Exercises w/ sensitive knee

[iprayforpeace]

Hello BWF, first post here.

I've been working on my own for about 4 months now and I'm happy with my progress in general. I don't have any lofty goals with achieving X and Y - I just want to slowly increase my activity levels and see steady progress without getting injured.

One thing that's been inhibiting my lower body progress is my left knee. I've been doing bodyweight squats and pistol squat progression exercises, about 2 times a week. I don't see myself ever doing a full pistol squat anytime soon because of my ankle mobility and left knee.

My left knee has always been sensitive even before I started with bodyweight fitness, so I was wondering if there are other more gentler exercises I can do instead without aggravating it.

Thanks in advance!

 

[cjdmom]

@iprayforpeace Seconding "knee ability zero" book from the kneesovertoesguy you can find on various social media. Covers all sorts of movements related to what connects to the knee. On his youtube you can find some exercises that aren't in that book.

 

[aintnosaint]

@cjdmom Came to make the same recommendation. This guy stopped my 2 year knee pain in about a week.

Reverse sled drags are an every other day exercise now.

 

[celticroseinfj]

@aintnosaint Any video of his in specific that you could recommend?

 

[greg2541]

@cjdmom +1, this guy rules.

 

[twood1]

@iprayforpeace “Knees over toes guy” on YouTube and elsewhere is super for knee rehab routines.

 

[searchingforpeace210]

@twood1 Came here to say this. KNEES OVER TOES!!! Saved my gym life.

 

[ggg17]

@iprayforpeace (1) Lower the intensity and increase reps. Do bodyweight squats of such a depth that you can make 50+ until your legs burn.

(2) Balance on one leg until you can't stand on it any more if your life depends on it.

(3) Exaggerate the pain in your doctor's office so that you get an MRI. It would be extremely beneficial to know the source of the pain.

 

[littleblub]

@iprayforpeace You should be working on your posterior chain too(bridges/hip thrusts), strengthening your hamstrings can take pressure off the knee!

 

[dawn16]

@iprayforpeace I feel like the KOT guy is becoming like a cult leader or something lol

 

[dawn16]

I felt the same way initially, but he's genuinely knowledgeable and his knee ability zero routine has absolutely been a boon to my knees. It's one of the first things I've found worth the hype in the fitness world.

 

[dawn16]

Oh I believe it’s helping for sure, my cynical side just keeps ringing in my head to be wary but I’m gonna try some of his info soon. I’ve got some patellar tendinitis that might get some help out of it.

 

[dawn16]

I think it would genuinely help with that. It's super easy thanfully, like a half hour workout tops.

 

[yodo]

@iprayforpeace I have knee issues, too, and the good news is that they have reduced over the years as I continue to strengthen my legs. I’ve been doing bodyweight squats and lunges, and gradually over time my knee pain reduced. So keep doing what you’re doing!

A lot of people swear by the book “Knee Ability Zero.” I’ll be honest, I didn’t find that the exercises in that book helped me with my particular problem, but I’ve seen lots of praise from other redditors that it helped them, so I will go ahead and recommend it. It has many gentle exercises for strengthening knees in it. It’s quite a short read so check it out.

 

[jackjohnson1]

@iprayforpeace Static leg extension holds may help develop your quad so your knee isn’t taking the burden. Might want to check with a physical therapist first though.

I see knees over toes guy recommended a ton here and I know there’s a lot of success stories but for me personally it was a bit too much with my knee condition and I had to back way off. I was given seated leg extensions with a timed hold pressing against the wall with my foot as a starting point for example.

 

[aric10]

@jackjohnson1 This is what my doc recommended for me and helped a ton back when I’d hurt my knees just walking up stairs. Slowly transitioned to weightlifting and can now squat over 3 plates but was a journey that started super small

 

[ttowngirl]

@iprayforpeace I wear knee sleeves when doing anything lower body. They don’t really support your knee or anything but they keep warmth in the joint and I’ve found that my knees don’t bother me nearly as much when I wear them.

 

[eedj]

@iprayforpeace Hey bro, had to chime in with my two cents. I’ve also got a bad left knee, and i have the perfect suggestion for you. Get a fixed gear bicycle and set it up with a fairly easy gear ratio. Start riding say five to ten miles a day. Wear a knee brace. As you build strength you can increase the ratio, you’ll know you went too fast if your knee hurts. Within a few months you’ll build enough muscle around the deficient area of your knee and very likely won’t need the brace. Side benefit is free cardio.

 

[meki]

@iprayforpeace Squats worked for me, but I do them with kettlebells. Knees feel so much better. Strengthen the small muscles around the knee to aid support. Wear knee sleeves for extra support and warmth.

 

[baruch_atah]

@iprayforpeace Walking backwards on an incline treadmill really helped after I dislocated my knee - 100m a day on it and my knee feels better now than pre dislocation.