Sore knees?
Many women tell me that they can’t exercise because they have sore knees….is this you?
The fact is, you need your knees to be strong and healthy. It’s not just about exercise, it’s about being functional.
You’ll want strong legs for more than exercise, you’ll want strong legs to be able to sit you up and down from a chair and the restroom too.
The good news is that I have a few tips to help you strengthen your legs without irritating the knees.
It’s important to maintain your lean muscle tone to keep your metabolism stoked. Your legs have the potential to carry a good portion of your muscle ‘mass’ (don’t think big and bulky when you hear this term!). Remember, where your muscles are concerned, if you don’t use it, you lose it. No matter if you have sore knees or not, it’s important to find a way to be able to keep your legs moving and strong.
You’ll see in the video that I suggest a wall sit if your knees are sore and you can’t squat down without pain. This is a perfectly safe exercise to build muscle tone in your quads (the muscles at the front of the leg). Place your back against the wall, slide down until you have a 90 degree angle at the hip, knee and ankle. Keep the feet close together, push your weight through your heels, squeeze your knees together.
Start with a wall sit for 30 seconds and build up to a minute. Try three sets of this daily to increase muscle strength.
The bodyweight squat is a fantastic strengthening exercise, after all it simulates getting up and down from a chair (or the toilet) so this is something that everyone needs to do easily.
Here are some pointers to help you do squats pain free:
- assume a stance that is hip width apart – what ever that is for you
- turn your toes ever so slightly outward
- turn on the glutes by actively pressing the knees outward and over the toes
- tighten the tummy as you push your butt down and backward as if sitting on a chair
- ensure that you bend at the hip first and don’t let the knees slide forward over the toes
- modify depth at first if you feel knee pain
- push the ground away with the entire foot as you stand (keep the heels as flat as you can)
- keep the chin up, eyes forward, chest up
- possibly use a mirror to check your form
You can do a plie squat with a wider stance if you have knee pain. Make sure the shin is perpendicular to the floor and you push through the heels as you stand.
Aside from the fact that squatting builds your booty, the squat is probably the most functional exercise you can do. I want to help you find a way to do it pain free. Knee pain is NOT good, so if you feel pain, we can still find a way to build your metabolism, leg strength (and your booty!).
You’ll find all kinds of info like this and how to lose your menopause in my free book. Do you have yours?
Go to http://ShawnaK.com/freebook to grab your copy.