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As a child growing up in Queens, NYC, I was made fun of from time to time for several reasons – for being Jewish, for being red-headed, for being painfully skinny, for having the name Fred, and for being severely bow-legged. “Where’s your horse red Fred Hahn?!” the kids would tease.
Take a look at my legs. This picture is real and NOT exaggerated:
This teasing is the main reason why I got into weight lifting.
My grade school pal Danny Dray was the one who got me totally into it. Actually, it was his biceps – he had a huge biceps muscle at 11 years old. It was so large it was larger than the cop who patrolled Juniper Valley Park – the park that we both walked across together to get to Hebrew School every day from PS 49 in Queens, NYC.
Training in his basement was fun and soon I wanted my own set of barbells and a bench. My dad bought me some and I used them nearly everyday. It was one of those old time, concrete filled, weight sets that lasted me through high school. Something like these:
I bought all the magazines, followed the routines of the body builders and joined the Charles Atlas Club. Take a look-see:
So, needless to say I was into it! Here is a shot of me when I was about 11 or 12.
And at 16:
As the years rolled on, I dove into Nautilus training and really got into body building. As far as I was concerned, the more muscle I could pack on the better. But one thing really bothered me – my legs. No matter what I did I could never pack on the mass on my legs.
Here’s a shot of my legs when I was living in Israel on A kibbutz after having just wrestled in high school, squatted with many barbells, tortured myself at Nautilus training centers, praying to God (yes I was religious at the time), and doing anything else I could think of to give me thick, powerful looking legs:
Yep, that’s about as big as I could get them.
Now, I was taught by the works of Dr. Ellington Darden, Arthur Jones, Mike Mentzer and many other HIT enthusiasts as well as by the mainstream mags that genetics dictate your ultimate size potential. I knew that I had ectopmorphish (skinny) thighs and would probably never have thighs like this:
Did I want thighs this large? Well, yeah, but no – not really. More like this would be nice:
At 29 years of age, I was working in Aruba as a production manager for the Alhambra Casino. The work was at night so I had all day to weight train, sun bathe and run on the beach. My legs got a bit better, but not much:
So as I said, nothing I did really worked as I wanted it to. The best I was ever able to achieve was by using my Slow Burn method, training legs twice a week, using a combo of exercises and deeply fatiguing them at each session which is pretty much like torture. They have gotten a bit better since but not a whole lot.
And now I know why!
Many of you know that I suffer from terrible medial knee arthritis due to my bowed legs, 20+ years of martial arts, running, jogging, etc. I’ve visited many doctors who have all told me that my knees are shot. Last week I went to visit a surgeon who, as he sat me on the table, asked me to straighten my knee. I told him the only reason why I could completely straighten it today was I had taken a pain killer a few hours ago.
He looked at me oddly and said “Your knee isn’t straight, far from it.” He took out his joint protractor called a goiniometer, and measured. Lo and behold my knee was almost 6 degrees from full extension. I told him that as far as I could tell, this was as straight as my knee has ever gotten – for years now.
One thing that has really bothered me about all this was that the little mass I did have in my legs has dwindled. It was hard enough for me to build what I had but to lose even a fraction of it really bites. Take a look:
The doctor went on to say that as the disease progresses I’ll lose more and more extension so I can expect even more muscle loss until I get the partial knee resurfacing even though I’m strength training. What he will do is fix the bowed bone and bring it completely straight being careful to compensate for the soft tissue.
I asked him point blank if my poor leg genetics (bowed legs) was the reason why after all the years of trying I could never develop big, powerful looking thighs. His reply was swift and sure – “Yep.” he said. “Unless your legs functions normally, and yours are quite abnormal, there is no way to fully develop the muscles attached.” He also told me that once both knees are fixed I can go back to my intense training and I’ll probably be able to build the most muscular legs I’ve ever had. Muscular music to my ears!
So not only do your genetics matter even if you have full and proper function of a joint, when that same joint is compromised, you don’t have a hope in heck of realizing your full potential. After all these years I now understand!
I've been involved in exercise ever since I became a member of The Charles Atlas Club when I was 10 years old. In 1998, I founded and established Serious Strength on the Upper West Side of NYC. My clients include kids, seniors (and everyone in between), top CEOs, celebrities, bestselling authors, journalists and TV personalities.
