Missing anything? (legs)

CynthiaT60

Hi, a quick question. Because of severe osteoarthritis in one knee I have to be very careful about what I do legwise. The whole program at this point is about this:

dumbbell chest press
dumbbell overhead press on Swiss ball
crunches on Swiss ball (feet on floor, ball in the small of my back)
triceps curl with dumbbells, lying on Swiss ball (ball more under shoulders/neck)
hamstring curls
lat pulldown (on the front, about to the collarbones)
pulley row
sometimes leg press (lying down)
and then about 20 min. stationary bike, working reasonably hard.
I also bike wherever I can.

I have knee pain with squats and deadlifts (not just soreness), so don't do those. Am I missing too much or am I compensating reasonably with what I'm doing?

Thanks,
Cynthia

steve_mfp

If possible i would check with a Sports-centric Physical Therapist.

They tend to have better philosophies in my opinion for people who will not accept an inactive life-style. They will also understand which muscles to build specifically and which techniques will cause minimal pain. Also they will probably have access to tons of other cases, results, techniques that worked for others with your condition.

CynthiaT60

Hi Steve, thanks for your reply! I am doing that as well; just curious whether anyone has any comments about what I might (or might not!) be missing in the total program.

Cynthia

steve_mfp

Since you can't do the compound exercise most gyms have circuits with machines that isolate the leg muscles so just be sure to hit a lower body circuit that would include, lower back, glutes, quads, hammies and calves.

I see you have the bicep curl for you hammies but a sometimes legpress which would work your quads more. I would add the leg extension so you can hit the quads.

Not really seeing anything for the calves might want to add those. Calves have 3 muscles in them and to hit them all effectively you need straight leg toe extensions and bent knee extensions to get all 3.

For the glutes most gyms have a machine that has you basically doing a donkey kick to work the booty.

Also there will be a machine that you sit in that works your lower back.

SideSteel

In order for anyone to make adjustments to your program we would need to know your goals.


What are your goals?

Sarauk2sf

In order for anyone to make adjustments to your program we would need to know your goals.


What are your goals?

^yep.

Also, what is the current rep range and number of sets your are doing? Does what you are doing build in progressive loading? (i.e. weights/reps increasing)?

CynthiaT60

Hi 3S-guys (Steve, Sara & SideSteel) and thanks for thinking with me!

Goals: I am very overweight; first goal is to lose around 20 kg (44 pounds) to be considered for a knee replacement (or to discover that I can postpone it!). Ultimately I'd like to lose around 40 kg (88 pounds). And have as little loose skin as possible. :-)
I've discovered that I actually like strength training a lot; I'm just limited because of the knee.
Have lost 8 kg (17 pounds) since October using Fitbit/MFP.
Only dietary restriction is that I don't eat meat (sometimes fish). If necessary I use whey shakes and/or eggs to meet the MFP macros goal (the standard one; haven't changed it). I like carbs. :grumble:

No progressive loading done as yet. Workout 2-3 x per week (plus the biking outdoors; that's more transport than training).

dumbbell chest press (3 x 8 reps with 16 kg (35 pounds))
dumbbell overhead press on Swiss ball (3 x 8 reps with 10 kg (22 pounds))
crunches on Swiss ball (feet on floor, ball in the small of my back) (3 x 12-15 reps)
triceps curl with dumbbells, lying on Swiss ball (ball more under shoulders/neck) (3 x 10-15 reps with 5 kg (11 pounds))
hamstring curls (3 x 12 reps with 7.5 kg (16.5 pounds))
lat pulldown (on the front, about to the collarbones) (3 x 11-12 reps with 30 kg (66 pounds))
pulley row (3 x 8-10 reps with 35 kg (77 pounds))
sometimes leg press (lying down) (3 x 10 reps with 40 kg ((88 pounds)); this is one leg at a time to make sure one doesn't do more work than the other.
and then about 20 min. stationary bike, working reasonably hard.

