Whether it be back squats, goblet squats, single leg squats or lunges, one of the most common errors I see are peoples knees falling inwards during a squat. This can be caused by quite a few things, including tight adductors, weak or inactive glutes, or because of your physiological makeup. If you look like you have cardboard knees when you squat, here are 4 possible ways to fix the issue.
1. Strengthen your Glutes
Our glutes serve as external rotators, which ultimately helps pull our knees apart. When our glutes are weak or inactive this can cause our knees to fall in. Some exercises to help activate, as well as strengthen your glutes are:
2. Change of Footwear
One thing that I have found to be a very common cause to bad squat form is the wrong type of footwear. If the athlete is wearing running shoes with excess padding it can be hard for them to feel where their feet are pushing into the ground. One thing that has helped many of the athletes I have worked with is simply taking off their shoes. Taking off their shoes helps them feel where they are pushing and helps them activate their glutes more keeping their knees out. Another option is buying proper weightlifting shoes. This option can be more costly, but if you spend a large amount of time in the gym it could be worthwhile.
3. Stretch and Foam Roll your Adductors
Your adductors (inside of thigh) are responsible for the internal rotation of your knees. When we pull our knees apart they stretch out. If they are tight, this can mean that they pull our knees together. Use a lacrosse ball to help release muscle knots. Once you have rolled out it is good to pair with mobility exercises such as:
4. Adjust your Stance
There is no “one size fits all'' squat stance. Physiological differences mean that we will all look different when squatting. Simply adjusting your toe angle and feet distance can also be extremely beneficial.
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