Knee strength after 65 is a priority. Getting up out of a chair can be more challenging than walking uphill or climbing up stairs. People think they need to use machines to rebuild their leg strength, but some of the best exercises you can do are available at home with just a wall.

The problem with machines is that they move in a fixed pathway. This doesn’t mimic the way the body moves in daily life. I’ve had great success with clients after 65 using the following exercises. Wall exercises provide support without removing your muscles to stabilize the joints.

The following moves are also based on fundamental movement patterns that we all need to do every day: lunging, sitting, squatting. You should be able to do each move slowly with control, and you’ll restore knee strength which will carry over to your daily activities.

Wall Sit Hold

The wall set is one of the best ways to isolate the quads while using the support of a wall. I use this exercise for clients after 65 because it’s safe, and you can modify it easily, just by your foot position. Keep your feet closer to the wall and your knees less bent, and the exercise is easier. As you walk your feet out and your hips sink lower, you increase the challenge.

This exercise is going to be challenging for people of all levels, and the tension can build rather quickly, so start by picking a higher height for the first time you do this.

How to Do It

• Stand with your back flat against a sturdy wall
• Walk your feet slightly forward
• Slide down until your knees reach a comfortable bend
• Keep both feet flat on the floor
• Hold the position for 15–30 seconds
• Press through your feet and stand with control.

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Wall Squat

The wall sit strengthens your quads isometrically because it’s a hold where the angle of the joint doesn’t change. We also need to strengthen the knees concentrically and eccentrically. This is where the wall squat comes in. Instead of holding one position, you’re going to lower and raise, using the wall to support your back the whole time.

How to Do It

• Stand with your back against the wall
• Position your feet slightly forward and about hip-width apart
• Brace your core and keep your feet flat
• Slide downward slowly into a comfortable squat
• Pause briefly at the bottom
• Push through both feet to return to standing
• Perform 10-12 reps.

Wall-Supported Split Squat

In life, we usually move one leg at a time. When you walk or climb stairs or step onto a curb, one leg has to work harder than the other. You also need to develop the balance to be able to support your whole body weight on one leg.

The nice thing about using the wall for help is you can practice using more or less help depending on how much you use the wall. As you squat down, if you hold on to the wall more, you’ll get more added assistance and if you hold less you do more of the work on your own. Sometimes with clients, I’ll have them start with all five fingers on the wall and then, over time, reduce the number of fingers that are touching the wall. You go from five fingers to four fingers to three fingers, and so on.

How to Do It

• Stand beside a wall with one hand lightly supported
• Step one foot backward into a split stance
• Keep your front foot completely flat
• Bend both knees and lower straight down
• Stop at a depth you can control comfortably
• Push through the front foot to stand
• Complete your reps before switching sides
• Start with 6-8 reps per side.

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Wall-Supported Standing Hamstring Curl

Finally, we want to make sure we don’t leave the back of our legs out of the workout. Stronger hamstrings actually take some of the pressure off of the kneecap. When I’ve worked with older clients who were dealing with knee pain, one of the best ways to make their leg stronger was to work the hamstrings.

The first time you do this exercise, start with body weight, but over time you can add a light ankle weight or a resistance band to increase the difficulty. Make sure to control the descent as well as the ascent. It’s very easy to let gravity do the work on the way down. You want to make sure that your muscle gets the stimulus so lower the ankle slowly.

How to Do It

• Stand facing a wall with both hands lightly supported
• Keep your posture tall and your standing knee soft
• Bend one knee and bring the heel toward your butt
• Keep the working thigh relatively still
• Squeeze the hamstring briefly at the top
• Lower the foot slowly with control
• Complete your reps before switching legs
• Do 12-15 reps.

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