Squats - sore knees

[dms]

So I've been doing 4 sets of 10 squats twice a week (followed by 3 sets of leg extension/curls). The front-insides of my knees are very slightly sore. I'm not limited by them at all, but just wondering if this means I have to adjust my form/flexibility/strength in a certain way. fwiw I try to keep my toes pointed slightly outward, knees not going in front of my toes, and keep my knees centered over my feet (i.e. not bowed in or out). Thanks.

[slickpoppa]

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So I've been doing 4 sets of 10 squats twice a week (followed by 3 sets of leg extension/curls). The front-insides of my knees are very slightly sore. I'm not limited by them at all, but just wondering if this means I have to adjust my form/flexibility/strength in a certain way. fwiw I try to keep my toes pointed slightly outward, knees not going in front of my toes, and keep my knees centered over my feet (i.e. not bowed in or out). Thanks.

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I can't say for sure without seeing a video of you squatting, but one guess is that you may be leaning forward during the lift instead of bringing your ass straight down and driving up. Thats a very common mistake that I see (and I used to do it myself), and it can definitely screw with your knees. Many people have a tendency to do this when their quads are weaker than their lower back and hamstrings.

[dms]

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[ QUOTE ]
So I've been doing 4 sets of 10 squats twice a week (followed by 3 sets of leg extension/curls). The front-insides of my knees are very slightly sore. I'm not limited by them at all, but just wondering if this means I have to adjust my form/flexibility/strength in a certain way. fwiw I try to keep my toes pointed slightly outward, knees not going in front of my toes, and keep my knees centered over my feet (i.e. not bowed in or out). Thanks.

[/ QUOTE ]

I can't say for sure without seeing a video of you squatting, but one guess is that you may be leaning forward during the lift instead of bringing your ass straight down and driving up. Thats a very common mistake that I see (and I used to do it myself), and it can definitely screw with your knees. Many people have a tendency to do this when their quads are weaker than their lower back and hamstrings.

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Do you mean that the back goes toward being horizontal instead of vertical to some degree?

[slickpoppa]

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So I've been doing 4 sets of 10 squats twice a week (followed by 3 sets of leg extension/curls). The front-insides of my knees are very slightly sore. I'm not limited by them at all, but just wondering if this means I have to adjust my form/flexibility/strength in a certain way. fwiw I try to keep my toes pointed slightly outward, knees not going in front of my toes, and keep my knees centered over my feet (i.e. not bowed in or out). Thanks.

[/ QUOTE ]

I can't say for sure without seeing a video of you squatting, but one guess is that you may be leaning forward during the lift instead of bringing your ass straight down and driving up. Thats a very common mistake that I see (and I used to do it myself), and it can definitely screw with your knees. Many people have a tendency to do this when their quads are weaker than their lower back and hamstrings.

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Do you mean that the back goes toward being horizontal instead of vertical to some degree?

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Yes. But it can't be completely vertical of course

[dzh90]

Check your form first.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...amp;q=dan+john

That is a lot of volume for your knees to handle. The leg extensions might also be the culprit.

[SmileyEH]

Dont do extensions/curls.

[dms]

I'm kinda leaning this way, but what's your reasoning?

[SmileyEH]

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I'm kinda leaning this way, but what's your reasoning?

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Mostly pointless, plus lead to some knee problems. I'd guess there is a decent chance your knee pain goes away if you leave the machine work (especially extensions) behind. Even if you don't you'll benefit from being able to do more good leg work (squats).

[slickpoppa]

Curls arent as bad for the knees as extensions. I'd ditch the extensions in favor of lunges, overhead squats, and even leg press. I actually do curls for my hamstrings because there is only one rack in my gym and I would feel bad about monopolizing the rack by doing squats, OH squats, AND goodmornings.

[spyderracing]

Don't do squats twice a week. I don't know about you but if I hit my legs hard enough they're toast for up to 4 days.