5 of the perfect knee strengthening workouts to scale back ache, improve power and enhance mobility. Knee strengthening exercises are an effective way to enhance the well being and performance of your knees. Whether or not you’re recovering from a knee harm, seeking to enhance athletic efficiency, or need to cut back future threat of harm, these knee strengthening workouts at dwelling are a superb addition to your health routine.
Construct stronger, extra resilient knees with these knee strengthening workouts.
This knee strengthening exercise is designed to each strengthen the muscle groups that help the knee joint (together with the quadriceps muscle groups, glute muscle groups, calf muscle groups and hamstring muscle groups) in addition to improve flexibility and mobility across the knee and ankle joints.
Whether or not you’re recovering from an harm, are a runner who suffers from knee ache, or simply need to proactively shield your knees, these 5 workouts to strengthen knees are helpful so as to add to your health routine.
I began including these workouts to my coaching routine following a torn meniscus harm and meniscus surgical procedure. I labored with a bodily therapist in particular person and in addition adopted the “Knees Over Toes” train program (Athletic Truths Group) and located each extraordinarily useful.
If lunges and squats damage your knees, these knee strengthening workouts could assist. I’d additionally advocate these lunge and squat alternatives.


These workouts mix body weight power knee workouts with useful knee stretches to forestall harm and cut back knee ache.
Add mobility coaching like this to your home training program 2-3 instances per week to enhance athletic efficiency, cut back ache and stop knee accidents.
Exercise Tools:
No Tools Wanted (Body weight Solely). Possibility so as to add a chair/countertop to carry on to for stability help.
Exercise Directions:
Comply with together with the guided Knee Rehab Workout video on YouTube, led by me — your licensed private coach, Lindsey Bomgren.
Your Exercise Seems to be Like This:
- 5 Knee Strengthening Workout routines
- Timed Intervals (carry out every transfer for 40 seconds, adopted by 20 seconds relaxation)
- No Repeats (carry out every knee train x1 set)
5 Greatest Knee Strengthening Workout routines
1. Strolling Backwards
Goal: Strolling backwards strengthens the Vastus Medialis Indirect (VMO) muscle, or the teardrop formed muscle on the within of your quad (entrance of thigh). This fast-twitch muscle helps transfer the knee joint and stabilizes the kneecap.

How To Stroll Backwards
- You possibly can stroll backwards on a treadmill, exterior or simply round your own home.
- Discover a secure and clear area. Be sure to have sufficient area to stroll with out bumping into something or anybody. Maintain your head up and eyes wanting ahead to keep away from tripping or falling.
- Maintain your knees barely bent as you start strolling backwards, alternating stepping one foot behind the opposite. It will assist with stability and stability.
- As you change into extra comfy, improve stride size, pace and incline to extend the problem.
2. Tibialis Raises (Tib Raises)
Goal: Tib raises strengthen the tibialis anterior muscle, or muscle alongside the entrance of the shin (decrease leg). That is the first shock absorber of the knee, and strengthening this muscle will help shield each the knees and ankles.

How To Do Tib Raises
- Begin standing on a flat floor, toes shoulder-width aside, leaning towards a wall. Step your toes out 3-4 inches away from the wall, conserving your again pressed towards the wall.
- Slowly carry your toes in direction of your shins whereas conserving your heels on the bottom.
- Maintain for a second, earlier than slowly reducing your toes to faucet the bottom as you come back to the beginning place.
3. Knees Over Toes Calf Raises
Goal: This variation of a normal calf increase each strengthens the calf muscle groups (muscle groups alongside the again of your decrease legs) and improves ankle mobility. Rising the flexion (pushing knees over toes) is a useful coaching motion. This train helps your knees, ankles and achilles by means of acceleration/deceleration actions and shock absorption from impression.

How To Do Knees Over Toes Calf Raises
- Stand together with your toes shoulder-width aside and toes pointing ahead. Possibility to put palms on a chair or countertop for extra stability help.
- Shift your weight ahead in order that your knees transfer over your toes. Maintain your again straight and your core engaged.
- Slowly increase your heels, balancing in your toes (barely bending your knees).
- With management, slowly decrease your heels again right down to the bottom, returning to beginning place.
Modification: If the knees over toes place isn’t comfy, carry out normal calf raises.
4. Step Downs
Goal: Step downs improve knee vary of movement and strengthen the VMO (vastus medialis indirect) muscle. The VMO is the primary of your quad muscle groups to contract when the knee is underneath load – which signifies that strengthening it’s helpful for shielding knees from impression.

How To Do Step Downs
- Begin standing, toes hip-width aside and planted on the bottom.
- Maintain your proper foot planted on the mat and kickstand your left foot in entrance of you, toes pointing up.
- Protecting your left leg straight, slowly bend your proper knee and decrease your hips as you faucet your left foot out in entrance of you. Consider performing a half squat in your proper leg. Attempt to get your proper knee over your proper toes, whereas conserving your proper heel planted on the bottom.
- Slowly straighten your proper knee, returning to a standing place as you pull your left leg again in to satisfy the correct.
- Change sides on the following set.
5. Glute Bridges
Goal: Glute bridges strengthen the muscle groups which might be necessary for knee stability, and may be carried out with out placing extreme stress on the knee joint. Glute bridges strengthen behind the knees, which is necessary for stopping knee harm.

How To Do Glute Bridges
- Lie flat in your again with knees bent and toes flat on the ground.
- Drive by means of your heels, squeezing your butt to carry your hips up towards the ceiling. Maintain knees consistent with hips
- Maintain this place for a second, then slowly decrease your hips down, hovering simply above the mat.
FAQs
One of the simplest ways to strengthen the knees is thru a mixture of constructing muscle across the knee joint and growing joint mobility. That is generally accomplished by means of extension workouts (kicking the leg out) and flexion workouts (bending the knee).
Strolling is a low impression train that strengthens the muscle groups surrounding the knees with out extreme impression. Strolling backwards is much more helpful for strengthening the knees and will help relieve ache surrounding the knees.
I like to recommend performing knee strengthening workouts at the least 2-3 instances per week. To get essentially the most out of those workouts, it’s necessary to include them into your routine constantly.
Strengthening the muscle groups round your knees will help cut back the chance of accidents reminiscent of sprains, strains and tears.
Relaxation is extraordinarily necessary, particularly within the early levels of an harm. As soon as you might be able to resume train, start with one in all our Leg/Knee Injury Workouts or Seated Workouts.
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