Strength training – need specialized advice

Hey, Hive Mind: A young friend is just starting training as a paramedic. He's OK with most of the physical stuff so far, except being the bottom guy lifting a patient in a stair chair. From what I understand, he's got to lift his half of about 200 lbs from the floor to about 4 feet in the air, keeping his arms bent in front of his chest and his back straight. He's just not strong enough in the legs (yet) to make this work. Suggestions welcome for what exercises he can do to build up those muscles for that task. Thanks!

That sounds sort of like a deadlift, or modified squat, or even stiff leg deadlift (aka good morning). You could also do lunges, reverse lunges, hack squats, leg sled. Lots of choices.

BEFORE STARTING THINGS LIKE SQUATS, DEADLIFT, ETC...CONSULT SOMEONE WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY'RE DOING. YOU CAN BERKELEY YOURSELF UP IF YOU DO IT WRONG

Klayfish wrote: ***BEFORE STARTING THINGS LIKE SQUATS, DEADLIFT, ETC...CONSULT SOMEONE WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY'RE DOING. YOU CAN SCHIT HALF A MILE OF YOUR GUTS INTO YOUR YAM BAG IF YOU AREN"T CAREFUL ***

FTFY

Tell him to find a department that uses these. No need to lift and can be taken down the stairs with one hand holding the top

OK, from my exhaustive YouTube research: you hold handles parallel to each other a few inches off of the floor about 24" apart and lift those to a bit above waist height. Your knees are outside of the hand grips at the start. The easiest training tool would be a pair of heavy dumbbells. Mimic the lifting motion, repeat until fatigue. The best would be training with an actual stair chair and a partner. All of this is in addition to a well rounded weight routine.

Exercise suggestions much appreciated – keep 'em coming! Meanwhile, that yellow thing, which I discover is a "Stair-PRO" from Stryker, is extremely cool. I will pass the info along.

We use them and they work great. Cut down on back injuries and workcomp.

Murphy's law dictates that large people live upstairs and drive small cars.

Pick things up and put them down.

Works wonders.

I'm guessing there is a skill/technique issue as much as a strength issue. Don't let him confuse straight back with vertical back. Trying to start the movement with a vertical back means your butt is almost on the floor. That is a very weak position mechanically and very awkward. Most effort just makes you want to fall over backwards. I would do the movement like this:
-with your feet slightly wider than the handles and knees slightly bent bend at the waist and grab the handles.
-Keeping a very light pull on the handles and back in "straight" posture smoothly lower your hips/butt until your upper thighs are just under parallel.
-Stand up smoothly leading upwards with your shoulders and keeping your eyes and chin up.

The slight load on the hands and squatting down to the weight before he lifts will let him feel how far he can drop his hips and still lift the weight. It is a combined back and thigh movement and the perfect depth will allow the best use of both.

200# from floor to say, maybe collarbone height? That's what you call a clean.

First things first, squat. When he's done squatting, squat more. After that, squat. Maybe throw in a little more squatting after that for good measure.

On a serious note, lifting forward loads high requires strong hips, posterior chain (glutes, hams, spinal erectors), which requires a strong core. All of those muscle groups can be improved with squatting and some plank work.

Most important things to adhere to in order to avoid injury- Maintain lumbar curavture. If the back rounds, you need to immediately and quickly address that. Posture is KING, as will be technique. Start with the standard back squat lightly until you can consistently maintain good back and core posture. Add weight and start front squatting from there.

If he's serious about going to the gym and working on increasing his "professional strength", I'd be happy to put a quick 4-5 week program together for him that would help in all areas of strength, as well as proper form in preventing injury.

In reply to golfduke:

The 4' statement in the first post is a bit off. The yellow chair a few posts up is a decent example of what he has to lift. He has to take the lower handles from roughly 6" off of the floor to a standing position with a moderate bend in his elbows. I was curious how he was going to "clean" a human in a chair so I hunted down a video.

Power cleans would be good to round out the deadlifts and squats.

We have the above stair chairs throughout my hospital. You don't even want to know how much they cost.

(hint, they wouldn't qualify fo the GRM Challenge)

i think it's funny that paramedic strength training includes dead lifts.

Grizz wrote: Pick things up and put them down. Works wonders.

That's funny!

But seriously, he should also do leg press, front squats, leg extensions and leg curls. He will also need to do sit ups, or other ab exercises for a strong core. Then, to round it out, running on the treadmill, ride the bicycle, or another cardio exercise for the respiratory system.

If you want strength, you need to focus on strength training. It sounds silly, but a lot of people get quite confused thinking that lots of reps make strength. The cheapest and most simple method with a TON of research behind it is for him to read and follow simple and sinister
It is an excellent place to start, forces correct form and can be applied to almost every sport and occupational therapy. The big plus is that you need $10 bucks for the ebook and maybe $50 bucks for the kettlebell (if you are are an amazon prime member shipping is free).
While I have some of the key pdf's I use in my classes and with my patients, here is literally the first hit from googling kettlebell research why kettlebells rock
once you complete the simple and sinister content, you should be quite ready to expand into whatever sport/activity specific workout. Many folks simply add the new workout to kettlebell swings (NOT the dangerous/stupid American Swing) and the classic Turkish getups.
I know you may have wanted something complex with no research, but I think simple and well researched is better
ps for those advocating sit-ups I strongly suggest you check out the primary type of muscles that reside in the abs (hint they aren't for endurance) and then explore Pr McGill's research in that area.

I hate kettlebells, but they work. Turkish getups are diabolical...ly effective.

5/3/1 by Jim Wendler and the "built for bad" total body circuit written by Christian Thibaudeau have given me the best strength gains of any program I've used.

This Hive Mind continues to rock! All information very much appreciated, & will be passed along. BTW, they do train with the new-fangled stair-lift devices, but they have to prove they can do it old-school too. One of the unwritten rules, I gather, is that the distance (e.g., floor level he's on) of the patient is inversely proportional to the size/weight of the patient and the proximity of the ambulance. I expect this rule extends to the availability of assistive technology too.

Thanks to all!

Run up and down a flight of stairs for a while. Then get a backpack, put some weight in it, then do it again. Then add more weight.