when i tried a 15-rep squat program, my quads got huge and i easily gained 10 lbs over a month. But after a month i started to get knee pain. I think this might be due to quad/hamstring imbalance. the high-rep squat program worked wonders to me and i hope to utilize it again in the future. But how can i do so without causing further imbalance?
when i tried a 15-rep squat program, my quads got huge and i easily gained 10 lbs over a month. But after a month i started to get knee pain. I think this might be due to quad/hamstring imbalance. the high-rep squat program worked wonders to me and i hope to utilize it again in the future. But how can i do so without causing further imbalance?
thanks in advance[/quote]
I’m guessing you are using an olympic type squat so if you were to switch to a powerlifting type squat you would use your hamstrings alot more and take emphasis off the quads. Box squats as recommended by west side is the best for hamstring/glute developement. I also do romanian deadlifts, these really do target the hamstrings.
Withtout actually seeing you squat it is difficult to tell you what to do. First off, are you squatting with a full ROM ? And to add about the whole “olympic squats just work the quads blabla” thing, olympic squats work the entire legs, they work the hams/glutes a lot. If you get knee pain from squatting you’re probably not squatting correctly. I rarely saw quad/ham imbalance in full squatter.
Add some RDL and full squats to the mix and you should be fine to counter that imbalance.
when i tried a 15-rep squat program, my quads got huge and i easily gained 10 lbs over a month. But after a month i started to get knee pain. I think this might be due to quad/hamstring imbalance. the high-rep squat program worked wonders to me and i hope to utilize it again in the future. But how can i do so without causing further imbalance?
thanks in advance[/quote]
It is very unlikely you developed an imbalance big enough to cause knee pain in a month. It is more likely that you are not doing full squats or are using incorrect form and thus you are putting a lot of pressure on your knee and have begun to damage it.
I had the same problem, however instead of doing 15 rep squats i was doing a 5x5 squat, bench and deadlift workout and no direct hamstring work, i got a knee injury with olympic squating, the orthopedic doc. suggested imbalances in lateral and medialis heads of the quads and also weak hams.
About 6 weeks later i was able to perform squats again due to the excruciating knee pain. m rehab work consisted of stiff deads, leg curls and lunges, and as far as the imbalance in the quads i used a foam roller and now my knees are pain free…
Great advice above I cant see this causing a huge imbalance either but dont ignore the assistance work much of which was stated above ill just throw in a vote for Heavy GM’s as well.
[quote]ankit0621 wrote:
I had the same problem, however instead of doing 15 rep squats i was doing a 5x5 squat, bench and deadlift workout and no direct hamstring work.
[/quote]
How do you deadlift without the hammies playing a major role?