This routine of knee strengthening
exercises will challenge your thigh, hip and leg muscles to improve your
strength and balance. Building the support for your knee joint in this way will
also help improve your resistance to injury.
As you’ll see below, each exercise
can be adjusted to your ability level so you get the right intensity for your
workout. Follow the illustrations, instructions so your routine will be both challenging and
safe!
Prone Leg Curls
(starting position) Reach the top of
your head and feet in opposite directions until your upper body, knees and feet
are off the floor. Hold your arms straight and squeeze your shoulder blades and
your thighs together. From the starting position, bend and straighten your
knees slowly, keeping your knees off the ground throughout the exercise. Also
keep your knees as close together as possible--squeeze a pillow between your
knees if that helps. Repeat 12-15 times. Add light ankle weights to increase
the challenge.
Step
ups
Begin with your R foot up on a 9”
stair step. Raise up to stand fully upright, and then raise your L knee up
toward your chest, driving your R arm up at the same time. Lower slowly in 2-3
seconds to return to the starting position. As you go down, touch your R toes
to the ground, but try not to put all of your weight in your foot before you
start back up. To increase the challenge, work from the second step, or use a
higher platform .Repeat up to 15-20 times on each side.
3 Single leg bridge
Knees bent and feet flat on the
floor as above with your heels spaced comfortably from your bottom. Raise your
bottom upward slowly until there is a straight line from your shoulders to your
knees. Hold this position and stretch your R leg out. Hold 5 seconds, put the R
leg back and stretch your L leg out. Repeat 2-3 times for each leg, lower to
the start position for a brief rest, and then repeat the entire sequence.
Are
you not quite ready for these knee strengthening exercises?
To build up to exercise 1, start with hamstring sets, standing leg curls, . To prepare for exercises 2 and 4, practice the intro routine here, and also try exercise 6 below. You’ll be ready to work on the single leg bridge once you can hold a 2 leg bridge with good form for 20-30 seconds. If you find exercise 5 difficult, practice this routine to build your core strength.
4 Lunge
Step backward with your right foot
and lower your weight toward the ground. Stop at the point where you can feel
your muscles working. Hold for 10-15 seconds. Keep both of your feet pointing
forward and keep your left knee centered over your ankle. Also do not let your
knee go forward past your toes. Use a wall to help with balance if needed.
Repeat 4-6 times each side.
As with the other knee strengthening
exercises, you can adjust this move to match your ability level. A larger,
deeper step will make the exercise much more challenging if needed. If this
exercise is too difficult, it's fine to skip this one and focus on the other
exercises for now.
Are knee problems slowing your
progress? Get specialist advice on how to beat knee pain.
5 Stability ball curls
Put your feet up on a stability ball
as shown. With your arms on the floor to help you balance, lift your waist up
to form a straight line from your shoulders to your knees. Hold this position
and curl the ball underneath your legs. Don’t let your body sag toward the
floor during the exercise. Straighten your legs all the way and repeat 8-12
times. If this exercise is difficult, start by balancing with straight legs,
then do small curls and work your way up.
6 Wall slides
Stand with your back against a wall
and step your feet out from the wall about 18”. Then lower yourself down into a
squat. As with the lunge, stop at the point where you can feel your muscles
working. Keep both of your feet pointing forward and keep your knees centered
over your ankles. Hold for 15-20 seconds and repeat 3-5 times. You can squeeze
a volleyball or playground ball between your knees during the exercise to
isolate the inner quads. This exercise can also be done with a stability ball.
Lean against the ball so that your waist is against the center of the ball. Of
course, the deeper you go, the more challenging the exercise. Just don't go
past a 90 degree angle so that you avoid excessive stress on your knee. The
same goes for #4.
For knee exercises refer my previous post osteoarthritis of knee............
Disclaimer: This information might have been copied from different sources to give the best accessible.
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