Don’t let tender joints get in the way of a terrific workout. It’s easy to eschew any physical activity when your knees are hurting, especially when certain exercises can potentially aggravate the area.
We wouldn’t recommend you to push through any pain in order to exercise – you should always listen to what your body’s telling you – but there’s usually no reason to cut it out completely.
Whether you’re dealing with a cartilage or ligament tear or osteoarthritic knees, the idea that aching joints equals no exercise is a total myth. Keep pain to a minimum with these knee-strengthening functional moves.
Sitting down all day can switch muscles off. Glute bridges are a great way to activate them again – and they’re also a brilliant exercise to reduce knee pain, thanks to the lower impact nature on your joints. Grab a mat and do three sets of 10:
Squats are often the first move abandoned when knees begin to twinge. But practicing the move with proper form can build strength, stability and mobility in your joints. Try, for example, slow, controlled squats on a bosu. Here’s how to perform them correctly and safely:
As well as boosting the strength and mobility in our often-forgotten leg muscles (not to mention sculpting the butt), hip abduction exercises can help prevent and even treat knee pain. Thanks to its functional, no-equipment nature, you can perform this exercise anywhere. This is how to do it:
If you’re struggling with enhancing your strength and endurance due to knee pain, our expert personal trainers can work with you create a customised fitness programme to help prevent and manage injuries. Read more about our focused training approach and sign up for a free trial to see how we can help you develop your fitness naturally and without pain.
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