Building strong, healthy knees and joints as you age is a common goal to help support an active, independent lifestyle. According to the Arthritis Foundation, your knees play a crucial role in many movements, including walking, running, dancing, pedaling a bike, jumping, climbing stairs, and playing the sports you love like pickleball and golf. You don’t need to go far in order to build and maintain knee strength. In fact, we learned five productive exercises you can do from the comfort of your bed. They can serve as great additions to a well-rounded fitness routine.

“These train the muscles that support the knee. They’re a useful starting point when a lunge feels too demanding. You can work on strength without having to hold your balance or lower your whole body onto one leg,” explains Jacob Siwicki, founder and head coach of Siwicki Fitness, NCSF and AFAA certified, former top 1% globally ranked Equinox group fitness instructor (2019), Dartmouth economics graduate and former Dartmouth football player, fitness expert on FOX 5 DC. “Use a firm mattress. Keep the movements controlled and don’t push through pain. As strength improves, the goal is to gradually work toward standing exercises too. Bed exercises give you somewhere to start.”

Straight-Leg Raise

1. Start by lying flat on your back with your arms extended overhead.
2. Keep one leg extended on the mattress and the other bent.
3. Activate your core as you lift the extended leg, keeping your lower back pressed into the surface.
4. Hold for 3 seconds at the top.
5. Use control to lower your leg.
6. Repeat on the other side.

RELATED: If You Can Do These 8 Lower-Body Moves, Your Leg Strength Is Elite

Glute Bridges

1. Begin by lying flat on your back with bent knees and feet hip-width apart on the mattress, arms at your sides with palms pressing into the surface.
2. Press through your heels to lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from head to heels.
3. Squeeze your buttocks, holding at the top for 2 to 3 seconds.
4. Lower your hips back to the start position.

RELATED: If You Can Hold a Wall Sit This Long After 60, Your Leg Strength Is Top-Tier

Heel Presses

 

1. Begin seated at the edge of the mattress.
2. Place both feet flat on the floor.
3. Firmly press your heels into the ground without lifting them.
4. Hold for 5 to 10 seconds before releasing.

RELATED: 6 Standing Drills That Keep Your Knees Stronger Than Most People Your Age After 50

Quad Squeezes

1. Lie flat on your back on the mattress with your legs comfortably extended.
2. Tighten the front of your thigh on one leg.
3. Gently press the back of your knee toward the mattress.
4. Hold the contraction for a moment before releasing.
5. Perform the prescribed reps and repeat on the other side.

RELATED: 4 Daily Exercises That Rebuild Knee Strength Faster Than Resistance Bands After 55

Knee Extensions Over a Rolled Towel

1. Lie flat on your back on the mattress with your legs comfortably extended.
2. Place a rolled towel under one knee so that it’s slightly elevated.
3. Squeeze the front of that thigh and straighten your knee, lifting your heel off the mattress.
4. Hold for a moment at the top before lowering.
5. Perform the prescribed reps and repeat on the other side.

The post 5 Bed Exercises That Restore Knee Strength Faster Than Lunges After 65 appeared first on Eat This Not That.