How many times has your fitness journey come to a premature end because you tried squatting and your knees weren’t having it? Have you ever viewed a workout video and immediately decided that a particular exercise was impossible because you have “bad knees“? Well this is for you...
Very often we tend to diagnose ourselves with bad knees when in truth they’re simply weak. The knee joint carries much of our body weight therefore the heavier we are the more stress we put on our knees. Thankfully there are steps
(pun intended) that you can take to strengthen your knee joint, because avoiding exercising altogether is simply not the answer. It never is.
Two months into my journey I tried standing after using the restroom and my left knee buckled. I had also been having a lingering discomfort in my right knee, the pain wasn't unbearable but it unfortunately caused me to walk with a limp. Just the thought of having to take a break from my workouts was depressing because the fruits of my labor were in live and living color.
I scheduled a Dr’s appointment as soon as I possibly could, and to my relief there was nothing structuraly wrong. His only recommendation was that I provide support for my knees as I continue to build and
strengthen the muscles that surround them. My calves, hamstrings and quads.
The injury was simply a result of weak knees being pushed to their limits. When muscles are weak and tight (this is why stretching is super important) they absorb less of the stress applied to the joints and the result is often injury or pain.
I wore double knee braces at some point in the initial stages of my journey and took glucosamine tablets to help lubricate my joints. Before long I was able to workout without them and as I continued to improve my strength I found myself box jumping in no time.
Honestly, I wasnt quite sold when my doctor indicated that all I needed was to support my joints while working on strengthening them.
I thought #bracelife would be a part of me forever but boy was I wrong. So brace up those weak knees, they aren't "bad" and work on strengthening them.
Start slowly and build up as time goes on... Here are a few low impact exercises you can perform to help strengthen the muscles that support your knees..
Always stretch and warm up... a brisk walk, stationary marching etc
Calf raises
Hamstring curls (begin with body weight only then feel free to graduate to ankle weights)
Wall sits (dont bend too deep but hold for about 10 seconds)
Prone leg raises (lay flat on your tummy and slowly raise legs one at a time..squeezing your butt and thigh muscle as you raise your leg)
Side leg raises (with a slight bend at the hip while holding the wall or back of a chair for support, slowly raise leg laterally to about a 45° angle.
Make em knees strong again... #BeTheSnack