Want advice from the Older Vets please

[Magnum44]

Good evening,
I'm just getting back in to weight lifting and currently doing strictly powerlifting these past 3.5 weeks. Been 3 months now and I feel awesome.

Anyway, I have found that only two exercises don't hurt my knee during exercise or afterwards. Those exercises are Squats and Stiff Legged Deadlifts. I have tried Leg Curls, Leg Press, Hack Squats, Leg Extensions, right off the top of my head. I want to add my knee 3 months ago felt horrible. Pain every step. Now 3 months later pain has been reduced by at least 75 or 80%. My knee is much stronger and a HUGE PLUS...it did not give out any these last 8 weeks. The huge stabbing pains are gone.

So guys, in your opinions should I continue to Squat? BTW I do real Squats, no half way crap. I go parallel or just below.

[jimmyinkedup]

Why would you stop? If I read right they dont hurt your knee and hell they are the core of a leg routine. No way stop.

[600@50]

Squats are not the problem if done correctly. Don't bouce the weight and parallel is deep enough. The leg extensions are probably the worst movement you could be doing especially if you have knee issues. The shearing effect on the knee joint can and has caused many knee problems. If you want to use them as a warm up movement then use EXTREMELY light weight. Also you could use some knee sleeves to keep the joints warm.

[Times Roman]

Squats are not the problem if done correctly. Don't bouce the weight and parallel is deep enough. The leg extensions are probably the worst movement you could be doing especially if you have knee issues. The shearing effect on the knee joint can and has caused many knee problems. If you want to use them as a warm up movement then use EXTREMELY light weight. Also you could use some knee sleeves to keep the joints warm.

knees are too unpredictable to make sweeping statements like that.

I was showing my son how to squat with a warm up weight of 100 pounds. My knee went out. I was properly warmed up. I ended up having to have surgery. on the other side of the coin, leg extensions and leg press have never been a problem for me.

So the moral of the story is you do the exercises that compliment your muscle group, and avoid those that cause injury and pain.

[600@50]

I agree with you TR that knees can be unpredictable. But we all speak from personal experience here and this was posted in the powerlifting forum. There really is not place for leg extensions when powerlifting, other than a light warm-up, as the knees are already stressed enough and leg extensions are typically thought of as a shaping movement not a power movement. There is research that shows just what I mentioned about knee stress and leg extensions. All and all we have to find what works for us as individuals.

Dr. Joseph Horrigan: Do Leg Extensions Have a Place in Your Workout?

This is a short excerpt from the link above from Dr. Joseph Horrigan at the DISC Sports and Spine Center:

The problem with the leg extension is twofold:

The leg extension places maximum force on the back of the patella ("knee cap"), the thinnest portion of the cartilage. This can lead to cartilage damage. When you squat, the thickest part of the cartilage is loaded during the squat's maximum force. Biomechanists call the squat "physiologic flexion" because it is a natural movement. Many of the doctors who decided squats were bad and leg extensions were good allowed their own personal bias to get in the way of clinical judgments, and they did not communicate with other fields such as biomechanics to learn more about these motions.

The leg extension causes the lower leg bone (tibia) to move forward on the thigh bone (femur). This stretches the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). The squat and leg press cause the tibia to move backwards on the femur. This is due to the co-contraction of the hamstrings along with the quadriceps. The hamstring muscles pull the tibia backward on the femur, which reduces the stretch on the ACL. This is a normal occurrence. When the isokinetic machines were used in rehab, and health care providers became more aware of this problem, "anti-shear" devices were placed on these machines to protect the ACL. Who knows how many ACL reconstructive surgeries were complicated by this equipment and exercise.

[Times Roman]

My comment was aimed at your comment "squats are not the problem if done correctly".

Some cannot do squats, regardless how correct their form, due to knee trauma - and if this is the case, then the compound is out and isolations are in.

[600@50]

You're right TR. We all have to find what works for us. And as we get older what worked yesterday don't always work today. I can attest to that. No problem dude.

[stirated]

This maybe a over simplified way of thinking about this but if your doing something that is causing you pain then its the body's way of telling you to stop, you have the best personal train ever and that is your body telling you what works for you.

If squats hurt then try front squats if they hurt then try leg press I could go on for ever but I think you get the point, not everyone is meant to squat.

[kelkel]

Everyone's bio-mechanics are different so do what works for you. If you have discomfort while performing an exercise it's not going to be effective so move to another. Barring serious injury there's almost always a way to work around things....

[BG]

and there you have it............