Knee-Friendly Workouts

If you’ve ever experienced knee pain, you know we use our knees a lot! If the simple act of standing up from a seated position hurts, how are we supposed to workout?

Well, knees always need TLC, not just when you feel pain, and painful workouts are always a big no in my book, but we can still keep moving even when our knees limit us. The key is to feel out what you can do without pain. This will be different for everybody, but a few general rules of thumb are:
1. Avoid deep knee bends
Keep you squats and lunges “high” up and even turn a side squat into a step touch. 
2. Don’t overload into the toes
Most shoes – even sneakers – direct our weight forward into our toes, stressing the knees. By simply going barefoot we take the “pressure” off our knees. 
3. Keep it low-impact
Steer clear of jumping, running and hopping as the impact associated with these types of movements stresses out the knee joint. 

At Let’s Move!, here are some knee-friendly all-star classes:
Walk With Weights 
Yoga Mat Work
Mighty Mat Pilates 
Stretch 360 
Sunset Stretch

I recommend taking it all day by day. Remember, your body is dynamic and while it might take time, things do eventually shift. You are not “stuck” with “bad knees” even though it may seem that way right now. Do what you can, with what you’ve got, and watch yourself shine on, rise above and move forward.