At 44, with good knees that NEED to stay good, how would you guys progressively overload on squats? I’m able to squat parallel without knee pain, so I do. I am not using any gear or supplemental T. Neither do I use knee wraps. I don’t have knee pain or issues unless I try running for cardio. Joggin…

I would recommend knee sleeves to keep your knees warm.

[image] BadGaskets: Leverage Squat machine I don’t know how 300lbs of a Leverage Squat machine equates to a 300lb squat.

Is there anything specifically wrong with your knees? I’m post ACL reconstruction, 37, and actually finished up squatting this morning on a torn hamstring with a little creativity as far as compression goes. You wrote you don’t have knee pain or issues, so I’m not sure what you’re going for here.

I suppose I could clarify a little better. At 44, how do I approach progressive overload without putting my knees at unnecessary risk. I realize 300 isn’t exactly Olympic caliber weight but generally speaking is it safer on the knees to do higher reps at moderate weight, or fewer reps at heavier w…

[image] BadGaskets: how about joint wear? Do you have a family history of poor knee integrity, like osteoarthritis,etc? If not, you are still too young to worry about joint wear unless you are extremely overweight.

Simply use appropriate programming, make use of deloads as needed, keep good technique and don’t chase after dragons. Movement is medicine. You’re keeping your knees healthy by exercising them.

I would probably be barbell squatting around 250-275. The leverage squat changes your ROM a little to make it similar to a leg press with your feet high on the pad, putting a little more load on the glutes at the bottom of squat. I feel like I can really push myself safer on this machine. Mostly ps…

Overall I have great knees, just trying to keep them that way. But yes, I’m definitely overweight. Currently 260. 2 years ago I hit 296, which is ridiculous at 5’7". Made the necessary dietary changes, gained a lot of muscle, still have a long way to go however.

[image] BadGaskets: I feel like I can really push myself safer on this machine Let me give you a little perspective from my experience. In my very early 60’s I was squatting over 500lbs and accommodating up to 600lbs with no knee issues. (I always used knee sleeves and never wraps) My spine g…

I may be misunderstanding, but it doesn’t sound like you actually care how much you squat per se? You’re just using the squat (actually a variation) because you care about hypertrophy, correct? If this is the case, it opens a ton of avenues. [image] BadGaskets: Also, always pre-exhaust my quads…

Making Progress in Squats at 44, Protecting Knees

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Making Progress in Squats at 44, Protecting Knees

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