Hi, I’m sorry if there’s already a post about this but I’m relatively e-nept and can’t find it if there is. Anyways, I’m currently 19 years of age (relatively young for knee pains in my opinion) and ever since improving my squat form (finally going ass-to-grass instead of… well… half-assing it) I’m getting relatively serious pains in my knees.
The pain ceases immediately after the set. I’m simply wondering if someone has some advice on how to fix this be it regarding form, supplementary work for me knees, or anything at all. Thanks in advance for the help.
I’ve never had your condition, but sometimes I get sore minorly knees the day or two after squatting. Are you taking fish oil or glucosamine? Not sure if this would help anyway so I hope others weigh in.
I’m 18 and when I first started to do ass to the grass squats I got minor knee pain, which I also thought was odd considering my age. After taking fish oil it hasn’t happened again… but it makes me worry that in 5 years, with more weight on my shoulders and more wear and tears, it’s going to be worse.
Joints, tendons, ligaments and the like take longer to adapt then muscle and the nervous system. take your time. Also hate to say it some people just cant squat LOW if its REAL pain and persist then best to not do what HURTS. be sure its PAIN though and not STRAIN. big difference. One can injure you if you push thorugh it. The other makes you stronger in body and mind, seperates the Men and women from the boys and girls.
You might want to check out the “18 Tips for Bulletproof Knees” article on this website. I’ve had knee pain since I was 20 or so. Stretching helps a bit as does foam-rolling. I also take fish oil. And I’ve seen a few physical therapists. However, I’ve never come up with a solution. Rehband knee sleeves help w/ squatting. I hope you have better luck than I have had. Let me know if you turn anything up.
Your quads might be too strtong for and “overdeveloped” compared to ur hammies and hips when you were doing ur half squats inccorectly. ALso when you do deep squats make sure you utilize the ‘low bar’ style. Strengthen up your posterior chain, stop using your quads for a while. You are probably tight so stretch and foam roll daily.
Flexibility and soft tissue work wont come overnight you gotta keep it up to see improvements.
Fish oils and gluclosumins are good too. I would spend more time on dynamic warmups and static stretch you hip flexors in between set during leg workouts.
When i wasnt using my posterior chain properly when squatting, my knees would hurt too.
I might get lambasted for this, but i fixed it by doing low weight, high rep supplemental leg presses.
fish oil rocks,
and glucosamine is my best friend: i have serious arthritis in my left knee that used to prevent me from even going down stairs! i attribute my ability to squat and deadlift to glucosamine and fish oil.
[quote]digitalairair wrote:
Your quads might be too strtong for and “overdeveloped” compared to ur hammies and hips when you were doing ur half squats inccorectly. ALso when you do deep squats make sure you utilize the ‘low bar’ style. Strengthen up your posterior chain, stop using your quads for a while. You are probably tight so stretch and foam roll daily.
Flexibility and soft tissue work wont come overnight you gotta keep it up to see improvements.
Fish oils and gluclosumins are good too. I would spend more time on dynamic warmups and static stretch you hip flexors in between set during leg workouts. [/quote]
[quote]Krollmonster wrote:
What is your warmup like?
I do 5 minutes walking on treadmill
Dynamic movements:marching with high knees, rotations of all joints, walking lunges, leg raises to the rear, some low-intensity jumping, etc…
Then with just the bar: Back squats, slds, overhead squats, and maybe some easy walking lunges.
If you don’t have time to warm up, you don’t have time to lift.[/quote]
I second this. A solid warmup including dynamic flexibility drills is critical to joint and general soft tissue health. Eric Cressey and Mike Robertson’s Magnificent Mobility DVD is a great source for warmup drills. There are also several articles on this site on with good suggestions.
Also I think a glucosamine/chondroitan sup is really usefull for the treatment and prevention of wear and tear issues. It took a month to kick in for me but I no longer get joint soreness during my heavy periods.
Well Im a little older then you are, well maybe a lot older then you are, like old enough to be your dad…
anyway, Ive always had shitty knees, both of em. Lots of wear and tear, and lots of operations.
I never thought that Id be able to do squats at all cuz Dr’s told me so.
This is my experience.
I have found that I can do front squats with NO problems. However if I do back squats I get instant pain and swelling for a couple of days. And Im not talking heavy back squats either.
To supplement my front squats I do conventional deadlifts, summo deads and RDLs.
With the front squats I do go ass to grass, but dont “pop” up from the bottom.
Hope you find what works for you.