Anyone use these exercises? If so, was it on a consistent basis and what were the effects?
Anyone use these exercises? If so, was it on a consistent basis and what were the effects?
Yes they are very good and I find almost better than a full squat. They really help each leg and I have found them to be very important for my leg strength. Don't do them with any weight, but try and get as low as possible when doing them
I used to use the Baker's (not sure) rack (squat machine with a fixed, sliding bar) to do them with about 65 pounds, but, I found them to be pretty good. Afterwards, I started doing body weight and found that to be good enough.
Does going down too far have any anatomical limiations/dangers like excessive strain due to hyperextension of the ligaments..acl...mcl...poplietus? Just curious.
Single leg exercises are more running specific because they work the stabalizer muscles that two leg exercises don't. Step ups and lunges are also good ones. Machines that guide you through the lift don't work stabalizer muscles as well too. Once your strong enough to do one leg exercises without getting injured they are the way to go.
they tend to make me fart, but i do 'em anyway!
thats because you're so nervous silly goose!
They are also good for developing single leg strength before moving on to free-weight squats.
These are quality - just don't go down too far. Your knee should not pass over the tip of your shoe (look down at your foot, and you'll understand what i'm talking about).
A Physical Therapist gave me this advice.
The one-legged squat can be specific if the knee bend is limited to only a few inches. Consider the specific phase of running you are attempting to duplicate; the support phase. When the foot strikes the ground, there is only a small bend at the knee. If you go down to thighs parallel or even a half-squat, you will put an inordinate amount of stress on your patellar ligament. Do a 1/2 squat right now and touch the ligament just under the kneecap; it will feel like it's about to pop out of your leg. So the body weight only suggestions above are a good idea for starters, as well as sticking with a 1/4 squat when using one leg.
Beware that very specific weight training can easily lead to overtraining. The nice thing about the traditional weight-room exercises is that they give your body a break from the specific muscular stresses of running.
How does anyone know they work or provide any benefit?
Were you all running poor and then added these exercises and then performed better? What happened when you stopped doing these exercises?
My opinion is that most runners cannot tell if they work becasue your training probably ramped up at the same time you found motivation to do these exercises.
Similar to buddies I had who went to altitude and came back convinced it worked. Of course they increased their training from 70mpw to 95-100 when they went to altitude, couldn't be that could it?
Knee injury waiting to happen