easy on knees lower body strength training?

evedroid

(shamelessly bumping myself into the main forums, because i havent gotten any replies within the group i am a member of)

...mainly targeting glutes, hams and quads?

im lifting at home and have access to a squat rack, barbell, dumbbells, bench, swiss ball. (stating these, so no one suggests to run to the closest leg press machine or exercises that involve ankle weights for example)
lifting what considers to be heavy, however, lately one of my knees is failing me terribly on squats, lunges, step-ups.
im using a knee sleeve and went through a deload thinking i had form issues, filmed myself, done all that. its only one of my knees, so doubt it has much to do with bad form. taking glucosamine, trying to up my fat intake, but the inflammation isnt that significant comparing to the other, supposedly non-dominant knee.
no previous injuries either.
it started up with the popping noise (fluid issue in the joint?) but lately hurts too.
deadlifts and variations (romanian, single leg romanian) do the trick, however, i would like to introduce some more variety.
im not ready to only do body-weight squats/lunges/step-ups, and to be fair, they hurt a little too.
any recommended substitutions?

also: i have a pair of knee straps too, any thoughts on using them as a support instead of giving up on the above mentioned exercises until im recovered? i heard theyre to add a significant amount to the squatted weight, which im unsure about, in case id do more damage...

muchly appreciated, thank you kindly

KrisJ125

I have the same problem with one of my knees--but in my case it is due to mild osteoarthritis. For someone as young as you, I doubt OA is a possible reason. You should probably see the doctor and have a CT scan of the knee--there could be soft tissue damage (one of the cruciate ligaments) that is causing the fail.

neuro_nut

Bumping to read replies.

One of my knees is starting to give me trouble as well. It only hurts, no popping noises. Although, I am curious about those... I get really loud (and occasionally painful) pops in my hips all the time. I have a very strong family history of OA, with lots of double hip replacements, but I'm still so young (29)...

My only advice to the OP would be to take it easy and listen to your body... As annoying as it is to tone down your training now, just think how much an injury would set you back.

usmcmp

I highly suggest doing Peterson Step Ups. These will help strengthen everything around the knee and provide stability. They are low impact and you can start by doing them on the bottom stair at your house. By far one of the best exercises you can do fo your knees (I tore my MCL and my knee used to dislocate frequently). http://youtu.be/UUYBhnN6IJA

Things you can do for the posterior chain are good mornings, stiff leg deadlifts, and hip thrusts.
Things you can do for the quads Peterson step ups, other types of step ups, and suit case squats (I find these are easier on my knees than regular squats or front squats).

KarenJanine

Work on your form issues as this was likely the cause of injury. However, give the damage time to fully heal.

Last year I suffered with pattelofemoral syndrome (probably as a result of form issues). While it was recovering I stopped squats but added in straight legged deadlifts, hip thrusts and glute bridges to target glutes and hamstrings, along with various strengthening exercises given by my physiotherapist.

Single leg work like split squats and lunges can help with leg strength imbalances.

Once fully recovered, I added in squats again, starting v light and increasing the weight slowly and focusing on keeping form spot on. My knees are doing well now and getting stronger.

evedroid

thank you all