Search the Community

I've got my girlfriend into lifting, and she loves the basic approach of Bench Press, Barbell Squat, and Deadlift. She wants to lose weight and get stronger. The problem we are seeing is that even with rigidly proper form, she experiences severe knee pain after only a few reps of her Squats. Even without weight, her knees start to give her problems. My question is what kind of alternative exercises or possibly rehabilitative movements I can suggest to her to still work similar muscle groups and hopefully get her squatting properly. Fitness Goals Exercise Preference Body weight 220 Power lifts Bench Press, Squat, Deadlift Olympic lifts Current Physical Stats Gender Female Age 26 Height 5 foot 4 Weight 220 Previous Training History Past Programs Kettebell presses and Swings How long 6 months to a year Current Training Present Program Monday: Bench Press 5 sets of 5 reps Wednesday: Squat 5 sets of 5 reps(currently limited or even canceled per this issue) Friday: Deadlift 5 sets of 5 reps Every Day: Handstand training (currently able to hold a 45 second full push-up position plank, working toward 60 seconds before starting wall walks) How long 2 weeks Current working weights Bench Press: 65 (working toward 5x5) Squat: 45 (sets/reps in question per this issue) Deadlift: 45 (working toward 5x5) Current Diet Mostly Paleo (80/20 with the occasional soda or grain based food) Daily Calories Not counting Daily Macros Not using Current Resources/Limitations Gym Access Bench Press and Squat Rack in apartment Pull Up Bar/Dip Station/Leg Lift Station "Power Tower" in apartment Adjustable Dumbell Pair up to 50 punds each Kettlebells of 25, 35, and 50 pounds. Work/School Schedule Mon-Fri 7-3:30 Time Allowed Approximately 3 hours on weeknights and all day on weekends.

Hi! I'm new and still sifting through the forums - if this has been asked, please direct me to where other threads are! So, my knees are LOUD. Like, popcorn-in-the-microwave loud when I move, especially up steps. Sometimes, they're painful, but not always. It's definitely obnoxious to sound like I'm cracking glo-sticks with every step. I suspect there's some PF inflammation, as I've had physical therapy for it several years back, but the last time I went to a specialist, the guy couldn't get left from right figured out and I never went back. (Medical visits are expensive enough the first time 'round. I don't have the money in the bank to get second opinions constantly.) Oddly enough, I find my knees are more painful on things involving bodyweight or rapid-impact movement (lunges, bw squats, burpees, jumping jacks), but I can manage weighted squats with minimal discomfort, especially at higher weights. Does anyone else have this issue? Have you found that increasing muscle mass a.) reduces soreness and/or b.) reduces noise? I'd like to reduce my joint issues with fitness and dietary approaches, rather than spend more on the American medical profit machine. [Yes, I'm bitter. My work benefits suck mightily.] Any suggestions, exercises you've found work, articles that you've found useful -- I'm open to information and advice. My end goal is to have strength and endurance - both using bodyweight/plyo and weight training - and that's a looooong way off when my knees (and elbows) won't cooperate.

