Exercise This: Do you feel your knees when you squat?

Do you feel your knees when you do squats?

You shouldn’t. You should feel the muscles—upper and lower leg—working. If you do feel your knees, you likely have one of the following problems:

• poor arthrokinematics (joint movement)
• muscular imbalance, or
• poor exercise form

Fortunately, the problem is most often ineffective exercise form.

Talking with your health care provider and a certified fitness professional can help with all three issues, but improving your squat exercise form is something you can do at home. Try this technique for eliminating “talking” knees during a squat.

1. Find a sturdy chair and have a seat.
2. Then, stand up.
3. Repeat 1 and 2.

Here’s where good form comes in: The key issue is not to fall down into the seat, but rather to touch your bottom to the seat, keeping the muscles of the glutes and the abs activated. When we’re working out, you’ll hear me say, ‘Tighten your abs and don’t let the glutes relax as you sit down into the chair’. It’ll take some practice, learning a new balance and learning how to control your descent into the chair, but the reduced pressure on the knees will make it well worth the time. —Art

Write about your workout challenges in the comment section, or write Ask Art.