Better late than never I guess..

[niZmo]

I have been working out since October, and when I had started I was a 115lb weakling, who was struggling to get the bare bar up in bench presses, 15lb dbs were a big obstacle, and dips were a myth..
today on the other hand, after 32 weeks of blood and sweat and (some but not many) tears, my 1RM is now 200, I can properly curl 35's, and I can easily out-dip all of my friends.
A few may have noticed that I fail to mention anything about my legs..that is because I just started to do them =\ (I am an idiot I know)
The area right above my knee caps are VERY weak, I used to do a lot of running in high school, but that was 7 years ago.
I did my first set of squats and dead-lifts last week. I started off with just the bare bar (12 reps) in an attempt to give my legs some sort of prep for what was coming, and I don't want to rush into it. Long story short I got to my third set (120lbs)..and the problem area really started to hurt. I was talking to a gentleman at the juice bar, telling him my problem hoping maybe he would have an answer..
"**** squats for now, spend 21-22 weeks doing just leg extensions, that should strengthen them."
Is this info correct? If not, is there anything I can do to maybe alleviate the pain?

Thanks!
Khalid

[Geoforce]

Can you tell the difference between bad pain and a sore muscle? Because my legs killed me when I started out after doing squats and deads...but it was muscle soreness and not something more severe.

If you haven't done squats before this could be what is happening. Especially if the "pain" didn't start until the third set. Can you rule this out?

[niZmo]

Yeah it's definitely a pain..by the time I get to the third rep, it's a dull pain, then gets sharper and sharper..I know the phrase "no pain, no gain", but this is ridiculous!

[Jim2542]

Yeah it's definitely a pain..by the time I get to the third rep, it's a dull pain, then gets sharper and sharper..I know the phrase "no pain, no gain", but this is ridiculous!

If it's an injury watch out but a lot of times when people have pain doing squats it's from poor form. What angle do you have your feet at? Do your shins stay close to vertical or do your knees go in front of your toes? How wide are your legs? Etc.

[niZmo]

Tomorrow is my squats/dead-lifts day..I'll try to take pictures of exactly what I am doing tomorrow

[asooneyeonig]

try out some box squats. puts most of the strain on the hips which may ease the pain on the knees.

[niZmo]

How do you do a box squat?

[napalm]

How do you do a box squat?

YouTube elitefts 'so you think you can squat', everything you need to know

[niZmo]

thank you kindly!

[niZmo]

Turns out my form is good, I just have no strength in my legs whatsoever.

[Jim2542]

Turns out my form is good, I just have no strength in my legs whatsoever.

Lol we all start there at some point! Just keep on squattin'!

[Geoforce]

Turns out my form is good, I just have no strength in my legs whatsoever.

Start light and work your way up. Soreness will be a major annoyance for a while, but you'll get there.

[niZmo]

Start light and work your way up. Soreness will be a major annoyance for a while, but you'll get there.

I'm expecting the first week or so to be rough, but I'll manage...if it doesn't kill me it makes me stronger right?

[Geoforce]

I'm expecting the first week or so to be rough, but I'll manage...if it doesn't kill me it makes me stronger right?

Try the first month or two if you're squatting properly

Don't let it scare you off, single best exercise you can do for my money. Make sure you're getting in lots of protein doing anything extra to speed recovery. Make sure to take a few days off between sessions.

[niZmo]

Try the first month or two if you're squatting properly

Don't let it scare you off, single best exercise you can do for my money. Make sure you're getting in lots of protein doing anything extra to speed recovery. Make sure to take a few days off between sessions.

I try to get in 200gm a day, but it can get hard for me sometime. As for taking days off..I HATE taking off..if I go more than a day or so of not hitting weights, I get really antsy..I was at the doctor earlier for a sharp pain in my elbow, he said I might need to take a few WEEKS off..I think I'd lose my mind. The gym has become my second home, but I'm TOTALLY ok with that

[adeadbodyman]

maybe try some lunges and wall squats for a warm-up? Or some dumbell squats so you can go lower and more controlled?
Great job on the progress!!!

[Jiigzz]

I try to get in 200gm a day, but it can get hard for me sometime. As for taking days off..I HATE taking off..if I go more than a day or so of not hitting weights, I get really antsy..I was at the doctor earlier for a sharp pain in my elbow, he said I might need to take a few WEEKS off..I think I'd lose my mind. The gym has become my second home, but I'm TOTALLY ok with that

You really need to have rest days too man.

And earlier you posted that you expected the first week to be rough? how many days exactly are you working on your legs?

[gspark05]

I found that my form was what would cause pain in my knee when trying to break a pr on the squat. The reason was my weight was mostly on the front of my fee instead of the ball of my heels. Try shifting the weight to your heels and see if that helps. When I started squats I used the smith machine as it forced me to keep better form. Hope this helps!

[niZmo]

You really need to have rest days too man.

And earlier you posted that you expected the first week to be rough? how many days exactly are you working on your legs?

Yeah, I love to rest, but at the same time, I just wanna get back in..I am just really motivated lol
As of now, I've been doing 2 days a week, I was just being hopeful

[niZmo]

I found that my form was what would cause pain in my knee when trying to break a pr on the squat. The reason was my weight was mostly on the front of my fee instead of the ball of my heels. Try shifting the weight to your heels and see if that helps. When I started squats I used the smith machine as it forced me to keep better form. Hope this helps!

I did find a solution to the pain..different shoes lol, I bought the Minimus by New Balance..really light and very comfortable..
I would strongly advise against holding any weight above your feet though..dropped a 45lb plate on my big toe on Saturday, no damage, but hurt like a MOTHER.

As for the squats, threw on a 45lb plate on each side, said "fcuk it", knocked out 4 sets of 12..didn't think I had it in me