Page 70 - December 2018

A contribution from a Chicago Lodge 7 Magazine sponsor
The importance of leg training
Before becoming a certified personal trainer, I spent five years focusing my workouts on weight training and running. When I started my exercise
Personal Fitness
BRIAN SCHAB
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the upper extremities and only one day on the lower. My legs were sore for seven days — long enough to recover before my next leg workout. A friend came over to vis-
it, and it been several months since he’d seen me. He complimented me for being bigger in muscle size but then added, “Your
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men, it consisted of four days challenging
lower body looks disproportionate to your upper.” I took this feedback seriously and adjusted my workouts, realizing just how necessary it is to train my legs more often.
As a police officer, it’s important to keep your lower body strong — even your feet, since they hit the ground first when you walk, run or perform activities such as riding a bike, making arrests or standing for long periods. Your leg muscles need to be tough and mobile for quality motion; resistance training can provide this.
I am discovering that, over time, officers can accrue knee injuries while on duty. Please do not ignore this! In my last column, “Living with Back Pain,” I listed steps and options that you can take to address back problems. Follow those same steps because the longer you delay taking action, the
more problems can accrue. Knee issues can come from a lack of muscular strength around the knee joint but also stem from hip or foot instability.
The muscles’ responsibilities are to provide congruent joint motion and prevent motion. The most common exercises to help knee strength are squats and lunges, but knee extension (quads) and knee flexion (calves and hamstrings) will also de- velop output to target specific muscles.
Another common problem is a lack of hip mobility and strength, which can affect other joints like the knee. Having strong hips can assist in the propulsion of running, biking and lateral movements as well as standing for longer periods. You can use machines or body weight to challenge hip mo- tion such as abduction (femur moving away from the body), adduction (femur moving towards the body), flexion (femur moving forward) and extension (femur moving behind).
Try this order of exercises as a strategic setup to performing a reverse lunge:
1. Seated hip abduction machine
2. Knee extension machine
3. Plank pose with arms bent (feet flat against the wall to
reduce toe tension)
4. Reverse lunge
This order prepares the body for the last exercise (lunge),
since it requires the whole body to control stepping back and forward. The order of exercises being executed matters just as much as the execution. I would advise performing two leg workouts a week, or combining leg exercises during your up- per body days, like chest and quads on Mondays, back and hamstrings/calves on Tuesdays, etc. This will allow resting time for your legs and upper body within the workout and minimize soreness post-workout. Wouldn’t it be nice to walk the next day without a lot of struggle?
Please contact me with any questions or to schedule a con- sultation.
70 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ DECEMBER 2018