Exercises for healthy knees: 17 best and 10 most dangerous

1. Leg extension in a sitting position

• Sit on a chair and lean on it with a straight back.
• Smoothly lift one leg and straighten it until fully straightened. The toe should be turned outward.
• In this position, tighten your thigh muscles and hold for 15 seconds.
• Then relax the muscles and slowly lower your leg to the floor.
• Repeat for the other leg. Do three repetitions, alternating legs.

2. Squats

• Feet should be shoulder-width apart. Turn your toes outward. Hands can be placed on the waist or down.
• Squat down smoothly until your legs form a right angle, or slightly lower. The position should be comfortable.
• The back should remain straight, the toes should not be lifted off the floor.
• Repeat ten times, do three such approaches.

3. Single-leg squat

• Feet should be shoulder-width apart, toes pointing forward.
• Raise one leg and balance on the other.
• Bend the supporting leg leg at the knee and slowly squat.
• The knee should not go inward or forward.
• Straighten smoothly.
• Repeat five times for each leg.

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• Do three approaches.

4. Lying leg spread

• Lie on the mat on your side. Legs lie one on top of the other.
• Bend your knees. Keep your feet together and lift the thigh of your upper leg up.
• Hold in this position for ten seconds.
• Return to the original position and repeat ten times for each leg.

5. Raising the leg from a lying position

• Lie on your side, straighten your legs. Place a pillow or hand under your head. Toes point forward.
• Raise your top leg straight up.
• Hold in this position for ten seconds and return to the starting position.
• Repeat five times for each leg.

6. Glute bridge

• Lie on the floor. Place your arms along your body.
• Bend your knees, feet on the floor.
• Tighten your buttocks and lift your pelvis as high as possible.
• Remain in this position for a couple seconds, then return to the original position and repeat.
• Perform three sets of ten repetitions.

7. Single-leg glute bridge

• You can perform the workout on one leg.
• To do this, one leg rests on the heel, and its knee is bent at an angle of 90 degrees.
• The second leg is raised straight.
• Rise from this position and lower to the starting position.
• Repeat ten times.

8. Hamstring stretch

• Sit on the edge of a chair.
• Straighten one leg and rest on your heel.
• The toe should be turned away from you.
• Your back is straight, the thigh muscles are tense.
• Tilt your body slightly forward.
• You should feel a stretch in your straight leg.
• Fix the position for 15 seconds.
• Repeat for the other leg.
• Do three sets for each leg.

9. Lunge

It is important that your back is always straight when performing the workout.

• Step forward with one leg.
• Bend both knees and slowly lower yourself into a lunge position. The leg that stands in front should be bent at a right angle, and the knee should not go further than the toe.
• Straighten up slowly and repeat the exercise five times.
• Repeat for the second leg as well five times.
• Do three such approaches.

10. Half squat with support on the wall

This workout will help strengthen the muscles of the buttocks, calves and quadriceps.

• Lean your entire back against the wall.
• The legs should be slightly wider than shoulder level, at a distance of 2 foot lengths from the wall. Turn your toes slightly away from you.
• Place your hands on your waist or stretch them forward. Bend your knees slightly.
• From this position, begin to bend your legs and gradually squat until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
• When you are in a half-squat position, slowly rise up onto your toes.
• When you are in a half-squat position, slowly rise up onto your toes.

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• Hold in a half-squat on your toes for about 30 seconds.
• Repeat three times.

11. Lying knee extension

This exercise helps to put stress on the knee muscles. Also suitable for recovery after injury or surgery.

• Lie down on a flat surface and place a soft cushion or rolled-up towel under the knee of one leg.
• Slowly begin to straighten your knee. The toe should reach towards the head.
• When you reach the highest point of straightening, stay in this position for 15 seconds.
• Do 15 repetitions for one leg, then the same for the other.

12. Leg Curls Using Resistance

This exercise will help strengthen the knee tendons, and also engage the biceps of the leg and those muscles that are involved in flexion. For convenience, you can use an elastic fitness band or create the necessary resistance with the help of your second leg.

• Lie down on a flat surface with your stomach down. Your arms should be bent at the elbow, your palms placed under your chin. Straighten your legs.
• If you are doing the exercise without a band, place your first leg on the ankle of the second leg.
• Begin to smoothly bend your lower leg, while trying to press on it with your other leg. There should be moderate pressure when lifting the shin.
• Reach to a position where the knee of the lower leg bends perpendicular to the floor.
• Lower your legs to their original position. Repeat 15 approaches.
• Change legs and perform the same number of times for the other.

If you are using a fitness tape, before starting the class, secure the tape to a small support approximately 35 cm high. Place the other end on your ankle and bend your knee, trying to reach your buttocks with your heel.

13. Lying Leg Extension

This workout will help the muscles that help extend the knees, including the medial, intermedius, lateralis, and quadriceps muscles.

