If you are in alot of discomfort have a day off and carry on tomorrow. Squats are gotta for your thighs, bums and stomach. So keep going

RebeccaLansdown

It hurts to walk the stairs because my calves are so tight and sore. I wasn't sure if resting from the squats would help. I'm still planning on doing the stairs to keep from sliding back into old elevator riding habits.

clehman71

You can do the squats today. Modify if you are sore. Break the 75 down into smaller groups so you can manage. I have never had my calves sore from squats. It almost sounds as though you are not putting your butt back far enough and leaving the front of your legs and calves doing the majority of the work. Squats are about the squats glutes and hamstring.

Instead of regular squats, try doing chair squats (you can google and find examples). This will teach you the proper form. Just touch the chair and stand back up. Squats are similar to sitting in a chair because the butt goes back and down, keeping the weight over the heels instead of on the front of the foot.

jemhh

I'll admit that I don't understand the point of a 30 day bodyweight squat challenge. I think that having an absolute beginner start doing 30, 50, 75 squats per day for a month is kind of dumb. I'd never recommend it. I think you'd be much better served by squatting a few times a week. Maybe a week at bodyweight squats and then start with goblet squats and work your weight up from there.

SezxyStef

To be very honest that's how I started....30 day squat challenage...

I did it exactly as laid out. I took rest when it said and push through when it wasn't a rest.

3 years later I can squat 210lbs...go for it...it will help with the soreness.

jessica22222

As long as it's not severe pain. When I'm sore I push through and it usually gets better. Good job

stephinator92

I would rest if you're really sore, but definitely make sure you have good form. A trick I use is to make sure my weight is always in my heels by lifting up my toes a little bit, which forces better form. Best of luck!

questionfear

Also, maybe do some squats in front of a mirror or get a video...your calves shouldn't be that sore from squats.

Chargunshow

Do you stretch and/or roll you legs/calves? If not you should. And make sure you are drinking lots of water.

lesleyloo7879

You can also break the 75 Squats into smaller groups spread it out through the day....

sunnybeaches105

If you're not injured then squat. DOMS will slowly fade over time but the best cure is more exercise

kwtilbury

questionfear wrote: »

Also, maybe do some squats in front of a mirror or get a video...your calves shouldn't be that sore from squats.

This. Squats shouldn't really engage your calves. You should be driving through your heels, not your toes.

Rick_1953

RebeccaLansdown wrote: »

Hi all. I've been a sedentary person for a while so I'm not fit at all. For the past two months I e been taking the stairs at work instead of the elevator and get between seven and sixteen flights of stairs per day. Two days ago I decided to start a 30 day body weight squat challenge. It started out with thirty squats then had me do fifty yesterday. It's asking for me to do seventy-five squats today but my calves are really sore today. My question is should I push through this and do this challenge for 30 consecutive days or do I need to be doing something different? Please advise me on what to do because I'm clueless about what the best course of action is.

Thanks in advance,
Rebecca

No, you did to much. You can't go from sedentary to that much exercise all at once. Rest till your legs stop hurting and continue squats but do 20 for two days, go to 25 for two days then increase by 5 every two days

Sassie_Lassie

jemhh wrote: »

I'll admit that I don't understand the point of a 30 day bodyweight squat challenge. I think that having an absolute beginner start doing 30, 50, 75 squats per day for a month is kind of dumb. I'd never recommend it. I think you'd be much better served by squatting a few times a week. Maybe a week at bodyweight squats and then start with goblet squats and work your weight up from there.

Sometimes these types of challenges are enough to get someone up and doing something. The OP might not have weights at home or access to a gym right now.

rybo

You need to address why squats are hurting your calves. That's not normal. Pic or video would help here.

Shells918

I've been doing a squat challenge and did 155 today. My calves haven't been sore but my hamstrings, quads and glutes are. Make sure your knees don't go over your ankles and if you look sideways in the mirror it should look like you're about to sit. My challenge has the picture

JoRocka

darlswife wrote: »

I've been doing a squat challenge and did 155 today.

god... why.

_incogNEATo_

rybo wrote: »

You need to address why squats are hurting your calves. That's not normal. Pic or video would help here.

It would be good to know if this is muscle soreness or some kind of other pain. If most of her weight is on her toes (not saying that's right), I'm sure the calf DOMS would be brutal.

juliewatkin

I wonder if it's the stairs making your calves hurt. Squat shouldn't really impact them but any time I've done a lot of stairs, my calves are on fire.

