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Even more adventures from one “Squat Challenged” lifter
It’s been a couple of years since I purchased the PowerTec Leverage Squat machine and I’ve learned a few things in my pursuit of “squat.” Unfortunately, not everything that I learned was positive. (Click here for part one or here for part two.)
First thing I learned was that although machines can allow you to perform a reasonable semblance of a squat, they still fall short of the real thing. No balance is involved and it can be easy to “cheat” the movement. I mentioned these things in a prior blog and time has done little to change my opinion.
Second thing I learned was that since the machine forces you to conform to its movement path, it can set you up for injury. That isn’t a startlingly new revelation but I learned its truth when I became injured using the PowerTec. My knees started complaining and my shoulders also rebelled against the movement. I “believe” that my knees hurt from the resulting tension and rigid positioning that occurred when my feet were solidly planted on the floor and the lever arm was firmly in place on my shoulders. Neither “anchor point” allowed natural movement…and my knees were the recipient of some unnatural forces. My shoulders hurt from the way that the pads pressed down on my trapezius and deltoids. I “believe” that I irritated a nerve deep in my trapezius in the same manner. The lever arm and the pads stayed in a fixed position, while I moved slightly underneath them as I squatted. My left shoulder would become numb and tingly after a squat session. When squatting with a barbell, the contact point on the shoulders comprises a much larger area and distributes the load somewhat. With the leverage arm of the PowerTec, the load is concentrated on a reasonably small area of each shoulder/trapezius area.
I am unwilling to completely abandon the PowerTec, since using the angled foot platform changes the movement enough so that these “issues” aren’t as problematic. (When using the angled foot platform, the movement becomes more like a leg press in function, stressing the glutes more heavily.) However, for a short while I’ve stopped using the PowerTec machine and returned to using the hip belt squat. Squatting while using the hip belt is kinder to the back, the shoulders aren’t stressed at all and it also allows for natural movement at the knees and hips.
The bottom line here is that I think I am too tall or otherwise physically unsuited to the consistent, hard use of this machine. I guess it is still true - “One size doesn’t fit all.”
Live and learn, eh?