Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below
napsgear
genezapharmateuticals
domestic-supply
puritysourcelabs
UGL OZ
UGFREAK
napsgeargenezapharmateuticals domestic-supplypuritysourcelabsUGL OZUGFREAK

If my knees hurt from squatting...

seizer

seizer

New member
am I leaning forward too much? Applying too much weight towards the front of my feet?

I've had to take a little over a week off ebcause my knee joints have been killing me and wondering if this was the problem.
 
Are you going deep? Oly stance or PL?

My first guess would be forward lean, especially since you brought it up. Leaning can be due to a weak posterior chain or weak abs, or both. Or just lack of practice with 'sitting back'. I can tell you this much - 'curing' my forward lean caused my squat to take some hefty jumps in poundage.
 
like guiness said first what is your technique? are you going down to the parellel or lower with the weight? If not you may be using too much!
I use a wide grip with squats, ive never had any knee problems.
Also you may want to invest into some knee wraps, ive heard they work wonders.
 
Most likely a forward lean. I had the same problem. What kind of shoes are you using? If they are running shoes with a high sole, don't wear them. I go barefoot now and my knees are fine. You're 19, you've gotta be doing something wrong.
 
Are you doing cardio that might be causing some stress on your knees? Just a factor to consider. My knees occasionally start aching if I'm putting a lot of miles on 'em along w/ weight training.
 
rpb161 said:
if you think its your form, use a smith machine to perfect it.
Click to expand...


I don't think Smith machine and perfect should be used in the same sentence. Ever. Unless of course you're trying to say that the Smith machine is a perfect example of useless gym equipment. In that one case, it might be acceptable.

Anyways, I agree with the rest who were saying to lighten the load and sit back. About a year after I started lifting I had to completely demolish my squat and start over from scratch because I had been taught to let my knees go foreward first and to not go down even to parallel. When you take some weight off and do it right, you will definitely feel more stable and confident with your squat. Pending the learning curve, you will probably add some hefty poundage to your max as well. Good luck!
 
CEASAR said:
I'm gonna lower the weight tonight. Gonna see how that works out..thanks peeps
Click to expand...


Lowering the weight will help. But try it once without shoes, trust me it's amazing.
 
loosen up your external hip rototrs, quads and hip flexors. That will ease tension on the patella - can help depending on the kind of pain
 
Suprised it hasn't been mentioned yet but try and go deep as possible, stopping at parallel keeps the shearing forces on the knees whilst going lower shifts it more to the hips - a lot of people have found this has completely removed all knee pain. Madcow and others said a lot on this if you want more info.
 
eat big said:
Lowering the weight will help. But try it once without shoes, trust me it's amazing.
Click to expand...
Squatting barefoot is very nice. If you must wear shoes because of personal reasons or gym rules, get some Chuck Taylors. Cheap, flexible, and also very good for deads in addition to squats.
 
eat big said:
Lowering the weight will help. But try it once without shoes, trust me it's amazing.
Click to expand...

I lowered the weight tonight. It was a little better. I also happened to do it barefoot too, but only because I was too lazy to put on shoes...and it helped too lol.
 
Sitting back on a box helps a LOT when my knees are aching, you don't even have to pause - just put the box at a height just below where you'd bottom out in the squat and tap it gently with that booty then blast up. The action of sitting back to 'feel' for the box will prevent too much forward lean (hopefully :))
 
Guinness5.0 said:
Are you going deep? Oly stance or PL?

My first guess would be forward lean, especially since you brought it up. Leaning can be due to a weak posterior chain or weak abs, or both. Or just lack of practice with 'sitting back'. I can tell you this much - 'curing' my forward lean caused my squat to take some hefty jumps in poundage.
Click to expand...

Extremely good advice here - all points.
 
coolcolj said:
loosen up your external hip rototrs, quads and hip flexors. That will ease tension on the patella - can help depending on the kind of pain
Click to expand...


Does anybody know some good exercises to achieve this? I sometimes have some pain from right bahind the patella. Maybe doing ^^this would help.
 
