Deep Squats "*kitten* to the grass"

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nturner612
nturner612 Posts: 710 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I first heard about Deep Squats here on MPF. i googled and youtubed and decided to try. What happeed? It about ruined my knees! No lie. I had NEVER had any kind of pronbs with my knees till i tried these out! it started by "clicking" or like something was shifting in my knee cap. long story short i stopped them, eventually had to stop runnin (in the middle of trainin for a half marathon) and almost gave up lunges and squats. then i was told to try these "glososamin" or whatever they are called pills, and after resting (and gaining lik5lbs thanks to this n my mouth) my knee is almost back to norma! i can run again!!!!

did anyone else experience this with this exercise?
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Replies

  • RMeDude
    RMeDude Posts: 37
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    I have had bad knees for at least 10 years. I still run a lot and just bear with it. I started deep squats in January and my knees are feeling way better than before. I started the Stronglifts program, which means my squats beagn with just a bar, and have slowly worked their way up.
    Deep squats have saved my knees!
  • nturner612
    nturner612 Posts: 710 Member
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    hmm perhaps i was doing something wrong then. :sad:
  • RMeDude
    RMeDude Posts: 37
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    Not sure, maybe too much weight. i started deep squats with the empty bar. The program I am following increases by 5 lbs every workout, so I really havent been putting a load on my knees.
  • seekingstrengthX2
    seekingstrengthX2 Posts: 771
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    I agree. Squats have actually HELPED my knee problems.

    And... it's glucosamine, silly girl.

    :laugh:
  • seekingstrengthX2
    seekingstrengthX2 Posts: 771
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    It's critical that your knees NOT go over your toes. You should be leaning backwards, with your weight on the bar. Do them in a squat rack, not free in the middle of the weight area. They can mess up your knees badly if your form is not correct.
  • chrisb75
    chrisb75 Posts: 395 Member
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    One of two things is happening. You are squatting too much weight or you are using bad form. Are you doing barbell squats?
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    I used to have constant knee problems after partially tearing my MCL back in 2000.

    ATG squats made the pain go away in a matter of months.

    It's possible your anatomy isn't quite compatible with them, or you were doing something wrong. It's easy to screw your knees up by bringing them in on the power move. It's an easy thing to not notice, too. It's super critical that your knees stay in line with your feet.
  • Taraanne76
    Taraanne76 Posts: 111 Member
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    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ME8gEN54Ao

    This video series really helped me improve my form that I thought was pretty good already.
  • pattyproulx
    pattyproulx Posts: 603 Member
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    How deep is deep? Is it possible to go too low?

    I go at or just below parallel and have not had issues. As others have said, start light, ensure your form is good, and work your way up and you *shouldn't* have issues.
  • chrisb75
    chrisb75 Posts: 395 Member
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    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ME8gEN54Ao

    This video series really helped me improve my form that I thought was pretty good already.

    That is a great video, as is this:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnV7vEi7Sz8
  • KiltFuPanda
    KiltFuPanda Posts: 576 Member
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    I used to have stiff knees that would whine at me if I even looked at them wrong. I'd have to wear knee sleeves to keep everything warm and together, and I was afraid I'd blow out if I went below parallel. On heavy lifts I'd have to go to knee wraps.

    Then I started working with deep squats last year- a combination of form training at lighter weights, mixed with some long paused squats (like 5 seconds at a time). The form training got me to fix my positioning so I wasn't stressing the joints in the wrong way, and the long pauses not only build up the support muscles, but acted as a press to push me down to the ground further.

    I just pushed 565 this week, no knee wraps, and went well below parallel. Knees didn't even complain a bit, and flexibility has definitely improved.
  • dinosnopro
    dinosnopro Posts: 2,179 Member
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    I'm suspecting a muscle imbalance my be an issue. If you have stronger quads than hamstrings it could cause problems. I would try hamstring strengthening accessory lifts, or the other way around if you have strong hamstrings and weak quads.

    I wouldn't worry too much about knee tracking over the toes, I think that thought is geared more for lunges.

    front-high-low-bar-squat1.jpg
  • scottdeeby
    scottdeeby Posts: 95 Member
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    The Starting Strength book has an excellent, very detailed description of good squatting technique.

    Edit: See that graphic above? That's from the SS book ;)
  • Loftearmen
    Loftearmen Posts: 380
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    I first heard about Deep Squats here on MPF. i googled and youtubed and decided to try. What happeed? It about ruined my knees! No lie. I had NEVER had any kind of pronbs with my knees till i tried these out! it started by "clicking" or like something was shifting in my knee cap. long story short i stopped them, eventually had to stop runnin (in the middle of trainin for a half marathon) and almost gave up lunges and squats. then i was told to try these "glososamin" or whatever they are called pills, and after resting (and gaining lik5lbs thanks to this n my mouth) my knee is almost back to norma! i can run again!!!!

    did anyone else experience this with this exercise?

    That happened because you weren't sitting back into your squats, you were sitting down and thus placing a majority of the tension on the patellar tendon. By sitting back you can distribute the load amongst the anterior and posterior musculature of the thigh and also distribute tension more evenly between the knee and the hip.
  • yankeedownsouth
    yankeedownsouth Posts: 717 Member
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    The Starting Strength book has an excellent, very detailed description of good squatting technique.

    Edit: See that graphic above? That's from the SS book ;)

    This. Excellent book for learning all things squats (and deadlifts and presses and bench... :) )
  • RandiLandCHANGED
    RandiLandCHANGED Posts: 630 Member
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    *kitten* to grass feels better for me but I have gained a lot of flexibility lately. I started with Stronglifts.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
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    maybe you didn't have the right form. When I do squats I don't really go that low. I just go to the point where my thighs are parallel to the floor. I've heard people go lower than that, but I don't.
  • Docmahi
    Docmahi Posts: 1,603 Member
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    believe it or not since i switched to ATG squats where my calves touch my hamstrings before I ascend it has taken a lot of pressure off of my knee - both because I am pushing less weight and because the movement feels better to me then the quarter or half squats I was doing.

    I also switched to an elevated heel which helped my pathing become a lot more natural.

    glucosamine is a supplement that a lot of R. Arthritis patients have had good experience with, I'm not aware of it causing weight gain though. you can always do light leg extensions and warmup sets pre working sets - I usually do 3-4 warmup sets before all of my working squat sets. Knee sleeves can also help as well
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,472 Member
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    I LOVE THEM!
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    Your form may have been off. While they look straightforward, Squats are a rather technical exercise and a fair amount of learning and practice must be established before going heavy.

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