'Overactive' Adductors

[Guest guest]

Casler wrote:

Who says this " IS " a problem? and Why?

Schaefer wrote:

> Well, personally I can tell you I had the same sort of knee caving in

> thing

> and it resulted for me at least in extremely tight and nasty lateral

> calves... a few sessions of flying through the roof getting my legs worked

> on by my CMT convinced me to deal with this and moving my feet out did the

> trick. (Side note: Previous to going PL, I had done athletic stance,

> straight ahead, tight without heels, and found I was constantly crippled

> up

> using FAR less weight, angry knees, you name it! I could barely walk a

> flight of STAIRS!...after switching up my stance to the PL one, I stopped

> suffering and nearly doubled the weight i was using? and it's been a

> mystery

> ever since why people persist in well, torture? <grin>. If you haven't

> tried the more PL stance, perhaps you should out of curiosity and it may

> make you stronger and more comfortable? Squat form is a lifetime of

> learning

> it seems... and it IS individual!)

Casler writes:

Hi those are good points, and point to what I was thinking. I have

certainly tried various squatting styles and stances and find the best

results, weights, and comfort with the regular stance. They are not

" tortuous " in the least beyond the torture of having 500# on ones shoulders.

:- )

So your point that squatting " IS individual " is probably the key.

I get the feeling that while it is reasonable that " exaggerated " valgus

would certainly have the possibility to be problematic, that in normal to

mild cases, it is a non-issue.

Schaefer wrote:

> As for " imbalances " overall, I once told Mel I'd had some adverse comments

> from a guy who tested my hamstring to quad strength ratio - it came up 3:2

> and he told me there was something majorly wrong, told me i needed REHAB?

> Mel's reaction was " well, it's likely your hamstrings are stronger for

> your

> deadlift and your body's reaction to your sport, nothing wrong with that " .

> I.E. the body adapts to what we do. Thus my personal " balance " in the

> muscles might not be what an " expert " expects to be " correct " but it is

> correct for my sport and me personally! So your adductor strength or

> weakness is part of the feature of how your personal squat form functions

> for you.

Casler writes:

Again another great point. And obvious Mel knew a thing or two!!

How in the world can you test hamstring vs. quad strength? I see this all

the time. Experts? I don't think so.

Many take a knee extension measurement and a knee flexion measurement, which

have no relationship to the interaction and action of these muscles during

any exercise or sporting action, and try and translate some type of meaning

into the ratio.

I would venture it is absolutely impossible to establish any type of

meaningful ratio for any purpose in this way.

And all this discussion about " imbalances " seems pointless. Does anyone

realize that we all have motor sections of our brains that " control " motor

functions?

A muscle isn't 100% on and 100% off, it is controlled by the brain, so even

if a group might be stronger than another in relation to the potential of

the group, our brain modulates the interaction.

It is not like each and every action causes the muscle groups to activate to

their maximum capacity. It would seem that if this does happen, the problem

is of motor activation, and not the strength ratio between groups.

Many call this " coordination " .

Schaefer wrote:

> I've seen a lot of knee cavey sort of squats, and yes it can be viewed as

> " whatever you gotta do to finish the lift " but I found I was happier in

> the

> legs personally with the form change to widen my stance and generally

> lifted

> more weight this way as well.

Casler writes:

Widening the stance likely causes " greater " involvement of the adductors by

placing them in a stretched and more efficient position. I bet that is why

PowerLifters perform them that way. : )

Schaefer wrote:

> I'm 5'9 " tall but have longer thigh bones than calves and thus it always

> appears it takes me FOREVER to get down into the hole and up. I am a high

> bar and more upright squatter for the reason of my build. (I also NEVER

> get

> my butt down in the conventional DL, it's an impossibility!)

>

> I used to suffer severe adductor DOMS as well so it's a matter of trying

> the

> form change if you wish but the knee caving isn't fatal it's merely a

> matter of progression and comfort over time. I changed my form to solve

> mine, you are not required to do so . I'm certainly not going to

> suggest

> this is going to destroy your eyesight or anything well, dramatic .

>

> Squat on!

Casler writes:

All good points, and I think the recognition that this is likely a similar

observance to " elbows in " or " elbows out " in the bench, as to which is best

for your training style, body style and strength goals.

I should however clear up one point. The DOMS in my adductors was not from

any valgus during the rep, it was from the eccentric to concentric

transition at the bottom of the action, and made itself well known at that

point.

Glad to know its not fatal or I would have been dying a slow death over the

years. :-D

Hmmmm. Come to think of it, my eyesight has been getting worse. : ) Could

it be my squats?

Regards,

Casler

________________

VMPS LA CA USA

SUMMIT Audio Video

cell

(order desk)

Fax

JCasler@...

http://www.summitaudiovideo.com

http://www.av123.com/summitav.html

http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/member_systems.php?sysid=72