Video of your squat?
Member
knee issues (serious) and squats/deadlift
I am a 47 year old, somewhat active p.e. teacher/football coach. I've trained in various strength programs and am familiar with the mechanics/technique of the major lifts/movements (w/ help from SS videos). My main issue is knee stability (or lack thereof) on the lower body movements, especially squats and deadlift. I am missing both AC ligaments and medial meniscus in left knee looks like swiss cheese. I dont jump or even jog anymore. I am able to perform a full squat movement unweighted and with weight, getting top of thigh parallel to the floor, with only minor discomfort and a lot of "rice crispies" noise in the joints.
Are there modifications I can make to the movements or the programming to take advantage of SS for its strength benefits?
In addition to support wraps (not the powerlifting kind) are there other training aids that will be helpful?
Will the anthropometry differences resulting from "slop" in the knees and loss of meniscus create dangerous imbalances/asymmetry that will lead to hip or back injury?
TMPHBITEU
Video of your squat?
Member
What are you referring to here, if not knee wraps? Or do you just mean you're not wrapping them tight like powerlifters do?Originally Posted by Mick Fuller
Member
not the heavy duty, higher tension elastic wraps used in powerlifting. I have used a moderate compression sleeve with lateral stabilizers.
Saw Rip's video on the lightweight wraps and picked up some of those.
Starting Strength Coach
I am not ACL deficient in either of my knees, but I believe Rip is ACL deficient in both knees. I do not, however, have a medial meniscus in my left knee after having a complete menisectomy in 2005. The only meniscus pathology worth really getting worked up about is one that causes your knee to mechanically lock. That is to say, your knee locks and requires manual manipulation to unlock it. In those instances, surgery is very much indicated. I have been training steadily for the past 6 years, and my knee feels better in a manner directly proportional to my working weights in squats. At 405 for 5s, and 475+ 1RM, my knees feel better than they ever have. I have never had one issue with my knee while squatting correctly. I do wear knee sleeves because I do find I "get cold" in this knee fairly rapidly. Knee sleeves help quite a bit, and I can tell a significant difference when I train without them.
Now, going back to the ACL deficiency. The ACL checks anterior translation of the tibia statically, and the hamstrings assist dynamically. There really is nothing better you can do for an ACL deficiency than make sure you have strong hamstrings. This is most likely the reason Rip has never complained, nor sought surgical intervention, for his ACL deficient knees.
TMPHBITEU
My knee problems are tendonitis, not meniscus or ACL. My right knee has no ACL, though it does have several small tears in the menisci.
Still waiting on the OP's video of his shitty squat, the real problem here.
Member
here is the s*****y squat
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-x...ew?usp=sharing
hope this works. it is in google drive.
here it is on youtube
TMPHBITEU
It's okay to type "shitty" if it applies. Many things wrong here. Gentlemen?
Member
You need to get in better lumbar & thoratic extension. Your stance looks to wide...you'll need to bring your feet a little closer together. It looks you are attempting to shove your knees out, but it's not working correctly because your stance is to wide. Your toes look like they are pointing out correctly.Your squats are high. Half squats. You need to make sure your hip joint is lower than the top of the patella at the bottom of your squat. Your eye gaze is correct, however you need to better focus on hip drive. Don't be afraid to sit back, shove your knees out and drive you hips straight up. Get some weightlifting shoes so you can better keep the bar over the middle of the foot. The master cue will assist you here and you need to drill this cue while you squat until the "feel" of having the bar move in a straight line over the mid-foot is mastered.
✓ Member
1) Too wide a stance
2) not shoving the knees out as he gets up
3) rounded lower back
4) not going deep enough, occasionally
Not sure if 135 lbf is a weight heavy enough to make anything "bad" obvious to my non-trainer eye. But for a few minor changes, I don't see why he can't progress linearly and let the chinks iron themselves out.
I'm more curious about how far I got my analysis right or wrong though
Posting Permissions