Of lifting shoes and knees

[Todd Moser]

Okay, I'll start off by admitting that I'm kind of cheap. I haven't broken down and bought lifting shoes yet and am wondering if I am hurting myself by not having them. My heaviest squat session has been 330X5X3 and more recently I did 297.5X3X3 as part of Andy's SM40 program this past Saturday. I have some pain on the outside of my right knee and a little numbness around the area. Last night my left knee was having this odd catch while I was walking around. It wasn't predictable, it would just catch now and then and give a quick, sharp pain. There is no pain otherwise.

So could the lack of enough stability at my feet be causing more stress at my knees? The shoes I'm currently wearing are a cross training type. They seem fairly stiff to me but I'm sure nowhere near as stiff as a lifting shoe. I haven't been wearing sleeves either. I don't have the means of recording a form check but I think it's pretty good (don't we all?).

[autumnal]

Okay, I'll start off by admitting that I'm kind of cheap. I haven't broken down and bought lifting shoes yet and am wondering if I am hurting myself by not having them. My heaviest squat session has been 330X5X3 and more recently I did 297.5X3X3 as part of Andy's SM40 program this past Saturday. I have some pain on the outside of my right knee and a little numbness around the area. Last night my left knee was having this odd catch while I was walking around. It wasn't predictable, it would just catch now and then and give a quick, sharp pain. There is no pain otherwise.

So could the lack of enough stability at my feet be causing more stress at my knees? The shoes I'm currently wearing are a cross training type. They seem fairly stiff to me but I'm sure nowhere near as stiff as a lifting shoe. I haven't been wearing sleeves either. I don't have the means of recording a form check but I think it's pretty good (don't we all?).

Just some random thoughts:

I don't see how not having squat shoes would cause injury, and see plenty of people squat in all manner of footwear without injury. I also doubt that getting good squat shoes will cure what's ailing your knee.

So what is ailing your knee? Well, we can only guess without a form video. How could we know if its a stability issue with the feet? Do you feel stable or no while squatting?

In my limited experience in regards to self-approving form, "don't we all" really fits the bill. We almost always think our form is better than it is. So with that in mind, I'd say your issue is probably form-related. BTW, I have nothing against squat shoes, they've really helped me out with depth. But I don't see them as doing much to prevent injury.

[Todd Moser]

Yesterday I reread Marks article on squat mechanics before my workout. I did DL first at 335X3X3 followed by squats at 215X3X5. I paid more attention to having my feet angled out around 30 degrees and making sure to push my knees out to keep my thighs in line with my feet. Anyway, I don't have any of the knee issues today so maybe I found the issue. Granted they weren't real heavy squats so we'll have to see how they feel after my week three session of singles. Those will be at 325#.

[Meshuggah]

My two sons and I purchased Adidas Adipowers, because we had been led to believe that squatting with a heeled shoe was the best thing ever.
Two of us developed Patellar Tendonitis after about 5 or 6 squat sessions.(we squat once a week) We switched back to squatting in our Reebok Power Shoes
(Flat Soles) and the pain started fading away, and was completely gone about a month later.

[crc]

So could the lack of enough stability at my feet be causing more stress at my knees? The shoes I'm currently wearing are a cross training type. They seem fairly stiff to me but I'm sure nowhere near as stiff as a lifting shoe. I haven't been wearing sleeves either. I don't have the means of recording a form check but I think it's pretty good (don't we all?).

Maybe? You should post a couple of videos of your squats - one directly from behind, one directly from the side. Those two together tend to give the best view of whether or not your knees are doing anything weird.

[danomite!]

My two sons and I purchased Adidas Adipowers, because we had been led to believe that squatting with a heeled shoe was the best thing ever.
Two of us developed Patellar Tendonitis after about 5 or 6 squat sessions.(we squat once a week) We switched back to squatting in our Reebok Power Shoes
(Flat Soles) and the pain started fading away, and was completely gone about a month later.

Interesting- I have started to develop knee pain after switching to Adipowers from a flat sole. I am 'fairly' certain in my case it's due to a few reps where my knees drifted forward but I failed to video my last couple of sessions to be sure.

[Khan]

Interesting- I have started to develop knee pain after switching to Adipowers from a flat sole. I am 'fairly' certain in my case it's due to a few reps where my knees drifted forward but I failed to video my last couple of sessions to be sure.

To the both of you, i am pretty sure the fault isn't in the adipowers, but rather your technique. Going from barefoot or flat sole to a high heel like the adipowers is quite the diference, but the shoes themselves are not to blame for the "damage" to your knees.
When i went from barefoot to adipowers, i had just squatted a new pr of 180kg, and failed a 100kg w. adipowers on, just comes to show that you need time and patience adapt.

[danomite!]

To the both of you, i am pretty sure the fault isn't in the adipowers, but rather your technique. Going from barefoot or flat sole to a high heel like the adipowers is quite the diference, but the shoes themselves are not to blame for the "damage" to your knees.
When i went from barefoot to adipowers, i had just squatted a new pr of 180kg, and failed a 100kg w. adipowers on, just comes to show that you need time and patience adapt.

I introduced the Adipowers during a reset for just this reason. I had been in them for 2 months without issue other than the initial feeling of excessive forward lean. I'm back up to pre-reset weight now and started developing a knee slide. I'm pretty sure the few reps that I failed to sit back are to blame for the knees coming forward and a bit of inflammation. I've been popping ibuprofen for a few days and they feel much better. Back to the power rack today with extra emphasis on sitting back to set the knee position.