Six months ago my knees were killing me whenever I came down the hill from a good climb. Now they are great. What changed? My workout.
Every M-W-F, Tiffany and I do a floor workout consisting of core work, upper body, and plenty of legs, usually in combo moves. An example: wall squat-hand walk out-push up-repeat.
Wall squats strengthen both your quads and the supporting muscles around the knee. But what if you can’t do a wall squat? Start with a chair, sitting to standing. That’s an outstanding way to build leg strength. Then when you are ready move to a wall.
Another regular part of our knee routine is the step down, which can be done from a workout platform, a sturdy box or an actual step. When I started these I still had pretty regular knee pain and so liked a spot on our stairs with a handrail for support.
Next on my list of must do knee exercises: the reverse lunge. I like this because you can adjust the dip to your level of fitness. A half-lunge is still a great way to build strength. On the other hand, if you are ready to up the difficulty, add a knee lift after the reverse lunge. From there add a tree balance. Now you have a combo move that builds knee strength and balance.
I saved the best for last. The biggest change in our workouts has been the deep squat. If your new to it USE SUPPORT. Hold onto to something. And as always, listen to your body. That said, doing deep squats regularly is great for our knees, our flexibility, our core, and our balance.
After six months of focused knee exercises I can say I don’t remember the last time I took ibuprofen (used to be daily).
I’m going to include a link to Strength Side, because this guys videos helped me a bunch: