WEIGHT & KNEES

nik13

Cathlete
Hi Cathe

I have been asking alot of quetsions lately, sorry about that.

I wanted to know if being overweight will make your knees sore(65lbs). I have never had bad knees before and I used to do step aerobics all of the time in college. I started with your ctx tapes & loved them and was fine. Then I started another rotation with 6 days cathe cardio & 2 weights with walking shoes. My knees became sore after a week or so. So I stopped everything until they were no longer sore. It has been a couple of months and I am starting to work out again slowly with better shoes. I am fearful that I am going to get them sore again. My knees feel a little strained whil doing front lunges and back lunges. I was wondering if it is because of my weight or because they were sore before and they have to get stronger. I am bummed because I was doing leaner legs with no problems in the beginning, but now they feel a bit strained. Should I do lunges with no weights at all and work from there?

I figure the more I lose the better my knees will be!

Thanks for listening,
Nikki
 
Go back to the previous page and look for a post by Wendyloo
entitled "Cathe a question about legwork" dated June 11, 01.
This will answer most of your questions. Sorry I don't know
how to make a link. Maybe someone else will do it.
 
Hi Nikki,

I have had some knee pain lately and I have heard that leg extensions help. I have just started so I can't tell you what my personal results were. You can either do it on a machine at the gym or do it with ankle weights. Sit on a bench or chair and extend your legs either one at a time or together. This works the area of the quads around your knees. Hope this works for you!

Caroline
 
Hi Caroline. I too have sore knees -- I'm taking care and they are a bit better, but still slightly sore. How much weight should I use with these if I'm sitting in a chair? I really want to strengthen the knees...
 
One exercise that seems to be standard with PTs for dealing with knee pain is leg raises. Starting with no weights, lie on the floor on your back, and slowly raise leg straight up to about a 45% angle, hold briefly, then lower. Work up to 3 sets of 20 reps, then start adding ankle weights. Do this every day. (I couldn't believe it when I was told this, but you're working on functional stamina as well as strenghtening the muscle, and aren't using heavy weights). Also make sure to do stretches. Your injury may be different from mine, but I was told to do hamstring stretches every day.

It seems that most rehabexercises go high reps (When I did shoulder rehab, I was told to do high reps. I assumed that would be around 20, but the PT said I should aim for around 50--using 2-3# weights). That may also be due to the type of injury I had also, and the shoulder needed more stamina than strength.
 
Nikki, boy do I sympathize! I have the worst knees in the world--a left one that likes to pop right out and not enough cartilage--osteoarthritis according to my orthopedic surgeon, who could do nothing for me except clean out the grindings. I recommend losing weight. I have lost 13 pounds since the beginning of January and feel a big difference. I also take the impact out of some, not all, of the power moves. And, I wear a substantial knee brace on my bad knee. I also have started taking glucosamine--1500 mg. a day--since my doctor tells me recent studies show that it will definitely save the cartilage I still have--and maybe help to create some new. Oh, and one other thing, on the Leaner Legs and MIS tapes, I don't use as heavy weights as Cathe.
 
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jun-21-01 AT 06:01PM (Est)[/font][p]>Hi Caroline. I too have
>sore knees -- I'm taking
>care and they are a
>bit better, but still slightly
>sore. How much weight
>should I use with these
>if I'm sitting in a
>chair? I really want
>to strengthen the knees...


Hi Mason,

I'm not a fitness expert so I don't know what's right for you, but for anything with ankle weights I usually use 3 lbs on each side. I think leg extension machines go much higher but I feel the stress on my knees if I go too heavy. I would say take it slow and really try to feel the contraction.

Caroline
 

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