Thanks for the Body Shaming!
“Damn Mr. C,” said one of my high school seniors. “You have a buff upper body, but some scrawny legs.”
Naturally, I took this with aplomb !
“Shut up stick man,” was the response in my head, but of course I couldn’t say that.
So, I hemmed and hawed and went into my story about how years of wrestling and martial arts left me with an undiagnosed fracture in my lower back which healed funny. Funny, of course, in that it causes me intense pain when I do squats. Yet, in my heart I knew that decades of neglecting my legs HAD left me with some stick legs, and that with a lot of stretching I am perfectly capable of doing squats. I just hate them. It was easier to walk on twigs than face reality.
Actual chicken legs, reminiscent of the author’s actual legs.
So, recently, I began taking about twenty five minutes or so prior to working out in order to stretch. Then, I would squat the bar with no weight and stretch again. Then, on went the quarters and I would squat 95, then AGAIN stretch. This went on for a while, and now I can pretty comfortably bang out three sets of 8 at 225
I know that isn’t anything to write home about, and my pecs are still stronger than my legs, but it is a hell of a long way from where I was at.
It made me think, maybe not ALL body shaming is bad. Obviously, my student knew and felt comfortable enough with me to critique me, and it actually caused a positive change! I think that if you can receive such criticisms in the right manner and utilize them in a positive way, the results can be motivational instead of deflating.
That was the case for me at least, and for all you stick legged people out there, don’t let the pain and the ardor required to pump up the legs stop ya!
If I can hook you up with my student so he can lay into you as he did to me, just let me know. I have the strange feeling that he won’t be graduating!