Bringing Up Legs w/ Bad Knee?

[Smack]

I'm trying to bring up my legs but it seems a lot of the traditional movements cause a bit of pain in my bad knee. Front squats, all the lunges I've tried and leg presses don't feel good or will have me in the pain the next day - back squatting I can get away with depending on the day but only can load for 20 rep sets. RDL and Deads are fine as long as I keep in higher rep ranges.

I've torn my meniscus and dislocated my knee 3 times. The final surgery worked but they cut the bone and they way it healed my left foot kinda points outward.

Physical therapy would be my first choice but I dont have insurance currently. Anyway, looking for suggestions or experience from anyone who was had success doing something similar.

 

[bg091593]

I've had tendinitis in both of my knees for quite sometime so finding an exercise for legs that doesn't put pressure on my knees is a pain in the ass most times. I find anything where I can keep my shin bone near-vertical takes most of the pressure off my knees.

I do a lot of squatting in the smith and I can even go quite heavy. If you step forward so you almost sit back into position on your way down it takes a lot of stress off the knees.

Leg press with your feet highhhhh up on the platform, though you need to have excellent hip mobility.

Lunges but with an exaggerated long stride I've found really does a good job as well.

Good luck and get some PT done when you can, you won't regret it!

 

[TheOtherOne55]

You're honestly just going to have to find the right movements or the pain-free ones and just add a good amount of volume to that.

I slightly tore my quad 3-4 months ago where I couldn't do much more than leg ext and hammy work for 5 weeks. I added in some movements like leg press and hacks...but even then I had to go light light and just really attack the body part with lower intensity/high volume. I'm 4 months post now and im finally getting back to heavy leg movements without pain. Even then I veer toward high rep ranges and more volume.

 

[jeroendebleser]

Using knee wraps or wearing tights to train legs might help. Keeps the joint a little warmer.

 

[Fit2Serve]

how old are you?
-F

 

[Delt123]

Hard to do it with injuries/pain ime. When I couldn't squat for a while, I could not get the legs I once had with legpresses and such. Nothing trumps heavy squats for me.

I'd go with the high rep squat in your situation and go up in small increments. As others have mentioned, stick to the movements you can do pain free

 

[buck]

Have you tried unilateral work so that you can focus on just one side at a time. Such as one legged squats, presses etc.I find that helps sometimes when a joint is having some issues.

 

[maldorf]

Belt squats or swing squats

If your gym has a lot of novel equipment you may be able to find either a belt squat machine or swing squat. Both of those really take pressure off the knee. Swing squats are the absolute best for bad knees. Hardly any gym has one though. I go to a gym now that has a belt squat and other machines not very common and the owner has never heard of the swing squat machine.

I hope you might find one or the other.


http://swingsquat.com/

 

[maldorf]

more on the swing squat.

**broken link removed**

 

[Rogue]

Get on the belt squat.
Start with loaded marching... and as you progress do squats stiff legged ,
lunges etc...
This machine was used in the soviet union specifically for what you describe.
There are two types of these, the one is a pendulum type, the other is a cable...
I much prefer the cable for the versatility of exercises I even do chest and back on it at times...
I think its an indispensable tool Louis Simmons has used at WB for years.
Rogue Fitness just released a cable version.

 

[Bio]

Great belt squat here... https://www.wenningstrength.com/equipment

 

[buck]

If your gym has a lot of novel equipment you may be able to find either a belt squat machine or swing squat. Both of those really take pressure off the knee. Swing squats are the absolute best for bad knees. Hardly any gym has one though. I go to a gym now that has a belt squat and other machines not very common and the owner has never heard of the swing squat machine.

I hope you might find one or the other.


swing squat ? Swing Squat

I find most equipment that moves along a radial pathway or radius is easier on a joint then a machine that takes a straight line approach. We have a squat machine and a leg press at my gym that is similar although it moves through a smaller radius so the swingsquat would probably be better.

 

[Rogue]

Great belt squat here... https://www.wenningstrength.com/equipment

This is another model people are thankful of.
I prefer the cable one because it a more natural movement, plus it more versatile. But that one you refer to Bio has help LOTS of athletes.

 

[dfresh333]

I have had 2 meniscus scopes. At some point we may both have to realize big improvements in leg growth are no longer possible. What I have had good success with in keeping the small muscles that are responsible for preventing such injuries and overall quad sweep development improvement is continuing the exercises that my physical therapist gave me for recovery. Lots of unilateral movements as well.

 

[Smack]

how old are you?
-F

28

 

[Smack]

Have you tried unilateral work so that you can focus on just one side at a time. Such as one legged squats, presses etc.I find that helps sometimes when a joint is having some issues.

Yeah, unilateral stuff hurts more actually.

 

[Smack]

I would love to have one of those machines. I just dont have room for it in my apartment haha.

 

[buck]

Yeah, unilateral stuff hurts more actually.

I would guess that the strong leg then is usually doing most of the work and carrying the load then. As I can usually find a different foot placement angle of bend that is more comfortable.

 

[lookslikesausage]

more on the swing squat.

**broken link removed**

i have a swing squat made by Paramount. I have mixed feelings about it. I have back issues (annular tears in three discs) and the compression at the bottom (i prefer to go hams to calves) isn't so nice for me, but as far as the knees go, this machine will allow a person to squat deep without pain IMO. It has a weight for counterbalancing the working weight (horns for that are on the back end of the machine).

Personally, my favorite pain free leg apparatus would be the Flex Fitness/Startrac Hack Squat, which i believe is at a very friendly 35 degree angle and that thing moves as smooth as butter. Easily the smoothest Hack i've ever used and the least painful on my knees and back. I've some nasty patellar tendonitis and some small tears in my ACL that healed on their own. My patellar tendonitis kept me from squatting for nearly a year but in that time I did Snatch-Grip Deadlift, which seemed to do a good job of keeping muscle on my thighs when i couldn't squat.

Another move for the OP would be a band-assisted reverse Lunge. might be a nice finisher and probably not too harsh on the knees.

 

[Golden]

In recent times, I’ve blitzed my legs with extensions first. High rep sets, drop sets, alternating 1leg extensions for 4 sets non stop.

This has enabled my legs to be fully warm and severely fatigued by the time I reach compound exercises.

Might not be as effective as pushing mega weight on first exercise as a compound but years of training has forced me to work around old knees