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Knee Issues
I’m having issues with my knees bending when I extend my legs. The goal is to have straight legs, and I make sure to extend through my legs and I feel like they are straight, but then I go back and look at the video and there is a noticeable bend to my knee. I posted a short video demonstrating what I mean. I’m looking for advice on what to do to wok on that bend, as I’m not really sure what is causing it. I do have kind of the opposite of hyperextensive or hypermobile knees, and I must admit that now winter has arrived with a vengeance I have been shamefully slacking in my regular workouts. Still, any advice or recommendations will be gratefully accepted.
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6 Replies
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It’s about keeping the quads fully engaged. If you can manage that, the knee won’t bend. You may not need them to be stronger (for the sake of this) but you need to get routinized in engaging them. Practice will take you there.
When we try to look as much in a split as possible, it easily happens that we compromise straightness in favour of the split (which I think is what’s happening with your back leg a couple of times in that video). I think that most times, it would be better if we did the opposite. At least I personally usually prefer straight legs and maybe not a perfect split, instead of a better split but with bent legs. Usually.
When you practise leg flexibility, don’t just do totally passive splits on the ground, but also standing splits for example, and try to straighten both legs. And even if you practise splits on the ground, engage those quads while you’re sitting there. I’m sure you will improve if you start being more aware of the quad engagement!
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I knew Lina would have a good answer. that makes perfect sense about sacrificing straightness for the sake of the split!
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I saw your video. 🙂
Lina has great advice!! Many times it’s not always about stronger quads but just training the legs. It’s similar to learning to point the foot, tons of practice until you no longer have to think about it. If you have the lessons the new Lower Body Routine would be helpful, it give you a lot of opportunity to focus on leg extension while doing through different exercises. One other thing, sometime if you have very tight hamstrings fully extending the leg can be difficult. https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view/527ab98a-edc8-4144-9793-65ca0a9aa0eb
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Oh I should add that the tight hamstrings would keep the knee bent when bringing the leg in front of the body or to the side, tight quads or hip flexors could cause the knee to bend when reaching the leg behind you. Also if you have existing knee issues/injuries forcing the knees isn’t a good idea.
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Ha ha, busted! â˜ºï¸ I may have been trying to push my range of motion. Thanks Lina. I will definitely pay more attention to what my quads are doing when I’m stretching and flying. I’ll try standing splits in addition to floor ones too. My knees are in good shape, so hopefully I can work this out with everyone’s advice. Thanks to everyone.
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Haha, no problem 😉 You’re not alone! It’s just hard to keep everything in mind at the same time.
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