I’m a major newb and I’ve been squatting for about 12 or 13 weeks now - 3x per week… sometimes high weight low rep, low weight high reps… changing it up when results start to slow.
I go deep in my squats and I use the online thread about starting strength as a reference for how my form should be.
I’ve noticed that when I go down on the squat if I push my knees outward there is less tension and no discomfort, this is something I just started doing.
Previously I only pushed my knees out on the way up. Any thoughts on this or advice - I find this really hard to determine from watching a squat video.
Do you want info on how to squat, or on why your knees are stiff/sore? If it’s the former, it’s difficult to give advice without a video or some sort of media to critique. If it’s the latter, it could be that you’re squatting 3 times a week. Mind posting your routine for us? I think squatting 3 times a week isn’t bad under the right conditions, but we don’t know what yours are, so it’s difficult to gauge.
Just posting to ask if you were staying in the bottom position longer during your squats or if you happened to use the leg extension/leg press machines during that workout?
Because a similar situation happened to me about two weeks ago. I somehow felt like doing those machines after a session of pause-squats and I really felt sore in my knees. This was something that never happened to me and I thought I may have hurt something. The next day, I woke up and my knees were feeling like they had no lubricant; I felt knee disconfort if I tried going into squat position in my bedroom. At the end of the day, the stiffness was over and I could just feel that I stretched/tore some muscles in my legs near my knees. Some days after that I was as good as new. Phew.
So, it might just be that. You might try taking some rest from the squat for 3-4 days if you feel insecure about getting an injury. Otherwise, I think I would just tough it out if it doesn’t feel too bad.
You want my advice as a fellow newbie? Cut the squats in the middle day at least. You’re working 3 days a week, so you may just not be giving your quads enough recovery time. You have no overhead push workout. switch middle day of squats with Soldier press, OHP, or push press, you’re going to end up with an imbalance. Oh, add shrugs in as well, you don’t have them in there, you’ll form underdeveloped traps, you could do shrugs at the top of each deadlift, or do them on the 2nd day to fill some time from not doing squats. Sounds like maybe you’re doing a sumo squat? Are you using a belt when you do your deadlift, squats and pullups? because all those should work your core enough to eliminate the need for an actual ab workout. You shouldnt be sore by the time you reach the next time of working a bodypart. your legs should be recovered before you squat again. OR, if you arent eating enough calories/protein your body doesnt have enough fuel to fix itself.
Nothing wrong with squatting 3 days a week, especially if you’re new to the game. I’d suggest you get a pair of neoprene knee sleeves to keep your knees warm while you squat. They don’t provide any real “assistance” to the lift, just keep the knees healthy.
I disagree I think squatting to failure 3 days a week is rough on the knees. If it’s not to failure all 3 days then fine. I’m not sure why you have to push your knees outward, you may have built up some tension in your tendons. I suggest you stop squatting before it gets worse.
Not forever just for a week or two. If you’ve done 13 weeks on 3 day a week squatting program you will be fine if you switch to 2 days with either low reps like 5 or high like 20 just mix up your routine a little bit.
On your week off you may went to do some other stuff. You can try ec’s prehab deload article from Monday I believe. Or try other things that you haven’t been doing to keep your knees from getting bad. You can try Step Ups, single leg deadlifts or squats if you can do them, split squats, or lunges.
Either way I’m not a firm believe in knee pain is just a part of life. If you have pain while squatting, correct the issue now before it gets worse.
[quote]Airtruth wrote:
I disagree I think squatting to failure 3 days a week is rough on the knees. If it’s not to failure all 3 days then fine. I’m not sure why you have to push your knees outward, you may have built up some tension in your tendons. I suggest you stop squatting before it gets worse.
Not forever just for a week or two. If you’ve done 13 weeks on 3 day a week squatting program you will be fine if you switch to 2 days with either low reps like 5 or high like 20 just mix up your routine a little bit.
On your week off you may went to do some other stuff. You can try ec’s prehab deload article from Monday I believe. Or try other things that you haven’t been doing to keep your knees from getting bad. You can try Step Ups, single leg deadlifts or squats if you can do them, split squats, or lunges.
Either way I’m not a firm believe in knee pain is just a part of life. If you have pain while squatting, correct the issue now before it gets worse.
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Squatting to “near failure” with high reps and low weight is not hurting him. Even three days per week. This would not be true if he were taxing his CNS with near maximal weights (85-100% max) for low to single reps. Also, pushing the knees out IS part of proper squatting technique. I know I didn’t say anything about knee pain being a “part of life”, but through experience I can say that if I squat or do other leg dominant exercise without knee sleeves, my knees are stiff the next day. When I wear my sleeves, my knees are fine…start to finish and days following.