I am worried about the injury potential to his brain presented by so much logic and reason.
I am going to return the book to the physio with a note.. this is my draft.. any thoughts oh wise people?!
Dear Andrew
Thank you for the loan of the book. I am adding in some core and stability work as discussed, and my slow rehabbing of my squat and deadlift have resulted in a complete return to a pain free existence, for which I am thankful daily!
After our session I was thinking about your assertion that functionally there is no need to squat past around 45 degrees, and the more I think of it the more examples I come up with of parallel and below squats. For example..
When sitting on and getting up from
the sofa
the toilet
a car seat
the edge of the bed
Picking up toys from the floor
picking up small children from the floor, or just crouching to talk to them
picking up boxes
In fact I'm struggling to think of when I'd only squat to 45 degrees.
In addition you inspired me to check out the research on whether squatting above or to/below parallel is an issue for your knees, and you may want to review this too (as this is not an area in which I have any expertise, and you are the trained professional. I may have missed something). Squatting above parallel would not involve the hamstrings either, leading to an imbalance in leg strengh.
http://www.acsm.org/docs/current-com...afetysquat.pdf 'The depth of the squat is
generally recommended to the point where the tops of the thighs are parallel with the floor.'
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23821469 'Concerns about degenerative changes of the tendofemoral complex and the apparent higher risk for chondromalacia, osteoarthritis, and osteochondritis in deep squats are unfounded. With the same load configuration as in the deep squat, half and quarter squat training with comparatively supra-maximal loads will favour degenerative changes in the knee joints and spinal joints in the long term. Provided that technique is learned accurately under expert supervision and with progressive training loads, the deep squat presents an effective training exercise for protection against injuries and strengthening of the lower extremity. Contrary to commonly voiced concern, deep squats do not contribute increased risk of injury to passive tissues.'
http://startingstrength.com/articles...lein_suggs.pdf
http://www.exercisebiology.com/index...or_your_knees/
http://www.strengthandconditioningre...ats-different/
My overall impression from these articles and the research behind them is that squatting to parallel (ie the top of the thigh being at 90 degrees from the ground, with the hip just deeper than the knee) is not only safe, but preferable to a partial squat.
I would be curious to understand your viewpoint if you are happy to share it?
Best regards and thanks again
Lydia
I am worried about the injury potential to his brain presented by so much logic and reason.
I think that's a very polite, clear, and well-written note.
Thanks, an English lit degree means I ought to be able to put a few sentences together... I added in getting in/out of the bath and have passed to a colleague to take when he goes for his next session (weird huh!)..
I think it's great. I'm curious to see if he responds.
I think I'm reaping the rewards of about 5 days of feeling grim and not eating sufficient/sufficient protein.
Anyway, it went a little something like this:
squat - worked my way up to 62.5kgs, 4/3/4 given it's been a month since I hit this weight for the first time and deloaded, I'll take it, although my form isn't pretty (a bit GMing).
bench - worked my way up in triples to a single at 45kg and was grateful that crossfit kid's dad was spotting me as he had to lift the second rep off me! I should do what I've been putting off and deload on this. However it is a new weight so PR! Yay!
then I was feeling wiped so came home. still need to stretch (I'm so bad at this)... and do some core.. *sigh*
Ooh I just realised 45kg is 99lbs. Excitingly close!
Got a sneaky visit in to the gym this afternoon. You'd have thought it would be empty at 2.30 on a Thursday but no! I've included a video of a single deadlift at 90kg just to show what was going on in the background. Lots of fun!
Squats - repeat of 62.5kg. This feels SO HEAVY! However I got the 3x5, final set:
Press - new weight - 35kg. Got the hang of breathing at the top which made such a difference! Some pretty ugly reps but 5,5,4 and I was almost doing a happy dance round the gym.
Deadlift - 70kg x 5 then did a single at 80 and a single at 90 just to see if I still had it. Very dizzy after the 90!
then raced home, had a shower and collected the loin fruits.