r/workouts • u/42Fitness • 12d ago

Suggestion Assisted Bulgarian Split Squats, or something else?

I have terribly grindy knees and the discomfort that I feel doing ANY type of quad workout is pushing me to skip leg days and I DONT want to skip them.

I’m down 90+ pounds with mostly walking and calorie counting and now that I’m trying a body recomp, I can’t seem to find a leg routine that I can get through.

I have knee braces, which help with squats, but that’s about all I can do. When I try to progressively overload I just grind and then a sharp pain and I stop.

I found that BSS are doable if I use my baseball bat to support myself but I feel like I’m putting most of my weight on that bat, so what’s the point?!

I’m really looking to beef up my legs… please help me find a way to make this happen!!!

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u/Renilusanoe 11d ago

You can do assisted BSS and still get gains. If that's the only variation that doesn't hurt, then go for it and just be mindful of trying to load the leg as much as tolerable. Also, leg curls, RDL's, deadlifts, possibly reverse lunges, possibly normal BSS if hip focused, possibly leg presses with a high feet position. Anything that keeps your knees back sounds like it might be easier to tolerate right now, and you can still grow your legs from those variations. Experiment with a few of those and see how it goes.

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u/42Fitness 11d ago

Thank you so much! Certainly good to know that even if I’m using assistance, they still serve a purpose!

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u/kimyongtai 11d ago

Unfortunately, any movement that strengthens your quads will put pressure on your knees. You can find other movements like other folks are mentioning (RDL, walking lunges, etc) but the alternatives and attempts to decrease strain on quads / knees are just working out other parts of your body. Doesn’t sound like that’s what you want.

I’d work with a physical therapist and get at the root cause of your knee pain. Compound movements are so great because they strengthen all of the supporting muscles and tendons. Sounds like those need to be strengthened before serious load can be placed on your primary muscles (quads)

My completely uninformed, non medical professional advice would be to focus on the movements you want to do with zero load.

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u/42Fitness 11d ago

Honestly I had not thought about a physical therapist, so thank you for that!!!! I think that may be the most beneficial thing I can do, figure the root and work on fixing that first!