As a bodybuilder, you spend a lot of time thinking about your muscles. You try everything you can think of to make them grow, make them stronger, and make them stand out. However, as bodybuilders, you should think about your body as whole, not just your muscles.

I talk a lot about working on your mental conditioning and how important that is to building your best self. But one area of the body that often gets overlooked is your joints. Because no one has ever complemented another bodybuilder with a, “Great knees!”, healthy knees remain a low priority.

For a lot of lifters, bad knees limit their ability train properly and maximize their muscle gains. I don’t want you to be one of those lifters. I’ve compiled my best training into my membership site to help lifters like you stay healthy while building an amazing physique. Here are 3 tips to specifically eliminate pain in your knees so you can get the most out of your workout.

Watch Your Diet

Wait, this is supposed to be tips to save your knees, right? Well, the best way to save your knees from strain is to watch your diet and keep your weight down. If you’re like a lot of lifters, when you’re bulking up, you’re solely focused on gaining mass. That tunnel vision blinds you to the fact that the pounds you are adding to your body are felt by your knees with every step you take.

I see way too many guys in the gym that have a ton of muscle mass, but because of poor diets, also have sloppy midsections and a lot of unneeded weight. When you’re bulking up, keep your calorie intake at just enough to gain the muscle you need without the fat you don’t want.

Make Friends with the Elliptical

The elliptical machine isn’t just for soccer moms and the geriatric crowd. If you have bad knees, the elliptical can be your best friend.

A lot of my cardio is walking or running, but that’s definitely not what I would suggest for someone with bad knees. If you’ve had prior knee surgeries, or even have regular knee pain, the treadmill causes a pounding on your leg joints that is painful and unnecessary. Due to the smooth motion of the elliptical, the impact on your knees is virtually zero. You can get the cardio your body needs to maintain optimal fat burning while saving your joints a ton of pain.

Use Proper Form and Weight

Everyone wants to go heavy on the squat rack. And, to be honest, you’re not going to succeed at this sport without pushing yourself to achieve PRs. But you can’t take short cuts or skip steps.

When I started training, I wasn’t the strongest guy in my gym at the squat rack. You probably aren’t either. And your initial instinct is to be competitive and try to lift as much as the guy next to you.

That’s a big mistake.

Lifting more than you’re capable of and sacrificing form is one of the cardinal sins of training. Again, you can’t skip steps. You can’t just will your body to compensate for being behind on years of training. It will cause poor form and injury. This is especially true for leg exercises like squats.

When you practice improper form on squats (especially when lifting too much weight) your knees suffer.

Learn with the Best

I’ve seen far too many training injuries that could have been prevented with simple tips and some expertise. In My VIP Membership Site, I have training tips, workout videos where you can view exercises with perfect form, a monthly Q & A and a ton more. If you want to get in amazing shape quickly and safely, check it out.