Back Squat Question / also trying to train my mom

[fearfour]

Hi everyone! I hve used this forum as a reference for the past couple of years, but only now have had a concern that I wanted to post to see if I can get some feedback.

I have been lifting for about 3 years, and within that timeframe have managed to lost about 50 lbs of bodyfat, and am 32 yrs old, am now sitting at about 145 at 5'6", DL245 BP135 PP105.

I have long avoided the back squat doe to the fact that I had a badly broken ankle 4 years ago, and whenever I squatted anything above about 135 it would act up on me.

For whatever reason, the DL has never bothered the ankle.....

But I would love to start squatting as I recently have had some friends get some great benifits from this lift - and it is a major lift after all - I should be able to add it back into my lifting.

Anyone with a bad ankle have any tips?

Also, I have been training my mom, who is 62. I hate to say it but she is not making the progress I would have hoped for. That being said, I am sure that I am doing her bone density some good regardless of poor strength and muscle gains. My mom qualified to swim in the 72 olympics, and I am somewhat suprised that her body has so little ability to whip itself back into shape. To give a bit more detail, she in not particularly overweight at about 140 and 5'4", in face she did recently lose about 20 lbs - my concern is that she lost muscle.

Any experience with women in that age range? I think that any lifting is fantastic, and granted I am 32 - I want to encourage her but not push her too hard. For example, though, she is still working with just the 45lb bar on the bench after about 2 months of 3x week training........

thanks so much in advance everyone!

 

[zedhed]

WOW! Good for you chika and Welcome to EF!
As for your mom....its just tuff to get peeps in that age group to push, at least that is my expereince.
Maybe try this. Have a sit down with her and just tell her how important it is to the quality of HER life to hold all the muscle mass that she can oand even build it too.
This will go a hell of a long ways in preventing all kinds of age related issues.
And of course if SHE purts forth the effort she will look and feel years younger. And as you said the bone density is a huge factor in this too.
Would love to see you post up in here more often and best of luck to you gurl.

 

[dmk777]

Hey welcome really nice to have you post , well done that's Amazing loss you must be so proud.

 

[RADAR]

Welcome ,good to see you,I think its great that you have your mom involved in this,do you have her on a diet? plus i suggest getting a Protein shake to add to her training, ome thing about older folks is they don't get enough nutrition,Muscles need protein to grow,that may explain why she isn't getting stronger,also at her age she would benefit from Krill oil and add 1/2 pack of jello to her shake for joint support.Plus its not all about nutrition either i sincerely believe everyone should take a good Multi Vitamin/mineral for their health.
If i can offer assistance in any way please ask...Good luck to you both.

 

[fearfour]

Thanks so much for the replies everyone!

I do have my mom on a diet! Essentially I let her eat whatever she wants, except I do have her eat a 40g protein smoothie every morning. I just use 100g protein powder, a bunch of berries, frozen spinach (a whole lot of it), chia seeds, and a little greek yugurt, and of course milk.

Shes does not really need to lose fat - I would say she is right about in the 21-22% range which I feel is fine at 140lbs 5'4". Again, she did lose 20 lbs over the summer, my fear is that a lot of that was in fact muscle.

Blendtek to the rescue and then I split it with her, with me consuming roughly 60% and her roughly 40%.

btw if you do not eat a large quantity of protein in the AM I highly suggest it! The only thing is that it makes us burp becuase the blender whips air into the concoction.

OVeral I think she manges to wat at least 80g of protein per day. I know that for me I have to eat at least 120g to really gain muscle, so it is a goal of mine to get her up to that level.

It is pretty neat training her because I know what works for me and where I am weak and low and behold she is the same way for the most part.

I will keep everyone aprised of how it is going.

I did manage to do some squats with her last night, but only at 125, so far so good with my ankle.

The one thing that I am really struggling with, though, is jsut what Zedhed mentioned - it is so hard to tell if someone is really trying their best. I mean, it is such a relative concept! In addition, I have no trouble getting a little aggressive and really trying to "murder" something - whereas this concept is pretty lost on her. I am sure I have looked pretty silly yelling "come on mama - KILL that kettlebell!!!"..........

Speaking of kettlebells, this is one area where she does shine - she is up to swinging a 30lb bell from only 10lbs at the beginning 2 months ago. I am also hoping that exercises like this and playing catch with a medicine ball will help her with balance - alas we are both a bit clumsy!

thanks again everyone!

