KNEE STRENGTH AND STABILITY

Knee injuries are massively obnoxious.  They can knock you on your butt, literally and figuratively, and they can nag you for ages.  I've put together a couple of exercises designed to help increase the strength and stability of the muscles surrounding the knee.  The idea is that by strengthening the muscles and stability surrounding the knee, you should be able to help prevent some of the extra wear and tear working out can put on the knee.  If you have a history of injuries, or you have general aches and pains, these exercises can help.  Obviously, this won't help if you get tackled to the ground by a linebacker, and if you have knee issues that have been holding you back from picking up that parkour hobby, these tips aren't gonna turn that dream into a reality for you, sorry. But you should be able to help prevent some chronic injuries, and give your knees more endurance. 

Keep in mind, these exercises are meant as preventative measures and are not rehabilitation for an injury that already exists.

I had to

When you are trying to increase the strength and stability of the knee, the major muscles in play are the quadriceps and hamstrings, because those muscles have tendons that cross the knee joint (one of the calf muscles also crosses the knee joint, but they're a lot smaller and don't play a very big role).  The vastus medialis oblique (VMO) is one of the quadriceps muscles and it plays a very large role in stabilizing the knee it is also relatively small compared to the other muscles in the leg and can be harder to strengthen and keep strong.

1. Step Downs: For this exercise, the most important key is to start small.  I recommend starting with a step about two to three inches tall (I like the riser for step class at the gym, but it can be anything).  Stand on top of the step with one foot planted firmly.  You need to keep that foot planted the whole time, don't move it for anything, and try to keep your heel down. Pretend it's glued to the step.  Using only the "glued" leg, lower yourself until you touch your opposite heel to the ground.  Be careful that your "glued" knee doesn't move to the left or right as you lower yourself, just straight up and down.  After you touch your heel to the ground, return to the standing position and repeat.  This exercise is deceptively difficult, so take your time.  You may not even be aware of how much this is working your legs mechanically, often you don't feel it in your muscles, so I don't recommend doing them everyday.  When you feel comfortable, and are able to control the step down for 3 sets of 15, it is time to move up to a taller step.

Sa-weet outfit

2. Step Ups: This is another single leg exercise (and also the movie that taught me my awesome dance moves).  I recommend starting with a step about 6 inches tall.  Place only one foot firmly on the middle of the step in front of you.  Before you step up, try to transfer all of your weight onto the foot on the step, then push up with that foot so you are standing with one leg on the step.  Return to the starting position and do it again.  Again, your knee shouldn't move to the left or right.

3. Backwards Walking: AKA Moonwalking. Okay, it's not exactly moonwalking, but... kinda. EKG studies (meaning they put little pads on the muscles or stuck probes in the muscles) have shown that walking backwards can help to activate the VMO.  Seems weird, but the VMO is most activated in the last few degrees of knee extension (straightening your leg), so I guess it makes sense.  When you walk backwards, you want to sort of "roll" your feet from toe to heel, so that before you place the second foot down, all of your weight is on your heel and your leg is completely straight. Studies are inconclusive as to whether or not listening to Michael Jackson affects results, but it can't hurt. People always told me, be careful what you do. Annie knows. Are you okay, Annie? 

4. Single Leg Extensions and Curls on Machines: This one is pretty simple because the machine will stabilize your body.  Machines at the gym are useful for isolating muscles groups because they hold your body steady.  Find the leg curl and leg extension machine, but instead of using both legs at once, use only one.  This will allow you to isolate the major muscles around the knee (the quads on the extensions, and the hamstrings on the curl) and will force you to strengthen each side individually.  That way, if you have weakness or instability on one side, you can overcome it.  Lots of overuse injuries are caused by imbalances so let's fix that.  

How excited does this girl look to exercise?

So freaking excited

TIP: if you have any current knee injuries like a meniscal tear or ACL sprain, I would not do these, since the way machines move could potentially put extra stress on healing tissue (plus, I mean, you really should be in therapy anyway. Go see a doctor).

5. Toe-in Lunges:  In a recent post, I listed a ton of exercises that you can do at home. One of those exercises was lunges.  I stand by what I said - they are awesome in general, but you can also change up the lunges specifically to emphasize the VMO by turning your toe inward.  Make sure you don't let your knee cave in when you turn your toes in, though.  After you do a couple, you should feel the muscles on your inner burning more than a normal lunge.

TIP: I really shouldn't have to say this, but I will.  If regular lunges hurt your knees, don't do these ones either

6. Hamstring Curls on a Stability Ball: These are a little difficult to do the first couple of times, but they are worth learning to do well. These should primarily work the hamstrings, but they have the added bonus of working the core, glutes, and calves.  Lay on your back and place your calves on the stability ball.  Next, push down into the ball and raise your hips so that your body is in a straight line. Your weight should be resting on your shoulders, and on your calves, which are on the ball.  Then use your heels to dig into the ball and roll it towards your butt. Roll it back out again, until your legs are back to straight and you're in the position you were before. It's more difficult than it sounds, because the ball is round (Captain Obvious over here) so you'll really have to work on your stability or you'll just roll sideways and fall off the ball.

7. Lower Body Balance Exercises: I know what you're thinking: this is super vague. And you're right. It is.  That's because the category of lower body balance exercises is HUGE.  It includes everything from just standing with your eyes closed, to single leg jumping exercises, to balance beam cartwheels.  The progression of balance exercises also depends on where you start.  Balance exercises will help improve stability (duh), but this category is too big to describe here and it deserves its very own post (hint, hint: look forward to future posts).  

If you would like further explanation of anything I mentioned in this post, just ask in the comments section.


**NOTE: Before beginning any exercise program you should consult your doctor.  If you experience pain at any time while exercising, you should stop immediately and seek medical attention.**