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{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
Fred, nice post of your journey.
Is there any indication that training (especially LE and LC) could have contributed to the problems with the knee, given that your joints couldn’t function properly? There’s not a lot of give in the isolated movements, as they would seem to force the knee to function in a way that your particular knee may not have allowed. Will the LE/LCmachines be permanently contraindicated after the procedure? If not, I wonder if there will be a noticeable difference in how they ‘feel’?
Like diarrhea, it runs in our genes.
Our family trait seems to be that our knees touch if our feet are straight together.
Other than our knees go the other way, you look like family to me; red hair and skinny legs. I always thought it was a Scottish (Duncan) thing but maybe we got more from the German (Lail) side than I thought (Hahn’s German right?).
Joe – I suppose it could have contributed but I never had pain in those machines until a year ago. Leg extension is still ok from 100 degrees to 30. No pain. But ya know, who knows. I suspect that my martial arts were FAR more degrading to the knees. Two of the surgeons said my weight lifting staved off the degradation.
Jonathan – I am Scottish – Hay clan. No German in me as far as I know. But who knows.
As soon as I saw the photo of your bow-legs I knew that’s why you have knee arthritis. You’ve done as much as possible. I’ve had animal patients with legs like that. In a few cases I was able to straighten them by breaking the legs and resetting them in a straight line. Although some ended up with sort of an ‘S’ curve.
Looking at the photo of the guy with massive legs I noticed there’s nothing between those legs, meaning no ‘package’. I think the dude has been using steroids way too long. As a result his scrotum and penis have shrunk to nothing.
kevin
Great Blog Fred! People do great things when faced with adversity.:)
Kevin those are the legs of Tom Platz. Yes many steroids were taken to achieve that level of mass. But it shows you how genetics matter. Arnold tool the same steroids and trained just as hard and was larger than Platz, but his legs never came close to that size.
Mark – thanks!
Fred, you seem disappointed that at age 29 and under ideal conditions that you did not add leg mass – but how much leg mass can one expect at 150 lbs?
Why did kids laugh at you for being called Fred? Did these kids point at the sky and laugh, or point at rocks and laugh? Were they a bit simple?
In that picture in Aruba I weight about 165 – what I weigh now give or take a few pounds on either end. And I don’t understand what you mean – I wanted to weigh 200 of solid muscle – a goal I thought I could achieve but have never been able to accomplish without getting fat.
They laughed at the name Fred because I was a red head and because a popular cartoon at the time was the Flintsones. Fred Flintstone was the lead character so I’d often be called “Red Fred Flintstone.” Kids are weird. Luckily I was not overly prone to feel badly about it. I’d tell my dad about it and he’d usually say “So what? Who gives a shit. Those kids are obviously dimwit assholes so forget about it.” Made sense to me.
How old is Platz? I’m asking because if he’s young he could have used steroids plus growth hormone plus whatever has been popular in past 20 years. I remembed Arnold constantly on the cover and featured in muscle mags back when I was powerlifting: 1972-1974. I think back then even steroids were a relatively new thing. I grew up in Germany and graduated from high school in Munich. I’ve been to the Munich gym where Arnold had trained before emigrating. Back then the only supplement we had was chewable protein pills that came in two flavors: Chocolate flavored chalk and vanilla flavored chalk.
kevin
No one can make the decision for you, but I say nip it in the bud while you still have some youth and vitality. And I hope you keep praying.
Hey Fred,
This illustrates the importance of range of motion in recruiting the optimal amount of muscle fibers. I imagine your ROM will be much better after the surgery.
You included the video about your May 16th procedure two blogs back…how long will the pads last for (the ones that are going over the femoral medial condyles)? Will you have to get maintenance surgery every few years?
Agreed Sean. And the doc said I’d have full RON for the first time in my life. One surgeon said the partial will last 20 years. Another 5-7. That’s Western medicine for ya.
Dear Fred, I wonder if you have heard of/tried the Egoscue Method. I have discovered Pete Egoscue’s work this past year. I have had some repair on my left knee and was headed for knee replacement surgery given the constant pain and lack of mobility that I was suffering. Enter Egoscue! I would love for you to have even some of the tremendous benefit that I have had from following the protocol. Thank you for all of your work and for sharing it so generously. Best, Ann
Fred, have you started traction work and squatting… or is it just slowburn?
