My knees start to cave in when I squat. It didn’t used to happen but over the past year or so I have developed this. It happens when I’m coming out of the hole and feels natural.
What can I do to fix this problem?
It’s probably because your body as a whole has gotten strong enough to lift heavier weights, but the smaller muscle groups that are responsible for keeping your knees out haven’t been able to keep up.
There could be a few possible reasons for why it’s happening and each would have a different solution. Maybe a few more details or a form video.
[quote]elano wrote:
My knees start to cave in when I squat. It didn’t used to happen but over the past year or so I have developed this. It happens when I’m coming out of the hole and feels natural.
What can I do to fix this problem? [/quote]
Easy solution- tight knee wraps
Harder solution- focus on forcing your knees out as you come up and drive your head backwards.
Double up a mini band around your knees and do squats with just the bar or light squats. If you don’t have a mini band get a bungee cord from lowes and hook around your knees to get the same effect. This will teach you to push out with the knees. This is just a tool to reinforce pushing the knees out when you squat. If the band falls off you didn’t do it right. This is not to build those muscles ok.
Well here is one video from a meet in december but it has gotteven worse since then. When I go heavy for reps, the last couple are very bad, my knees will start to bow in and I will perform a good-morning type squat as well.
[video]1533[/video]
[quote]StrengthDawg wrote:
Double up a mini band around your knees and do squats with just the bar or light squats. If you don’t have a mini band get a bungee cord from lowes and hook around your knees to get the same effect. This will teach you to push out with the knees. This is just a tool to reinforce pushing the knees out when you squat. If the band falls off you didn’t do it right. This is not to build those muscles ok.[/quote]
This is what I was going to say. You’ll be surprised at how it wakes your ass up.
So doing that with the bands will fix my problem when the weight gets heavy? I guess I will give it a try. I can get bungie cords
[quote]elano wrote:
So doing that with the bands will fix my problem when the weight gets heavy? I guess I will give it a try. I can get bungie cords[/quote]
It’ll help train you to push your knees out and to know how that feels, and to feel your glutes activating in the movement.
I have never used the bands, but I see the point. I would say to widen your stance. Point the knees out more to open the hips and get them involved. Focus on sitting back, and when you come out of the hole try to spreading the floor apart with your feet. Focusing on spreading the floor, most of the time, will help you push your knees out… You may of course have to drop wieght to get used to the form change, but that is not unusual… Good luck man hope it helps…
You have weak hip abductors. Also try the hip adductor and abductor machines at the gym. Another thing is to take that miniband and place it around your knees then just sit on a bench or hell even the couch if you have bands at home and do sets with it and also static holds, that should help alot. Both those have greatly help my squat, now I have zero problems with knees caving. Hope that helps