How to Land #06 – Knees

Knees

The Knee angle is usually the biggest focal point for people landing correctly. We bend the knee joint so that the quadriceps, hamstrings & glutes of your legs will contract and take the majority of the landing energy and force.

The knee needs to be 'tracking' correctly, which means it needs to bend in the right direction - in the same direction of the big toe. And it needs to bend enough to allow maximum contraction of the muscles... Which is usually between 120 degrees to 90 degrees (Half-way down to sitting on a chair, to fully sitting position on an invisible chair).

The knees must also try to not go further forward than the ends of your toes. This is more to do with hip position, but try to keep the knees from driving forward too much and fully using the quads. Try to use the hamstring and glutes as well. The external obliques and abs are used to support the lower lumbar spine as you push the bum back.

If you start to feel pain and tension in the knee, it's usually from inflammation of the knee tendon and is a tell-tale sign of using the quads too much. Give it plenty of rest so that it can resolve itself.