Build ripped, athletic legs without knee pain with this workout…
Performing leg workouts and leg exercises can be difficult when dealing with knee pain. In this video, I show you two very big reasons why this happens, and most importantly, what leg exercises you should start doing to eliminate the knee pain and build stronger legs. I put on my physical therapist hat for you to explain the nuances of each exercise and what it means for you depending on your particular source of knee pain.
To start, you have to consider the type of knee pain you are dealing with. There are 4 very common sources of knee pain when working out. The first comes from the common osteoarthritis. This is the degeneration of the surfaces of the cartilage in the knee joint that often results in the bone on bone condition that can be painful during knee exercises and leg workouts. In general, exercise that cause you to drop down too low can be a problem for those that have this condition.
The second common source of knee pain is patellar tendonitis or patellofemoral syndrome. This particular type of pain will cause knee dominant exercises that displace the tibia forward as you perform the movement to be very problematic. With this type of knee pain, you need to fill your leg workouts with exercises that keep your shin more vertical as you perform them.
Likewise, having a torn ACL that has not been repaired successfully or not at all, will cause your knee to be unstable and susceptible to pain when performing certain leg exercises. When the ACL is not intact, your tibia will translate forward on your femur causing the knee to be unstable during leg exercises that cause the shin to tilt when performing them. As you’ll see in the video, this includes exercises like ass to grass squats and forward lunges.
Finally, if your knee pain is coming from a torn meniscus, you will also want to be sure to control the depth of your leg exercises. Causing too much flexion at the knee (particularly under load) will cause a meniscus to become much more susceptible to being pinched and painful. You must select exercises that control the depth of your knee bend if you want to keep your leg workouts pain free. You can select from exercises such as reverse lunges, step ups or the bulgarian split squat as long as you step out far enough when setting up to perform it.
Knee pain is a very common problem for those that work out. It becomes especially problematic when the pain you have in your knees prevents you from being able to do your leg workouts in the first place. This just leads to more weakness in your legs and knees which leads to more problems down the road. If you want to get back to having strong legs you need to do knee exercises that are correct for the problem you have.
The ATHLEAN-X Training System is a complete program used by today’s top professional athletes to not just get ripped and build strong athletic bodies…but fortify their joints as well. If you want to follow the same exact workout that the pros use, head to and get the step by step plan for building a strong, injury proof body.
For more knee exercises for bigger legs or leg workouts you can do at home or at the gym, be sure to subscribe to our channel here on youtube at
27 comments
love this….excellent!!
Thanks Jeff
Im going to try this , the bulgarian split for the first time today or tomorrow..wish me luck
Thanks for being empathetic, Jeff! You are the best 🙏
Jeff you are amazing .
Thank you for the knowledge and advice you pass on to all of us.
Man, 5 year old video still helps
thank you.
I spent 6 years at university studying Human Movement and Sports science, and it cost me thousands of dollars per subject. I have learnt more from watching videos from Athlean X, and its free. I cant say thank you enough! Amazing!!
Thank you Jeff! I haven’t been able to wrestle a full season for 2 years because of my knees. Dislocated my knee cap and have potela tendinitis, hoping this will help
You're a life saver bro.
I love this dud no homo
Post quad tear. Finally got my ability to return to the gym after PT to recover full ROM and also run. I need to work out the atrophy, I am back at the gym since the injury and lost close to 25 lbs. I hope I can recover to the extent I can without placing myself injuring myself again. I feel great but have 4 screws in my patella similar to Calum Avon Monger, I am perplexed that he performs exercises that place him at risk of a re tear. I love your science backed approach. Any recommendations, I hired a trainer to help me and I start working out with him next week. I don’t want to end up top heavy so I’m starting from scratch after 25 years of lifting.
My knees dont hurt but they REALLY LOUD they crackle and pop and theres stretching sounds. I dont even do squats because its so loud I cant imagine its healthy. Do your knees stop making noises once they get used to working out?
Awesome training for me with my Knee issues! Thank you sir!
Anyone else have knee issues when doing backward lunges? I notice that in the forward lunges, my knees dont hurt, but when I try the back lunges the behind knee gets a bit twisted and starts hurting [the front knee is ok since the shin is straight]
If Alpha M trust Jeff then I do
I have cleaned up a lot of issues related to running and cycling by watching your videos. For example, every morning I do glute bridges while reaching arm over to opposite side. It fires the glutes and really opens up the upper back getting me ready to help start my day.
I have meniscus problems but I love the Bulgarian split squat, can I still do it with this problem?
Jeff is the best. Learned alot from this guy.great job and thank you Jeff.
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Truly inspirational video!
I had a meniscus Transplant on my left knee and looking to breakthrough this.
29 years of age and always have been athletic, currently a Firefighter/Paramedic/ Fire Investigator/Investor and looking to continue to stay fit and healthy.
Thank you Jeff!
January 28th 2021 was my surgery date and coming close to full recovery 🙏💯
Best channel on YouTube
For me, having had patellar tendonosis, I just can't do the leg press or the knee extention. The knee/leg extention is an unnatural movement as it is, and it puts a lot of unnecessary strain on the knee, particulary the patella tendon, so even if I did one of two sets on that I would experience pain for the next day or two. The leg press gets worse the lower down I position my feet, because the lower down, the more pressure on the patella tendon. I could do it higher though, but it would be less effective because its more hamstring dominant. So instead I just do any other exercises, such as squats, lunges, BSS's, step ups, etc.
This is amazing!!! First time with a patellar tendinitis and I hate that I have had to rest it for over a week. I can work with these!!! Thank you so much!
Wow thanks man
I misstepped now the outside of my knee feels weak. Does anyone know how i can fix this weak spot?
This video is gold!!! Thanks man!!!