Day 2 - Lower Body Strength

Knee pain during squats almost always points to one of three issues:

• Knees caving inward — your hips aren't strong enough to control the descent. Drop the weight, focus on driving knees out over the toes.
• Going too deep too soon — limited ankle/hip mobility forces your back to round and your knees to track wrong. Stay above parallel until mobility improves.
• Wrong squat variation — if back squat hurts, try goblet squats (dumbbell at chest) or box squats (sit briefly to a bench). Both reduce knee shear.

If pain persists with light weight and good form, see a physiotherapist before continuing. Don't push through joint pain — it doesn't build muscle, it builds injuries.

Yes, and the lunge is exposing it. Most people have a 5–15% strength imbalance between left and right legs from daily habits (sitting, dominant-side carrying, sport asymmetries). Lunges train each leg independently so the weaker side can't hide.

Don't worry about closing the gap fast — just always start the working set with your weaker leg. By the time you hit your stronger leg, you're already a bit fatigued, which lets the stronger side perform closer to the weaker side's limit. Within 4–6 weeks the gap usually shrinks to <5%.

For an absolute beginner, start with just the barbell (45 lb / 20 kg) for week 1 and focus on depth and bracing. Most beginners can add weight quickly:

• Week 2–3: 65–85 lb (30–40 kg) for 3 sets of 12
• Week 4–6: 95–135 lb (45–60 kg) for 3 sets of 12
• End of plan: many trainees can squat their bodyweight for 12 reps

Add weight only when all 3 sets feel clean at the top of the rep range with one rep in the tank. If form breaks down before set 3, you went up too fast — drop back.