knee pain when doing squats

Good morning guys,

i hope all of you are you are well.

i would really appreciate any advice on the following please, i find that when on leg days and doing squats i am taking strain on my knees, when i do the movement and this is with 40kg when i go down and pause for a second or two before coming up my knees make a popping like sound and it feels like they want to give in. but when i do leg press i push weight of 420kg without any problems and its 10 full reps.

i have seen a few guys using straps around their knees when doing squats will this help me?

i really want to master the squat with a lot more weight then what im doing now but also maintain perfect form.

thanks in advance guys.

How far down do you go?

Sure you using correct form, knees should not pass your toes

Howzit crawler,

i go down quite low i wil try get a picture to show you more or less how my form looks

Maybe try squats on the smith machine. That way you can squat to parallel without going to low.

Also what are you doing for hamstrings? Sometimes knee pains are due to an imbalance of strength in the quads and hammies.

crawler wrote: How far down do you go?

Sure you using correct form, knees should not pass your toes

Agreed, knees should not pass your toes...ie sit back when you squat. Also, how far apart are your feet? I find slightly wider than shoulder width has the least strain on your knees...the hips take some of the stress.

Also, make sure your feet are facing slightly outwards when you in the hole, your knees and toes should be facing the same direction. If not, your knee is effectively twisting.

If you unsure about your technique, check this out: startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ:The_Lifts

Hi prog,

sorry man i forgot to mention, this is using the smith machine.

and as for hamstring i do one leg leg press with my foot a little bit higher then when i would do normal leg press, i do hamstring curls, straight leg dead lift.

@ Bruno

thanks a lot i wil try teak my movements according to that link you sent me im sure its my form then will let you know what i experience after i try this.

Christian wrote: @ Bruno

thanks a lot i wil try teak my movements according to that link you sent me im sure its my form then will let you know what i experience after i try this.

Pretty sure its your form. I have a messed up left knee (tore cruciate ligament in my teens) but I have no knee problems when I squat using a barbel..and I go 160kg+! But the minute I try a narrow than shoulder width stance my knees starts paining like a mofo

that's a shit one, i am again battling with my right knee.

but I also reckon it is my form that's messing me up, another question bud what workout can i do for my hammies? any suggestions apart from what i am doing now?

I had some knee issues end last year, went for scans etc etc and had cartlidge removed earlier this year

Went heavy heavy on squats etc, and ass to the floor

Now I squat onto bench for safety reasons as I do not feel like more opps

smith machine like mentioned also very good idea, as well as hack squats

thanx Crawler i will incorporate that it my next training session

1 Other thing, Physio told me NO leg extensions, rather do leg press and lunges to make up...

Hey Christian

I have competed in powerlifting for the last few years and I think I could help with a thing or two when it comes to squatting.

You have a large difference between your leg press and squat. A tremendous difference actually...

You have leg strength but the two are apples and oranges. The squat is a sport within itself and should be treated as such. I believe if you learnt better technique and did mobility drills the problem would go away.

I would say check out SO YOU THINK YOU CAN SQUAT series by Elitefts.com

Here is the first video:


Learning from powerlifters is a great tool to get some decent power in your legs. Now some people might say well squatting like a powerlifter has no relevance to bodybuilding due to slightly different techniques but that's majoring in the minors. You need to get those knees tracking out to create torque in your hip so that you have something to 'sit on' at the bottom of the squat and utilize the stretch reflex. On top of that knowing how to hold the bar on your back will develop a thick/strong YOKE (delts/traps/rhomboids aka "shelf") and also teach you the importance of how to use your stomach.

Throw in some mobility drills from Eric Creesey or DeFranco (eg. agility 8 series) and I think you should be fine my friend!!

@Diluted: Feel like I just went to school again! Awesome man would love to learn some more on all the important compound movements. Do you have something similar for Deadlifts, Bench Press, Pull Ups, etc.?

Thats the series I watched before I startes squatting:thumbup: great stuff.

thanx a lot for this Diluted,

my form was actually completely wrong but after this video I am squatting better without any strain on my knees.

thanx bud

Awesome guys I'm glad I could help

Elitefts has some great videos in their exercise index, you can pretty much search any exercise you can think of and they'll have a video and a discription!