When we have someone with slight knees issues come into the gym at Garage Strength we want to check if they are mobile in an all-global perspective. We need to make sure their hips and ankles are mobilized. That their quads and hamstrings are limber enough and that their lower back is tuned up. To do that we want to make sure we complete a decent warm-up. At the very least, the first two exercises need to be more simple. This is a key factor.
Bulletproof Knees
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We recommend doing four to five sets of seven to ten reps on each leg. Make sure the eccentric is nice and controlled. At the top hold the isometric muscular action for a solid three count to impact that quad and contribute even further to bulletproofing those knees.
We like to set this up with PowerLastic bands. We step our legs through the looped handholds and position the PowerLastic band behind the knees. As usual, the band is anchored to an immovable object. We then take up a dumbbell or kettlebell for a goblet to perform the movement.
We want the knees to track forward. Depending on knee pain and mobility, or lack of knee pain and greater mobility, we can squat down to a target like a chair or a bench. As we warm up, we can make the range of motion deeper. By the end, in an ideal world, we want to be squatting through a full range of motion. Of course, if we can squat through a full range of motion from the jump, do that!
We want the chest facing the sled. We want to pull nice and slowly while driving backward. During the course of the movement, we need to always be in hip flexion. We can add weight to the sled as we see fit, going nice and slow through knee extension while holding hip flexion driving backward. Nice and control will give a stupid quad pump, which in turn will bulletproof the knees. Hopefully, it will bang out a little of the scar tissue as well.
Focusing on slow eccentrics creates more time under tension and helps to drastically improve the muscles around the knee to be stronger, contributing greatly to bulletproofing the knees. Healthy knees mean less pain in life, more time with the grandkids running around, more time being on the competition floor, and just overall higher quality of living.
You see, a year and a half ago, I had perfectly healthy knees, and I was coming off the best training cycle of my entire life. Long story short: A ski trip led to an arthroscope and a knee that may never return to normal.
Fixing knees is my business. I've studied their architecture, how they function, the most cutting edge research, common injuries, and what the best and the brightest in the industry are doing to fix even the most stubborn knees. I'd love to say I'm doing it all for you, but obviously there's a little self-interest involved here as well!
If you've ever had a knee injury, this is the article for you. I'm going to get you up-to-speed with some new concepts (along with reviewing some old ones) that are sure to get your knees as healthy as possible.
This could be quad-dominant day, hip-dominant day, "leg" day, or whatever you want to call it. Just put them on before the workout, warm-up thoroughly, and bask in the joy that healthy knees bring to you.
The fact of the matter is that knee issues are typically due to issues at other areas of the body, not the knees themselves. Lack of hip mobility in all planes can not only lead to knee pain, but back pain as well. Eric Cressey and I covered about a zillion hip mobility exercises in our Magnificent Mobility DVD, so I'd highly suggest checking it out.
In the first exercise, all you're going to do is set up next to a wall with your feet a few inches away from it (you may even want to start with your toes touching the wall at first). Rest your hands on the wall, place all your weight on your heels, and then stay tall and try to "shoot" your knees over your toes.
If you don't follow this rule, your knees may not hurt now, but I can guarantee they will in the future! When I say that we have to balance your training, we aren't talking within the training day or even the training week. You need to address the long-term health of your body when you lay out your programming! Don't just plan one cycle, follow it, and then forget about it when planning the next one. What you did (or didn't do) in this cycle directly affects ensuing cycles.
We discussed above how people with patello-femoral pain have significantly less strength in their gluteals. So what's the easiest way to rectify the situation? If you said "Get their glutes stronger," you get the gold star for the day. By working to activate the gluteals pre-workout, and then working to strengthen them within your workout, you'll be well on your way to healthier knees in the future.
What I'd like all trainees to have is at least a basic knowledge of how to absorb force. If you were to jump up in the air and then land with your knees straight and a loud "thud," you're not allowing your muscles and tendons to absorb force. Instead, all the force is being absorbed by your joints, and this just isn't a good thing if you value your knee joints (or ankles, hips, or lumbar spine for that matter!)
