Originally Posted by
DGlenday
Most orthopedic surgeons are wrong - IMO.
Taking it further, there's a lot of evidence that - contrary to popular misconception - when done properly, with good form, and built up slowly, squats and most heavy core exercises such as deadlifts can help rebuild lost bone mass and thinning cartilage.
When I hung out in a gym a long time ago, the bodybuilders suggested precisely what you are saying. One of the old body building books I owned called for a year of stretches and calisthenics to build up all the tendons and stabilizer muscles before you touched a weight.
The real hard core old times were suspicious of most of the weight machines, in the belief that that they sometimes prevented the development of the stabilizer muscles, etc.
One thing to think about is to learn to do squats correctly, and stay off of the squat sled. This is only my opinion, but a watching folks at the gym, it seems like a squat sled seems to offer a lot of mechanical advantage - too much in my ignorant opinion. It seems like there were a lot of guys who could do 750 lbs on the squat sled that I had never seen do much over 300 lbs in a free weight (or Smith machine) squat.
My own wacky theory is the mechanical advantage affects some muscles more than others - so that even though 750 lbs on the squad sled may have felt like 300 lbs in a free weight squat to the quads, it may feel like a lot more to some of the stabilizer muscles.
It seems to me that the weight machines were designed for to help young athletes who want to pack on lot of muscle fast - who would so so without proper form - keep from injuring themselves. But by limiting the axes of motion to prevent injuring in those guys, those machines may people like us - who need help stretching tendons/developing stabilizer muscles - injure ourselves.
I recognize that this is a wacky theory.
I am more focused on yoga when I am not riding right now - for balance, flexibility, and strength. Once I am no longer gaining strength from yoga, I will go back to free weights. My plan at that point:
- Start with very deep squats with a an empty bar - and a very high rep count.
- Add weight very slowly - listening to what my knees tell me each step of the way.
- As I get stronger, I expect to do less reps with more weight.
I have an Ironmaster at home (a kind of Smith machine), but I'd probably rather have a squat cage.