Knees After Leg Day

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Sorry to say but yes. Your best days physically are behind you. The wisdom you have gained over your years is now your strength. If you haven't gained much wisdom, you are fucked.
I was kinda worried it might just be normal for my age and what I'm doing, but nobody really chimed in like "yeah me too." Even got old motherfuckers on here like @Yano and he's not complaining about his knees 🤷‍♂️
 

Yano

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I was kinda worried it might just be normal for my age and what I'm doing, but nobody really chimed in like "yeah me too." Even got old motherfuckers on here like @Yano and he's not complaining about his knees 🤷‍♂️
Oh dude my knees are blown the fuck out haahaha I played football til I was 42 my knees played til i was 39.

Lifting doesn't really bother me if I stick to low reps even if I go heavy. High reps do they burn even with the 600mg ibuprofen , with weight on my back I feel them grind.

I do my cardio on the stationary bike because I can't run any more and I keep a good pace but Ive slowed down a lot to keep my knees from being torn up more. Running I can get 50 yds , maybe 100 if I had to but then I would limp for days if i could even walk at all.

I just know why i'm like this ,, its not "normal" for my age LOL its cus i spent half my life as a human battering ram.
 
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Oh dude my knees are blown the fuck out haahaha I played football til I was 42 my knees played til i was 39.

Lifting doesn't really bother me if I stick to low reps even if I go heavy. High reps do they burn even with the 600mg ibuprofen , with weight on my back I feel them grind.

I do my cardio on the stationary bike because I can't run any more and I keep a good pace but Ive slowed down a lot to keep my knees from being torn up more. Running I can get 50 yds , maybe 100 if I had to but then I would limp for days if i could even walk at all.

I just know why i'm like this ,, its not "normal" for my age LOL its cus i spent half my life as a human battering ram.
That makes sense man. I wonder how many guys on here are squatting heavy at 50 yrs oldish with no knee pain at all though.

My training partner has knee pain around the clock. He really can't even do leg work because of it. It's got to be some kind of arthritis.

I'm kind of thinking mine can be helped with Bricks' recommendation and some flossing. But it's not enough pain to keep me from squatting. I am making good progress squatting right now, so I want to stick with it.
 

BrotherIron

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High bar is going to cause your knees to travel over your toes. It's not bad but it does place stress on the knees. You could take SF's advice and swtich to a more low bar squat which would keep the knees from traveling forward but till load the back moreso.

I agree with CJ find out what causes the pain/ discomfort and them remove it or adjust it. There are several ways to target a muscle group and build numbers in lifts.

Also, ditch the socks. If you lift barefoot then lift barefoot and do it without socks so you can splay your toes out and externally rotate the knees to load the IT band. If you're worrying about cleanliness then clean your feet with a wet wipe after your done. You can also use a minialist shoe with a wide toe box if you can't lift barefoot due to gym rules or if you don't want to.
 

CJ

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I am making good progress squatting right now, so I want to stick with it.

Nothing stops progress dead in its tracks like an injury does. Be careful, be aware, figure it out.
 

BrotherIron

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And no, your knees don't have to be in pain after training legs.
That makes sense man. I wonder how many guys on here are squatting heavy at 50 yrs oldish with no knee pain at all though.

My training partner has knee pain around the clock. He really can't even do leg work because of it. It's got to be some kind of arthritis.

I'm kind of thinking mine can be helped with Bricks' recommendation and some flossing. But it's not enough pain to keep me from squatting. I am making good progress squatting right now, so I want to stick with it.
And also start putting some prehab conditioning into your regimen ie. sled pulls and pushes, forward, backwards, and laterally. Also, pool runs help.

No reason to stop lifting heavy even at 50. I'm not much younger than you and I lift painfree for the most part and still manage to pull and squat +2x bodyweight each and every month.

You're training has to be well laid out with pehab, rehab, and autoregulated training so you don't accumulate to much fatigue and keep making progress in some form or fashion. You have to periodize your training too if you want to do this forever.
 
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And no, your knees don't have to be in pain after training legs.

And also start putting some prehab conditioning into your regimen ie. sled pulls and pushes, forward, backwards, and laterally. Also, pool runs help.

No reason to stop lifting heavy even at 50. I'm not much younger than you and I lift painfree for the most part and still manage to pull and squat +2x bodyweight each and every month.

You're training has to be well laid out with pehab, rehab, and autoregulated training so you don't accumulate to much fatigue and keep making progress in some form or fashion. You have to periodize your training too if you want to do this forever.

Unfortunately I have no way to do sled pulls right now, nothing like that at my gyms, and no room on my property.

The one thing I'm pretty sure of is it doesn't seem like an injury type issue at all. Just kind of general soreness, but maybe I am getting some kind of arthritis. I guess I should see a doctor about that?

I actually tweaked my knee doing jujitsu the other day, and that was definitely an injury thing, but it has mostly gone away so far.

I flossed knees tonight. Going to do that again tmrw before legs. If I'm feeling the jujitsu tweak, I'll back off, but otherwise I'm gonna try to squat.

Another thing- I've tried to low bar squat, and I just can't seem to get my arms to that position. Idk if it's shoulder mobility or what. Any tips for that I will try too.
 
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I agree with CJ find out what causes the pain/ discomfort and them remove it or adjust it. There are several ways to target a muscle group and build numbers in lifts.

