Very Sore Knees

C

chelle

Guest
Hi Cathe,

I have just recently started doing your tapes. I love them. I have done your Wedding tape (the step w/o) 3 times per week- starting last week. Today I did Mega Step Blast and then I went for a walk and my knees were so sore at the end of the walk I started walking on the grass. I am using a 6" step and I don't know what to do about having sore knees. I hope to be able to continue doing your step tapes but, if my knees get any worse I don't know what I am going to do. I have done many Firm videos and have never had any knee pain. My knees even hurt when I am sitting cross-legged. I enjoy your workouts so much and even though I just started doing your tapes I have almost every one of them.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Michelle
 
I'm not Cathe but here is my imput. Remember, the Firm workouts are very different than Cathe's routines. You did not say whether you were doing power or high impact. It is important to inload when turning on the step so you don't twist your knees. That can cause much pain and injury. However you may want to minimize impact to your knees by trying to be as low impact as possible. Most of Cathe's routines can be modified into low impact. If not come up with your own adaptation. Also, initially doing the step routines 3x/week may be to much for you and you may want to build up more gradually. Perhaps cross training with another activity which does not stress your knees so much would be a good idea. And finally, give your knees a chance to heal before trying to do the step again. If the pain continues you may want to get medical advice.
 
I am very very conservative about injuries.

If you're knees are sore you need to pay attention to that.

The first question that comes to mind is: What kind of aerobics shoes are you wearing? And how new are they? Shoes are so very very important! When in doubt, throw 'em out! I like my new Rykas.

One of the reasons I don't do Firm cardio is I thinkt there is way to much high impact, with little opportunity for modification. So its hard to imagine that switching to Cathe, per se, would cause knee trouble.

Personally, I modify may of Cathe's moves. I don't do jumping jacks, I don't do plyos. My heart rate stays in the target range just fine. My big fantasy is that Cathe would do an advanced low impact tape, low impact step would be perfect!

Form is so important. Like the previous person posted, make sure you're not twisting your knees, or jamming your knees.

Hope this helps!

Jane
 
Just a quick note on two ways you can strengthen and increase stability for your knee joints.
Exercise 1: Stand with most of your body weight on one leg. Standing leg knee should be slightly bent. Bend slightly forward at the hip joint so that your torso flexes forward a little bit and your hips/butt point our as if you are in a little baby squat. Keep your back in a fairly flat position which means that you avoid rounding forward. As you hold that position tap other leg out to the side and in 50 to 100 times eash side. Perform movement at moderate to fast pace.lhe goal is to keep your weight in your butt and keep the standing leg as stable as possible. Avoid bouncing through the knee. The more you can transfer your weight to your behind, the better the results and the less strain on the knee.
Exercise 2: Same starting postion as above. Perform one-legged squats. Again transfer the weight to your butt. Make sure you sit back, weight in the heels, and knees behind the toes. If you feel pressure in your knees, you are not sitting back enough in the hips. Really learning how to take the weight out of the knees and distribute it to the behind is essential for the health of the knees. Remember that whenever performing traditional squats and lunges. Hope this helps.
 
Jane - I share your fantasy! As someone who has to choose their work-out on the basis of how the knees are feeling on any given day, I'd LOVE to see Cathe do an advanced low-impact tape. And considering that I typically work out at 5:30AM, my creativity levels aren't at their highest, as you might imagine! :-sleepy Sometimes I just can't come up with a low-impact modification quickly, which can be frustrating.
 
Thank you to everyone who responded to my post I really appreciate your input! I have not done step in about a week now. I went and bought myself 2 really good knee braces. I used them for the first time yesterday when I did Firm Vol. 3 and my knees feel quite a bit better today.

Rhonita- What do you mean by inload? I don't understand this. Please explain! Thank you!

Jane C- I have fairly new New Balance shoes. They are cross trainers. I usually buy new shoes about every 6 months or as soon as my feet start to hurt in them.

Cyndie- thank you for the great exercises for me to try. This sounds alot like some of the exercises they do in Kathy Smith's tape- Functionally Fit Lower Body Firming or maybe it is the other one in that series. I am going to try these though and see if it helps.

I can't wait until they feel better so I can do Cathe's tapes again!
 
Should have been UNLOAD. When turning you want to lift your body high enough off the board so that you turn in the air and not risk twisting your knees.
 
Should have been UNLOAD. When turning you want to lift your body high enough off the board so that you turn in the air and not risk twisting your knees.
 
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