Best of Health and Fitness

There’s a very common myth in bodybuilding that, “Squats are bad for your knees.” Hello! Any lift is bad for you if you execute it wrong. This whole myth came about because one too many people ended up trashing their knees from doing too much weight with horrible form. The reason squats became the villain is because it is an exercise that involves the entire body, and therefore has more things that can go wrong if one uses incorrect form. When squatting it is critical to keep the head and eyes straight ahead, the back at no more than a 45-degree angle, with the feet at, or slightly past shoulder width apart. When lifting, the backs of your legs should come down until they are parallel with the floor. Many people only do partial reps, thinking it puts less stress on the knees. Fact is, if you only do 1/2 or 1/4 squats, the stress from stopping short puts a lot of negative stress on the knees. When performing a full parallel squat, it is the glutes and hamstrings, which absorb the stress.