Quads and knees

Quoted message said:

Been a while since I posted. Not a great year for me - started out OK with a
20:42 5k. I wanted to do my first marathon on my birthday, Sep 26, but a
wicked bout of PF eliminated that. Decided to try and break a 6 min mile as
an interim goal but I'm having a lot of trouble maintaining pace below 6mpm.I

think it may be because I have a bad quad/ham imbalance. I have a bad left
knee from acls and scopes, so it is hard to keep my quads strong. I was
wondering if anyone has any advice as to the best way to boost quads without
stressing the knee too much. I'm thinking lunges and maybe where you squat
with an exercise ball between your back and the wall...

Cheers
Mike Lazenby

Mike,
Everything you write SCREAMS to go see a chiropractor. The instability causing
these problems is bigger than a localized problem. Try it.

"Mike L" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Been a while since I posted. Not a great year for me - started out OK with

a

Quoted message said:

20:42 5k. I wanted to do my first marathon on my birthday, Sep 26, but a
wicked bout of PF eliminated that. Decided to try and break a 6 min mile

as

Quoted message said:

an interim goal but I'm having a lot of trouble maintaining pace below

6mpm.I

Quoted message said:

think it may be because I have a bad quad/ham imbalance. I have a bad left
knee from acls and scopes, so it is hard to keep my quads strong. I was
wondering if anyone has any advice as to the best way to boost quads

without

Quoted message said:

stressing the knee too much. I'm thinking lunges and maybe where you squat
with an exercise ball between your back and the wall...

Step-ups. Running up hills.

"\"El Paisano\"" <[email hidden]> wrote:
....

Quoted message said:

Step-ups. Running up hills.

Even moderate paced hiking up steep hills will help.

[email hidden] wrote in news:cgdi40$t30$1
@glue.ucr.edu:

Quoted message said:

"\"El Paisano\"" <[email hidden]> wrote:
...

Quoted message said:

Step-ups. Running up hills.

Even moderate paced hiking up steep hills will help.

Interesting. Maybe I will try that. We have some nice hills around here.
Thanks
ML

Mike L <[email hidden]> wrote:
....

Quoted message said:

Interesting. Maybe I will try that. We have some nice hills around here.
Thanks
ML

But be careful with hills, especially when going downhill.
Downhill can really mess up your knees. Poles will help you
immensely on downhills, if you're hiking. If running, take
it easy, and just be careful not to overdo it.

Good luck,
jobs

Cycling or stationary biking allow more controlled, patterned closed-chain
quad strengthening activities. Precautions involve alignment of the lower
extremity as influenced by bike fit and whether or not your foot is fixed or
has a cleat "float," assuming you use clipless pedals.

"Mike L" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Been a while since I posted. Not a great year for me - started out OK with

a

Quoted message said:

20:42 5k. I wanted to do my first marathon on my birthday, Sep 26, but a
wicked bout of PF eliminated that. Decided to try and break a 6 min mile

as

Quoted message said:

an interim goal but I'm having a lot of trouble maintaining pace below

6mpm.I

Quoted message said:

think it may be because I have a bad quad/ham imbalance. I have a bad left
knee from acls and scopes, so it is hard to keep my quads strong. I was
wondering if anyone has any advice as to the best way to boost quads

without

Quoted message said:

stressing the knee too much. I'm thinking lunges and maybe where you squat
with an exercise ball between your back and the wall...

Cheers
Mike Lazenby

[[ This message was both posted and mailed: see
the "To," "Cc," and "Newsgroups" headers for details. ]]

In article <[email hidden]>, Mike

L said:

Been a while since I posted. Not a great year for me - started out OK with a
20:42 5k. I wanted to do my first marathon on my birthday, Sep 26, but a
wicked bout of PF eliminated that. Decided to try and break a 6 min mile as
an interim goal but I'm having a lot of trouble maintaining pace below 6mpm.I
think it may be because I have a bad quad/ham imbalance. I have a bad left
knee from acls and scopes, so it is hard to keep my quads strong. I was
wondering if anyone has any advice as to the best way to boost quads without
stressing the knee too much. I'm thinking lunges and maybe where you squat
with an exercise ball between your back and the wall...

Cheers
Mike Lazenby

Mike from a post in January this year.

I'm for rolling the quads. If you strengthen the quads, you need them
strong and elongated. If the quads strengthen and shorten, then the
stress goes onto the tendons.

Ozzie

Ozzie Gontang <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

The second picture at http://www.mindfulness.com/of5.asp where the
people are on hands and feet with the quads across the lower railing of
a hand rail would be a way to massage out the quads. You can use a
rolling pin on the ground or a piece of PVC, inch and a half or two
inch. Most of the weight is on the forearms and toes and knees.
Gradually you allow the railing/rolling pin/PVC to sink into the quads
as you relax and allow the quads to let go but taking weight off the
forearms and toes and knees. Do it lovingly and gradually.

Great web site Ozzie!

