Having A Leg To Stand On

By Bruce Cohn
Boston Globe, January 2005
 
I’m often surprised—and sometimes dismayed—by the way people condition their lower body musculature. Whether it’s runners who eschew strength training their legs because of all the miles they run; men who ignore their legs to develop their chests and biceps or women who spend countless hours working on their inner and outer thighs: too many people do not work their legs in ways that are useful or effective.

Research on muscles and aging indicates that those who don’t strength train lose forty percent of muscle mass by the age of 65, primarily in the muscles of the hips, buttocks and thighs. It is these very muscles which enable us to balance on a single leg as we step with the other leg. I am convinced that this loss of functional strength and the attendant fear of falling is what cause so many seniors to shuffle as they walk.

The simple fact is that our legs support us in upright positions and move us through space. They bear forces of up to eight times our body weight during certain types of movements and face constant challenges of maintaining balance. And although we tend to take our legs for granted until they are injured or weakened, there are a number of simple exercises we can do at home to ensure their efficient functioning.

The following workout can be done using body weight, water-filled containers or dumbbells and should be adapted to your personal fitness level and available space. Be sure to start with the warm-up exercises (you may remember these exercises from the September 23, 2004 “Getting Fit” column) and then progress from squats to single leg exercises.

Warm-up:
Start by lying on your back with your knees bent and heels twelve inches from your buttocks. Place a small piece of foam at least three inches thick between your knees. Draw your navel in towards your spine and squeeze the foam tightly between your knees as you raise your hips off the floor. Use your hands to feel that your butt muscle is contracted and hold for a three count. Perform this movement for 10-25 repetitions.

The same movement can be performed with a resistance band tied just above your knees. Start with your knees hip distance apart and press into the band as you raise your hips and push the knees away from your midline for 10-25 repetitions.

Now try it on one leg. Remove the resistance band and shift the weight to your right leg as you raise the left foot off the ground. After doing 10 reps on one side, repeat for the other leg. Remember to keep feeling your butt muscle with your hands to ensure that it is engaged.

Squats:
Stand with your feet hip or shoulder width apart and rest your hands on your hips. Point your feet straight ahead or turn them out slightly and keep your weight back on your heels. Draw your belly button in (imagine it pressing up against your spine) and move your hips back as you slowly begin to bend your knees. Think of sitting down into a chair directly behind you or actually place one there.

Lower your body as far as you can without leaning your upper body forward more than a few inches. Try to get down low enough so that your thighs are parallel to the floor while keeping your weight back on your heels and not allowing your knees to travel out in front of your toes.

Once you have reached your end point (you may feel your upper body fold forward over your thighs), straighten your legs and stand back up. Exhale as you raise your body and be careful not to lock your knees at the end of the movement. Perform 12 to 15 repetitions.

Split Squats:
Step back onto the ball of your left foot so that your legs are a stride-length and hip-width apart. Begin by lowering the rear knee towards the ground without touching while maintaining an upright torso. The forward knee should also bend but stay aligned over the mid-foot as long as you initiate the movement in the rear leg. Rise back up and repeat for 12 to 15 repetitions. Switch legs and perform the same number of repetitions.

You can increase the difficulty by placing the rear foot on a chair or body ball. This will force you to stabilize your pelvis by engaging your core muscles and is a major reason why I think single leg exercises are so important.

Lunges:
Starting from an athletic stance (feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent, shoulder blades pulled down and in and core engaged) step forward with your right leg into a split squat stance. Perform the exercise as described above but as you return to the upright position step the forward leg back into the starting athletic stance. Do 10 to 12 repetitions per leg by either alternating the lead leg or doing all the work first on one side and then the other.

If you have the space, try them as walking lunges where you step across the room or hallway by alternating your lead leg. You can even try them walking backwards as long as you remember to bend the rear knee first. Focus on maintaining good balance and muscular control as you lower to the ground.

Single Leg Dead Lift:
Stand on one leg with the supporting knee slightly bent. Extend the non-weight bearing leg behind you and fold forward from the waist maintaining a table-top flatness to the back. This can best be accomplished by moving your hips and buttocks backwards and pinching your shoulder blades down and in as you bend forward.

Your support knee should not bend any further as you extend your hands down towards the floor; the movement is being initiated from the hips. Once you reach as low as you can while maintaining a flat back (you will probably feel a pulling sensation in the back of your thighs) return to the starting position. Perform 12 to 15 repetitions on each leg.

You can do these exercises as a continuous circuit or perform multiple sets of each exercise before moving on to the next. I recommend doing them in the described order so that you can progress from double leg to split leg work and finish up with single leg training. Performing this workout two to three times a week will not only strengthen your legs, it should help you move about with more confidence and ease.

Bruce Cohn is the Strength and Conditioning Coach at the Middlesex School in Concord. He runs FIT-TO-GO Total Sports Conditioning and is a nationally certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. Bruce can be reached at 781-316-0061 or brucegym@rcn.com.