so talk to me about squats

canadianlbs

i'm really starting to notice that squatting this much isn't doing much good for my knees. i do know they're not 'supposed' to be a problem if done correctly, but mine are just prone to inflammation whatever i do.

so what i've been thinking is, i'm going to rotate. instead of just straight back squats every time, i'm going to go straight on one day, sumo the next, and mayyybe front on the third day. and i'll keep my weight the same until i've completed all three types at that weight. i've got myself a little chart and a marking system all ready to go, on a card. there's also this anal-retentive part of me that dislikes the asymmetry of my squat weight getting (theoretically) higher and higher while the other lifts lag behind from only being done every other workout.

i'm hoping this will round out my legs a little by hitting additional muscles that are maybe getting a bit overpowered right now with nothing but straight back squats all day. and put some serious fear into my glutes for a change. in theory, this should also give each sub-set of muscles a longer time to recover before they get called on again.

i'm just inviting any particular warnings or special tips for the sumo/front squats, from people who know more than me about it. anything i should watch for in my form? any specific risks or warnings or things i should NOT do, because it'll ruin my knees forever this way? i read somewhere that you shouldn't do front squats at all if your knees are at risk, for instance. but i don't know if i should take it seriously or it's one of those things people just say because they don't know what they're talking about.

suremeansyes

One thing that you might run into an issue with is not being able to do the same weight for the three different variations. Like I can handle more weight on back squats than front squats, and I've never done sumo squats. So anyway, that might end up getting annoying if you are trying to do the same weight on all variations.

krokador

A few thingsnto keep in mind:

- Front squats are more quad dominant.
IE - if you're already experiencing knee pain it might very well aggravate it. Since it also requires a lot more core stability, your weight will be a lot less (just for reference: my back squat 1RM is 190, front squat is 150, OH squat I think is 105 but I haven,t tried to max that one yet).

- If you have wrist issues whatsoever, a clean grip will be a lot of trouble to keep, so you'll have to do the crossover grip if that's the case. Requires even more stabilization

- The wider your feet are, the more torque the lift will put on your knees... At least that's what I find happens for me

I think my suggestion here would be to maybe back off the volume a smidge (do 3x5 instead of 5x5) and maybe alternate with static lunges oce a week if you really can't handle all the squatting. Also I find high bar squats, while a little less Posterior Chain dominant, put a bit less stress on the knees. So that is something you could try as well if you're not already doing them.

- rotating 3 different types of squat as "main lifts" may stall your progress a lot in the long run.

Disclaimer: this is all what I've experienced myself, so your body could be well different from mine. Hopefully this helps you decide what to do, but if your knees bother you, perhaps seeing a specialist is not a bad idea?

lwoodroff

have you put any videos of your squats up?

canadianlbs

have you put any videos of your squats up?

i would and i know it would make stuff much simpler for you, but i never post personally-identifiable content in open spaces online. of course it's probably impossible to stay completely anonymous, but definitely nothing that would let someone pick me out on the street even by chance. no reflection on any of the regular posters in here, but, well, y'know. i work in a very wired-up industry and it's made me more security-conscious than i used to be.

thanks for the feedback and general reality checks. it seemed like a clever idea at the time, but i'm not too disappointed to let go of it. meanwhile, i've had a chance to try out some tweaks with just the plain back squat now that my knees have settled down a little. i have a 'doesn't hurt' baseline to compare various form experiments with.