Squats

Like nearly everyone who has lived long enough, I have a bad back which can colour my day gray sometimes. Basically, if I use my back, it hurts. If I fully support it in my recliner it doesn’t hurt, but it doesn’t help either. My son casts a worrisome glance at his mother now and then and, being an energetic fitness enthusiast, he’s offered up suggestions on some simple exercises I could do to preserve my well being as I tread gradually toward old age. He’s suggested some easy stretches and lately he’s talking a lot about strength, suggesting some standing push-ups and squats done quite slowly. It’s the reps and the slowness that builds the strength (and bones).

I’m not saying I’m doing these things regularly but I do think he’s right. My intentions are in the right place. I also recently had a chat with a physiotherapist who purported that the reason so many North Americans have bad backs is that we don’t squat. The knees should bend every time you do anything toward, near or on the ground. That means when you pick up your dogs dish to fill it, when you get a pot from a lower cupboard, when you pick up clothing tossed on the floor ... every single time you bend over you should instead be squatting, either partially or all the way down. Whew!

Well yeah, great idea but when I squat there’s a distinct chance I’m going to have trouble getting back up! (First excuse coming from my lazy body and brain.) But I’m guessing that if I made a habit change I’d slowly get stronger. I have been consciously noticing how often I bend my back instead of my knees, it’s dozens of times a day! I even weed my garden just leaning over most of the time. Yikes, I’m doing myself in!

Lots of people who work hard physically will tell you they’re getting enough exercise already, but quite often, even though the muscles they are using get stronger, the repeated motions they’re doing in their work can eventually cause problems, and lack of tone in associated muscles can contribute to a breakdown. Also work related muscle use is often sporadic, done cold without warming up the muscles required to do the work, done just enough to over-strain. How many hard working people do you know with a bad back? 

I think this Physiotherapist and my son are onto something. So, I guess it’s time to pry myself from my comfy recliner and do some squatting. Could also stand to lose some (lots) of weight, eat less sweets, walk more, read less, get off the internet, get creative, deep clean my house.... Whoa! Little steps, don’t want to bury myself in lofty goals. Squatting instead of bending - this I can do.

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mltipton.blogspot.com, https://www.facebook.com/Northof543/, April 6, 2019