It doesn't seem like knee valgus is an actual issue. People discuss it and say it's something you should fix. It is generally a sign of poor glute, especially poor side / upper glute, strength. Working on your side glutes apparently decreases knee valgus. I've never heard of anybody getting injured from knee valgus. The same thing goes for posterior pelvic tilt during various compound leg exercises. I've broken so many rules when it comes to injury prevention with certain exercises that I'm naturally always skeptical when someone tells me an exercise can injure me. I started lifting in 2013.

I also have a theory that the adductor magnus contributes towards knee valgus. The adductor magnus is both a hip adductor and hip extensor. It functions like a hamstring. The thing is, with the way the muscle fibers are oriented and the attachment points on the femur (I'm personally just going off of images I saw online.), it looks like when it contracts, you can't really isolate its hip extension function from its hip adduction function. The so-called hamstring portion of the adductor magnus still attaches to the side of the femur rather than underneath it, so it should still contribute towards hip adduction. The side glutes are going to oppose the hip adduction caused by the adductor magnus. This is just my theory, but I'm not the only one who thinks the adductor magnus plays a role in knee valgus.

>>76373026 (OP)
my knees, even when standing, are offset like the bad pic. Not that extreme but noticeable. IDK what to do or if it's normal.

>>76373047
You possibly have knock knees. The opposite would be bow leggedness.

>>76373049
just googled it, yea it's that 100%
I also have a flat foot and bad pelvis positioning. I think you're 100% right that weak muscles up the chain led to the development issue that caused it. idk any specifics.

>>76373062
>I think you're 100% right that weak muscles up the chain led to the development issue that caused it.
This thread is about knee valgus when you're squatting. When doing heavy squats, you're likely to have your knees cave in. This is different from the disorder of knock knees.

>place feet and knees in the position they'd otherwise cave into during the concentric
>knee valgus gone, squat feels completely natural
adults are retarded. babies and their instincts are genius in comparison

Bump.

>>76373071
>When doing heavy squats, you're likely to have your knees cave in.
as your psoas gives out holding your lumbar spine extended it pulls on the other end caving the knees in
>>76373569
>>place feet and knees in the position they'd otherwise cave into during the concentric
>>knee valgus gone, squat feels completely natural
>adults are retarded. babies and their instincts are genius in comparison
no bot, the movement is actually retarded, it grows 2 things u want less off - enormous adductors and proximal parts (closer to hip) of vastus lateralis turning your thighs into unsightly ball and introducing host of muscular imbalances in hips and thighs

>>76373026 (OP)
It's not theory, it's a fact.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9385941/

>>76375543
>as your psoas gives out holding your lumbar spine extended
It does the opposite of this. The psoas is a hip flexor, not hip extensor, and how the hell could the same muscle perform opposite functions?

>>76375557
>The psoas is a hip flexor, not hip extensor
it's hip flexor and ADDUCTOR bot
> how the hell could the same muscle perform opposite functions?>>76375543
>as your psoas gives out holding your lumbar spine extended it pulls on the other end caving knees in
it reflex flexes as it's being ripped apart at fan-like lumbar spine origin

>>76375597
The psoas does not function as a hip adductor, and even if it did you don't really need hip adduction for squats. It seems as though just the adductor magnus flexes really hard for the purpose of hip extension, but it also consequently adducts the hips. The psoas might be working very lightly just for stabilization.
https://www.kenhub.com/en/library/anatomy/psoas-major-muscle

Knees come in to use quads more effectively. Alot of olympic weightlifters do it especially the women. Plenty of men too though. Karlos Nasar does it on every squat and practically touches his knees together on his heaviest squats. Xiaojun does it on his heaviest squats. Tian tiao does it too but to a lesser degree.

>>76373026 (OP)
Ive hears rhat its a sign of low adductor strenght so your body moves into a position where glutes take over

>>76375650
Wrong. Knees out, you are using glutes. Knees in, your quads are completely taking over.

>>76375656
>Knees out, you are using glutes. Knees in, your quads are completely taking over.
It's the same amount of hip extension and knee extension in both scenarios. It's not that extreme.