Saturday 30 April 2011

Exercises for People with Bad Knees

You have been exercising regularly for the past couple of years, but cannot do now due to bad knees. You have been advised to undertake weight loss program, but cannot perform most of the exercises due to bad knees. In either of the cases, you wish to exercise, but cannot do because of the pain caused due to your knees. In that case, you need to look for exercises that are easier on the knees. There are several good exercises for people with bad knees.

Before taking a look at the actual exercises for people who suffer from bad knees, there are certain things that need to be taken into consideration. People suffering from painful knees should go for exercises of the upper body. Several abdominal exercises help in losing weight effectively. At the same time, they should avoid exercises that are hard on the knees. If you're wishing to do exercise your whole body, these people should alter between upper body and leg exercises; keeping the duration of leg exercises to minimal. Let us now take a look at the exercises in detail.

Leg Exercises for People with Bad Knees

Exercises that exert pressure or tension on knees should be completely avoided. In fact, even if you try to do them, there are high chances of going wrong and causing injury. Therefore, it is wise to avoid exercises like lunges and deep squats if you are suffering from bad knees. Following are some of the best leg exercises for bad knees:

Partial Squats
For performing this exercise, you need to stand straight with your feet about hip width apart. Toes should point forward and your back should be straight. Now, try to lower your body as if you are about to sit on a chair. You can bend the hips, but the back and the stomach should be kept straight. Just lower your body partially and regain the original position again.

Leg Lifts
You should lay down on your side with one of your arms stretched above your head (straight on the floor) and other to your side. Your feet should be extended and straight, stacked on top of each other. Now try to raise the upper leg straight upwards and try raising as much as possible. You will reach 30-45 degrees of angle. Hold on for a couple of seconds and slowly regain the original position.

Cardio Exercises for People with Bad Knees

Cardiovascular exercises are undoubtedly the best exercises to lose weight and stay fit. However, there are several cardiovascular exercises like jogging, and running; sports like basketball, tennis, etc. that cannot be performed by people with bad knees. However, you can find an alternative by trying out the following exercises which are considered as the best cardio exercises for bad knees.

Swimming
Swimming is simply one of the best and the most effective cardiovascular exercises for people of all age groups. As swimming is not harder on knees, you can swim daily for 30-45 minutes to lose weight. You can choose the butterfly stroke as it is the best for people with bad knees.

Recumbent Bicycle
If you cannot run or cycle using an ordinary cycle due to your painful knees, you can surely try cycling with a recumbent bicycle. The rider can sit in a reclining position where the weight gets distributed among the hips, back and the legs. Therefore, the pressure exerted on the legs or knees gets reduced considerably and you can enjoy a workout without any pain in the knees.

Apart from these, other exercises like step up, calf raises, walking, etc. are also some of the best exercises for people with bad knees. As mentioned above, if you're looking for weight loss exercises, you should look for ones that concentrate on the upper body. Lastly, as a note of caution, it is wise to undergo workouts under the supervision of trainers in order to avoid severe pain in the knees. Take care!

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