Need help squatting.

RHachicho

Basically here's my problem I have been very heavy for a long time. And frankly when I try and squat my knees almost always cry uncle. Sometimes I can get 40 weighted squats out in a day. Sometimes my knees give out at around 10. Either way I always feel like my knees give out way before my muscles do and it's very frustrating. I was wondering if any of you had any tips?

FredSetToGetFit

I had this. What helped me a lot, was taking a dolomite supplement, and generally reducing weight with other activity until my knees felt good enough for squats.

Wizard0fRoz

Just remember that a squat is basically you in a sitting position without the chair. If your knees are on fire during and after your squats, try taking Aleve pre-workout so it can help with the inflammation. I wear knee braces because of the pain I get from working out.

Will_Thrust_For_Candy

I would suggest going with bodyweight squats first before you add weight. Get comfortable with the movement and make sure your form is correct. That will help tremendously. You can also try doing a box squat.

Good luck!

erickirb

My advice would be to keep doing them, but don't do 40/day. Take a look at the program starting strength you do 3 working sets of 5 reps/set (15 reps in total+ warm up). This program has you start with very light weight, adding 5lbs/workout, this should help strengthen the knees slowly as well.

FredSetToGetFit

My advice would be to keep doing them, but don't do 40/day. Take a look at the program starting strength you do 3 working sets of 5 reps/set (15 reps in total+ warm up). This program has you start with very light weight, adding 5lbs/workout, this should help strengthen the knees slowly as well.

+1 on this.

aneary1980

My Physio gave me a stretching band tied round both my legs at knee level, basically the idea is that you need to keep the band in the knee area so you push your knees out more whilst doing the squat, this solved my knee issue as I was pushing my knees in slightly whilst squatting.

It may not be the answer for you but worth a try?

Anniebotnen

How about just doing body weight squats for now? If you are still quite heavy, that may be enough of a workload for now. Are you trying to do squats every day? If so, try giving yourself at least 48 hours between squatting sessions to recuperate. Your body needs the rest to adapt to the workload and get stronger. Also, if your knees bother you at other times, please get them checked by a doctor!

cbhubbybubble

My knees haven't hurt yet from bodyweight or squat with a barbell and I have an old knee injury. Because I knew it was a real possibility of hurting my knee with the old injury I've been doing glute strenghtening exercises since I started lifting weights and I'm doing some stretching to try to loosen up my tight hips. I'm just learning and am no expert, but I understand you should be using your glutes and hamstrings along with your quadriceps if you want muscle balance. If just using your quads you will not only build or increase muscle imbalance, but increase the risk of sore knees, I think. I've got pretty strong quads, but not so much the glutes and hamstrings, so I need to build strength in back. I suppose if you already have strong hamstrings or glutes, you'd want to work on strengthening your quads, though. Focusing on using my glutes and hanmstrings instead of the fronts of my legs to get up from the squat seems to be keeping my knees happy.....working for me anyway.

And like Aneary said, check that your knees aren't tracking inward during your squat. That may make them sore.

SeanTheITGuy

Ensure your form is proper. There's comparatively little force on the knees during a squat if the knees track over the toes and don't extend much past your toes. If your knees go way forward beyond your feet, the shearing forces on your connective tissue will be massive. If the pain you feel is the compression at the bottom, then that's usually caused by tight muscles that are pinching the knee joint closed. Check out some knee mobilization techniques from MobilityWod on youtube.

RINat612

I'd agree with the others that have posted already. Reconsider your sets. Try a 3x5 like stronglifts. Try just body weight squats at first. Make sure your form is correct.

JoRocka

My advice would be to keep doing them, but don't do 40/day. Take a look at the program starting strength you do 3 working sets of 5 reps/set (15 reps in total+ warm up). This program has you start with very light weight, adding 5lbs/workout, this should help strengthen the knees slowly as well.

this. A hell of a lot of this.

On my high volume russian lifting program- I'm still only doing reps at the most- many times it's closer to 15 total reps (individual sets of like 2's and 3's)

Chieflrg

My advice would be to keep doing them, but don't do 40/day. Take a look at the program starting strength you do 3 working sets of 5 reps/set (15 reps in total+ warm up). This program has you start with very light weight, adding 5lbs/workout, this should help strengthen the knees slowly as well.

^^^
Less reps. Starting with working on form. Strengthen all the muscles including the ones supporting knees.

Lofteren

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ME8gEN54Ao

Watch this whole video series. Start from scratch and learn how to squat perfectly. Then choose a set progression and periodization that is appropriate for your level as a lifter.

This protocol will fix 99% of the problems you will run into as a beginner and as an intermediate.

Edit: I saw that some people mentioned Starting Strength which I agree is the best way to start.

RHachicho

Thanks guys I took a lot of this on board and it has helped. Perhaps my expectations for starting out squatting where too high but basically instead of squatting with a free bar weight I used a guided Rack bar that doesn't let me move the weight forwards or backwards as I raise and lower it. And was surprised to find that my body wanted to move the weight. I thought my form was pretty good but this machine has taught me that I wasn't really doing it right. I started with 20kg of weight and was able to do 5x5 sets before my knees cried uncle. But interestingly enough this time my muscles weren't far behind them. I could also feel my entire body engaging better behind the movement. There seemed to be less pressure on my knee through.

