Are Hindu squats bad for the knees?
I’m a big believer in bodyweight exercises, particularly Indian push-ups and Indian squats. However, many people don’t even want to try Hindu squats because they believe that since the knee extends past the knee, this is dangerous. It will somehow “cut the knees”.
I have no doubt that you want to treat your knees with care. The knee is a delicate joint and can be one of the most trouble spots for people (along with back pain). When you lose your knee cartilage, it’s gone forever. I speak from experience on this. On the right side of my right knee there is cartilage that is severely damaged. What happened to me?
Well, they certainly weren’t Indian squats. I used to be a great runner and I suspect all the “pavement slams” I did really knocked my knees out. I also sprained my knee a lot more than 20 years ago playing soccer in a park. I didn’t think of that at the time, but my doctor suspects this is where the initial damage occurred. So when it comes to knee pain and knee damage, I think I know something about it.
From my experience with Indian squats, they strengthen the knee. When I first started this exercise, there were some aches and pains, not to mention pops and pops. However, I took it in stride and carried on. After about a month of constant training (ie training every day), the pain seemed to go away. It took some time, but this type of bodyweight exercise, like all exercises, not only strengthens your muscles and helps you build endurance, but also strengthens your ligaments and tendons. This is something that weightlifting does not do.
Some people have told me that baseball catchers have terrible knees. Supposedly, they got that way because of all the occupations they do. This sounds like an old wives’ tale to me. The people telling me this cannot offer the real names of any baseball catchers who believe this. Until they do, I will remain highly suspicious of this claim.
But there is another factor in my thinking here. The fact of the matter is that a good part of the world sits in the position of receiver regularly throughout their lives. If you’ve ever been to Asia, you’ll see people squat like this all the time. I’m willing to bet that these people have much healthier knees and backs than Americans. If there was any truth to the “broken knees” theory, one would think there would be an epidemic of shots to the knees in Asia. It just hasn’t happened.
In conclusion, in my experience, Hindu squats do not harm the knees. In fact, just the opposite. In fact, they can help you strengthen your knees and get rid of chronic knee pain. You just have to work at it.
