I get this question from clients all the time, simply said.. I have no idea. There could be a myriad of reasons for knee pain. The more important question is, "what can I do instead?". Continuing to move and strengthen around that knee, without causing further pain, is going to keep us moving towards the goal. The lunge is a single leg, knee dominant exercise. Exercises that might cause similar issues are split squats, step ups, single leg squats, Bulgarian split squats, or any exercise where the knees are going forward over the toes. For most people, I recommend switching to an isometric, or hold. To perform this, the client starts near a wall (for support if needed), taking a large step back (like a lunge), lowering the back knee bringing the body towards the ground. Find a depth that isn't painful, but is difficult, then HOLD and SQUEEZE in that position. The holds will increase the tendon strength as well as muscular strength, familiarize your muscles with deeper ranges of motion, build confidence in that split stance, and increase the ability to balance. By reducing the shearing force (going up and down) on the knee we can normally make things more comfortable. For more painful cases, I will switch to a single leg, hip dominant exercise. My favorites would be single leg deadlifts and single leg hip lifts. If the client still wants a knee dominant exercise, switch to a two leg, knee dominant exercise (like a body weight squat, or box squat). In the most extreme cases, a wall sit should never go out of style. Low impact, the client can get to a depth that isn't painful, and will still get similar (just less) adaptation to the single leg hold I went over above.

I'm hearing /reading all about the benefits of creatine supplementation for active individuals (strength, fatigue resistance, better tolerance for high intensity exercise, muscle mass, etc...). This all sounds great, but I am concerned about weight gain. Even though I'm told that this is most often related to water retention, I would still prefer to not gain any more weight. Is there a way around this?

Simply put, motivation doesn't work for long, and isn't always going to be there. It is more of a wave that comes and goes. However, being consistent despite of these waves WILL get you to where you want to go. Show up on days where it's easy and go hard, show up on days where it feels impossible and take it easier. The continuous conscious effort of forcing yourself to go is something that will become a part of who you are and how you operate. If its 15 minutes of moderate effort or 60 minutes of intense effort, creating and maintaining the habit is going to become the motivation.

Goal- I want to be able to sprint anywhere between 60m-400m without the effects of the lactic acid build up/the burning that cramps my legs and slows me down. How can I do this most effectively?

This is a question I get from more intermediate and advanced lifters, particularly friends. Not to say this isn't information for beginners, it just might be a little out of the realm of "necessary" at this point. For those who don't know a "split" is how someone would break their exercises down for a week. For example, Lower Upper, Push Pull Legs, 3 Full body, 5 Full body, "Bro" splits, etc. Like most things in life, there is no perfect answer. I recommend making a decision, pick one, and try it for at least a month. If it isn't stimulating your brain to want to continue then switch to something new. The program that is going to keep you showing up, is the one that is going to yield results 10 times out of 10. The split/program you actually enjoy will get you to show up more regularly. One thing I would be remiss not to add is prioritizing rest. I try to remind people that we grow in recovery, not by constantly breaking down the muscles. As a couple good rules of thumb: - Try not to exceed 16 sets per muscle group in a week. Limiting the amount of sets you do will force you to increase the intensity of your sets, while also preventing you from overtraining and causing injury. This will increase your progress and eliminate "junk volume". - Every 2-3 days should be a day off the weights. Notice I didn't use "rest day". That's because a good cardio focused day, recovery/mobility day, or yoga session will vastly improve your weekly gains more than laying down on the couch watching football ever will. - Enjoy the process! Going back to what I mentioned above, if you don't enjoy it, you won't show up. If consistency is the number 1 factor in losing weight or gaining muscle... showing up is the number 1 thing you can possibly do.