I am 56 yrs old and after decades of running time has apparently caught up with me. After an extended period of knee pain and consulting with 2 orthopedic doctors, the conclusion is that the cartilage in my knees is deteriorating. I have been doing the elliptical for my cardio but am perplexed as to what to do to maintain strength and toning in my legs. I had been doing Cathe's STS routine as well as other of her lower body workouts but most of them seem undoable at this point. To those of you with similar knee issues, how do you train your legs and get a good workout without stressing and doing extreme bending of the knees? Any input would be so appreciated to this currently depressed former weightlifting fanatic.
Need new leg exercise ideas
- Thread starter kpage1230
- Start date
Stephanie0523
Cathlete
I don't have knee issues, but I recently got into Cardio Barre workouts. Cardio Barre Ultimate Advanced is a tough workout that really works your legs but is no impact. I used to be a dancer, and it uses the same concepts. It's really great... Also have you tried the Squeeze dvds? They are good no impact workouts... Hope this helps!
MAYNARDSMOM
Cathlete
What about Physique 57. I sometimes have a knee that "talks" to me & this is my go to workout for such times.
RapidBreath
Cathlete
How about swimming?
Thanks to all for your responses. Swimming is not an option at this time. We've recently moved from a suburban area with lots of amenities to another state in a fairly rural area with no pool access within a reasonable distance. Looking for a home gym workout that will give me the "burn" I'm used to using a more passive approach (non-weightbearing other than my own body weight with no major knee bending). Any other ideas/suggestions eagerly looked forward to as I'd like to create a new group of options.
I second the Cardio Barre suggestion. I just raved about it in another thread. 
I've been having a lot of knee pain myself lately and CB is great b/c there's no impact on the joints but still very challenging. Any kind of matwork on the ground -- like the 2nd half of some of Cathe's lower body dvds -- tend to work very well.
I also find that pilates is excellent for the legs without straining the joints -- but only if I stray from the classical method (w/ classical I feel like it's tough on the core but nothing else) and go my own way and just up my reps. Any of the sideline series -- variation of leg lifts, kicks, rond de jambes, bicycles, etc... combined together work very well.
I've been having a lot of knee pain myself lately and CB is great b/c there's no impact on the joints but still very challenging. Any kind of matwork on the ground -- like the 2nd half of some of Cathe's lower body dvds -- tend to work very well. I also find that pilates is excellent for the legs without straining the joints -- but only if I stray from the classical method (w/ classical I feel like it's tough on the core but nothing else) and go my own way and just up my reps. Any of the sideline series -- variation of leg lifts, kicks, rond de jambes, bicycles, etc... combined together work very well.
CathydsRNA
Cathlete
In addition to the excellent ideas already posted, I would suggest leg pulley/ cable work. If you want to do this at home I would suggest investing in the purchase of a Bowflex Revolution. You can add a tremendous amount of resistance to these. You can also do leg curls and extensions on the machine as well. I am starting with knee problems as well and while standing weights can aggravate my knees, sitting curls and extensions actually ( even with a lot of resistance) don't bother me and actually seem to help. .... I think these exercises plus floor work and barre work as already described should go along way in keeping your legs toned. Don't forget calf work which shouldn't impact your knees. Ps I have a barre as well and I would definitely recommend this as a good purchase investment for you.
Cathy
Cathy
In addition to Cathe's floorwork, Tracy Effingers Lower Body Challenge has a great 15 section called Around the World where you work your legs standing and it's very effective for quads, hamstrings,abductors and glutes. Her floorwork in Squeeze and Squeeze Stronger is good too. Love her pelvic tilts with your feet on a wall!
Hi Kpage1230,
I'm a home exerciser and sometimes my knees are an issue. I'm finding as much as I love high impact somedays my knees say no way. So, I'm finding its good to add lower impact options and one that I enjoy a lot is kickboxing, not sure if that is within your guidelines or not you be the judge.
Here's some of my pics:
Tracey Effingers Squeeze video's
Ilaria Montagnani - Body Strikes, Bodystrikes 2 (both are lowerbody)
Power Strike 5, Power Strike 6 (All of the ones of hers
require no equipment and be very good for at home or
even travel workouts.
Kelly Coffey Meyer- All her dvds don't require a lot of equipment and all have
Lauren doing the lower impact version of moves.
Mindy Mylrea- Glutes, Guns, and Guts - toning workouts. Equipment
uses Stability ball, body bar (or use barbell without weights depending on weight of it or use a broomstick for balance), and figure 8 tubing (cathe has it on her site), and a small medicine ball looks like a 2lbs one.
Mindy Mylrea- Gliding Extreme - you can either order her discs, wait for cathe's to become available this spring, or use paper plates, or frisbees both of which are budget friendly and definitely travel friendly.
I also would recommend Rapid Fire: Kickbox and Core burn if you like kickboxing. There are lots of premixes on this and its all excellent.
Oops, I almost forgot to mention any of the Core Fusion dvds they do have a pilates style of toning and are quite good. There is sort of a fusion of tai chi, yoga, and pilates on some of the Core fusion series some more so than others.
To view any of the above mentioned video clips of these dvds I'd recommend www.totalfitnessdvds.com you can view them there and typically those are longer clips than those offered on collagevideo.com. I hope these recommendations are helpful for you.
Hugs!
Nora
I'm a home exerciser and sometimes my knees are an issue. I'm finding as much as I love high impact somedays my knees say no way. So, I'm finding its good to add lower impact options and one that I enjoy a lot is kickboxing, not sure if that is within your guidelines or not you be the judge.
Here's some of my pics:
Tracey Effingers Squeeze video's
Ilaria Montagnani - Body Strikes, Bodystrikes 2 (both are lowerbody)
Power Strike 5, Power Strike 6 (All of the ones of hers
require no equipment and be very good for at home or
even travel workouts.
Kelly Coffey Meyer- All her dvds don't require a lot of equipment and all have
Lauren doing the lower impact version of moves.
Mindy Mylrea- Glutes, Guns, and Guts - toning workouts. Equipment
uses Stability ball, body bar (or use barbell without weights depending on weight of it or use a broomstick for balance), and figure 8 tubing (cathe has it on her site), and a small medicine ball looks like a 2lbs one.
Mindy Mylrea- Gliding Extreme - you can either order her discs, wait for cathe's to become available this spring, or use paper plates, or frisbees both of which are budget friendly and definitely travel friendly.
I also would recommend Rapid Fire: Kickbox and Core burn if you like kickboxing. There are lots of premixes on this and its all excellent.
Oops, I almost forgot to mention any of the Core Fusion dvds they do have a pilates style of toning and are quite good. There is sort of a fusion of tai chi, yoga, and pilates on some of the Core fusion series some more so than others.
To view any of the above mentioned video clips of these dvds I'd recommend www.totalfitnessdvds.com you can view them there and typically those are longer clips than those offered on collagevideo.com. I hope these recommendations are helpful for you.
Hugs!
Nora
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