Bad Knees--Standing Leg Work Questions

S

Stacy

Cathlete
I know this has probably been asked before but wanted some input. I have bad knees and have quit all standing leg work for the past few years, as well as lowering my step height and taking alot of high impact moves out. As a result, my pear-shaped body has gotten more fruity so to speak! My lower half is flabby and I've lost so much strength and endurance. I've been trying to lose the infamous last 10 lbs but seem to hit a road block b/c I'm not sure how to up the intensity of my workouts so they are still knee-friendly and I cant really go any lower calorie wise. I see my best results at about 1400 cals/day. (I'm 5'1").

The question finally.....would it be a waste of time to try Cathe's standing leg work with no weights or do you think that I'd just be putting my knee at risk again without really adding much to my strength since I'd be using no weights? I do mostly floor work but dont seem to be getting the results I'm looking for.

Thanks!

Stacy
 
I've had knee problems and surgery on both in the past. I do standing leg work with weights and it now keeps my knees strong. But that wasn't always the case. I had to work up to that. After surgery I rode my bike alot. Bike riding is very easy on the knees and can work the leg muscles well. That might be an option for you. Doing standing leg work will work your legs. You don't need weights and you don't need to do full range of motion to get results. I started doing squats and lunges at a very shallow range with 0 weight, I think they are called half squats and half lunges. I also wore a knee strap(the small narrow one that goes below the knee) that helped stabilize my knees. I was surprised at how I was so afraid of working my legs and hurting my knees, and then it turned out to help and stengthen my knees tremendously. I can pretty much do all of Cathe's leg work now with no problem. I modify on some of her cardio, and back off fast, anything that twinges my knees. I'm very careful.

I also highly recommend seeing a Orthopedic sports Dr. before you do anything! Find out what is causing the pain. A regular family type Dr. will most likely tell you do not do any leg work and just live with it. They don't understand our desire to be fit.
 
Thanks so much for your reply. I actually do have an orthopedist and have 2 MRI's both of which have been normal. He wants to do an exploratory surgery but I'm hesitant to go under the knife to find out he still couldnt find anything wrong. I do have a knee strap but stopped using it b/c it didnt make a difference either way. My knees have gotten better over the last year but I think that's b/c of all my modifying. I think I will give leg work a try and see what happens. I have read that doing wall squats with a stability ball is easier on the knees as well so I think I'll start there. I have a recumbent bike at home and it's a godsend for days I want no impact knee-friendly workout.
 
I think wall squats would be great! You could even do a combo of the recumbent bike and wall squats. Like ride 10 min. get off bike and to a do a set of wall squats, get back on bike then repeat. In P90x they do one legged wall squats (raise one leg hold for 15 sec. or so and then switch legs). It really gets in there! I don't blame you for not wanting exploratory surgery. Just try a little at time and eliminate what bothers you and keep what does'nt. Also, stationary lunges and back lunges are far easier on the knees than forward lunges.

Good luck and be careful!!:)
 
Wall squats with a stability ball ARE easier on the knees. My knees occassionally act up. When they do, I have to modify all over the place, but using the ball for squats and lunges makes a HUGE difference in the stress on my knees.
 
I also agree the best thing to do is check with an orthopedic surgeon. I had knee surgery 5 weeks ago and if your knees are hurting having a Dr look at them they can recommend PT if needed or surgery depending on how bad or what specifically is causing your knee pain. I would make that a priority before getting into too much exercise. Your knees are very important!!! Take care of them!!!!
 
I have horrible knees - it's a family curse.

If your doctor says it's okay to do lunges, here's how I modify:

I do them with the bent leg (the one going forward) onto the step. This takes a lot of the load off the knees and puts more on the glutes and hamstrings (an added bonus, as strengthening those 2 muscle groups also takes part of the load off the knees).
 
Thanks for the lunge tip! What step height do you use for the lunge modification and how tall are you?
 
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