Reply To: Leg Day
It’s been a while since I did squats and lunges. After completing the leg workout today, I felt discouraged because not only did I NOT use weight in the lunges or squats, I also had trouble balancing! I used to do Crossfit 6 years ago and now I feel OLD! I am 51 and I am so mad at myself for not being as good as I once was. I did the best I could today without my heart exploding (it was pounding LOL). I was wondering if there was an alternative to lunges that is easier on the knees. Or…maybe I should suck it up and try to do better next time. I have been riding my Peloton for 2 years now and doing climbs and intervals, but I guess bodyweight exercises REALLY wake up muscles you THOUGHT were being used. Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.
Don’t be so hard on yourself, you need to ease back into it if you’ve been out of weight training for 6 years 😉 For lunges, just don’t go down so low that it hurts your knees. If it makes you feel any better, I’ve been lifting heavy for the last 15 years (I’m 46 yrs old) and I sometimes do lunges with body weight only, and go no lower than half way down. It is an incredible leg burner (gets my lactic acid going every time) and very effective. You don’t need to add weights in order to challenge your body – body weight is extremely beneficial and effective! Just keep the positive thoughts in your head and instead of thinking about what you haven’t been doing the last several years, think about what you ARE doing NOW to better your health, your fitness and your life! 😀