Let's have a conversation about squatting, and ignorance

@judee Hatfield squats are hands down an awesome exercise for older lifters or those with injuries or both. I don't do them myself, but they are a solid, useful exercise.

Most of us are working out for health or enjoyment, not to become competitive powerlifters. Why limit yourself with exercises that may cause or exacerbate injury just for the sake of some kind of notional exercise purity?
 
@judee I really hate squats, People always tells me I'm not going low enough. I broke my ancle and messed up a tendon in the foot when I was a teenager. That left a lot of cartilage formation that restrict my movements in the foot so I get stuck on the floor every time I go really low. People don't care about that though, they just want to tell me I'm doing it wrong.
 
@tomodachi I have the same issue so my squat looks a bit asymmetric but thankfully I have a trainer who just helps me work with what I have and I go to a gym with lots of supportive people who don’t jump to conclusions. I’ve found ankle mobilisation exercises, wide stance with toes pointed a bit outwards and lifting shoes have really helped. But the biggest thing is working out in a gym where everyone just gets on with their own workouts and doesn’t judge.
 
@dawn16 yeah, squats really brings out the worst of an injured foot...It's awesome that you've managed to find ways to work around that! :) And your gym sounds really nice.
Of course it's not everyone that corrects me in my gym, it just happens every now and then.
And I agree that a wide stance makes it easier to go a bit lower.
 
@tomodachi Maybe I'm remembering it wrong, but isn't going to depth about reproducibility, not efficacy? And don't study says 90 degree squats, well above parallel, are efficacious?

And all that aside, fuck them. You live with the body you have, not whatever they imagine is perfect.
 
@dawn16 Hmm.. I don't know actually! That sounds interesting, I'll look it up! I still feel tired in my legs after squats so they do something for me at least! :)

Thank you, yeah you're right! They're just people who wants to feel better than others.
 
@tomodachi I have arthritis in my knees. I also have bad knee valgus.

Solution? Bulgarian split squats. And lunges. I was hesitant at first. But now I'm killing it on leg day. Yea, I don't do heavy squats and look cool..but my legs are stronger than ever. It's done wonders for arthritis pains.
 
@vivienita
Solution? Bulgarian split squats. And lunges. I was hesitant at first. But now I'm killing it on leg day. Yea, I don't do heavy squats and look cool..but my legs are stronger than ever. It's done wonders for arthritis pains.

Yeah, I've struggled with squats for years due to shitty body proportions, leading to knee issues. lunges and split squats FTW. Can focus on getting it done rather than protecting my knees
 
@tim10001 Yes! Gainz are gainz. And I've recently added plantar fasciitis and heel spurs to my list. So being able to do lighter weights and still progress is perfection
 
@vivienita Pretty much same exact situation. 47. Arthritic knee. Couldn’t do anything until I discovered BSS. I failed again and again at squatting and was damaging my knee worse by trying back squats. I switched to split squats for about 6 months. Now my leg strength is at an appropriate level that I have started back-squatting again, and am actually able to do it successfully. I have gotten to a pretty decent 1RM really quickly, with substantially less overall knee pain. I credit the BSS for basically rehabilitating my knee.
 
@davjjorton I've heard the same. And I totally believe it. Single dumbbell suitcase lunges are one of my favorites. And now I feel like I need to isolate and do single dumbbell BSS!
 
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