Tips on prevention and relief of knee pains
By the Tee Rex
Many a time have I heard lifters (and non-lifters alike) say that "...squatting is bad for your knees". The truth is, that statement is not far from the truth because at the end most of the people who actually squat, do so with"BAD FORM".
See the reason why that earlier myth isn't far from the truth ; the problem isn't squats as a movement (exercise), the issue here is the way the squats in question are executed.
Squatting along with a host of other hard-core exercises like deadlifts require a lot of strength and stamina the more reason they need to be executed with good form because the last thing you want is loading hundreds of pounds on your joints, this is where the pain and discomfort stems from.
Squats are a great way to build lower body (... and upper body strength according to research) strength. These advantages come at a cost:They are very demanding in strength,..........and believe it or not, MOTIVATION.
Motivation in the sense that, the last thing you want is squatting today and feeling like all hell broke loose the next day... Performing squats with good form will completely change the way you see squats if you've been doing them wrong.
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⚫ Add these foods to your diet to lose weight faster.
⚫ Try knee braces. Although they (knee braces) are known to rip after the 5th use, some don't fit at all; Mava on the other hand offers a 30 day money-back guarantee in case you aren't pleased with the product.
There are pointers towards the end of this post for those people who feel pains or discomfort in their knees anytime they squat, myself included because I remember knee pain once drove me completely from squatting; it was not until I realized (...thanks to the Internet...) that I was doing squats all wrong and the reasons I felt so uncomfortable when squatting was because I wasn't doing it (squats) properly.
Now I know there's someone out there reading this that feels frustrated anytime he feels pains in his knees during squats and is driven to quit that squat session ;you did the right thing 'cos at the end if you kept pushing and ignored that pain in your knees, you'll be doing more harm than good(if any) to your knees.
VERY IMPORTANT: Anytime you feel pains or discomfort in your knees while squatting my advice is to stop and review your form.
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| You want to go all beast mode; you want to challenge yourself to break your own records; just keep in mind one integral part of your journey... your joint health. |
Many a time have I heard lifters (and non-lifters alike) say that "...squatting is bad for your knees". The truth is, that statement is not far from the truth because at the end most of the people who actually squat, do so with"BAD FORM".
See the reason why that earlier myth isn't far from the truth ; the problem isn't squats as a movement (exercise), the issue here is the way the squats in question are executed.
Squatting along with a host of other hard-core exercises like deadlifts require a lot of strength and stamina the more reason they need to be executed with good form because the last thing you want is loading hundreds of pounds on your joints, this is where the pain and discomfort stems from.
Squats are a great way to build lower body (... and upper body strength according to research) strength. These advantages come at a cost:They are very demanding in strength,..........and believe it or not, MOTIVATION.
Motivation in the sense that, the last thing you want is squatting today and feeling like all hell broke loose the next day... Performing squats with good form will completely change the way you see squats if you've been doing them wrong.
Recommended
⚫ Add these foods to your diet to lose weight faster.
⚫ Try knee braces. Although they (knee braces) are known to rip after the 5th use, some don't fit at all; Mava on the other hand offers a 30 day money-back guarantee in case you aren't pleased with the product.
There are pointers towards the end of this post for those people who feel pains or discomfort in their knees anytime they squat, myself included because I remember knee pain once drove me completely from squatting; it was not until I realized (...thanks to the Internet...) that I was doing squats all wrong and the reasons I felt so uncomfortable when squatting was because I wasn't doing it (squats) properly.
Now I know there's someone out there reading this that feels frustrated anytime he feels pains in his knees during squats and is driven to quit that squat session ;you did the right thing 'cos at the end if you kept pushing and ignored that pain in your knees, you'll be doing more harm than good(if any) to your knees.
VERY IMPORTANT: Anytime you feel pains or discomfort in your knees while squatting my advice is to stop and review your form.
Luckily for you (and me) I've outlined some ways in which you can adjust your squat form and in the long run protect your knees from injury.
⚫ The very first thing you want to address when trying to adjust your squat form is the position/placement of your knees!
Let's first cover ' How to squat properly', how's that sound? Great huh?!
- Stand with your shoulder blades pulled down and back...like you're holding imaginary heavy objects with your arms straight, your fingers pointing towards the ground (...like FARMER'S WALK)
You do your best to keep this position throughout the movement. Your feet should be shoulder/ hip width apart.
- Now, make sure your eyes are looking straight ahead. Another thing to note is, when you start lowering yourself don't make the mistake of raising your head the lower you get.
I have experience with this and believe me it's going to cause problems for your neck/spine later on.
- Tighten your ab muscles and core muscles (tuck your tummy), don't just let them sag, lol😂
- Now lower yourself in a slow and controlled manner by pushing your hips back and maintaining the natural arch of the lower back.
Bending your knees only when lowering oneself will make them (your knees) go beyond your toes, and we don't want that !
- Proper breathing is also important. You want to inhale while lowering yourself and exhale when lifting up.
Now that we've established the basics on how to squat, knee health is next!
