“Slow and steady wins the race”
By Sarah Rogue
When Amy reached out to OC she was looking for a personal trainer that could work with her a couple days a week to prepare her for an upcoming Spartan Race.
When I first met Amy, we did a movement assessment – with her gymnast background she had great body awareness, upper body strength & mobility. However, due to a past injury she was unable to squat past ¼ depth and lunge without significant knee pain. I assured her that there would be plenty we could do to get her strong and ready for the upcoming Spartan Race without squatting in her program.
For the first couple of months I strictly programmed a variety of deadlifts for lower body strength days using; barbell, kettlebell & dumbbell.
As time progressed I started adding in accessories such as; good mornings, hip bridges, single leg deadlifts, box step ups (eventually with weight) and we even added in a barbell hip thrust pyramid cycle.
As Amy gained strength I started adding in box squats. We stuck to box squatting with a barbell (front & back) as well as a KB/DB for goblet squats… starting above parallel and eventually over time (several months) lowering the box to parallel.
After about 10 months of personal training, Amy was becoming stronger and more confident. She asked if we could back squat … without a box!
We programmed barbell back squats the following week… Amy was able to squat full range of motion, with weight, to below parallel, with no pain!
When Amy first started her husband pulled me aside and asked if I thought she’d ever be able to squat again… I replied, “YES, it might take a while but I’m confident that she’ll be able.”
Not only is Amy able to squat and lunge again… She was able to compete in her first Spartan Race – together with her husband!
One of the best things we get to experience as trainers is being a part of our client’s fitness journey, progress & success!
We are so proud of Amy’s hard work; she’s been positive, patient, consistent and persistent through this entire process.
Slow and steady for the win!!!
What’s next for Amy?
Amy moved on to a combination of one-on-one Personal Training and OC Group Training!
Thanks for checking out OC in Bend, Oregon. OC is Central Oregon’s premier Personal Training, Sports Performance and CrossFit facility.
