Exercises for Arthritic Knees, From an 81-Yr-Old Trainer

“I attempted that for 2 years,” he says. But limiting himself just didn’t feel right. So he got one other doctor and tried a brand new strategy. “I began exercising and doing the things a one who wants an lively lifestyle should do,” he says. 

A former kayaking coach and karate instructor, he began specializing in low-impact resistance exercises for his legs in order that his muscles could turn into strong enough to soak up the stress of activities like walking and mountain climbing, moderately than letting that pressure fall on his knee joints. Particularly, he zeroed in on his hamstrings, quads, glutes, and calves.

And it worked. Despite his cartilage only being “as thick as a bank card,” as he puts it, he built up enough strength to support his knees through a hike across the whole state of South Carolina at age 75. That could appear pretty ambitious, but King, now 81 and an authorized personal trainer working at Planet Fitness, says that nowadays, “my knees don’t give me any problems in any respect.”

How exercise will help arthritis symptoms

Experts back up King’s approach. “Exercise helps to keep up mobility and will help with decreasing further joint stiffening,” family physician Tamika Henry, MD, founding father of Unlimited Health Institute, once told Well+Good about understanding with arthritis. “Exercise also increases blood flow to the realm, which might increase muscle strength and has been related to a decrease in pain.” Particularly, research¹ shows resistance training could be especially helpful, improving joint function, pain, stiffness, and strength.

King’s top exercises for arthritic knees

So what were the exercises that helped King get strong enough to hike a whole bunch of miles on arthritic knees? These were the five he says he focused on most:

Leg extensions

This exercise zeroes in on the quadriceps on the highest of the thighs. This is useful because when the quads are weak, the patellar tendon at the bottom of the kneecap “can have a tough time managing the masses of activity,” physical therapist Joseph Rayner IV, DPT, previously told Well+Good about exercising for knee pain.

Essentially the most common solution to do that exercise is on a dedicated leg extension machine.

1. Sit on the machine together with your shins below the pad. Select a weight that is just heavy enough for about 10 reps, with the last one or two reps feeling difficult to finish.
2. Slowly straighten your legs (but don’t lock your knees).
3. Progressively bring them back to the starting position without letting the burden drop.

Should you do not have access to a leg extension machine, you could find similar advantages at home by putting on ankle weights, or strapping a looped resistance band to the underside of a chair or couch and sitting down, then extending one knee at a time against that resistance.

Hamstring curls

Lots of us have tight, weak hamstrings from sitting a lot. And when these muscles aren’t strong enough, other ones overcompensate, resulting in imbalances that would strain our knees. Hamstring curls will help prevent this.

There are dedicated hamstring curl machines on the gym you should utilize:

1. Sitting on the machine, place your ankles on top of the pad. Select a weight that is just heavy enough for about 10 reps with the last one or two reps feeling difficult to finish.
2. Slowly bend on the knee, bringing your feet toward your butt.
3. Progressively return to the starting position without letting the burden drop.

Should you do not have access to a machine, you’ll be able to do standing hamstring curls using just your body weight, slowly bringing one heel at a time toward your butt. Or you’ll be able to sit down, tie a looped resistance band to some extent in front of you, then do seated hamstring curls one foot at a time.

Leg presses

A leg press will work on each your quads and hamstrings, and in addition get your glutes involved. And as Steve Stonehouse, CPT, vp of programming for Stride and Body Fit Training, once told Well+Good, glute imbalances usually are not only super common, but they will result in pain all the best way down the kinetic chain of your legs—including the knees.

The normal solution to do these is to make use of a leg press machine.

1. Start with feet flat on the press, shoulder-width apart; it is best to have your knees bent at 90 degrees to start.
2. Once you have chosen an appropriate weight to do 10 reps with the last one or two being difficult to finish, push through your heels to straighten your legs (but don’t lock the knees).
3. Slowly bend the knees to bring your body back toward the press without letting the burden drop.

Should you do not have access to a machine, that is one other instance where resistance bands can turn out to be useful: Lie in your back, feet within the air with the band wrapped around them (and holding the opposite end tight in your hands), then straighten and bend your legs against the band’s resistance.

Squats

Just like a leg press, the classic squat will work your quads, hamstrings, and glutes, and could be easily done with no equipment in any respect.

Standing together with your feet hip-width apart, bend your knees to bring your butt back after which down (as if you are about to take a seat in a chair), then straighten back up.

To extend the challenge, you’ll be able to try squat variations just like the goblet squat or front squat, each of which add weight.

Calf raises

“Calves are some of the under-trained muscles in your body,” certified personal trainer Lindsey Lauten once told Well+Good. “Should you’ve ever felt knee pain after doing a number of burpees or running on a treadmill, weak calves may very well be behind it.” She says the answer is adding calf raises to your weekly lineup: “Calf raises are a straightforward, but super effective and helpful, exercise.”

Here’s the best way to do them:

1. Stand tall, with legs hip-width apart and feet flat on the bottom.
2. Push through the balls of your feet to bring your heels off the bottom.
3. Lower back down slowly and with control.

To extend the challenge, you’ll be able to try doing one leg at a time (grabbing onto something stable just like the wall or countertop for balance), or holding weights whilst you complete the move.

King’s takeaway at age 81

Along with training Planet Fitness members, King continues to work out often on his own, lifting weights or working with TRX straps 4 days every week, and getting in cardio not less than once every week. And he still does plenty of kayaking, which he says gives him a total-body workout.

His motto? “We cannot quit our lively lifestyle,” King says. “It’s too essential to be lively at whatever level you’ll be able to.”