Strengthen Your Knees Using This One Easy Peasy Technique

My knees have never been particularly strong and my doctors always told me that I should stay away from any high impact sports because of my weight.
Then, some years ago I decided to take up badminton and running; two sports give your knees a pounding! After running two half marathons, I could tell I needed to find a way to strengthen them, or they wouldn’t last much longer. About 3 years ago I experienced a very nasty fall and badly injured my right knee, I literally landed with all my weight on it. At first, I thought it was broken, but luckily, it was just badly bruised and my knee cap felt a bit loose. (Ew!)
Then I wasn’t happy just running half marathons, I wanted to go the whole hog and run the London Marathon, which I did last year. After the race I could tell my knee was in pretty bad shape, but I wasn’t too worried, because I’ve always been a believer that whatever the problem, the body is equipped with the power to heal and regenerate.
As with anything, you can help the healing process by thinking the right way, and combining it with the right course of action.
I didn’t want to give up badminton, or running, as I love them both too much. So I had to find a new solution.
I’d had several discussions with medical professionals and physiotherapists, about my knees, none of whom provided me with satisfactory answers or techniques about strengthening them.
Then, I made a little accidental discovery, that changed everything. I put my theory to the test and viola! My knees now are much stronger than they have ever been. I don’t get knee pains any longer and I feel like I could run a few more marathons easily!
Before I come to the main answer, you do have to do the basics. You have to eat well and drink plenty of water. You have to exercise properly, warm up and warm down. Stretching, yoga and pilates all will help rejuvenate your joints, as well as making sure you’re getting enough vitamin D.
If you do high impact exercises then prepare to fork out for a new pair of trainers at least every 3 to 6 months. That is a must! I personally prefer the cheaper variety. I find that the more expensive you get, the less effective they are at protecting your joints.
I’m a UK size 14 so getting badminton shoes was also not an option for me as they don’t make them in my size. Instead I went for the next best thing and I buy simple running shoes which cost around £30.
A £30 investment every 6 months is a very small price to pay for keeping your joints in order.
How To Strengthen Your Knees
This technique is so simple and it can be incorporated into your daily routine. What you have to do first is carefully observe how you walk down the stairs. If you have a problematic knee, when you step down using that leg, is your motion a collapsing motion, or is it a controlled and smooth action?
When I used to walk down stairs and I was stepping down from my right leg onto my left, my motion was not smooth, it was as if my leg was totally collapsing and had no strength.
So I spent time, building my knee back up again by consciously paying attention to the way I was walking down the stairs. When stepping down I would purposefully make my left leg take it’s time, forcing my right knee to develop the muscles needed to keep it strong.
So, if you’re having knee trouble, try this technique. Take your time walking down the stairs while paying attention to the type of motion it makes. if one of your knees is the problem, and you find that when all your weight is on that leg while the other leg steps down, and it is an uncontrolled collapsing motion, slow down the movement down until you can easily do it in a smooth fluid action.
What it does is build the relevant muscles that keep your knee from suffering cartilage or ligament damage.
In addition, I tried a new technique of running up the stairs, only when I got to a point where I felt my knee was strong enough. It was a simple and gentle canter up the stairs with a little extra bounce. I found that built my quad muscles very quickly as well as tone up the hammies.
Always remember to seek proper medical advice if you’re having the same issue.
Coming soon: how to strengthen your back; and when I’ve worked that one out, I’ll be a very happy bunny! 😆
Hi Amit,
Interesting story. I injured my knee while I was a midshipman at the Naval Academy, and have had problems off and on with it every since. I have noticed that when I go above a certain weight, my knee starts to ache. As long as I stay under that weight (and I know what it is, but am not telling!) Im generally fine. I am pretty active with yoga, running and weight training so I don’t think it is a strength issue. I think its just the nature of the injury.
I will start paying a lot more attention to the mechanics of my walking, though. I think there may be something there.
Thanks for the insights. We can always learn from each others’ experiences.
Chris
Hey Chris, funnily enough what you mentioned about the ‘knee ache’ I also used to get that too, since I’ve been consciously practising this, I no longer get it.
Weight is a big issue without a doubt, until I lose more weight I had to devise ways of building the strength my knees to help support my badminton addiction 😛
Do you have any good suggestions for strengthening the lower back?
I’ve just started experimenting and I’m trying out new things to help make it stronger without having to go out of my way to exercise, but just incorporating those things into my daily routine.
My mother has very weak knees and because of that, I’ve always been cautious myself. Despite being relatively young, I occasionally experience knee pain.
I don’t usually run or jog because of the hard impact on the knees. Instead, I find myself sticking to the elliptical trainer.
However, spring is here and the weather is getting nicer. It naturally makes me want to do some exercise outside in the sun instead of staying indoors all the time!
I will definitely need to look for some new sneakers, as mine are starting to wear out. It’s interesting how you find that the less expensive varieties protect your joints more! I hope that’s the case for me, because it’ll be very helpful on my wallet.
Thank you for the stair tips. I will be sure to share it with my mother. I think she’d definitely appreciate it!
Hi Elle. Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.
As for trainers/sneakers. It definitely is purely down to personal preference. If I were to run a marathon again. I would probAbly seek consultation at a special running shop and go with their recommendation. However, for the shorter distance, and night impact sports, the cheaper variety have served me really well.
The stair exercise is a definite winner. I’m also adding in something new which I’ll be writing About soon, so watch this space.
How do you feel about skipping? Worth a try as an outdoor activity. I love it! 🙂
Thank you again and all the best.
~Amit
Thank you for your reply, Amit.
I will definitely be watching this space for the new tip! I’ve shared the stairs tip with my mother, and she thinks the best part of it is that walking up and down stairs is already part of daily routine, so it’s easy to incorporate.
I’ve done skipping at the gym, and I’m starting to work on continuous double unders. It’s definitely great for bringing up the heart rate. I currently don’t have my own skip rope to bring outside, but it does sound refreshing!
What other outdoor sports are you into?
Hey Elle, at the moment my main sport is Badminton, however I’m being encourage to take up Yoga and Zumba! I used to do a lot of running, not as much any more but I have plans to take it up again once I build up the strength in my back again. How about you?
I believe that exercise is very important especially in regaining strength.
Hey Rachel
Indeed, even gentle exercise can make a huge difference too.
~Amit