The problem is what causes the pain is bending my knees under weight, and idk how to train hamstrings and quads without that.
 

Trenbolonely

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The problem is what causes the pain is bending my knees under weight, and idk how to train hamstrings and quads without that.
can you RDL and hip thrust, this requires much less flex ion at the knee? Also glute ham raises are very minimal bend, but certainly work the posterior chain.

You might consider doing more tempo work, pauses and changing order of exercises so that you warm up the joints much more before you move into movements that load your knees. Unless you plan to compete in SBD, and need to do them first.

For example Martin fitzwater will always start with adductors, before hamstring work before moving into the meat and potatoes of the quad session to make sure that the knees and muscles generally have the joint and stabilizers warmed up.

My coach has me doing adductors, then hamstrings, then 100 rep sets of leg extensions before I go into my squat variants and leg presses so I don’t overload the knees and really get blood in. I have had to take damn near 100kg off of what I would be doing on those if I started with them. That being said I also dropped wraps and sleeves which affects the weight but knee health is much better so I don’t feel like I need them (at least while cutting)
 
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My coach has me doing adductors, then hamstrings, then 100 rep sets of leg extensions before I go into my squat variants and leg presses so I don’t overload the knees and really get blood in. I have had to take damn near 100kg off of what I would be doing on those if I started with them. That being said I also dropped wraps and sleeves which affects the weight but knee health is much better so I don’t feel like I need them (at least while cutting)
That sounds pretty smart actually. Did he recommend that because of knee problems or is that his standard protocol?

I have been wondering if my knee sleeves are helping or not. They provide support, but they also compress the knee which I am wondering if this is pushing fluid out and making ot worse.
 

Trenbolonely

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That sounds pretty smart actually. Did he recommend that because of knee problems or is that his standard protocol?

This is standard protocol I think for general knee health, and to pre fatigue the largest muscles to limit CNS fatigue and injury risk.
I have been wondering if my knee sleeves are helping or not. They provide support, but they also compress the knee which I am wondering if this is pushing fluid out and making ot worse.
I think they are helpful for support, and certainly out of the hole; and can alleviate pain to some extent. But I think of them more like a band aid, or crutch rather than a medicine if that makes sense. Like they will not fix the pain, just help mitigate it a little. I’m just mentioning that with the protocol I don’t need them the way I used to, however I will use them again when I want to push the weight and overload.
 
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can you RDL and hip thrust, this requires much less flex ion at the knee? Also glute ham raises are very minimal bend, but certainly work the posterior chain.
I can RDL & SLDL, I don't really like them, I never feel like they really hit the target muscles well enough. I like back extensions for that lower back stuff. Squats for that posterior chain stuff. I know we're trying to talk me out of squatting here, but I'm not on board with that at this point. The leg press doesn't really present a better alternative for me.

I guess worst case when I get super arthritic I could do tons of high rep sets on the leg Curl and leg extension machines.
 

Trenbolonely

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I can RDL & SLDL, I don't really like them, I never feel like they really hit the target muscles well enough. I like back extensions for that lower back stuff. Squats for that posterior chain stuff. I know we're trying to talk me out of squatting here, but I'm not on board with that at this point. The leg press doesn't really present a better alternative for me.
I think if you get the correct technique you will change your mind. I had the same problem, but when I got them to hit the target muscles I completely changed my mind and now I view it as bread and butter for hamstring. Just saying because you don’t use the knee the same way as a curl.

I think if you want to squat, squat but definitely want to adjust how or when since leg press also presents the same problem anyways.
I guess worst case when I get super arthritic I could do tons of high rep sets on the leg Curl and leg extension machines.
Then squat after with less weight hahahah
 

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Unfortunately I have no way to do sled pulls right now, nothing like that at my gyms, and no room on my property.

The one thing I'm pretty sure of is it doesn't seem like an injury type issue at all. Just kind of general soreness, but maybe I am getting some kind of arthritis. I guess I should see a doctor about that?

I actually tweaked my knee doing jujitsu the other day, and that was definitely an injury thing, but it has mostly gone away so far.

I flossed knees tonight. Going to do that again tmrw before legs. If I'm feeling the jujitsu tweak, I'll back off, but otherwise I'm gonna try to squat.

Another thing- I've tried to low bar squat, and I just can't seem to get my arms to that position. Idk if it's shoulder mobility or what. Any tips for that I will try too.
I didn't know you train BJJ. You'll want to take a bit more time to "warm up"/ prime your body. BJJ puts A LOT of stress and strain on the joints. What's your warm-up routine look like? And please don't say walking on a treadmill or just using light weights.

It could be shoulder mobility, it could also be tight lats.
 

CJ

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I didn't know you train BJJ. You'll want to take a bit more time to "warm up"/ prime your body. BJJ puts A LOT of stress and strain on the joints. What's your warm-up routine look like? And please don't say walking on a treadmill or just using light weights.

It could be shoulder mobility, it could also be tight lats.

Yeah, BJJ throws a big ol' variable into the equation.
 
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What's your warm-up routine look like? And please don't say walking on a treadmill or just using light weights.

Lol treadmill walk 15 mins 8 degree incline 3.5mph, then light weights 😃 a few body weight squats l, a few with the bar, then some with 135, then 225x8. Then working sets 315 and up. I was hoping to get up to 405 this year 😕
 

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