Hello Jordan and Austin,
Quick background info: 38yo male, 182 lbs. Five months ago I injured my knee. No imaging, but I’ve seen two physiotherapist. One suggested a partial meniscus tear, the other didn’t think it was a tear, but some meniscus aggravation of some sort.
Aside from squats, I can get through life with almost no issues. Running isn’t great (I don’t do it anyway), but cycling, for example, is fine. Deadlifts cause zero pain. The most I’ve been able to squat pain free in five months is 195lbs for five reps. Might have been able to a few more, but I’ve been capping it at 5, for consistency. In February I hit 400lbs for a single. I’ve had my form checked on numerous occasions, and have played endlessly with stance width. I’ve tried squatting high bar and with the SSB, but still have pain. I’m not catastrophising this (yes, I’ve listened to Austin’s thoughts on the subject) and continue to do what I can and try putting weight back on the bar. If nothing really improves in a few more months I might see a sports medicine doc for a third opinion. Yesterday there was some minor pain when squatting 185lbs and after my sets I decided to try some front squats, just for kicks. Since the injury, I hadn’t tried front squats simply because I figured that the increased knee angle would definitely hurt, but I easily did two quick sets of five at 185lbs pain free.
Next week I plan on playing around with the front squats some more. If it turns out that I can, in fact, consistently front squat with no pain, is it possible to run the strength template (as written) by substituting front squats for LB Squats? I’ve been itching to run it for a while now, but I’ve put it on hold because of the squat issue. If so, would the sets/reps/RPE remain the same for the front squats? Also, what about the supplemental squat exercises? Tempo front squats at the same reps and RPE as written, etc.?
Thanks