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Knee pain with squats is one of the most common reasons for either avoiding the leg exercise entirely or lifting far less than you should. The reason for much of this pain is due to pain in the patellar tendons. In this video, I show you not only the three things you want to do to make sure your tendons are properly warmed up and loose before you squat, but the exact routine I do that has been helping my knees feel much better.
To start, you have to make sure that you shorten the range of motion if you are going to work on your tendon readiness prior to squatting. I’m talking about literally just a few inches of motion at the knee joint. Next, you need to incorporate multidirectional movements into your routine. Preferably, you want to include movements in all three planes of motion; front, sagittal, and transverse. Finally, you want to be sure that you are not increasing the weights to two or three times what you would normally squat but rather less than what you would use.
If your tendons are really inflamed and stabbing when you try to squat, you will find that you can benefit from using no weights at all and simply performing the movements shown in this warmup circuit. That said, here is what this leg and knee tendon warmup will look like.
Do just 10 reps of the following exercises to get your patellar tendons and knees feeling loose before you start squatting.
Partial Pulse Squats x 10 reps
Side Step Pulse Squats x 10 reps in each direction
Drop Step Pulse Squats x 10 reps in each direction
Jack Pulse Squats x 10 out and 10 reps in
The goal here is to stay in the terminal range of motion and not be afraid to make the movements a bit ballistic in nature. Remember, your patellar tendons are going to need to be able to accommodate high level tensile forces if they are going to function properly. This can be accomplished by performing the reps of this leg and knee pain warmup routine rather quickly.
Transition from exercise to exercise without resting and be sure to contract the quads and hamstrings as you perform each rep. Try and perform this entire circuit two to three times before doing your first set of squats. You can also opt to do this again at the end of the workout to flush a bit more blood to the area and keep the knees feeling loose after your heavy work.
Feel free to use the routine as a quick leg finisher as well immediately following a set of heavier squats, deadlifts, etc. The burn will be appreciable and you will definitely feel the contraction. Either way, this will quickly become your go-to knee warmup even if you don’t have knee pain. It will just make you feel looser and more ready to attack your heavy sets.
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29 comments
Thanks so much. I was doing great with my sqwats and lunges and then boom! Knee pain. I'll sure do this before my sqwats. When can I expect the pain to go away?
happy new years
Jeff must have like 9% body fat~ incredible!
your the best،man
Thanks man👍
Jeff ik this is old. But youre an absolute king chief🙏
4-5 inches is small? I’m fucked then smh
Insane vid bro keep it up really helpful
i do the reps before running and worked for me thanks Jeff 🙂
1:48 pre-leg warm up
Jeff..I hope you read this comment. Your video mentions people who has issues with their tendons and not OA (bone on bone) problems. I can't squat or lunge without some kind of stabbing pain. There has to be a way to build some kind of quad strength and mobility to rehabilitate the knee somehow. I already know knee replacement is on the horizon but I want to be as strong as possible before I decide to go fwd with surgery. Please do a video for people like myself who suffer from knee OA but want to build strength in their legs and can eventually perform a decent squat or lunge. Thank you. BTW…I am now a subscriber and also purchased one of your workout programs from your website. You are a Godsend.
VPL bounce!
Follow this routine if you wanna see yourself in gym fail videos 😂
Ty for this so much every time i start squating my knees hurt but they feel better like half way in
This is the guy we all looked up to for abs as a kid
When he said 4-5 inches was very small 😕
Can't be arthritis not tendonitis?
How about some bodyweight squats before hitting the rack ? 😂
Simple as that
Tight hips here.
The face while exercising is hilarious! 😂😂😂
Hey , if anybody reading this please reply i am having a big problem in my legs my Achilles tendon is paining and my knee too I can't even walk properly what do i do!!?
Seems obvious but I usually don't warm up enough.
interesting tips im trying this today now
very old video but have anyone with patellar tendonitis had any luck with this before excercise
Someone watches Fortnite dances 🤣. Nice video Jeff
I'm saving all your knee related videos, I had overcome a knee injury a few months ago but after that I was a little afraid of doing squats and deadlift because I didn't want to get that pain anymore. You inspired me and helped me to get more confident about my knees so thank you!
Man this is the best intro
How the cockroaches be like when the cabinets are closed
This actually works!!!😂😂😂