What I usually do is use a certain weight until I can do ± 15 reps, then try the next size up at the next workout.

Appreciate your willingness to advise!

Cynthia

CynthiaT60

Hey, wtf, no edit button all of a sudden?
Wanted to edit to add that BF is down from 48.1 to 45 since November (scale measurement at gym).

CynthiaT60

Oh yeah. There I am again. Forgot to add that I do most of the stuff as supersets (as much as possible).

OK, time for coffee.

:flowerforyou:

CynthiaT60

Hi. :flowerforyou:

SideSteel

Moving this up.

Sarauk2sf

Hi!

Sorry for the delay in responding.

Based on where you are, the upper body part of the routine looks fine - just make sure to include progressive loading (increasing the weight you are lifting). You can do this by dropping the reps to say 6 and upping the weight - then increasing the reps each time by 1 until you get to say 12 - then dropping the reps back down and upping the weight.

With regard to your lower body - the routine is lacking/not ideal. However, we are not comfortable recommending specific changes due to your physical limitations as we can not know if this will aggravate your problem or not. For example, we could suggest that you include leg presses more often or leg extensions, but do not know if this will do more harm than good. We would suggest that you look to asking a PT about the exercises that will improve, or at least not exacerbate your knee problem.

CynthiaT60

Hi guys; thanks so much for replying. Glad to get the "seal of approval" on the upper body :bigsmile: , and I am doing progressive loading (that's how I got this far). Will continue that, of course.

I wonder what you think about the stationary biking: I do see it "shaping" the thighs, though it won't add a lot of strength.

Being curious: what does "based on where you are" mean in relation to the training?

Thanks again,
Cynthia

n3ver3nder

Just to play devils advocate: the fact you can manage leg press, hamstring curls and biking tells me there's nothing inherently wrong with loaded knee flexion for you, and as such squats and deadlifts causing pain is likely an issue with form. Go and see a competent sports physio who can assess your movement patterns and see if there's something that can be done with them, as you'll get more out of barbell movements than machines. This obviously depends on if you can find a decent one, be able to afford it etc.

Also, try swapping the hamstring curls for romanian deadlifts? These don't require knee flexion, and can be progressed with better than a machine exercise. They'll also let you get a bit of lower back and glute work in at the same time.

CynthiaT60

Hi n3ver3nder; thanks for your input; I appreciate it. I'll ask about the Romanian deadlifts. If I see it correctly on YouTube there's a little knee flexion but not much.

I think the big difference between leg press etc. on the one hand and squats and (regular) deadlifts on the other is the amount of weight I'm moving (body weight + extra weight).

Sarauk2sf

Very good video here re RDLs

http://www.allthingsgym.com/mark-rippetoe-explains-the-romanian-deadlift-rdl/

CynthiaT60

Looks like a real lower back exercise, more than a leg exercise, but I imagine it'll get the hamstrings as well, as n3ver3nder suggested. Do like the fact that you can begin on the rack, so you don't have a kind of initial deadlift to get in position.
They didn't secure the plates on the bar. :huh:
Thanks for the link, Sara; I just whipped through it but will watch the whole thing when I have a few minutes.

Sarauk2sf

Looks like a real lower back exercise, more than a leg exercise, but I imagine it'll get the hamstrings as well, as n3ver3nder suggested. Do like the fact that you can begin on the rack, so you don't have a kind of initial deadlift to get in position.
They didn't secure the plates on the bar. :huh:
Thanks for the link, Sara; I just whipped through it but will watch the whole thing when I have a few minutes.

Its really a posterior chain exercise....glutes, hammies and back.

I often do not collar my weights - it depends on the weight and the exercise that I do (and if I remember). Then again, I lift at home so there are not going to be any weights landing on other peoples toes.

CynthiaT60

:bigsmile:

OK, thank you.

Sarauk2sf

Locking the thread for admin purposes. If you have any further questions, please PM either myself or SideSteel, including a link to this thread, and we will unlock it for you so you can pose them.