💥 When squatting ( lowering yourself), you want to make sure your knees are pointing outward and not inwards💥
What I mean is your knees need to be far apart and not close together! Still not feeling me? Let me use a real life example:
💡 Remember spread your knees OUTWARDS don't drive them inwards!
Another thing I would highly recommend for people who are having problems keeping their knees in a outward position while they squat ( some parts of the body can get as stubborn as mine was when I started...my knees were super stubborn, lol). Get a medicine ball and put it in between your legs, particularly your knees and go on squatting.
This trick should help prevent your knees from wandering inward as the medicine ball is filled with air and it's also super comfy for you and soft so your knees don't get bruised or worse😉.
⚫ Ensuring you maintain proper back posture during the movement
Like I pointed our earlier in the post; "... maintaining the natural arch of the lower back." If you're looking to maintain a nearly flawless knee health; DO NOT FOR ANY REASON IN THE WORLD ROUND YOUR BACK.
The same thing goes for deadlifts as well, rounding your back or creating a semi-circle with your back puts your spine in an unnatural and uncomfortable position and even worse: it makes the knees go past the toes when lowering oneself.
I'm sure you're wondering why I keep placing emphasis on your knees not getting past your toes or going farther forward than your toes; it's because if your knees go past your toes it places a lot of strain on the knee joint.
Squats should be done with allied efforts from the hips, knees and ankles. See how many joints? Now take two out and let the knees do all the work! See why your knees are so messed up?!
If you don't have the ........to hold the position where your lower back is arched, you can try using a medicine ball by placing it against your back and the wall while (...kind of like in between your back and the wall.) performing reps of squats.
"Simultaneous effort from the joints listed above should and will most likely reduce the chances of suffering a knee injury"
I hope this post was helpful, drop a comment in the comments section and I'll reply all!
Till next time👋👋👋!!!
For online training and mentoring programs or to contact us to purchase a workout program; send me an email.
- Stand with your shoulder blades pulled down and back...like you're holding imaginary heavy objects with your arms straight, your fingers pointing towards the ground (...like FARMER'S WALK)
You do your best to keep this position throughout the movement. Your feet should be shoulder/ hip width apart.
- Now, make sure your eyes are looking straight ahead. Another thing to note is, when you start lowering yourself don't make the mistake of raising your head the lower you get.
I have experience with this and believe me it's going to cause problems for your neck/spine later on.
- Tighten your ab muscles and core muscles (tuck your tummy), don't just let them sag, lol😂
- Now lower yourself in a slow and controlled manner by pushing your hips back and maintaining the natural arch of the lower back.
Bending your knees only when lowering oneself will make them (your knees) go beyond your toes, and we don't want that !
- Proper breathing is also important. You want to inhale while lowering yourself and exhale when lifting up.
Now that we've established the basics on how to squat, knee health is next!
💥 When squatting ( lowering yourself), you want to make sure your knees are pointing outward and not inwards💥
What I mean is your knees need to be far apart and not close together! Still not feeling me? Let me use a real life example:
" A lady walking on the street, wearing a SKIRT drops her phone; she bends over to pick it up. Normally she'd bring her legs/knees close together as much as possible because she's wearing a skirt but if she's on trousers she has the freedom to open her legs/ knees wide or even bring them close together'
 |
| Something like this☝👆☝👆! |
Another thing I would highly recommend for people who are having problems keeping their knees in a outward position while they squat ( some parts of the body can get as stubborn as mine was when I started...my knees were super stubborn, lol). Get a medicine ball and put it in between your legs, particularly your knees and go on squatting.
This trick should help prevent your knees from wandering inward as the medicine ball is filled with air and it's also super comfy for you and soft so your knees don't get bruised or worse😉.
⚫ Ensuring you maintain proper back posture during the movement
Like I pointed our earlier in the post; "... maintaining the natural arch of the lower back." If you're looking to maintain a nearly flawless knee health; DO NOT FOR ANY REASON IN THE WORLD ROUND YOUR BACK.
The same thing goes for deadlifts as well, rounding your back or creating a semi-circle with your back puts your spine in an unnatural and uncomfortable position and even worse: it makes the knees go past the toes when lowering oneself.
I'm sure you're wondering why I keep placing emphasis on your knees not getting past your toes or going farther forward than your toes; it's because if your knees go past your toes it places a lot of strain on the knee joint.
 |
| This is what it looks like when you place emphasis on using you knees to lower yourself instead of arching your back... |
Squats should be done with allied efforts from the hips, knees and ankles. See how many joints? Now take two out and let the knees do all the work! See why your knees are so messed up?!
If you don't have the ........to hold the position where your lower back is arched, you can try using a medicine ball by placing it against your back and the wall while (...kind of like in between your back and the wall.) performing reps of squats.
"Simultaneous effort from the joints listed above should and will most likely reduce the chances of suffering a knee injury"
I hope this post was helpful, drop a comment in the comments section and I'll reply all!
Till next time👋👋👋!!!
For online training and mentoring programs or to contact us to purchase a workout program; send me an email.
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