sore knees from squatting any suggestions?

[turbozed]

hell ya! thats exactly what i was looking for. thanks turbo

on 3. do you mean a position similar to what a sumo wrestler would do?

i just tried a few without weight and no shoes on, and it already feels better. i think my stance was too narrow and the running shoes having too high of a heel. i bent at the hips first, stuck my ass out, and really arched my back and it seemed to take alot of the pressure off my knees and put it into my hips. i'll record my next leg workout with the new form and post it up so i can perfect my form. i really appreciate all your help guys, and if anyone has anymore suggestions please let me know.

For #3 I mean squat like this guy:

Don't get on your toes but get all your weight through the middle of your feet. He's sitting in between his legs and not on top of them. That's where you want your lower body to feel like at the bottom of your squat. However, notice the guy's rounded back. You want to have a neutral back like this guy:

If you can't get into that position without your back rounding, then you might need more flexibility and stretching will help you hit depth while maintaining your back angle.

Once again, I highly recommend watching the entirety of the Squat RX series (YouTube - johnnymnemonic2's Channel). Obtaining proper squat form takes more than a few tweaks and pointers. I'd drop down the weights for a couple of weeks until I was able to and comfortable with going past parallel while maintaining a good back angle--unless you're a very quick learner, your back WILL round at the bottom below parallel since you're not very used to it.

Also, ditch the shoes. What you want are Oly shoes with a slight heel that's solid (instead of cushioned). If you don't want to invest in these, get a pair of Chucks or similar flat soled shoes (you can buy "One-Star" Converses for like $20 at Walmart). I'd even prefer rather to squat in socks than running shoes.

Good luck. Try videotaping yourself again next squat session and we'll see how it's changed. It's a small inconvenience but your knee health is worth it.

 

[Tosa]

If somebody is having knee issues, it would probably be best to resolve those first, before switching to oly shoes. Oly shoes put more emphasis on the knee, and it can take some getting used to. Chucks would be best for now, and you can buy Oly shoes later, once you've resolved your knee issues.

 

[turbozed]

If somebody is having knee issues, it would probably be best to resolve those first, before switching to oly shoes. Oly shoes put more emphasis on the knee, and it can take some getting used to. Chucks would be best for now, and you can buy Oly shoes later, once you've resolved your knee issues.

This is right. The slightly raised heel will help with hitting depth but they will angle the pressure towards the knees as well, which is the whole point of the thread (which I somehow forgot).

 

[elevate]

One warmup drill that might help reinforce what turbozed mentioned about breaking at the hips and sitting between your legs is wall squats:


When I've occasionally done them, I don't go quite as close up to the wall. Doing them every so often will teach you not to roll up onto your toes.

 

[Ls1PWR]

i really appreciate all your help guys, i just bought some cheap completely flat soled shoes from walmart that already feel better. ive been practicing the form that turbo suggested and it already feels like alot less pressure on the knees. i bend right at the hip first and try to sit back, i am pretty flexable but still feel the stretching on the top of my hamstrings/lower glutes when im past parallel. and i feel the tightness in my middle/upper back, is that normal?

 

[turbozed]

i really appreciate all your help guys, i just bought some cheap completely flat soled shoes from walmart that already feel better. ive been practicing the form that turbo suggested and it already feels like alot less pressure on the knees. i bend right at the hip first and try to sit back, i am pretty flexable but still feel the stretching on the top of my hamstrings/lower glutes when im past parallel. and i feel the tightness in my middle/upper back, is that normal?

If you're getting strain in your back, then you might not want to 'sit back' so much. I couldn't tell from your video but there's different form cues for different squats. Most people here do low-bar squats. During these squats, the bar is lower down your back so sitting back helps keep the bar over your center of gravity. However, if you're doing high-bar squats (which it looks like you're doing), your body is more upright and sitting back will cause a lever of sorts that will put pressure on your lower back (think about doing heavy good-mornings).

For high-bar squats, you still want to break at the hips but you should not 'sit back' too much since this will change your back angle and you'll lurch forward. Instead, push your knees and your hips outward and sit between your legs more.

Here's a good explanation from the Squat RX



Hope that helps. Just keep doing bodyweight squats randomly until you find your groove. You'll begin to know your body and its mechanics better.

 

[ExtremeStandard]

I find when I experience any type of tightness and or pain in my knees. I try to increase my stretching length and do more warm up sets. Knee sleeves might help also. Just my two cents.

 

[dexbot]

If all that doesn't help you could switch to a low bar squat. It's much easier on my knees.

 

[younggunz]

You should put up a video. People need to see you squat to see if you have any issues with your form. No one will be able to give you good advice without seeing a video of your squat.

Make sure to push your knees out as you squat down.

+1

enright is, ermm right. Empirical video evidence is the only way to diagnose a form issue over the interwebz. However, I would be willing to wager that you are not tracking your feet and your knees at the same angle; and are participating in something smart people like to call Tibiofemoral shearing.

Post a video, stretch, ice, see a doctor if painful.

