Sir-Mix-a-Lot Musings

Sore today, most specifically mah butt.

Laugh all you want.  When you do Stiff-Legged Deadlifts with proper form, it works da bootay, which is more or less why I do them.

Believe it or not, this is not a vanity thing.  Women, listen up.  A significant discrepancy between your quad strength[1] and hamstring strength[2] can have a destabilizing effect on knee strength putting you at risk for knee injuries, such as an ACL[3] rupture[4].  This strength discrepancy is a bit more common in women.

Now, I don’t know that my own ACL injury was in any way exacerbated by a strength incompatibility.  I expect in my case it was considerably more of a Rule One issue.  If you’re 35, short and around 200 lbs, it might be that a flying side kick is not the best activity choice for knee health.  Just sayin’.

But be that as it may, if you’re considering strength building work, don’t neglect the butt[5].

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[1] That’s the muscles in the front of the thighs.

[2] That’s the muscles in the butt to the knee.

[3] Anterior Cruciate Ligament.  It’s a twisty little ligament in the front of the knee that’s critical to knee stability.  You CAN rupture it and then compensate by working out to strengthen the muscles to stabilize, or you can get the surgery.  I’m not an athlete and could have gotten away with not getting the surgery, but I’m here to say I’m glad I did.

[4] B.-O. Lim, Y. S. Lee, J. G. Kim, K. O. An, J. Yoo, and Y. H. Kwon. Effects of Sports Injury Prevention Training on the Biomechanical Risk Factors of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury in High School Female Basketball Players. Am J Sports Med. September 1, 2009 37:1728-1734.

[5] Admirers of the female rear, you may give me tokens of gratitude for this wisdom in the form of chocolate, flowers, books, or very good vodka.