Hey, first time poster here! Quick intro: I have been working out for 2 years (only 1 with proper discipline) & have made gains in almost every body part. Except my legs - and here's why.
Knee pain is a HUGE issue for me & it's adversely affecting my leg gains - I now suffer from 'chicken legs'.
I've noticed that front/back squats & leg presses always give me really painful patellar tendonitis. However, deadlifts, lunges, isolation exercises like knee extensions (with lighter weight and controlled reps) aren't painful & seem effective.
I'm no physio, but my theory is that - anatomically - some of us with proportionately long legs/short torsos may find it hard to prevent our knees from tracking in front of our ankles/toes. This means the compression screws our knee joints. Box squats do help me to sit back & use my hip hinge & glutes to alleviate this tracking issue, but I still leave the gym feeling like I have 80-year-old knees, even if I stick to less than 220lbs of weight!
Does anyone suffer from a similar problem? If so, any tips/experience for managing it?