 

[Onericali]

Squat Rx is great

Box Squat can help

Hip flexibility keeps you from getting as low as the guy in the picture

Femurs, the bones in your thigh, should be inline with your toes. Sometimes, pushing outwardly (spreading the floor with your feet) can activate the muscles necessary to keep your knees from buckling in and out, which can definitely cause knee injury.

Oh, keep the spine straight, head is part of the spine, unless you have some other great need of not doing so

Mm, cant sit far back, weak hamstrings, just follow squat rx

See if you can do a natural glute/ham raise some day.

 

[Ls1PWR]

+1

enright is, ermm right. Empirical video evidence is the only way to diagnose a form issue over the interwebz. However, I would be willing to wager that you are not tracking your feet and your knees at the same angle; and are participating in something smart people like to call Tibiofemoral shearing.

Post a video, stretch, ice, see a doctor if painful.

try reading the whole post before you post. there is a video posted already.

 

[younggunz]

try reading the whole post before you post. there is a video posted already.

Hmm, well here is my analysis.
you're fucking doing them wrong.
thanks




in other news.


-Flat shoes, bare feet, or hard soled oly shoes.
-Your hips are too tight
-Your hamstrings are too tight or weak
-Your abductors are tight or weak
-Your hip flexors are too tight or weak
-You aren't pushing your knees out
-You have to stretch you abductors, hip flexors, piriformis, glute, hamstring to alleviate your forward lean.

also:

-do more curls
-more assisted flat bench negatives

I don't really know what I am talking about, but you could try these:

-Goblet squat
-Front squat
-Walking lunge
-Overhead squat
-Bulgarian split squat
-Low bar box squats
use a pvc pipe instead of a bar, and sub 50# dumbbell for the goblet squats

 

[Ls1PWR]

thanks for your analysis however useless it may be.

i dont need to do any curls, that slows down hand speed.
i dont need to do flat bench negatives, since i asked about my form while squatting.


every suggestion you posted was already mentioned in this thread, i'll continue to listen to turbo since he at least knows what he is talking about. thanks

 

[younggunz]

thanks for your analysis however useless it may be.

i dont need to do any curls, that slows down hand speed.
i dont need to do flat bench negatives, since i asked about my form while squatting.


every suggestion you posted was already mentioned in this thread, i'll continue to listen to turbo since he at least knows what he is talking about. thanks

check my S&P log.

you don't register sarcasm?

Don't be snarky big boy, you're not ready for that just yet.

 

[Origins]

thanks for your analysis however useless it may be.

i dont need to do any curls, that slows down hand speed.
i dont need to do flat bench negatives, since i asked about my form while squatting.


every suggestion you posted was already mentioned in this thread, i'll continue to listen to turbo since he at least knows what he is talking about. thanks

Lol @ younggunz not knowing what he is talking about.

 

[turbozed]

thanks for your analysis however useless it may be.

i dont need to do any curls, that slows down hand speed.
i dont need to do flat bench negatives, since i asked about my form while squatting.


every suggestion you posted was already mentioned in this thread, i'll continue to listen to turbo since he at least knows what he is talking about. thanks

I am by no means anything resembling an authority on these matters. I think you got a lot of good advice in this thread (including from younggunz, aside from the couple sarcastic suggestions which apparently did not register for you) so I hope you put it to good use.

No need to be defensive as everyone on this thread has been helpful, which is far more important IMO than polite. Notice that my first comment in this thread was somewhat negative and mocking. That's just how some of us roll here.

 

[Ls1PWR]

i havent posted much in this section of the forum, but ive been around here long enough to know that 60% of the people on here are either shit talkers or dont know what they are talking about. sarcasm doesnt always transfer well over the internet lol but thanks everyone for your help sarcastic or not.

i did my 5x5 routine tonight with all the pointers that were given to me, and my knees felt great. the only problem was, the person video taping me (not paying attention) said i was going to parallel which was not the case... i didnt realize until after i left the gym. obviously thats a big problem, but here are the videos of all my sets anyways. next time i will go past parallel with lighter weights if i have to, i want to perfect this squat!

besides not going down far enough, did my form improve?

MEGAVIDEO - I'm watching it

MEGAVIDEO - I'm watching it

MEGAVIDEO - I'm watching it

MEGAVIDEO - I'm watching it

MEGAVIDEO - I'm watching it

 

[turbozed]

LS1:

Sorry to break it to you, but those aren't just a 'little high.' They aren't even near parallel, or 'half-squats.'

You are performing 'quarter-squats,' meaning that you are stopping halfway in between parallel and upright position. If you really are interested in performing a full squat, then this is much too high. I would suggest you stop doing heavy squats altogether until you can successfully squat past parallel. Try goblet squats or squatting with just the bar and be conscious of how low you go.

Also, your cameraman has your videos upside down in a couple of them.

 

[Ls1PWR]

lol i know, hes not too bright. i'll re-adjust the squat rack so i can go down lower. thanks for the help, ill be back next week with full squats no matter how light of weight.