Do you suffer from knee pain? Want to avoid it in the future? Consistently performing these knee-strengthening exercises may provide noticeable relief and help prevent pain down the road.
Complete 3 sets of each exercise for 20 repetitions, or as directed. This circuit may be done at home and should be performed every other day to allow muscles to recover. It’s best to do this workout wearing shorts or clothing that lets you see your leg muscles clearly.
Seated Leg Lifts
- Sit on the ground with legs outstretched in front of you, feet roughly hip width apart.
- While actively pointing toes toward you, rotate them out to the sides as far as possible, keeping your heels on the ground.
- With your left side, flex your inner thigh muscle as tightly as possible and lift your entire leg off the ground.
- After a brief pause, lower your left leg and relax the muscle.
- Do 20 lifts and then switch sides for 20 more lifts.
Contract your inner thigh muscle before your outer thigh muscle, as this exercise trains the timing of muscular activation.
Single-Leg High Squat
- Use a chair with a seat height 2 in (5 cm) above the back of your knee.
- With your back to the chair seat, stand on your right foot with your toe pointed forward and your left foot raised 1 to 2 in (2.5 to 5 cm) off the ground in front of you.
- While maintaining a tall upper body, slowly lower your bum to lightly touch the top of the seat. While you may use your arms to assist at first, the goal is to be hands free!
- When you feel the touch, slowly stand back up to starting position, making sure to push your hips all the way forward.
- Perform 20 reps on the right leg and then 20 on the left.
- To adjust difficulty, raise or lower seat height.
Watch your knee track directly over your toes while lowering and raising yourself, being careful not to let your knee cave inward.
Drop Squat
- Begin by standing on your toes with your feet together and your arms relaxed by your sides.
- As you hop your feet out to shoulder width apart, drop down into a seated position, allowing your arms to swing forward while keeping your weight in your heels.
- As you drop down to chair seat height, be sure to have your knees and toes turned outward at a 45-degree angle.
- Pop up to starting position, ensuring your knees still track outward over your toes.
- You should finish on your toes as tall as possible.
Succeed at knee strengthening
Know what you’re dealing with
Many knee problems are caused by weakness or tightness in surrounding muscles. Other problems, like bursitis (inflamed fluid-filled pads at the joint) and tendinitis (tendons inflamed from overuse) can be addressed with sufficient rest, ice and anti-inflammatories.
Go low impact
Avoid exercises or activities that involve jumping, hopping, running or sporadic and random sideways movements. Instead, opt for low-impact activities on predictable surfaces.
Warm up and cool down
Have a good warm-up, like a 5- or 10-minute walk, to get synovial fluid flowing in your joints, and perform all exercises with control and appropriate resistance. Apply ice after exercise to reduce swelling.