The vertical jump is actually a great test and exercise to utilize. Jump up in the air and try to minimize the sound when you hit the ground. Land with soft knees, soft feet, and lower into a half squat to absorb the force. I'm not trying to make you into an elite athlete with this recommendation, just give you some food for thought. It wouldn't kill you to be a little more athletic, would it?
This may sound really stupid, but you'd be amazed at how many clients and athletes I work with who tell me, "I can't do X exercise; it hurts my (insert body part here)." Since this is a knee article, we'll assume it hurts their knees. Here's the problem though: It's not the exercise that's hurting them; it's their god-awful lifting technique that's the problem!
I'm amazed at how many people can't perform even the most basic exercises in the weightroom, yet they're so convinced it's the exercise that's at fault, not their performance of that exercise that's the real problem. The squat is a great example, as it's been the scapegoat for everything from sore knees to bad backs.
You have all the tips you need to keep your knees healthy and feeling great. Now all you have to do is use the info to reap the benefits! I'm looking forward to some great success stories to follow!
...the majority of the world has been scared away from strengthening this quality in exercise, because a 1978 Duke University study determined that there is more pressure on your knees when they go over your toes. NO DUH!The result = knee surgeries and knee replacements going up 10X per capita since then, and now determined to be at epidemic levels, with 790,000 knee replacements last year...Read Full Article
Ben is not a medical professional and may not give advice regarding medical conditions. Ben specializes in Knee Ability. The ATG methodology strengthens and restores the muscles, tendons, and ligaments from the ground up and bulletproofs the knees against the intense forces that they are subjected to in sports and in life.We have countless members who have improved or eliminated tendinitis and other conditions as a result of doing the Knee Ability Zero Program. Check out some of the success stories on the website.
Ben specializes in Knee Ability. The ATG methodology strengthens and restores the muscles, tendons, and ligaments from the ground up and bulletproofs the knees against the intense forces that they are subjected to in sports and in life.
Knee valgus (knees collapsing inward) has been extensively reported as a factor in ACL as well as a variety of other knee injuries (Source 2, Source 3). A ton of issues can contribute to knee valgus and it will be a reoccurring theme in this article. Weak or improperly activated glutes are one frequent cause of knee valgus (Source 4) and are one of the first things I will address when I see knee valgus occurring. There are a ton of major strengthening exercises, including squats, deadlifts, and hip thrusts that target the glutes and they should be foundational strength movements. However, they will not alone fix this issue and valgus can still occur during the movement if the stabilization muscles such as the gluteus medius are not activating.
There is a paid coaching program you can enroll in if you really want to jump in, but even just implementing the simple exercises discussed here and on the Knees Over Toes youtube channel have been incredible for me. Ben Patrick is on Instagram @kneesovertoesguy and I will add a couple more instructional videos below.
Both are excellent drills, but since most newbies (when asked to show a squat) will naturally default to the heels up, knees forward (and often in), body forward position, I recommend first to master the regular goblet squat, as taught in Simple & Sinister and our SFG Level I curriculum.
Stand with your head, back and hips against a wall, your feet about hip-width apart. Slowly bend your knees, and glide down the wall until just before you reach a sitting position. Hold the position for five to ten seconds and then slowly come up. Repeat 5-10 times as needed.
Fortunately swimming is one of the best activities you can do to improve bad knees. Treading water, front crawl, backstroke or just kicking laps with a flutter board will not only solidify your knee joint, but will give you a great cardio workout as well. Jogging in water or water aerobics are other options you can try in a pool as well.
The BOSU ball is a fantastic piece of training equipment for your knees. However, it can be pretty intimidating to start using it at first! Just by stepping on it and feeling all that wiggling about, you might feel inclined to keep it in a corner for the time being.
You can set micro-progressions in this case as well, thus making your path to bulletproof knees safer yet again. Watch the video below and see how you can start out with your hands extended in front of you, then placing them behind your head; and then slowing down the speed you squat at: 2ff7e9595c
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