How to Squat with Patellar Tendonitis (NO MORE PAIN!)

Doing squats with patellar tendonitis can be downright brutal. In this video, I show you how to squat with a chronic or acute case of patellar tendonitis that is giving you stabbing, sharp pain in your knees every time you bend them to perform another rep.

The issue that is going on here is that your tendons in your knees are reluctant to allow the muscles in the legs (mostly the glutes, hamstrings and then the quads) from handling the load of the squat. Most often this is due to a lack of confidence in the strength of these muscles to handle the load that you have on the bar (particularly in the bottom half of the squat).

This can also be aggravated even more by a chronic reliance on the tendons to support the weight rather than letting the muscles lift the weight. This is particularly true when you tend to squat by bending the knees first rather than hinging at the hips. You teach your body faulty biomechanics that cause the knees to become too reliant on their tendons to handle the weights.

The first step in breaking this cycle is to relearn the squat from the ground up, and as seen here, perform a variation of the squat that allows you to achieve better form with minimal effort. Enter the box squat. The key difference between the box squat and the regular squat (regardless of whether it is a high bar or low bar squat we are talking about) is that the box provides a safety net for your legs which allows you to delegate the load from the tendons to the muscles that should be handling this in the first place.

The other benefit of the box is that it provides you with a bottom point for determining parallel without having to guess on each and every rep. Most of the time, those that squat without a box or bench are going to cut short the depth with each subsequent rep (especially as fatigue sets in). Not on the box squat. Here you have the tactile cue of the bench to ensure that you are getting low enough to establish a brief contact of your butt to the bench.

The depth you are looking for is one that allows your butt to reach fully parallel. While there is some disagreement as to where this position is. The easiest way to think about it is when the crease in your upper thigh and hip is on the same level as your kneecap. When this happens, you have squatted to parallel and do not need to go any further to see gains.

[pilot]

This seriously is by far the best workout channel on YouTube. Instead of many other guys he actually just gives you the truth and you can always be sure that it's nothing but the truth. Thank you Jeff!

[Jessicia]

As a heavy woman I've had a hard time getting into squatting as my knees are already carrying a lot of extra load and all my supporting muscles are weak. This has allowed me to add them into my workout. Thanks Jeff!

[aashishsingh]

Patellar Tendonitis sufferer here....take rest guys....trust me this is one of the pain which becomes unbearable...so severe that you won't be able to sit on a chair without falling in....have started my rehab... hopefully will recover soon! 🤞🏼

[henrybrown]

Perfect jeff! this is exactly what I needed to see! I thought I was doomed to taking pain pills on leg days now I'm back at 315 for reps. thank you!

[chrismorin]

This came at a perfect time. I want to get back into squatting but knee pain has kept me away. I've been doing deadlifts and RDLs for a couple months now and no squats. I'll definitely add this to my training. Thank you.

[pmcmva]

I'm 50. I was a competitive bodybuilder 30 years ago. I've had multiple patella tendon dislocations in both knees from various (non-weight lifting) events/causes. I still squat. I use this technique. I works. I couldn't care less what people in the gym think of it. Thanks, Jeff!

[PhatBoyFitnessJourneyVlogs]

I do box squats! It actually helps with my knee pain & lower back pain

[andreharris]

Jeff: Thanks a ton. Started doing the 5x5 training program at age 46. I made good gains in a short amount of time but poor form started killing my knees. This tip worked instantly with just a quick trial on a regular chair. Thanks!!

[luiszapata]

Man this ACTUALLY helps! I was afraid of trying with my PT and was about to quit squats for good. But with this variation I can squat without pain, it's amazing!!!

[afnanzoheb]

4 years later, and I've found a solution to my knee pain and I'm able to squat 🙏🏻

[YeyMuffinsYey]

Jesus Christ this makes it so much better. You saved my lifting career Jeff, that I thought was over

[isaachuertavega]

This is exactly what I was looking for! Been dealing with knee pain for so long. Thank you!

[euaggelion]

Jeff's the best fitness coach on YT, hands down. I've been buying his programs since Jan 2020, and my life has completely changed for the better.

[ikeith]

This guy needs to show us more calf exercises, there aren't enough of them.

[larrypayne]

These videos are the reason I subscribed, after years of being out of the gym due to injuries and wishing someone with a PT background would put something out like this I could not be more excited. Keep up the great work Jeff!

[TomSekey]

For 20 years I did box squats because my knees hurt any time I squatted down. They always cracked since I was a kid. Some doctor told me never to squat. Well this year I decided to do full squats starting over with light weight and using proper squat form. My knees are getting stronger and hurt less than they ever have. Something to be said about full range of motion

[zackmartinez.]

man the description game is something else, love how he goes into depth in the video as well as the description, great work Jeff

[led]

Wow! Thank you for this, I just started experiencing this knee pain for the second time after starting working out rigorously again. After two months it flares up, this has helped me SO much understand my incorrect form I’ve been doing. I appreciate this explanation.

[hardwellland]

I'm 21 and I got knee injury 4 years ago. The reason was moving my left femur's meniscus. So I couldn't be able to do squads and have been skip leg day at all. To be honest, this video helped me like a right side angel and I bring back leg days in my trains.

Thanks a lot Jeff, Keep it up!

[moolvera]

Can you do a video on leg exercises for folks with “runner’s knee, ” or chondromalacia patella ?