Honestly, the workout is not yet what I would call fun. Maybe that's why it is called a workout. Still, with increased strength has come increased self-confidence and I do like the results.
But squats are a killer. And, not to make excuses, I came to the exercise with a couple of physical issues. My right ankle is fused as a result of being shattered in a game of touch football 40 years ago and my left foot and lower leg experience varying degrees of numbness due to diabetic neuropathy. Bottom line: My squats won't look like your squats because of necessary adjustments.
Whether my leg issues make my squats any harder to do than they are for someone without such physical issues, I don't know. It's not important. I do know I couldn't manage even one squat the first time I was asked to do so. I kept losing my balance and falling over. This was embarrassing and frustrating and the root of several arguments between my partner/coach and me.
Gradually (and with considerable difficulty and complaining), I managed to do a couple of squats without falling over. It has been a slow go since then, with considerable adjustment. When my partner/coach and I started working with a bodybuilding trainer in a well-equipped gym a year ago, I used the solid metal legs of a chinning bar to help keep my balance as I went up and down with grunts and groans. There was also a full-length mirror that I could look at and remind myself to keep my head up and not bend over. Most of the time, I used it to check and make sure I was still breathing.
Recently, I groaned my way through 20 squats without using anything to keep my balance, took a break, and did 20 more. I was wiped out, but not done. The trainer -- whose job is to always think someone can do one or two more reps of whatever the exercise is -- has added a new wrinkle. I do squats while holding a metal bar over my head while he and my partner/coach hold the ends to make sure I don't fall over and injure myself.
I did 20 of these squats the last time and could barely walk when I was done. As I write this article, my legs have still not fully recovered and my glutes are periodically achy. My partner/coach says it's all good and she likes the new muscle tone in my legs, as do I. I also confess to a feeling of accomplishment for having survived, if not conquered, the challenge of squats.
Don't get me wrong. I still hate squats. It's hard to believe I will ever feel otherwise. But I've learned (late in life, as with all my lessons), that I can survive and even benefit from something I hate. My partner/coach says my attitude is still too negative, that I should be more encouraging about becoming fit. She's probably right. She and our bodybuilding trainer have their work cut out for them in trying to get me to approach workouts with the same enthusiasm with which they do.
So I'm working on my attitude as well as my balance. For now at least, no one can say of me, "He can't do squat."
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