RebeccaLansdown

I'll do a couple in front of a mirror to check but I think my form is pretty good. A couple years ago I had a personal trainer who showed me the correct form for it. I make sure my knees don't go over or past my toes and squeeze my flutes as I stand. Of course I could be doing something wrong and will discover it today as I look in a mirror.

I don't have access to a gym at this time for the same reason I could no longer go to a pt. $ I'll check back later and update you all.

Thank you for the help.

Cheesy567

RebeccaLansdown wrote: »

It hurts to walk the stairs because my calves are so tight and sore. I wasn't sure if resting from the squats would help. I'm still planning on doing the stairs to keep from sliding back into old elevator riding habits.

Take a few seconds at the bottom of every few flights to stretch your calves. Stand on the balls of your feet at the edge of the bottom step, and let your heels drop down below the level of the step. It will feel good!

RebeccaLansdown

stephinator92 wrote: »

I would rest if you're really sore, but definitely make sure you have good form. A trick I use is to make sure my weight is always in my heels by lifting up my toes a little bit, which forces better form. Best of luck!

I'll try this trick.

juliewatkin wrote: »

I wonder if it's the stairs making your calves hurt. Squat shouldn't really impact them but any time I've done a lot of stairs, my calves are on fire.

It's possible that it is the stairs making my calves hurt. I've been taking them for two months and just started taking them two at a time at random intervals.

questionfear

You can also try squatting with the balls of your feet on two blocks/hardcover books, etc to force you onto your heels.

DoreenaV1975

Your calves could be sore cuz of the stairs... I started walking up and down the 10 flights of stairs in my office building , 2 times a day, a couple of weeks ago and not only did it cause soreness in my bottom and thighs but my calves were killing me (it could have also been because I did all that in heels, LOL)... so I don't think, as long as your form is correct, that the squats will hurt you further...

DoreenaV1975

Oops, hahahaha! Just read your last post... but see, I helped confirm it! LOL

peaceout_aly

Keep going. Push through. Give yourself a good calf massage and do as many as you possibly can. Make sure you are using proper form though, the fact that your calves are hurting makes me wonder if the other muscles are not getting activated.

shor0814

darlswife wrote: »

I've been doing a squat challenge and did 155 today. My calves haven't been sore but my hamstrings, quads and glutes are. Make sure your knees don't go over your ankles and if you look sideways in the mirror it should look like you're about to sit. My challenge has the picture

I have heard the myth that knees shouldn't go past your toes but this is a new one. Knees can go past the toes.

kuftae

shor0814 wrote: »

darlswife wrote: »

I've been doing a squat challenge and did 155 today. My calves haven't been sore but my hamstrings, quads and glutes are. Make sure your knees don't go over your ankles and if you look sideways in the mirror it should look like you're about to sit. My challenge has the picture

I have heard the myth that knees shouldn't go past your toes but this is a new one. Knees can go past the toes.

Depending on your anatomy, knees will go past toes when doing an Olympic/ high bar squat. On low bar the knees shouldn't ever go over the toes

theWODdoll

Squat. Always squat. But make sure you squat correctly. Look up on YouTube proper squat form or anything to help make sure you're doing them correctly. Sometimes you need a trainer to watch your form and make sure you're doing them right. If your squat is not good then yea you can hurt yourself but when you get your form down then squats will be your new best friend. And if the reps are too much for you to start, scale them and try less reps in the beginning and work your way up

shor0814

kuftae wrote: »

shor0814 wrote: »

darlswife wrote: »

I've been doing a squat challenge and did 155 today. My calves haven't been sore but my hamstrings, quads and glutes are. Make sure your knees don't go over your ankles and if you look sideways in the mirror it should look like you're about to sit. My challenge has the picture

I have heard the myth that knees shouldn't go past your toes but this is a new one. Knees can go past the toes.

Depending on your anatomy, knees will go past toes when doing an Olympic/ high bar squat. On low bar the knees shouldn't ever go over the toes

Knees can go past the toes on low bar too:



Depending on your femur, tibia, and trunk dimensions, your knees could be anywhere from very slightly behind your toes, with short femurs and long tibias, to 3 or 4 inches in front of the toes, with long femurs and short tibias.

Rippetoe, Mark (2013-11-07). Starting Strength (Kindle Locations 1376-1378). The Aasgaard Company. Kindle Edition.