Hi all, I've been reading the blog for a few weeks now and I decided to finally join the forums to get support for an issue I'm having, and encouragement to keep working on my health. Up until about 3 weeks ago, I was a pretty active person with nary a care in the world except for the odd stiff back attributed to being in my 30s. I'm an archaeologist by profession (hence the above Indy reference), 31 year old female. My usual routine has been to bust my butt during field season (May-November) and then pretty much not exercise at all during the winter, except to walk the dog. This year I wanted to change that! So, I made a pact with myself that I would exercise every day, mainly to strengthen what I perceived as my weak lower body. I figured a body weight program would be a safer place to start, so I committed to daily yoga practice, having done yoga in the past and liking it. Well, everything was going fine for about 10 days and then... I hurt my knee. Minor LCL sprain in the left knee, probably from a misaligned squat. Urgent care doc wasn't too worried, suggested rest and ROM exercises. So I do that, and the left knee does continue to improve, but all of a sudden my right knee is hurting something awful. I go to a primary care doctor, and she notices that my knees turn inward ("squinting patella"). She is shocked that I haven't been in more pain, as she seems to think it's pretty severe. I tell her that I have had some intermittent pain in the past, but it's been very mild and goes away on its own, so I attributed it to work-related overuse. She theorizes that I'm only in minor pain because I'm not overweight, and that maybe putting more weight on the right knee (due to the left knee injury) caused it to flare up. I'm trying to make a physical therapist appointment. There's some possibility that muscle imbalances could be at play, but the internet self-diagnosis I'm doing doesn't look positive. At this point, I'm not only worried about not being able to do yoga or work on physical fitness anymore, but also that I may eventually be unable to do field work, which would be absolutely devastating. I have been trying to keep up work on my core and my upper body, thanks to the "no excuses" mindset. I'm here to seek encouragement to keep doing what I can do, and help in being proactive with my PT to try to do things that actually help. Any PT success stories also welcome, since I'm not seeing a lot of those across the wider internet for this particular affliction. Thanks and may the Force be with you.

This morning I started the BBWW. I didn't leave myself enough time and only managed to get one circuit in, but even with only one set of 20 body weight squats, my right knee started twinging. I didn't pay much attention to it, but throughout the course of the day, it got steadily worse. By the time I got home from work, my knee was swollen. It hurts to put any weight on it. I am icing it now to take care of the swelling. But I'm wondering if this kind of thing is normal when you start working out, or if I should go see a doctor. What do you guys think?

My 1st challenge and back story can be found here. Quest #1 - The Morning CALM, Stretch, & Strength Bedtime 9pm. Period. 8+ hours sleep. 1st week - be up by 6:30, practice one yoga pose/technique correctly for 5 minutes. 2nd week - 6:25, yoga 7 minutes, 1 to 2 poses, focus on technique. 3rd - 6:20, yoga 10 minutes 4th - 6:15, yoga 15 minutes 5th - 6:10 yoga 20 minutes 6th- 6:05, yoga 25 minutes 7th - 6:00 - GOAL! Working that early morning routine! Yoga 25-30 minutes. So far that is all I have specifically. I had it all typed up but left it on my computer at work! I woke up Sunday morning with a terrible pain in my back and hip and today I left work early because the pain was unbearable. No relief for 3 days and getting worse. I've tried stretches, heat/cold, ibuprofen, pillows, Epsom salt baths, hot showers..despite my best effort, it's the Dr office tomorrow (/groan). Sleeping with it has been terrible, which is not helping my first quest at all so far. But I will post the rest of my quests tomorrow, just wanted to get my initial post thru the door and say Hi. Now I have try to figure out how I will sleep tonight. UPDATED 1/9/2015: Accountability Log

Due to problems with my knees that I occasionally ramble on about around here, I did a little research and decided to try using some knee sleeves to help hold everything in place. Now that I've squatted with them a few times, I've determined that I really like them and thought I'd list the pros and cons of them for others who have knee issues. PROS *IPF & IWF Legal for Raw and Open Competition *Provides knee support without doing the work for you *Keeps the knees VERY warm. Warm ligaments and tendons are good. *Thus far feel very durable *Fit is wonderful *No obnoxious bunching *In MY specific case, my knees did NOT ache immediately after the squats. CONS *$40 EACH *Neoprene - so they WILL start to stink and need washing every few weeks *Robs a few MM from squat depth, in MY specific case. I'm still getting past parallel but not as deep. This may improve as time goes on and I get used to them. http://www.jackalsgym.com/store.aspx?prod_id=RH-KS is the official seller, though they can be found elsewhere. I ordered from here and had them in two days.

Apparently, squats give me this weird pain in the back of the knee and calf (just the left side, though). Not DOMS kind of pain, more like "stop doing this" kind of pain. I'm not sure why, I don't think it's a form issue. But anyhow, I decided to stay off of them for a while, so I need some exercise(s) to do in their place. I've been doing lunges, but it gets boring since they're already a part of my workout, and balance issues come up when I get exhausted. Also, has anyone else experienced this? Any advice how I can deal with it, some kind of magical way to stretch or something? I've been stretching my calves a lot, but that doesn't seem to help that much.

