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Old 03-27-03, 09:24 PM
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The thing about leg extensions- they are done to strengthen the muscles surrounding the knee so that if you have the knee injuries, you can work to prevent further knee injuries. So... if you are doing the leg extensions, yes, it is working the vastus medialis, but mainly the section of the muscle that attaches to the bone around the knee. It is a secondary muscle that's being worked, so to develop the inner thigh, you would either have to lift heavy or do a lot of reps and sets over a long period of time. Your solution is to find a machine that specifically isolates this muscle- that inner/outer thigh machine (adductor/abductor machine), and you want to use the part that works the adductor muscle (inner thigh). Why use a machine that doesn't directly target the muscle so that you have to do more work when you can use a machine that directly isolates the muscle and works it efficiently enough to see the changes sooner?

As far as the resistance bands, they do work, but they can get cumbersome because you have to find a position where you can sit, stand or lay down to isolate the muscle, then adduct the leg into the body and mostly continue the adduction beyond the midline of the body to feel the work done. It can be done- I do it with my students in aerobics classes, but you'll need someone to direct you on how to correctly perform the move.

As far as the rowing, consider this- I read a study and also attended a lecture on VO2 Max comparing different sports, and rowers had some of the largest VO2 Max and lung capacity numbers I've ever seen! I think rowing is one of the best compliments to cycling you can do- increasing your aerobic fitness and efficiency for oxygen uptake. I believe rowing is primarily an upper body workout, but it does work the legs too, and is a great cross training workout. When I was living in Perth, Western Australia, I met this guy that was on the rowing team for Australia- 6 foot 8 inches and not an inch of fat! When he made a muscle, I would hum the Popeye the Sailor Man theme, because his biceps were so big I almost lost my mind whenever he would flex for me. Actually, his entire body was supurb. He had an incredible aerobic capacity.

The elliptical is a good machine to work in that it is low impact on the knees, but I really don't feel like it's as good as a workout, BUT that's because I mainly see people dicking around on the ellipticals and not working out at maximum effort. I'm not a big fan of the elliptical. It's ok, but I prefer running to the elliptical anyday, and I really hate running! Still, if you have bad knees, the elliptical is the way for you to go. Just don't slack off when you're on it, that's all. It can be a good complement for cycling, in that you can still work on aerobic and anaerobic work.

Re-emphasizing the weight work I recommended- if you do them, it's not full lunges or squats or extensions- they are 3/4ths, just like you mentioned earlier- with light weights and lots of reps. I totally recommend using these weight training activites to strengthen the muscles around the knee so you can stabilize the knee and prevent further knee pain. There was a time when I had such bad knee pain that sitting put me in tears. I lived on ice packs, heat packs, massages, saunas and whirlpools. Then I got with a personal trainer who took me through some safe exercises. Consider getting a personal trainer for just one or two sessions who can take you through the exercises. Find a personal trainer who has a background in physical therapy- they are out there, you just need to call around. Explain firmly you don't need them long term, just one or two sessions to go through the exercises and moniter your form, technique and weights so that you know you are doing them correctly, or you will be caught in the personal trainer vortex for the rest of your life- I'm sure you are clever- you don't need a babysitter like the rest of the bored housewives out there with no one to talk to. My knees are fine now, no problems at all. Whew!

As far as the cycling, consider taking a day off. Muscles need rest, because it's the rest time when they grow and develop, not the work time. If you're continuously stressing the muscle, you will never give them the chance to develop, and as a consequence, you will not see the improvements you'd like to see. My legs are killing me- I run every morning, then ride every afternoon, BUT I take off Fridays, and if I'm still feeling crappy, I take off Saturday too, or just make Saturday an active recovery day- low heart rate, easy riding. For maximum results, you really should consider taking off at least one day, maybe two, but I don't think two is necessary, especially if you are not going hard all the time for the other 5 days.

Koffee