“Damn it man, I’m trying to save an innocent life!”
“I love ya, always have.”

Dude – killer website. I enjoy all the humor and content…great for motivation on slow days.

I do have a question though: I’ve always had really bad knees. My father and grandfather have both had knee surgery to repair bad knees. After trying crossfit and barely being able to walk after some wods (double unders, box jumps, etc really kill the knees), I went to the doc to get x-rays, and I pretty much have no cartilage in my knee joints and have bad tendinitis of the patellae tendon. I don’t want to give up though as I think building more strength in the hamstrings and quads will really help my knee stability and keep my knees from hurting so bad.

Have you had any clients with issues like this? What type of stretching or exercises would you have them do before or after a squat day to help the knee rehab a bit more and keep them lifting without having to take days off for the knee to recover?

–Joey

I’ve responded to Joey, but I thought the topic was worthy of discussion. Here are a few points.

• The fact that Joey’s father and grandfather have bad knees is irrelevant. The development of the skeletal anatomy is primarily dependent on its mechanical environment. This means that it is an individualized thing, and thus the familial problems are coincidental.
• Doing a bunch of ridiculous things in a conditioning workout when unadapted can yield some problematic consequences. Be aware of this if you are training/coaching others, or if you are trying stuff out on your own.
• A lack of cartilage is not something I would classify in the category “awesome”.
• If Joey learns how to squat with the method that we teach, then his pain may go away entirely. The squat, when done correctly, is a knee neutral exercise; the net anterior/posterior force acting on the knee is equal because the hamstrings pull back on the tibia (when hip driving) while the quadriceps pull anteriorly via the patellar tendon, patella, and patellar ligament to extend the knee. All of these structures are strengthened accordingly.
• As far as the patellar tendonitis is concerned, it depends on where the tendonitis is. Stretching the quadriceps can help decrease any potential tendonitis above the patella, which is typically a symptom of letting the knees slide forward at the bottom of the squat.
• There is a limited amount of information on Joey, but his pain will probably go away if the structures adapt to the strength training. Assuming he has problems six weeks from now, many people have found that heating their knees prior to squatting helps warm them up for the ensuing activity. Many have also found that icing their knees after squatting does not really help much. This is probably due to tendons having poor vascularization, thus their lack of response to ice. But this all depends on what problem a particular person is experiencing.
• The best stretches for the quadriceps are any that have the knee in complete flexion while the hip is in extension. Remember, the rectus femoris (one of the quadriceps) crosses both the knee joint and the hip joint. It extends the knee and flexes the hip, so reversing those movements will elongate the muscle belly. You can help extend your hip whether you are standing or kneeling by flexing the gluteals (or ass cheek) on the same side as the quadriceps you are trying to stretch.

While this summary is not comprehensive, hopefully it has helped Joey a little bit, helped anybody else that may have experienced a similar issue, or helped all you healthy people think about the complicated shit that goes on when you train.

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Jim wants to know what you think about his breakfast. So much that he made a video.

BREAKFAST! from Jim G-ville on Vimeo.

I’d probably have some more eggnog and less milk, since it will have some more calories (albeit more filling). It depends on what your body can handle though. Send pictures or videos here. I can’t guarantee they will go up, but I’ll make an effort. The more creative you are, the better the chances.