6 Best At-Home Knee Exercises for Stronger Knees

Best at-home knee exercises (Image via Pexels/Photo by Ketut Subiyanto)
Best at-home knee exercises (Image via Pexels/Photo by Ketut Subiyanto)

If you want to have better leg days at the gym, you can start with doing some at-home knee exercises. One of the reasons why you should try to make your knees stronger while at home is to allow you more time for the muscles at the gym.

Additionally, doing exercises to make your knees stronger will help you move around instead of sitting at one place when you’re home.


At-home knee exercises you must do

Here are six at-home exercises you should be aware of and incorporate in your daily routine:

1) Butt kicks

In this exercise, you stand in one place, and kick your feet backwards, bending it from the knees. Ideally, your heels should touch your back.

You do not need to go extremely fast with this exercise. Start off slow. and pick up the pace as you feel your balance and stability.

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2) Sitting down and standing up

Use a chair to do this exercise. Stand straight in front of the chair; sit down with your back straight, and stand up maintaining the position. Continue to do that for a few reps, but maintain stress on your knees. Take a break between the sets.

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3) Pulling knees towards torso

Lie down, or sit on a chair, and extend your leg outwards. Next, pull your knee inwards, and make approximately a 90-degree angle with your calves and quads.

Make sure you feel the stretch on your knees when doing this movement.

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4) Flexing the knees

One of the most at-home knee exercises you can do at any time is knee flexes. Extend your leg, and lock your knees. Flex and relax your knees every few seconds.

Continue doing that till you feel your knees are being worked. However, at every point, make sure not to lock your knees out too hard. That could shock the knee muscles and lead to unwanted injuries.

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5) Body weight lunges/squats

This is an at-home knee exercise that will help all your leg muscles, such as your knees, quads, hamstrings and even your calves.

When you do lunges and squats, your knees take some of the pressure, which helps in strengthening your joints.


6) Wall squats

Another great knee exercise that helps in strengthening the knee joints are wall squats. You place your back against the wall, and go down to a chair position. Hold that position for 30 seconds or more before relaxing.

This is another one of the at-home knee exercises that works on your quads as well.

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Benefits of doing at-home knee exercises

There are several benefits to doing at-home knee exercises. Being aware of the same will help you understand why they should be a part of your daily routine. Some of the benefits are:

Helps during leg days

When you have stronger knees, they help you during leg days at the gym. As mentioned above, exercises such as squats, lunges and others put quite a bit of pressure on the knees. Strong knees put you at an advantage during leg days.

Reduces pain

When you do cardio or strength training, it has an impact on your knees. Doing at-home knee exercises can help in reducing muscle soreness and pain afterwards.

Strong knee joints help in absorbing pressure from leg exercises, resulting in lesser pain and soreness.

Good form of stretching

Knee exercises help in stretching the knee muscles. That helps in opening up the smaller muscles and also strengthening the cartilage.


Bottom line

At-home knee exercises should be a part of your daily routine simply because they help in improving the joints. The stronger your joints are, the better they are as you age. Stronger bones are always an advantage.

Edited by Bhargav