Tip Build Quads Without Knee Pain Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training Tip Build Quads Without Knee Pain Got knee pain or recovering from an injury You don' t have to watch your quads or your leg strength dwindle away Try these 3 moves by Ben Bruno February 5, 2017January 11, 2022 Tags It Hurts Fix It, Tips, Training Bands can be extremely useful to facilitate a solid posterior weight shift and safely strengthen the quads. Here are some different ways you can use them to serve your needs. For true single leg work like one-leg squats and skater squats, attach one end of a band to a sturdy post and loop the other end behind your knee. From there, do the exercise as you normally would. The band forces you to sit back to avoid being pulled forward, thereby loading the hips and taking stress off the knee at the bottom portion of the rep. As you come up, it shifts from a hip dominant movement pattern to a more quad dominant terminal knee extension (TKE), allowing you to strengthen the vastus medialis (VMO) within a more knee-friendly range of motion. You can also do something similar to split stance work, only it's better to attach the band to a belt rather than putting it behind your knee. Make sure to set up with a longer stride such that your tibia is perpendicular to the floor. The band increases the demands on the quads because you have to continually push through your toes to grip the floor and maintain stability, but it does so within safe joint ranges because it's simultaneously driving you to sit back and maintain a vertical shin to keep from getting pulled forward. To help groove a good bilateral squatting pattern, try cable hip belt squats. The cable doesn't drastically alter the squatting pattern but still allows you to practice free squatting while reflexively teaching you to sit. A band also works in a pinch here too. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training What Every Home Gym is Missing Whether you're training in a home gym or commercial gym, this versatile yet underrated tool needs a place in your workout. Bodybuilding, Exercise Coaching, Powerlifting & Strength Dean Graddon August 24 Training Tip Should You Auto-Regulate Your Training What's best, sticking to your program no matter what, or mixing it up based on how you feel that day? Here's what science says. Bodybuilding, Powerlifting & Strength, Tips, Training Shawn Wayland November 24 Training Tip Plank Chin-Ups Good at chin-ups? Nice. Now try this. Keep your body straight and touch your sternum to the bar. Exercise Coaching, Pull-Up, Tips Ben Bruno August 27 Training Leaner Healthier and Still Squatting 800 John has always been strong. But could he stay strong while losing over 135 pounds? Check out his dramatic story. Training John Gaglione September 24