I'm new to posting in this forum, but I've been reading threads off and on for a few weeks. I have completed six workouts in stage 1 (well, we'll call it 5 because I didn't really complete the entire first workout). For the past few days, my knee joints have been really achy, and I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions. Could it be that I am increasing weight too quickly, or could there be other reasons? Has anyone else had similar experiences during the first stage of the program? Should I back off my weight or frequency of workouts? I have been lifting 3 times a week plus my normal routine of spinning one day a week and yoga one day a week. I'd love to hear any advice.
is your form good? do you have prior knee injuries? are you genetically prone to knee issues? My knee issues are a combination of over use, under nourishment, and genetics.
I'd suspect issues with form first. Lots of new movements might make your sore, but you should be sore in the muscle bellies, not in your joints. Soreness in the joint indicates incorrect movement patterns. So now your task is to determine the offending movement patterns and correct them.
Put more of your weight on your heels. People who are new to deadlifting try to make it into a squat motion. DL's are about hip extention not knee extention. Shifting wieight to your heels will put more weight in the hips and take the stress off the knee.
My first suspicion was actually the squats. I 2nd the suggestion to make sure you're using your heels to bear weight. And make sure you're not using your knees to bear the load for a squat either. A good indication of that is whether your toes are pressing down heavily or not. If they are, you're likely moving your knees forward which is improper form & can cause injury.
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"If 'toning' is the goal, strength is the method." ~ Mark Rippetoe
I'm not sure what made my knees hurt during stage one, but they did. I found that after taking the requisite week off before stage 2 pretty much took care of it, and I haven't really had any problems since. I would say if you weren't doing much lifting before hand and then dove into this program like I did, than there's too many factors to try to pinpoint. Work on your form, focus on the muscles firing that you are supposed to be working, and remember to rest. No need to dive head first into the shallow end of the pool when you could just slide in gracefully.
I thought about the squats and lunges, too. I'm only using 55# for the squats (bar+10), and 20# for the lunges. I didn't feel like it was too much since I'm completing my sets.
Other random question: is it just as beneficial (or even better for form, etc) to use the Smith bar for squats as it is to use the olympic bar?
I thought about the squats and lunges, too. I'm only using 55# for the squats (bar+10), and 20# for the lunges. I didn't feel like it was too much since I'm completing my sets.
It's technique that makes the difference, not load. A lifter could use bodyweight in a very badly done lunge and create knee pain. So just because they're light doesn't mean they're not the offenders.
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Other random question: is it just as beneficial (or even better for form, etc) to use the Smith bar for squats as it is to use the olympic bar?
It's best to use the Olympic bar. The Smith machine places you in a fixed plane of motions that creates problems. This thread went into great detail about why the Smith machine is a bad choice: Quote of the Year (no, century) from Muscle and Fiction
It's best to use the Olympic bar. The Smith machine places you in a fixed plane of motions that creates problems. This thread went into great detail about why the Smith machine is a bad choice: Quote of the Year (no, century) from Muscle and Fiction
I'll definitely stick to the Olympic bar, then. I'll check my form on lunges, too. I'm realizing just how much I have to learn, and all the videos are very helpful. You can't always get a good enough description of how to do an exercise when you're reading about it in a book!
Other random question: is it just as beneficial (or even better for form, etc) to use the Smith bar for squats as it is to use the olympic bar?
AAAAHHHH!!!! The words Smith Machine are like nails on a chalk board to me. I pull people off that thing all the time. Definetly don't use that. Just be super aware of your knee movement for a while on the squats and the lunges. Make sure that the knee is not diving in or out and that you are more heel dominant on your leg exercises including the lunges and you should be fine. Also you may want to look into doing some SMR on the foam roller. If your IT Band is tight (which most peoples' are) than that will cause the knee to track wrong leading to pain and inflamation. I don't have any specific links for SMR but I'm sure Lisa the link queen can post some.
What exactly is an IT band? Just wondering, I have one knee that gets achy after lunges sometimes, I thought it was cured until I did partial single leg squats on wednesday, now it feels worse than ever, it's the inside of the joint and seems to get better with stretching. Could this be the same thing?
If your IT Band is tight (which most peoples' are) than that will cause the knee to track wrong leading to pain and inflamation. I don't have any specific links for SMR but I'm sure Lisa the link queen can post some.
Edit: My appoligies it's Link-Zilla.
HA! No apologies needed. I can't remember who called me that first, but GG300 was certainly instrumental in the creation of the name when he gave me my Christmas gifts of all kinds of links: lynx, Linc, links, etc. I loved that. It took off from there!
This post has links to lots of info on SMR and related topics (so a link to a post full of links to more links, HA): Charlie Horse
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Originally Posted by Twinmom43
What exactly is an IT band? Just wondering, I have one knee that gets achy after lunges sometimes, I thought it was cured until I did partial single leg squats on wednesday, now it feels worse than ever, it's the inside of the joint and seems to get better with stretching. Could this be the same thing?
I posted a great picture of the IT band in this thread: IT band issues
A tight IT band is usually associated with lateral knee pain (outside edge of knee joint), rather than the medial knee pain you mentioned. Medial knee pain (inside edge of the knee joint) can sometimes be caused from allowing the knee to cave in during movement. Maybe that was happening during your single-leg squats? If your knee feels better from stretching, then stretch.
Knee joint pain
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