Tweaked leg exercises to prevent knee pain

Needless to say that to stay fit and get in shape, it is vital to train every muscle of your body. But when it comes to leg day, most people share a love-hate relationship with it. Reason being the nasty knee pain.

It’s not uncommon to feel a twinge in your knees while performing lunges or squats. Leg body weight exercises put a lot of pressure on the knees, causing discomfort and pain. However, this excuse is not enough to forgo the leg day.

Here are some tips to prevent knee pain

Our legs comprise different groups of muscles, which help us move and perform our daily task with ease. Having strong legs can improve posture and prevent injuries. To help you perform some important leg exercises without hurting your knees, we will tell you the mistakes you are making while performing them and small changes you can make to take the load off your knees.

01/ Lunges

Knee pain while performing lunges can be from two reasons: incorrect form and muscle imbalance. When you take a step forward to get into the pose, your knee can naturally push forward. But if your hip muscles s are weak, your knee can move beyond your toes, which adds too much pressure on them. To correct this, you must focus on strengthening your glutes.

Alternative: Perform static lunges, where you do not need to move your legs. It is a basic lunge, where you have to start with your feet staggered, one in front of the other and have to just bend your legs to lower your body. Or better, try reverse lunge which will not put stress on your knees.

02/ ​Squats

While performing squats, your knees should be in line with your feet. If they are leaning forward beyond the tip of the toes or wobbling off to one side, then it is not a good sign. Also, go as low as your butt allows you to. You will only end up hurting your knees if you are making too much effort to go down.

Alternative: Even after correcting your form if your knees hurt, then to prevent yourself from squatting too low, perform this exercise near a bench or table, which is equal to the height of your knees. Stand facing your back towards the bench and while going down make sure your butt does not touch the bench behind you.

03/ ​Bulgarian Split Squat

Bulgarian Split Squats can also give you knee trouble. When you squat down to perform this exercise, your thighs and knees have to work harder to maintain the balance of your body and prevent you from falling. If your knees are weak then performing Bulgarian split squat might not be a good idea.

Alternative: To take some pressure off your knees, make sure the height of the bench or the surface behind you is not too much. Doing this exercise on a high surface means more pressure on your legs. So, it is best to keep it low.

04/ ​Box Jump and Step-up

If you are suffering from any major joint issue like injury or muscle sprain or arthritis, then it is better to avoid these two exercises. These two exercises are a little complex and put an extreme amount of pressure on your knees. Even general people without any joint deformities find these exercises challenging.

Alternative: Still if you want to do it, then be careful about the height of the box or the platform. Jumping or stepping up on a high platform can strain your knees muscle, making your pain worse.

05/ ​Calf Raise

While performing calf raise, you have to balance your entire body weight on the ball of your toes. This helps to make the muscle and joint around your knees, strong and flexible. But it also puts a lot of pressure on your knees.

Alternative: Perform calf raise near a wall or chair so that you take their support to balance your body weight.

from LifeStyle