Be Kind to Your Knees
Tips to help you limit and prevent knee injuries
Here are some helpful tips that will prevent and correct
knee pain:
Warm up. Take some time to do some warm-up sets
of whatever leg exercise you may be doing. For example, if you normally leg
press 250 pounds you should do up to 20 slow, controlled reps with minimal
weight before beginning to work your way up to 250 pounds. You will get the
blood flowing to the knee region and warm up your leg muscles, which will allow them to function optimally.
Don’t lock out your knees. This goes for most
leg exercises—squats, leg press, lunges, etc. Locking your knee joint transfers
the weight you are lifting from the muscle to the joint, which leads to
unneeded stress. Plus, you will keep the tension in the muscle and experience a
better workout when you do not lock the knee. If you cannot perform the
exercise without locking the knee joint, then you need to lower the weight.
Use proper form. This is especially important
for when you are squatting. Make sure to keep your weight focused on your
heels, not the balls of your feet. As you are descending, keep your butt out,
chest up (to prevent rounding of the back), and do not let your knees come forward.
Descend until your thighs are parallel with the ground and rise back up making
sure to push up with the heels of your feet.
Use weight appropriate for you. Focus on
completing the full range of motion for whichever leg exercise you are doing.
If you are not doing this then you are putting your knees at a higher risk for
injury. Therefore, start by simply using your body weight and then gradually
increase weight. If your form is compromised, then you need to use a lower
weight.
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