CEASAR said:
I lowered the weight tonight. It was a little better. I also happened to do it barefoot too, but only because I was too lazy to put on shoes...and it helped too lol.
Click to expand...


Cool. If you've seen Pumpin Iron, Arnold and Ed Corney squat in flip flops/barefoot or loafers. Just because they do it doesn't mean it's right but I like it.

I am able to balance much better with bare feet.
 
CEASAR said:
I'm gonna lower the weight tonight. Gonna see how that works out..thanks peeps
Click to expand...

Had this problem and cured it with super warm up as follows:

(1) Ride reclining (or stationary) bike at low resistance for 15 minutes.

(2) Stretch lightly ... pulling ankle to glutes while standing.

(3) Wear Dunroy knee wraps.

(4) Hamstring curls first. 3 x 12

(5) Start routine with leg extensions 3 x 12,10,8 increasing weight.

(6) 3 X 8 slow full squats with no weight. Then the heavy squats.

Results? No pain and better pump and more weight used.
 
Everyone, thank you for the tips.

One thing I noticed about trying barefoot was that I could control my drive from me heels alot easier. I could get into a good shit position. But yeah. I'm gonna try a better warm up ritual too. That could be part of my prob.
 
CEASAR said:
Everyone, thank you for the tips.

One thing I noticed about trying barefoot was that I could control my drive from me heels alot easier. I could get into a good shit position. But yeah. I'm gonna try a better warm up ritual too. That could be part of my prob.
Click to expand...


Yeah I notice that too. Better balance and don't have the tendency to lean forward. Look at the sole of your shoes, chances are the heel is elevated.
 
One other thing to consider is your training volume. I used to use a workout program that had me squating 2x per week with one session higher weight and the other lower. The lower weight workout was still too heavy, and the overall stress on my knees was just too much. After about 3 weeks of this my knees hurt pretty bad.
On the other hand I did madcow's 5x5 dual factor and was squating 3 times per week with no knee pain at all. In fact, my knees feel stronger than ever and I am squating with 505 lbs. This routine worked because one of the 3 squat workouts is low intensity and the other is just one all out set. Take a look at the volume and intensity of the sets that would effect your knees and adjust it down.
 
maldorf said:
One other thing to consider is your training volume. I used to use a workout program that had me squating 2x per week with one session higher weight and the other lower. The lower weight workout was still too heavy, and the overall stress on my knees was just too much. After about 3 weeks of this my knees hurt pretty bad.
On the other hand I did madcow's 5x5 dual factor and was squating 3 times per week with no knee pain at all. In fact, my knees feel stronger than ever and I am squating with 505 lbs. This routine worked because one of the 3 squat workouts is low intensity and the other is just one all out set. Take a look at the volume and intensity of the sets that would effect your knees and adjust it down.
Click to expand...


He's 19 so he should be able to handle some volume. That is a possibility though.
 
There can just be so many things...I'd try them all:

Stretch more and more and more. Hips, back, hams, hip flexors, quads, before training and after. Light before.
Use Icy-Hot before every training session, even if you don't have pain.
Get a video camera and video yourself squatting.
Get a pair of Chuck Taylors to squat in.
Squat wide (W-I-D-E) and to a box.
Use some knee sleeves (warmth ones, not really too much support ones).
LIGHT wrap on them only temporarily.
Strengthen your hamstrings through goodmornings and glute ham raises.
Use Ice post training.
Buy new shoes for daily walking (and change shoes at least once a day).

When I was 19 I had bad knee pains from squatting. I'm nearly 29 now and I'm doing pretty well at the moment.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

C
my joints ache when I lift
Replies
18
Views
2K
25homes
25homes
Dreamer_
Approved Log 2025-2026 Lean Bulk Journal Sponsored by Dreamers Gold Standard Labs Australia
Replies
88
Views
5K
the_alcatraz
the_alcatraz
W
taller women and steroid use
Replies
11
Views
1K
ceo
ceo
D
My pre-First Cycle Log
Replies
13
Views
1K
25homes
25homes
Resurrected
Approved Log My Comeback Lifestyle Log
Replies
63
Views
7K
the_alcatraz
the_alcatraz
Top Bottom