• Lie on a flat surface with your stomach facing down. Bend your elbows and place your chin on your palms. Straighten your legs.
• Both legs should be bent at the knees at the same time, forming a right angle.
• In this position, place one foot on the ankle of the other leg.
• Begin to straighten the knee of the upper leg, providing resistance with the lower leg. You need to create moderate pressure when straightening.
• When the leg is fully straightened, return to the original position. Repeat 14 times.
• Then change position and perform this task for the other leg, also 15 approaches.

14. Squat using a balance platform

Helps train knee ligaments and strengthen muscles.

• Stand on the platform for balance, holding onto the support with your hand. Your back should be straight, your chest turned up.
• Bend your knees slightly and smoothly move your hips back.
• Smoothly lower yourself to a comfortable position. You need to strive to ensure that the surface of your thighs is parallel to the floor.
• Hold in the position, then tense your leg muscles and return to the original position. The knees remain bent all the time.
• Repeat 20 times.

15. Balancing

To perform this exercise you will need a balance platform.

• Stand on the platform in the center. Straighten your back, open your chest. You can hold on to the support if necessary.
• Bend one leg at the knee and maintain balance on the other leg. Help with your hands to maintain balance.
• Bend your supporting leg slightly at the knee.
• Maintain balance for up to 30 seconds while standing on one leg. After that, change the position and repeat for the other one.

16. Lateral resistance with drive

Helps strengthen knee ligaments. It needs to be done with a light load, there should be no overvoltage.

• Find a support up to 35 cm high. Stand to the side of her.
• Put your hands on your waist. Place your foot on the support with the inside side down.
• With slight effort, pull the foot towards you, slightly straining the muscles and ligaments.
• Keep your leg tense for up to 25 seconds. Place the other leg and repeat the workout.

17. Lateral resistance with abduction

When performing the task, the tendons and abductor muscles are trained. It is more convenient to perform using a fitness tape.

• Put the tape on the ankles of both legs.
• Stand up straight and hold onto the support with one hand.
• One straightened begin to move your leg to the side until your legs form an acute angle. The exercise should be done smoothly, without sudden movements.
• Then smoothly return to the original position.
• Do 15 sets on one leg, then the same on the other.

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Dangerous exercises for the knees

If you have inflammation and acute pain in the knee area, you should not perform exercises in which you have to bend your leg at an angle. Leg rotations are also unacceptable. Do not load the leg with heavy weight, do exercises in a standing position, or squats.

1. Jumping forward or upward

During a jump, there is a large load on the knees, increasing the risk of tendon inflammation and pain in the knee joint. This exercise is not suitable for beginners, but for professional athletes it is better to replace it with a less traumatic one.

2. Lunges with dumbbells

When performing lunges, it is important for the body to maintain balance, and weights increase the load. This leads to risks of damage to the knee joint and can cause ligament rupture.

3. Stretching in a sitting position with the leg abducted

Performed in a sitting position on a mat. Straightened leg in front, second leg laid to the side with a bent knee. This is a dangerous position for the knee and can cause the cup to shift and damage the joint. May cause leg injury.

The stretching exercise will be safer if both legs are in front and the bent knee is pulled towards the chest.

4. Throwing your legs back over your head

When performing the exercise in a lying position and throwing your legs behind your head, you will not be able to control the degree of stretching of the leg muscles, which leads to sprains and injuries to the knees. At the same time, the back muscles are also in the wrong position, which leads to stooping.

5. Extension using a weighting agent

When extending tense legs using a machine or weighting agent, the quadriceps is trained, but it can also displace the lower leg and puts more stress on the leg ligaments. This may cause damage to your knees.

It is better to replace this workout with extension in a sitting position with a weight, but without a machine. Squats and lunges will also help to work out the thigh muscles.

6. Climbing up using a treadmill

When training on a treadmill with climbing up, the load on the knee joint significantly increases and the risk of injury increases. It is better to use the track only in a horizontal position.

7. Turkish pose or lotus

For a person with low hip flexibility, this leg position poses a risk of knee injury. If you feel pain when trying to sit in the lotus position, it is better to change the position to a more comfortable one.

8. Squats with a barbell and legs together

If you place your feet close to each other, and not shoulder-width apart, you risk injuring your knees during squats. The shift in the knee joint increases and ligament injury may occur.

To make squats safe, always place your feet shoulder-width apart or wider. Use knee pads. During training, it is important that your feet do not rise from the floor, and your knees should be turned outward. The barbell should not be added until you get used to the correct position.

9. Knee Rotation

This workout can be performed as a two-leg rotation at once, or separately. Often used for warming up, the result is loosening of the knee joints. If you do this exercise before jogging or squatting with a barbell, it can cause knee injury.

It is better to avoid rotations. To function properly, the knees must always remain in a fixed position.

10. Forward Bends with Back Rounding

If you bend towards your feet and at the same time round your back, the back muscles and leg ligaments receive the wrong load. In this position, the knees move out of their correct position. When bending, it is important that your back is kept straight. Only the thigh muscles are tense.