Traction work? Traction is not productive for what I have which is complete medial cartilage loss and bone denudation.
My squat rack is at my home in the Catskills. However, my body builder friend Jim and I may start training again together and if so, squatting may be in the picture. Leg presses have been working well – very little pain and I’ve been playing with rest/pause training on leg extension.
There is no magic to placing a barbbell on your shoulder and contracting your glutes, hams and quads. Hip extension and knee extension is what it is. Do the functions with adequate weight to failure or close to it, sleep, eat well and that is all one can do.
Fred, how is that slowburn leg presses is appropriate for your conditions whilst traction work is not?
How is it that everyone else universally agrees that squats are magic (even AJ) whilst you do not?
Juan – Traction work is not going to alter the disease. Perhaps I am not understanding what it is? Do you have a link to describe exactly what you are talking about?
Everyone agrees that squats are “magic” because they are indeed a fantastic exercise. What I am saying is that the anatomical actions if you will are identical to leg press – hip extension and knee extension. The quads, hamstrings and glutes are working in concert with each other to a greater or lesser degree in each but ALL are working and being stimulated. This combines with hip extension, knee extension, hip abd/adduction, calf press, hip flexion and partial knee flexion I am doing for my lower body all that a squat with a barbell on my back can do and a whole lot more.
In fact,many HIT enthusiasts would say I am over doing it but my record keeping says otherwise. Currently I am at a medical conference for the association of Bariatric physicians and the Nutrition and Metabolism Society and am meeting some fantastic physicians. One in particular is Dr. Warren Willey
http://www.amazon.com/Better-Than-Steroids-Warren-Willey/dp/1425103391
who has been telling me some very interesting stuff on building muscle.
Fred, I provided you a bunch of links in my emails to you, on my forum and on the comments sections of your blog regarding traction – do a google search.
Traction work may not alter the disease but neither will slowburn – traction may enable you to get some range of motion back and may have some therapeutic value. One thing is for sure, if you don’t use it you can be sure it will not work.
The anatomical actions of the leg press and squat are not identical… that is an unbelievably daft thing to say Fred! For a start the range of motion around the hip is much greater on a squat (e.g. 125° hip 126° knee for squat, 65° hip 113° knee for leg press). The direction of force at the knee differs depending on what machine or what style of squat you use – thus for the squat the resistance at the feet is like a kind of turning rotating moving foot plate. The resistance of the squat is on the shoulders, whereas on the leg press it is on the padding of the seat back.
Squats are bloody knackering in comparison to a leg press because they involve greater total work!!!
Hello Fred,
I am bow legged too since birth, will i suffer from arthritus? and how can i develop it i kind of want an op to straighten them.
Finn from the UK
Finn – you have a greater chance, yet. Drink lots of bone broth – a cup a day. Very good for aging joints.
Great job Fred,
I am 17 years old, I too have the same problem of bow legs . I read somewhere that doing squats with tying the knees with something like a soft cloth will help.
Is it true??? orr please tell me some exercise that will help
Hi Sam –
Exercise cannot fix blow legs – only surgery can. However, staying strong is important for the health of a compromised joint. Avoid doing things that cause impact and quick twisting and jerking. You’ll wear the joint out faster (as I did) if you involve yourself in these sports.
Also eat healthy foods. Lots of fatty meats and fish, vegetables and some fruit. Avoid all grains and commercial dairy and REALLY stay away from soda and junk foods.
Fred,
I was curious about the surgery you had to correct your bowlegs…was it using Ilizarov external fixators? Where did you have this done? And the cost? Any advice would be greatly appreciated
fred are you getting an operation to fix your bowed legs? do you know what the recovery time will be? high tibial osteotomy have you heard of this procedure and have you considered it?
Finn – I am way too old for that! I may get a partial knee for the left knee if the knee gets worse. If not, then I’m keeping my own.
fair enough, do you think its inevitable that I will get arthritis in both knees if i continue to run everyday?. Has the width between your knees increased as you’ve got older?