“Sit Your Hips Back”

“Weight In Your Heels”

“Don’t Let The Knees Come Forward”

These are just a few of the most misused cues I’ve heard over the years from trainers, PTs, and ‘experts’ alike. 

There was a long held belief that letting your knees come past your toes when training was a cause of knee pain.

From our experience with hundreds of clients ar our PT clinic we know that those that already have knee pain, patellar tendinitis, patellofemoral pain, and other knee related issues - letting the knee come forward can be painful.

However, just because the knee pain is exaggerated when the knee comes forward does not mean that the knee coming forward is the actual problem.

When pain, inflammation, and movement compensations are present this is the case. But it’s not the reason that the pain started - and I would actually argue a bigger reason the knee hurts when you bring it forward is because you never trained in that position previously.

The more you expose your body to different movement patterns, the more your body is able to adapt and improve. 

Thanks to Ben Patrick, AKA ‘knees over toes guy’, the training with your knees over your toe movement has been largely popularized and less feared.

But why is it really important to train this way?

Whether your goals are to have less pain, improve your performance, or simply feel better as you age - let’s dive into some of the benefits knees over toes training offers:

1: Improved Knee, Back, and Hip Pain

One of the biggest benefits of not fearing letting your knees come forward, and actually training this way, is the improvement it can have in how your joints feel. Specifically your knees, back, and hips. For example when you squat, allowing your knees to come forward when squatting while keeping the heels flat (ankle dorsiflexion) has a slight increase in force on the knee but a significant reduction in stress on the lower back.

Improving your ability to let the knee travel over the toe in a controlled way (and done correctly) can improve how your joints feel.

2: Better Prepared For Life

Pay attention to how many times your knee comes forward over your toes with day to day activities. To assume that training or exercising in the same way is causing harm is ridiculous to me. The more you expose yourself to these positions the more you’ll be prepared when you have to get into these positions.

Using the gym to improve your ability for your knees to come over your toes will make you better prepared for life - whether climbing stairs, hiking, or picking up your kid.

3: Improved Quad Strength/Development and Ankle Mobility

As mentioned above in point 1, limited ankle mobility can cause many problems at your knees, hips, and low back. By training knees over toes you can see some great improvements in your ankle mobility, which will help with both pain reduction and performance in gym and sport (see next points). The secondary benefit to improved ankle mobility and knees over toe training is better quad strength and development. 

The larger the range of motion you are able to move your muscles through will result in improved strength and mobility, and allowing the knees to come forward will help accomplish this.

4: Increased Potential In The Gym and In Sport

Similar to daily life, lifting at the gym or performing at a high level in sport will require lots of strength, range of motion, and control. And knees over toes training can help you accomplish that. Whether you’re squatting, jumping, cutting, running, or any combination - this will help improve your performance.

If you’re looking to maximize your potential at the gym, in your lifts, or in your sport - you’ll notice getting more confident and strong in the knee forward position is a necessary requirement.

While I think the knees over toes movement has gone a little extreme, and it’s not the cure all for knee pain or athletic performance, I do think it has several benefits and is something you should not fear when done correctly. That being said, don’t overdo it either, especially if you’re having pain. Following a program from a professional is always a good bet if pain is present or increasing as you do exercises.