PUBLISHED ON Dec, 17, 2024
Knee pain can be a major setback, whether you're an athlete or just looking to maintain a healthy, active lifestyle.
Strengthening the muscles, tendons, and ligaments around the knee is key to improving joint health, and targeted exercises can help prevent or reduce discomfort.
Here’s a guide to seven of the best movements for strengthening the knees and promoting long-term joint health.
1. Sled Pulls
Pulling a sled has long been used as an effective method to warm up the lower body, especially for bringing blood flow to the ankles, lower legs, and knees. This warm-up primes the knee for heavier work, promoting quicker recovery and aiding in muscle growth while helping to prevent injuries.
Benefits:
- Increases blood flow to knee and ankle joints.
- Flushes tissues to aid recovery.
- Improves joint stability over time.
To Start:
- Begin with a light sled weight, and pull it backwards to further engage the knees.
- Work up to heavier weights over time to progressively strengthen the lower body.
2. Top Quarter Pulses
If a sled isn’t available, Top Quarter Pulses are a great alternative (or addition). This exercise works by bringing blood flow to the knees and ankles and can be used as a warm-up for squats. By adjusting the tempo, you can modify the exercise to target different adaptations, such as endurance or explosiveness.
Benefits:
- Provides a gentle, targeted warm-up for knees.
- Engages stabilizing muscles around the knee joint.
- Enhances squat form and lower body endurance.
To Start:
- Stand in a quarter squat position and pulse up and down for a set number of repetitions, focusing on control and tempo.
- Increase the range of motion as you become more comfortable.
3. Split Squats
Single-leg movements like the Split Squat are excellent for addressing side-to-side imbalances and building balanced lower body strength. Since we rarely move through daily life or sports on two legs alone, single-leg exercises improve stability and help prevent knee injuries. Any single-leg squat variation works, but split squats are particularly effective for targeting the knee and hip stabilizers.
Benefits:
- Builds strength in a single-leg stance, improving knee stability.
- Addresses imbalances between legs, reducing risk of compensatory injuries.
- Improves functional strength for daily activities and sports.
To Start:
- Using the Hip Thrust attachment on the Hyper Pro, rest one foot on the attachment.
- With your other leg, squat down until your back knee almost touches the floor.
- Press through the working leg to come back up.
4. Nordic Curls
Strengthening the back of the knee is crucial for balanced knee health, and Nordic Curls are one of the best exercises for this. While they target the hamstrings, they also work the tendons and ligaments directly behind the knee, promoting stability and strength. Nordic curls train these areas in a lengthened position, where the tendons and ligaments are under the most strain, helping to build resilience over time.
Benefits:
- Targets the posterior knee and hamstring complex.
- Increases tendon and ligament strength for knee stability.
- Improves performance in sports requiring knee strength.
To Start:
- Use your Hyper Pro in incline Nordic mode and slowly build up strength over time.
- Control your descent as low as possible, and work within your pain-free range.
5. Leg Extensions
Building strength around the knee joint is essential, and Leg Extensions allow you to do so without putting undue pressure on other parts of the body. This movement isolates the quadriceps, strengthening the muscles that support the knee and allowing you to safely train to failure for muscle growth.
Benefits:
- Isolates and strengthens the quadriceps, directly supporting the knee.
- Provides controlled, progressive resistance to prevent injury.
- Allows training to muscular fatigue without heavy joint loading.
To Start:
- Use a quad extension machine, starting with light weights and progressing as you become stronger.
- Focus on controlled, full-range movements to maximize muscle activation.
6. Elephant Walks
Loosening up the hamstrings is crucial for overall knee health, and the Elephant Walk is a great mobility movement that targets the back of the knee. This stretch helps relieve tension that can accumulate behind the knee, often reducing strain and discomfort over time.
Benefits:
- Loosens hamstrings, reducing strain on the back of the knee.
- Improves knee and hip flexibility for better joint mobility.
- Eases tension that contributes to knee pain.
To Start:
- Stand with legs slightly apart and, keeping your legs as straight as possible, reach toward the ground.
- Alternate bending each knee slightly while keeping the other leg straight for an effective, dynamic stretch.
7. Reverse Nordics
Reverse Nordics are a powerful stretch-strength movement for the knees and quads, providing a unique challenge by targeting the quads in their lengthened position. This exercise effectively strengthens the tendons and ligaments surrounding the knee, promoting stability and resilience. Unlike quad extensions, which are harder at the top of the movement, Reverse Nordics are more challenging at the bottom, offering an opposite strength curve for balanced knee development.
Benefits:
- Strengthens tendons and ligaments around the knee for enhanced stability.
- Challenges the quads in a lengthened position, improving resilience and flexibility.
- Provides a low-impact option for building knee strength.
To Start:
- Begin with a shallow range of motion, focusing on control and stability.
- Gradually increase depth as your strength improves.
Conclusion
These seven movements provide a comprehensive approach to knee health, focusing on strength, stability, and mobility.
Consistency is key, and tracking progress can help you see improvements in both strength and pain reduction over time.
For an all-in-one solution, the Hyper Pro offers options to train each of these movements effectively and safely from home.
With the Hyper Pro's compact design, you can target your knees, lower body, and full-body strength with just one piece of equipment.
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