 

[RADAR]

Thats Great! more power to you both!

 

[caligirl85]

Welcome to the site and great to have you posting!

A couple thoughts...I don't have a lot to offer in terms of the ankle. What does "acting up" look like? Is it a muscle/ ligament issue or more a bone pain type issue? Something that just building up your strength again might resolve? Do you have any ongoing physio etc that you can check in with as you go? The only thing I could think of was maybe an ankle brace for extra support as you squat but I'm not even sure that would be overly helpful. As someone who has battled injuries too, it can be somewhat humbling and frustrating at the same time to not be able to do the lifts we want. I'm having to work my way back into squatting, as well, and am having to recognize that it's going to be a longer process then I thought.

I think it's great that your mom is training with you!! I would say to be patient with her and give her body more time. Without knowing her exercise history before she started training, the 72 olympics were along time ago and age becomes a significant factor in muscle memory and getting back into shape. It will take her longer to rebuild and longer to recover etc. Any exercise is a positive thing and keep motivating her and encouraging her to stick to it and push herself as much as she can.

Great to have you here.

 

[RADAR]

Welcome ,good to see you,I think its great that you have your mom involved in this,do you have her on a diet? plus i suggest getting a Protein shake to add to her training, ome thing about older folks is they don't get enough nutrition,Muscles need protein to grow,that may explain why she isn't getting stronger,also at her age she would benefit from Krill oil and add 1/2 pack of jello to her shake for joint support.Plus its not all about nutrition either i sincerely believe everyone should take a good Multi Vitamin/mineral for their health.
If i can offer assistance in any way please ask...Good luck to you both.

Just to add another 2 cents about my jello comment, there have been lots of studies that Gellatin helps Repair and lubricate the spongy Cartlidge between the bones.

 

[fearfour]

Hey guys just a quick update!

I think I finally got my mom "broken in" lifting wise.

You know, you get to that point where the muscle is "started" and you no lnoger feel like a somplete and utter megawimp?

Man, that was a lot of work though!

I have to bite my tongue thinking "okay princess, are you done fussing with your outfit? Have the stars and the moon aligned in such a way that you can get out there and lift some?" (good thing I do though, regardless of who is stronger, my mama would still eat me alive if I ever said anything like that!)

Anyway, she still SUCKS at the bench........she can do 3 sets of good strict girl pushups, even while balancing on a bench for added balancing effort..........no clue what the deal is.........that being said the bench is still my weakest lift.......

I wondered if you guys might have a peek at my diet?

After much experimenting here is what I wat essentially every day (I am an engineer - we are like cats - we do not mind eating the same thing over and over...)

8AM - Smoothie of power - 60g whey protein (protein net g, three scoops), 1/2 cup whole mike, serving frozen spinach or broccoli, 1 apple, 1 cup berries - plus tablespoon olive oil and a tablespoon chia seeds
1 good quality multivitamin, 4 fish oil capsuls

~1PM - either a double meat salad at Chipoltle (3 serv veg, 8oz meat *usually beef*, 2 serv dairy), or a quarter white chicken meal at boston market with creamed spinach and mixed veg - I eat the corn muffin if I feel famished
(I have tried and tried and tried to eat lunch from home and I just suck at it!)

7PM - post workout 13g protein bar (power crunch)

930PM - 1-2 bowls of Kashi 13g proetin/serving cereal with whole milk, 1/4 cup cottage cheese - and if I can find a readily available meat source I will have 2-4oz of that as well....

Here's the thing - I tihnk my metabolism is ramping up and I am having bad sleep due to being starving at 3AM - luckily I will get up and just have a dozen almonds and a dried apricot

For the past 3 months, I think I have been gaining muscle at just about the same rate that I am losing fat......like I am smaller and stronger but the scale has moved maybe 2 lbs...

I am not unhappy at the 145-150lb range, I just wondered if I should make a change.

Again, this diet with lifting has allowed me to lose 50 lbs of fat over about 8 months - I am hesitant to change it, but I know how important sleep is!

thanks everyone!

 

[RADAR]

This will give you a better idea on what to do


http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/a...-build-muscle-loose-fat-then-read-712503.html