Instead of doing traditional squats try using a stability ball against a wall:
- The ball should be placed just above your butt.
- Stand up straight with feet out in front of your torso.
- Move your hips back behind you and slowly use the ball to move closer to the floor. Think of this as more of back and forth exercise as opposed to up and down.
- Keep your chest up and your head in a neutral position
- Don’t go any further down than you are capable of. The old school gym bro “ass to the grass” maxim doesn’t mean a damn thing if your form is compromised.
Squatting like this with these things in mind will not only take pressure off of your knees, but will strengthen your hams, glutes and stabilizing muscles, which will eventually alleviate knee pain in the future.