I find that rolling my quads, calves, hamstrings, etc. really helps.
But what seems to work the best for me is a 4 inch think foam roller.
For example, see http://www.smiweb.org/guides/pdf/roller_guide.pdf .
After my first foam roller wore out, I got some pieces of PVC and also
tried using rolling pins, railings, etc. because I wanted something
cheap that didn't wear out, but my experince has been that it is
harder and less comfortable to use that kind of stuff. And its easier
to overdo it if you're not careful. So my foam roller gets used and
my pvc pipe mostly collects dust.

The foam roller also works great on the back (I don't like the pvc at
all for this.)

One of the downsounds of using the foam roller is that you need a
relatively clean area of floorspace and also its a bit bulky. So while
the foam roller works great at home, it really isn't an option in a
parking lot, gym, etc. I'm thinking of trying one of those "the
sticks" for this. Any comments on those? Looks pretty much like an
overpriced rolling pin to me, but I tried using a *real* rolling pin
and the wire axle wasn't strong enough for handheld use and started
bending (though it does work on the ground similar to the pvc). Yeah,
I know I can look for railings, curbs, etc. but I MUCH prefer anything
that rolls to something static.

In health and on the run,
Ozzie Gontang
Director, San Diego Marathon Clinic, est. 1975
Maintainer - rec.running FAQ
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/running-faq/
Mindful Running:
http://www.mindfulness.com/mr.asp

Bob Schroedter wrote in message ...

Quoted message said:

Cycling or stationary biking allow more controlled, patterned closed-chain
quad strengthening activities. Precautions involve alignment of the lower
extremity as influenced by bike fit and whether or not your foot is fixed

or

Quoted message said:

has a cleat "float," assuming you use clipless pedals.

I 2nd this. Cycling is great for balancing out the quads. It will help
your running both up and down hills. Cycling at a higher cadence is better
aerobically and will be easier on your knees, but will still strengthen your
quads enough. Avoid steep hills until you're several weeks into your
cycling. You might want to gently stretch your quads after cycling also,
just to keep the range of motion from getting too fixed.

- Tony

Check this out. It's the commercialization of what P.T.s have been doing for
years.
http://www.tpmassageball.com/quadballer.php

"Ozzie Gontang" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

[[ This message was both posted and mailed: see
the "To," "Cc," and "Newsgroups" headers for details. ]]

In article <[email hidden]>, Mike

L said:

Been a while since I posted. Not a great year for me - started out OK

with a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

20:42 5k. I wanted to do my first marathon on my birthday, Sep 26, but a
wicked bout of PF eliminated that. Decided to try and break a 6 min mile

as

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

an interim goal but I'm having a lot of trouble maintaining pace below

6mpm.I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

think it may be because I have a bad quad/ham imbalance. I have a bad

left

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

knee from acls and scopes, so it is hard to keep my quads strong. I was
wondering if anyone has any advice as to the best way to boost quads

without

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

stressing the knee too much. I'm thinking lunges and maybe where you

squat

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

with an exercise ball between your back and the wall...

Cheers
Mike Lazenby

Mike from a post in January this year.

I'm for rolling the quads. If you strengthen the quads, you need them
strong and elongated. If the quads strengthen and shorten, then the
stress goes onto the tendons.

Ozzie

Ozzie Gontang <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

The second picture at http://www.mindfulness.com/of5.asp where the
people are on hands and feet with the quads across the lower railing of
a hand rail would be a way to massage out the quads. You can use a
rolling pin on the ground or a piece of PVC, inch and a half or two
inch. Most of the weight is on the forearms and toes and knees.
Gradually you allow the railing/rolling pin/PVC to sink into the quads
as you relax and allow the quads to let go but taking weight off the
forearms and toes and knees. Do it lovingly and gradually.

Great web site Ozzie!

I find that rolling my quads, calves, hamstrings, etc. really helps.
But what seems to work the best for me is a 4 inch think foam roller.
For example, see http://www.smiweb.org/guides/pdf/roller_guide.pdf .
After my first foam roller wore out, I got some pieces of PVC and also
tried using rolling pins, railings, etc. because I wanted something
cheap that didn't wear out, but my experince has been that it is
harder and less comfortable to use that kind of stuff. And its easier
to overdo it if you're not careful. So my foam roller gets used and
my pvc pipe mostly collects dust.

The foam roller also works great on the back (I don't like the pvc at
all for this.)

One of the downsounds of using the foam roller is that you need a
relatively clean area of floorspace and also its a bit bulky. So while
the foam roller works great at home, it really isn't an option in a
parking lot, gym, etc. I'm thinking of trying one of those "the
sticks" for this. Any comments on those? Looks pretty much like an
overpriced rolling pin to me, but I tried using a *real* rolling pin
and the wire axle wasn't strong enough for handheld use and started
bending (though it does work on the ground similar to the pvc). Yeah,
I know I can look for railings, curbs, etc. but I MUCH prefer anything
that rolls to something static.

In health and on the run,
Ozzie Gontang
Director, San Diego Marathon Clinic, est. 1975
Maintainer - rec.running FAQ
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/running-faq/
Mindful Running:
http://www.mindfulness.com/mr.asp