Sometimes my knee does hurt after I do an exercise session which works it out. But I also do 6 hours of walking a week and my knee never hurts after those or during general walking about. Nor do I feel any particular pinch in any area of the knee. It is more like a dull ache that slowly becomes severe as I apply leverage to the joint. Funnily enough if I do leg presses my knee never bothers me despite loading a lot of weight to it. Sometimes it does seem that my knee responds with pain when I try and make it bear weight when it is "folded" if you know what i mean. I.e when the leg isn't straight and the joint itself must bear the majority of the stress rather than the bone.

You are correct when you say that I am a heavy person. However one pattern I have noticed is that it's the number of squats that does me in rather than the weight involved. I can't get the weight that high yet but it's not as if I can do many more body weight squats than weighted squats. In fact I don't think there's much difference in my mileage at all.

From what I can see I think that using the machine to squat is probably the best thing for me right now. If you recommend 3x5 I will probably increase the weight a bit to make sure my muscles follow suit on the tiredness front. But for now I believe I have found a way to proceed. I am also gonna try the knee support and those dolomite supplements. But honestly It could just be that I went into this with too high expectations.

Thanks for all your replies. Though my problem aint gone yet my situation is a lot better.

jason_adams

Glad you are finding a way forward.
Just so you know though, the "guided squats" machine you're talking about is a Smith machine. It is a very good tool for training, BUT it is not the same as doing a squat with a free bar. The mechanics ARE different.

I'm not raining on your parade. Smith machine squats are certainly better than none at all!

At any rate, I would still think about seeing a Physiotherapist, or qualified personal training to help you with your knee pain. They can help you with exercises that will promote good form, as well as helping you identify how good form feels for yourself.

Good luck on your journey!!

msbeeblebrox

I'd suggest to have someone look at your form and make sure that you're squatting properly. Or you could take a video and watch your own form.

erickirb

Thanks guys I took a lot of this on board and it has helped. Perhaps my expectations for starting out squatting where too high but basically instead of squatting with a free bar weight I used a guided Rack bar that doesn't let me move the weight forwards or backwards as I raise and lower it. And was surprised to find that my body wanted to move the weight. I thought my form was pretty good but this machine has taught me that I wasn't really doing it right. I started with 20kg of weight and was able to do 5x5 sets before my knees cried uncle. But interestingly enough this time my muscles weren't far behind them. I could also feel my entire body engaging better behind the movement. There seemed to be less pressure on my knee through.

Sometimes my knee does hurt after I do an exercise session which works it out. But I also do 6 hours of walking a week and my knee never hurts after those or during general walking about. Nor do I feel any particular pinch in any area of the knee. It is more like a dull ache that slowly becomes severe as I apply leverage to the joint. Funnily enough if I do leg presses my knee never bothers me despite loading a lot of weight to it. Sometimes it does seem that my knee responds with pain when I try and make it bear weight when it is "folded" if you know what i mean. I.e when the leg isn't straight and the joint itself must bear the majority of the stress rather than the bone.

You are correct when you say that I am a heavy person. However one pattern I have noticed is that it's the number of squats that does me in rather than the weight involved. I can't get the weight that high yet but it's not as if I can do many more body weight squats than weighted squats. In fact I don't think there's much difference in my mileage at all.

From what I can see I think that using the machine to squat is probably the best thing for me right now. If you recommend 3x5 I will probably increase the weight a bit to make sure my muscles follow suit on the tiredness front. But for now I believe I have found a way to proceed. I am also gonna try the knee support and those dolomite supplements. But honestly It could just be that I went into this with too high expectations.

Thanks for all your replies. Though my problem aint gone yet my situation is a lot better.

I would advise against the Smith Machine for squats as it does not allow you to do the proper motion. what you should be doing is starting with the free weight bar, with no weight on it, each workout add 5 lbs, your joints, ligaments and muscles will be able to adapt to the small increases in load while getting your form down.

If you do smith/guided machine, it will teach you wrong form and you will have to relearn how to squat when you opt for free weights down the road, I think you should just start with them now.

SGM_Adonis

I didn't read all my above responses so apologies if I repeat the advice.

First of all, coming from someone with bad knees...left knee needs full replacement, right knee needs an MCL repair. Second of all, coming from a formerly extremely heavy tall man who never squatted before.

I would suggest that you research proper squat technique, I recommend you look up "Squat Therapy" videos and start following those recommended tips. Don't waste your time with anything else, I promise you that you'll not regret the form you'll get with use of this technique.

Whatever you do, don't try to squat on the Smith Machine, use a single Olympic bar if you must, but forego the Smith.

Good luck!!!!

PS-I have zero knee issues now. I've been squatting free weights for about eight months now, I do ATG squats with zero mobility issues, no swelling, no pain. Proper squat technique will yield amazing results.

RHachicho

Well honestly the smith machine is the only way I can decently squat right now. And I realize I have begun to feel pain even doing body-weight squats after only a couple of reps which is frankly ridiculous. If you say the smith machine is so bad then I feel my only option is to go to the doctor. There simply must be something wrong with my knees if just one or two squats has me clutching my knees in pain. My form may not be perfect but I know it is not THAT bad.

I want to be clear. I don't really want to be ripped or have a bodybuilder physique. I just want to balance up my muscles and have something to add to the machines for leg training. So I don't end up looking silly with scrawny little legs but well muscled torso. All I want is healthy and attractive I don't really need strong or need to lift a certain amount of weight.

I don't generally have knee pain unless I try squatting and I am still pretty overweight. Do you think I should give up squatting for now till I finish dropping body weight? Or perhaps permanently drop it and just exercise those muscles another way?