Hi all

Ive read alot about compound movements such as squats, deadlifts and lunges being essential to your lifting workout. I have problems with my knees, and am carrying a significant amount of weight.

Any suggestions or other recommendations?

Thanks.

i used to barely be able to walk correctly.

elliptical + leg press + leg extension until my legs were strong enough to run on the treadmill.

then i switched to free weight squats / pistol squats / lunges / deadlifts.

supplementing with glucosamine, my legs and knees have never been stronger.

My knees improved with strength training, especially as my posterior chain improved (hams & glutes). Also, glucosamine/chondroitin helped. Add in good doses of fish oil supplements to keep the inflammation down. Strangely, once I started working on deepening my squat and improving flexibility to allow for that I also continued to improve.

Also, Bullet Proof Knees (http://www.bulletproofknees.com/) is supposedly good information from a fairly widely recognized trainer that writes for t-nation. I don't have it, but I do have another product he's involved in.

db74...of the three I don't think lunges are essential at all.

In my entire life I've done about 8 lunges.

I used to have a bum left knee. Right now, among other things I'm doing a total of 100 reps on my Smith vertical leg press of which the last 20 are 415lbs x20.

I also use my eliptical frequently.

And I Squat and Dead as well.

On all these lifts, foot placement/foot width/stance/depth can all have a big effect on the knees.

Because of the weight you carry around every day, your legs are pretty well used to handling that weight.

But I would still start at the "bottom" if you are going to start Squatting and/or Deading.

What kind of problems do you have with your knees?

Some problems are fixable...others aren't...