... With NO knee pain afterward.
Squats have always been my best exercise in the gym, but about two months ago I started to develop knee pain after pushing it a little too hard to move up a plate. I took about a month break from squats after that but the knee pain would always come back. I tried everything to train quads; leg extensions, leg press, knee sleeves, no matter what I did the knee pain would always come back. It was really bottlenecking my squat progress.
In the past two weeks I've been doing reverse nordics, tib raises, and sled drags at the gym. Earlier this week I went in to do squats again and wound up getting my full 6 sets in plus a bonus set at a lower weight for higher reps. NO knee pain afterwards. I'm in awe. Thank you so much Kneesovertoes guy, you literally brought me back to life.
Have you been struggling to get your first pistol squat? I'm willing to bet that it's a mobility issue. I will show you how to identify and fix the common issues that prevent people from getting their first pistol squat, plus I will show you the most effective exercises to develop the strength required! Why is the pistol so hard? Not only is it a feat of strength, you are squatting your entire bodyweight on one leg through its full range of motion, but the limiting factor for a lot of people is the flexibility it requires.
I've seen it so many times where people keep looking for more and more strength exercises to get their first pistol, but poor mobility is going to make all this for nothing. If you do not have enough dorsiflexion ROM, it doesn't matter how strong your legs are.
Now, a common problem when people try to pistol squat, they simply fall backwards, but perhaps counterintuitively, they may be able to do a front loaded pistol squat. Here's why:
If we have a look at my ankle in the pistol squat, the movement at that joint is called dorsiflexion. Dorsiflexion is the movement of pulling the top of your foot closer to your shin. Poor ankle flexibility is a major roadblock in getting your first pistol squat. How many people do you know that can back squat more than double their bodyweight on a barbell, but they can't do a pistol squat? Mobility is almost always the reason. As I get deeper and deeper into the pistol squat, I need more and more ankle flexibility. Once I run out of ankle range and continue to lower, the result is that you'll fall backwards. Loading the front of the pistol squat just counter balances the tendency to fall backwards.
So how do we improve dorsiflexion? Well, first we need to identify the likely cause.
Dorsiflexion test
To do this, you are going to make a fist with your thumb extended. Place your fist on the floor with your thumb touching the wall. Place your toes against your fist and the goal is to try to get your knee to touch the wall, making sure your heel stays in contact with the ground the entire time. If you can touch your knee to the wall with no problems, it's a sign your dorsiflexion is not inhibited. If you cannot touch the wall with you knee, you are going to feel one of two things. If it feels like something is obstructing you at the front of your ankle, kind of like you're running into something, then the problem is the actual biomechanics of your dorsiflexion. If you are feeling a pull or stret
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Hey guys I have very long femurs and shorter torso for my proportions. I used to do weighted barbell squats (high bar) but then injured my knees in the process and have feared squatting since. But I recently got over that fear and am doing low bar squats instead. The only problem that I find with low bar squat is that I find it doesn't have much carry over to general athleticism. And it is much much more taxing on my lower back.
I wanted to ask what routine can I get so I can get to full depth on an ass to grass high bar squat? I want to be able to go all the way down to help with tendon health and mobility too. I can currently just squat to slightly below parallel but then below that and my butt wink is too much.
Do you guys have any tips for long leg atg squatters? Would love the help.
Looking to sell a "complete" home gym set up as a full package for $850. DM me for inquiries and I'll send some pictures, the equipment is just over a year old and has spent all of its time indoors. Delivery can be included at an extra cost depending on the distance and time.
Complete list of equipment below:
- Squat rack with a pullup bar and safety hooks.
- Olympic lifting bar plus 2 single hand dumbbell bars
- GOLD'S GYM XRS 20 Olympic Bench
- Iron weights (45lbs x2, 35lbs x2, 25lbs x2, 10lbs x4, 2.5 lbs x16)
- Valor Fitness Wall Mounted Cable Station
- Adjustable Dip Stand Station
