strengthenyour knee health with a five-exercise regimen, endorsed by a certified trainer under NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine)
Preventing knee injuries is crucial for regular runners, and a NASM-qualified personal trainer, Katie Leonard, recommends focusing on strengthening the hamstrings, quads, and glutes. Here are her five exercises that make up a workout to ensure proper knee function.
1. Glute Bridge with Ball Squeeze
Lie on your back with knees bent and feet hip-width apart, holding a small Pilates ball between your knees. Push through your heels to lift your hips while squeezing the ball with your inner thighs. For an added challenge, do five small pulses up and down with hips elevated before slowly lowering your hips back down. This exercise strengthens the glutes and hamstrings, promoting proper knee alignment and reducing strain.
2. Banded Knee Drive
Stand with a resistance band looped around your feet. Drive one knee swiftly upward, completing all reps on one side before switching. If balance is difficult, hold onto a wall for support. Activating hip stabilizers, hip flexors, and glutes, this exercise prevents knee collapse.
3. Single-Leg Step Down
Stand on one leg on a step or low surface and slowly lower the opposite heel toward the floor, then returning to start. This exercise builds strength and stability in the knee and surrounding muscles by controlling descent.
4. Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift into Reverse Lunge
(Exact instructions not provided, but this exercise typically involves balancing on one leg while hinging at the hips to lower the torso forward and extend the free leg back.) Strengthening hamstrings, glutes, and improving balance, this exercise supports knee stability.
5. Banded Kickbacks
(Not explicitly described in the excerpts but based on similar banded exercises, involves placing a resistance band above the knees or ankles and kicking one leg backward against band resistance.) Targeting glutes and hip muscles supporting the knee, this exercise strengthens the knees and reduces injury risk.
Performing the Workout
Use proper equipment such as a mat, small Pilates ball, resistance band, and step. Perform 3 sets of each exercise with 10-12 reps or as recommended. Focus on controlled movements to engage the correct muscles and protect knee alignment. Use support (wall or chair) if balance is challenging.
These exercises strengthen the hips, glutes, hamstrings, and knee stabilizers, reducing strain and injury risk for runners. By preventing overcompensation from weaker muscles while running, these exercises help improve knee stability and prevent knee problems.
Note: The article mentions an isometric knee activation exercise that involves quad activation (back of the knee driven into a rolled-up towel while squeezing the quad muscle) and quad activation where the heel is dug into a Pilates ball, a Bosu ball, or something similarly squishy. However, these exercises are not explicitly described in the provided excerpts.
The workout, designed by NASM-certified personal trainer Katie Leonard, focuses on exercises that enhance fitness-and-exercise for runners, such as the Glute Bridge with Ball Squeeze and Banded Knee Drive, targeting the glutes and hip stabilizers, respectively. The Banded Kickbacks, Single-Leg Step Down, Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift into Reverse Lunge, and isometric knee activation exercises help strengthen the hamstrings and knee stabilizers, promoting health-and-wellness and reducing injury risk in sports.
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