So I had been doing independent squats on the bfl program of decrease reps/increase weights, at 20/25/30 most recently. One of the new exercises I chose for my switchup is the squats with the exercise ball against the wall.

Then I started thinking, is this going to challenge me? Is it enough? I hadn't planned on using weights, as it was demo'd w/o them. Will this be too easy? Should I add weights, or will I be somewhat off balance with the ball and so it's not advisable? Will using the ball alone be enough, or will there be some benefit like being able to get a lower squat with this variation?

The other thing I'm doing is the straight legged dumb-bell lift from the floor, to work the hams.

Thanks!

You can get a lower squat, or you can deliberately throw yourself off balance by holding only ONE weight so that you force your core muscles to keep you upright- do the next set holding the db in the other hand. Anpther option is to really lighten the weight- even NO weight and do one legged with the ball against the wall. It will provide you with the stability to make this exercise possible if you can't do a one legged squat otherwise.

Mel

Definitely scratch THIS question!! OMG>.........

You can get lower, you shift your weight against the wall which makes it harder, and you can really feel it in your glutes. I tried to do 30 - had to stop after 10, then do 5 more, 5 more, and then finish out in groups of 3. But I got to 30, trembling thighs and all!! LOL

No weights required. It's a completely different exercise with the ball, but fun too. I'm sure like walking tomorrow will be.

You'll be cranking out three sets of 60 next week.

You, my dear, are eeeeevil!

Speaking of evil, don't forget to throw in 10 second holds sitting with your knees at 90 degrees after every 5th or 10th rep ... and you can do a set as 'pulses' (little half reps at the bottom of the movement, never standing upright). I think you'll enjoy those too.

Yay, something to look forward to. It's nice having goals and I'll try to work in the full sets or pulses in month 2 or 3. Altho, I can walk today, so it's somewhat disappointing that I don't hurt like I expected to. It sure felt like a good workout, including pounding pulse, so maybe I really am just getting fit and it's not that I have to work harder, bc I did work to exhaustion at the time. Hmmmm................

Hrbabe,

Just a comment on doing the straight leg deadlift "from the floor..."
Be carefull that you do not do this with a lot of weight; the trainer at my gym forbids us to go below our knees with the straight leg deadlift with a barbell. As far as I understand it, below the knees you apparently also work the lower back so you are more prone to injury. Also the trainer stresses that you must "feel the steel" so keep the weights close to your legs and not away from them. Again, this to avoid injuring your back.

Apart from that, I find the deads a great exercise. I really like the feel that i am working my hamstrings.

I might even try the ball squats one of these days. Sounds interesting...

Rabbit

Thanks Rabbit. I did notice that my lower back was getting involved and I was wondering what the difference was between this exercise and the deadlift (bent knee) that I do on ubwo for my back exercise. On the back exercise, the weights are to my side, knees bent. On the hams exercise, I do keep the weights in front of me, straight legs, but apparently was going too low bc I did feel it in my lower back. THANK YOU SO MUCH for this warning b4 I hurt myself. I will stop when I cease to feel it in my legs and make sure I don't go too low, even tho in the photo they show the person going to floor level (or maybe that's just where he starts, not sure).

Do you think I should not do the separate bent knee exercise for the back then on ubwo days? I sure don't want to get injured at this point in the game. Meg? Please weigh in also, since I saw you mention the same thing in another thread about stopping the deadlift when you didn't feel it in the legs to avoid back strain.

Fran, even though they're both called 'deadlifts', classic deadlifts are worlds different from stiff legged deadlifts (which I always write as SLDL cuz I'm lazy!).

Classic deadlifts are the granddaddy of the great compound exercises, so by definition they work lots of muscle groups and are hard to classify. I consider them to be a leg exercise, not back, so do them on Leg Day. Exrx.net agrees with me, calling them a glute exercise: http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/...BDeadlift.html, Bodybuilding.com calls them a quad exercise. But lots of others disagree and call them a back exercise.

SLDLs don't work nearly as many muscle groups as do classic deadlifts. We primarily target the hamstrings with them and that's why we're trying to take the back involvement out of the picture.

I'm not sure if any of this answers your questions but I personally wouldn't use deadlifts as an UB exercise. But I've done deadlifts and SLDLs in the same leg workout because there isn't much overlap in muscles worked. Neither exercise will injure you if you use the correct form.

Be sure to check out this page from Stumptuous.com - she says it much better than any of us ever could: deadlift and stiff-legged deadlift

Did any of that make sense?

I do my SLDL from the top down (slding the bar down my legs), that's the only way I can keep using my butt muscles. If I start from the floor, I lose form.
If I want to do goodmornings, I hold the (lighter) bar out a little and start even taller.
Did that make sense?

Thanks Meg, it does. And watching that guy demo it on exrx, doesn't it really just look like a REVERSE SQUAT? I mean, it's the same movement except starting down and going up instead of starting standing and ending in a squat. Hmm.....

Can you do good mornings with dumbbells? I really want to work my hamstrings even more because I love that toned leg look where there's a visible hamstring. I see it's demo'ed with a barbell, so just wondering. I suspect it's a balance issue and they would go flying on the bend. But would you get the same result holding the weights by your side?

I can do good mornings with dumbells. I just feel as I go.

What about calf raises for hams?

Fran, I've always thought that deadlifts were reverse squats too! The BB is just held a different place but the movement is verrrry similar.

I've never tried it, but I think a good morning with DBs is going to end up looking a lot like a SLDL if you hold the DBs out in front of you. In a real good morning, the weight is a BB across your shoulders and I can't think how you could duplicate it with DBs (unless you invest in that squat rack ) Maybe hold the DBs on top of your shoulders? Hmm, I wonder if you could curl the DBs and hold them curled while you do the movement? Or whether that would pull you off balance because the weight would be in front of you and not on your shoulders? Maybe Mel knows?

If you experiment, please report back!

There is a distinct possibility that I'm doin' 'em all bass ackward! But when I do (what I think is) a good morning I can feel it higher in my back and I bend my knees a bit. SLDL's are like under butt, hams and I use a straight leg.