training legs with a bad knee(s)

[hanquin]

i know everyone hears 'i can't squat b/c my knees are bad blahblah..' but i really can't. i've got something called ' external tibial torsion' (worse in my right knee) where your shin turns slightly outward and stresses the knee and when i train legs, it's murder so my legs are suffering. calves are fine, quads are cut but small, been sticking with leg presses positioning my feet high, low, wide, close and leg curls and all that's painful enough. squats/hack squats make my knees feel like they're going to snap, and forget about leg extensions (which don't do much for size anyway) then the next day, i can hardly walk. it's bad enough when i don't train them just sitting @ my desk.
the question is, how do some of you guys deal with training legs with persistent/recurring leg injuries? it's just getting too painful, and i don't wanna be look like a big dude up top with a couple of chopsticks for legs.

thanks.

 

[Love_to_Bodybuild]

got to get them better

do some pt, patella tendon fricton massage had cleared mine up, ultrasound, low level laser therapy- whatever it takes man

if it hurts cut the exercise out for time being

 

[Elvia1023]

Foot position is very important and I would never place them low on the leg press platform. Always in the middle to the top... change about to target different areas (as you already do). If an exercise hurts you too bad simply don't do it. Have you tried kettleball (or use a db) squats stood on 2 platforms?

The main factor is weight. Don't go too heavy and use lots of slow motion reps and time under tension. Don't lock out when using most exercises and keep the tension constant. Use minimal rest periods and lots of reps but never too heavy. If squats are an issue perhaps try them at the end with very light weight for high reps... I am talking a min of 20 reps... and slow/controlled ones.

 

[hanquin]

Foot position is very important and I would never place them low on the leg press platform. Always in the middle to the top... change about to target different areas (as you already do). If an exercise hurts you too bad simply don't do it. Have you tried kettleball (or use a db) squats stood on 2 platforms?

The main factor is weight. Don't go too heavy and use lots of slow motion reps and time under tension. Don't lock out when using most exercises and keep the tension constant. Use minimal rest periods and lots of reps but never too heavy. If squats are an issue perhaps try them at the end with very light weight for high reps... I am talking a min of 20 reps... and slow/controlled ones.

thanks for the replies, fellas. yeah, even dumbbell squats are an issue, but i guess i can try them with even lighter weights (just bending down is painful). but yeah, i don't go over 4 plates on each side on the press, and i figured low foot position was bad, just needed to hear it. i basically do as many reps as i can with feet in one position, then switch them and keep going and so on. i think part of my problem is that YEARS ago i would lock out, and maybe that took it's toll.

 

[musclehngry]

Have you tried knee sleeves or even wraps to keep your knees warm...sleeves have helped me and I wear them every leg day throughout the duration of the workout.

 

[myosaurus]

I had bad knees for years and couldn't even squat 135lbs without feeling like my quad tendon will blow out so i feel your pain. the thing is, I was a naturally decent squatter with good quads. couple of things i've noticed when my knees hurt while squatting was:
1. my quads weren't firing
2. was squatting or leg pressing on my heels, making it more hamstring/glute dominant.
I've also learned that when i squat with narrower stance/upright posture(AKA Tom Platz style) my knees didnt hurt as much, and most of my weight was on arch of my foot whole time.
being a trainer, I've soon understood why i had these issues.
1. my hips flexors were super tight(shuts down glute involvement in squat)
2. my hamstrings were super tight(again causing neural inhibition in my quads)
3. muscle fibers on my lower quads(tear drops) has become very fibrotic due to ongoing injury
4. my shoulder/pec/bicep were super tight, so tight that i had trouble keeping bar in place on my traps, low bar would be murder on my wrists too.

so, I used following methods to treat my problems:
1. start every leg sessions with foam rolling in following order:
(1. middle quads, 2. inner quads 3. outer quads 4. IT bands 5. piriformis 6. calves 7. inner hamstrings 8. outer hamstrings 9. vertabrae especially thoracic region)
2. started training mountain dog style legs
3. added more HIIT cardio and became more fit
4. stretched evryday.

fast forward 2 years, I have no knee issues whatsoever and am flexible like those yoga chick(well not quite that much..)
my last heavy squat session was 1 week before ending my cutting phase and did 495 x 6 at bodyweight of 210.

 

[johnjuanb1]

I feel you. I can't even squat down and back up with no weight. I can't do leg extensions with 20Lbs. I've had chronic knee issues most of my life. I do mostly one legged presses with slow perfect form and 20 reps. Everything I do is total isolation and extremely slow on the positive and negative portion of the movement. Just do the best you can. I do lots of hamstrings, adductor, and abductor exercises for knee stability. This has made my upper leg big but without extensions my tear drop is weak. I'm hoping the new classic physique is looking for an Arnold type look where arms, calves, and legs are close to the same size.

 

[GetYucked]

My knees have been hurting recently, think I dried them out though.

My leg day ALWAYS starts with

5 mins on seated bike or stairs
stretching - holding each for 20 seconds, two rounds
foam rolling - doing 25-30 rolls for each area (IT band, groin, hams, calves, glutes, lower back, upper back, etc).
3 sets of leg extensions and curls - 30 reps a set

Then I slowly increase the weight and keep the reps around 15.

I also foam roll my legs 2-3x a week in addition to the days I lift them, and I stretch every morning.

 

[Lene28]

I have had 3 below the knee patella tendon ruptures. 2 on my left leg and 1 on my right.
Occluded leg extensions are amazing! I'm like JohnJuanab1 where I can only do 20-30 pounds max on a leg extension and it is more discomfort in the knee than working my quads. With the occluded I can do 10 pounds and get a crazy pump!

I also recommend to YouTube John Rasin; posts some hands on techniques you can do post training to really impeove your lower leg. I have only been doing these for a few weeks and already can tell a difference.

 

[hanquin]

Have you tried knee sleeves or even wraps to keep your knees warm...sleeves have helped me and I wear them every leg day throughout the duration of the workout.

i tried a copperfit thing/sleeve but not much help.

 

[hanquin]

I had bad knees for years and couldn't even squat 135lbs without feeling like my quad tendon will blow out so i feel your pain. the thing is, I was a naturally decent squatter with good quads. couple of things i've noticed when my knees hurt while squatting was:
1. my quads weren't firing
2. was squatting or leg pressing on my heels, making it more hamstring/glute dominant.
I've also learned that when i squat with narrower stance/upright posture(AKA Tom Platz style) my knees didnt hurt as much, and most of my weight was on arch of my foot whole time.
being a trainer, I've soon understood why i had these issues.
1. my hips flexors were super tight(shuts down glute involvement in squat)
2. my hamstrings were super tight(again causing neural inhibition in my quads)
3. muscle fibers on my lower quads(tear drops) has become very fibrotic due to ongoing injury
4. my shoulder/pec/bicep were super tight, so tight that i had trouble keeping bar in place on my traps, low bar would be murder on my wrists too.

so, I used following methods to treat my problems:
1. start every leg sessions with foam rolling in following order:
(1. middle quads, 2. inner quads 3. outer quads 4. IT bands 5. piriformis 6. calves 7. inner hamstrings 8. outer hamstrings 9. vertabrae especially thoracic region)
2. started training mountain dog style legs
3. added more HIIT cardio and became more fit
4. stretched evryday.

fast forward 2 years, I have no knee issues whatsoever and am flexible like those yoga chick(well not quite that much..)
my last heavy squat session was 1 week before ending my cutting phase and did 495 x 6 at bodyweight of 210.

good advice. i've heard quite a bit about foam rolling stretching but haven't really looked into it.