FIVE Squat Mistakes You're Making with Your KNEES...
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Let’s identify and fix - in lightning-quick fashion - a few problems we commonly see with lifters’ knees in the squat.
Mistake #1: Knees Too Far In (Valgus Knees)
You’ve got your stance correctly set with your heels at roughly shoulder width and your toes pointed out about 30 degrees. Your knees, however, are tracking inside of your toes - in other words, your knees are going forward and not traveling in line with the direction your feet are pointing.
To fix this, simply cue “knees out,” “knees apart,” or “knees sideways” as you start your descent.
Mistake #2: Knees Too Far Out (Varus Knees)
This is the opposite of Mistake #1, and while less common, it’s still certainly common enough to merit discussion. In this case, you’ve done too good of a job of shoving your knees out - to the point that they now track outside of your toes.
To fix this problem, cue “knees forward” or even “knees stay in.”
Mistake #3: Knees Bending After the Hips Bend
When you start your descent, you want the hips and knees to break (i.e., bend) at the same time, but you’re making the error of bending at the hips first and then bending the knees second. This causes balance and knee positioning problems (the knees usually travel too far forward at the bottom of the squat).
To fix this problem, cue “knees and hips together” or even “knees first,” but remember that this last cue is actually an overcue (i.e., an exaggeration of what we actually want to do).
Be sure to watch the included video to see this problem and the solution in action.
Mistake #4: Knees Slide Too Far Forward
You are breaking at the hips and knees together (i.e., you’re not making Mistake #3), but your knees are traveling far past your toes, and as a result, your balance is either forward or your back angle is too vertical.
To fix this problem, remind yourself to set your knees in their final position (roughly above your toes or just slightly in front of that) at one-third to one-half of the way into your descent. They will still bend after that, of course, but you’ll keep them in that location. Check out our video on using a TUBOW to help with this.
Mistake #5: Knees Not Moving Far Enough Forward
This is simply the opposite of Mistake #4 and can sometimes occur in combination with Mistake #3. In this case, your knees move forward, but only slightly, and as a result, you hit the bottom of your squat with your knees well behind your toes and nearly vertical shins.
The fix here is the same as that for Mistake #4: set the knees during the first portion of the descent. You may need to cue yourself to “set the knees forward” to help with this. Again, check out the TUBOW video to see what this looks like in practice.
As always, we hope these tips help you get stronger and live better.
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