Hello! I'm Sarah, a 27 year old from India and very new to NF and challenges. Please could you create a workout plan for me? My current status and fitness needs I weigh 171 pounds (5'3" tall) and my ultimate goals is to lose 20 lbs by December 2013.I work at a sedentary desk job and I don't have access to a gym. I have a knee problem in my left knee so I need some workouts that won't injure me further - so no running Losing weight would help my knee pain immensely!I want to get rid of my belly fat as I am trying to conceive as soon as possible. I want to tone my arms and lose my fat and jiggly triceps. Other notes: I am a ovo-vegetarian and I suffer from Asthma, PCOS and GERD. Any help you can give me is welcome. I am currently attempting to do modified push ups and I am trying to be more active on the whole. I've been eating almost 60% clean and healthy food for the past 1.5 weeks and I am drinking lots of water.

So, last summer, I somehow hurt my knee (maybe?) and ended up with this crazy left knee pain. It hurt to stand after a long time sitting. It hurt to crouch. It hurt to go up and down the stairs. And there was no.freakin.way I'd consider sitting on the ground. After an x-ray, an MRI, and too much poking and prodding, I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis. The extent of the doctor's advice was "Welp, this isn't going away, sorry!" So, I did some research. I read that staying active would help. So, I walked and rode my bike and swam...and it kind of helped, while the exercise was happening. Then I started lifting. I'm just doing bodyweight circuits right now, but my knee feels better! My warm-ups now include running stairs! I first noticed that I'm seriously doing better this weekend, when I spent a good amount of time sitting on the ground, then getting up without even wincing. Hey arthritis, I win! LOLOLOL (of course I know I must keep up with my lifting to stay free of pain, and that it will probably get worse as I get older...but I will gloat my ass off right now! and then go run some stairs)

I had surgery done back in the 70s when I was a kid. Didn't really think about it at the time, being all of 11 or so. It served me well. Ran track in high school because they promised me that I'd have arthritis so bad by 30 that I'd not be able to walk. Yeah, somehow, at 11, that's like forever away and by 30 you're pretty much dead of old age anyway, right? So I'm way past 30, no arthritis, makes a lot of noise, but there's no pain...UNTIL I DO SQUATS, which is why I stopped doing them for a year. It goes like this: I squat heavy, it's fine but the next day it aches and it gets worse and a week out, it hurts to move the joint and hurts to even jostle the leg and then it starts giving out on me. Using the toilet becomes problematic because I can't get up or down. Has anyone else had that surgery? It's the one called, "medical imbrication/reefing." They took all the muscles on one side (the quad) and attached them to the other side to hold the patella in place. So I'm not built like a human anymore and my questions are: 1) Should I push through the pain because it'll get better? Anyone have any experience with this? I don't know if I'm causing permanent damage or not. 2) If I never do squats again, will I cause more problems because I AM doing deadlifts and I'll have uneven stress which could lead to injury? I've always read about weak muscles causing problems that way. I'm powerlifting so it's all about the heaviest weight possible. FYI-I have utterly no use for the girly-girl light weights with high reps that lead no where. It is not an option. I'd hate to quit again if it's going to get better from lifting. For years I've been trying to find some exercise that worked just like a squat but isn't a squat. For instance, I can do wall squats, but they don't build any muscle, making them utterly worthless. I can do body weight squats and light weight squats, but again, that doesn't build any muscle either so that's all worthless. I can even run for miles and miles and the knee never bothers me in the slightest. Last year I hiked the Grand Canyon again and it was just fine, but I squat heavy and it's the freakin' end of the world. There must be a way around it. So if there's a way to squat without bothering my knee and you know what it is, Oh PLEASE let me know! If you've had the same surgery and you've had the same pain and know that it goes away after a month, let me know and I'll buckle down and push through it.