I Squatted. Now My Knees Hurt…
Is squatting the problem?
So your knees are hurting. You’ve been running a lot. You are in a busier time in your life.
You go to the gym and your coach has squats planned for the day. You do your squats. They feel surprisingly ok.
The next day while running your knees feel worse! So what’s to blame? Is it the squats?
Not necessarily. Squats for unfortunate reasons can get a bad reputation for knee pain. Some of that is misinformation. But it’s also a reasonable conclusion. Your knees hurt so it must have been something that used your knees that led to your pain.
Pain can come from multiple inputs and we can be complicated beings.
Your habits, beliefs, coping methods, lifestyle, emotions, anatomy, activity levels, and more, all influence how your body feels.
This can make it difficult to identify a cause, but not impossible to find a solution.
Looking at someone's pain experience requires analysis and assessment of who they are and where they are at. From there a path towards a solution can be found.
Only sleeping 4 hours a night? Imagine what an extra 2 hours could do for your recovery.
Eating 1200 calories a day. Very unlikely for that intake to be enough to meet your needs. Imagine what more food could do for your recovery (and your mood).
Are you constantly foam rolling and stretching to address your pain? Maybe you need load and not length to recover.
Are you feeling unsupported in your physical goals by others? Maybe being in a more supportive environment could change your outlook on pain.
Pain is frustrating. It can be easy to place blame when we are unsure of a solution.
The solution requires introspection and effort.
The problem probably isn’t squats.
Sissy Squats?
Sissy squats. Is this an appropriate name?
First off. I have made the mistake of using this name for this movement.
Occasionally I will get people asking me why certain movements are named the way they are. This is one of those movements.
I have heard two reasons for this naming.
The first is that it was named after Greek legend, King Sisyphus. He was punished for cheating death twice by being forced to roll an immense boulder up a hill only for it to roll down every time it neared the top, repeating this action for eternity.
The second is from bodybuilder Monte Wolford. While warming up for a competition he was performing these squats. A competitor said “what is that Sissy exercise you are doing”. He challenged the competitor to do 3 sets of 10. After completing them the competitor fell off the stage due to muscle fatigue.
Now, who knows which reason came first. But here’s the thing: the word “sissy” is not our word to use.
From @safegymtraining
The words “sissy” or “fairy” were often used in reference to a feminine man, in appearance or mannerisms. This term is now being reclaimed by Drag Queens who emphasize the feminine aspects of their performance, an example is “sissy that walk”.
So let’s stop using the word in the fitness space. Or as a derogatory term for that matter.
Let’s call it what it is: A knees over toes squat. Because that's what you do.
By letting knees go over toes in this fashion while assisted or assisted (harder), we can train our toe strength, our knees tolerance to loading and our quads.
Going Low Enough?
Are you squatting low enough?
Are you going low enough in your squat?
It's easy when watching a video or seeing a photo of someone doing something to quickly jump to criticism.
Maybe it's done in a way that is different than yours.
Maybe some coach has told you it will lead to injury.
Maybe you don't think the technique is correct.
But the first question to ask is: why might they be doing it that way?
Sometimes we aren't going low enough. Sometimes we need coaches or tools for accountability.
Sometimes going low just isn't beneficial for the performance of a task or sport.
Sometimes going low isn't something our bodies are prepared for. Yet.
Sure in multiple competitive sports (powerlifting, CrossFit) that depth would not pass in competition. But is the person competing? Are they missing sufficient hip/knee or ankle range of motion to go lower? Are they working through an injury and want to gradually reintroduce depth? Is their training sport specific (volleyball, basketball, hockey) where they want to get strong in sport-specific positions?
Sure this depth meets competition standards for powerlifting and CrossFit. But this depth is likely lower than needed for an athlete to maximize performance in powerlifting. For athletes who want to compete in olympic weightlifting this is a great position to develop.
Sure this squat is low, but at what cost? We can tell this athlete to go low to meet some standard, but is their body capable of that standard? Do they have the range of motion to get into that position? Do they have the breathing and bracing mechanics to remain there safely? Won't know without assessing.