5 Daily Exercises Women Over 70 Need to Keep Their Knees Strong

Strong, healthy knees are essential for moving from point A to point B with ease. The muscles surrounding your knees help absorb impact each time your feet hit the ground. To help you keep them in shape as you enter your golden years of life, we spoke with Josh Schlottman, a certified personal trainer and strength and conditioning specialist who has been training in the Napa Valley for more than 20 years. Below, Schlottman shares five crucial daily exercises women need to keep their knees strong.

“It’s surprising how many older clients think that just walking will strengthen their body. Granted, [walking is] better than nothing, but you really need progressive resistance training to get results,” Schlottman tells us. “Aging causes muscle loss with time (sarcopenia) and you’ll also get a decline in type II fast-twitch muscle fibers and motor unit efficiency. A lot of the time older adults who ‘lose balance’ have a fundamental problem with weaker lower body force production. So, it’s critical to strengthen their leg muscles to improve walking capacity, ability to climb stairs, and balance instead of just walking or simple stretches.”

Below are five daily moves Schlottman recommends for strengthening your knees.

Chair Squats

“When you squat down to a chair/box, you’ll be training the quadriceps, glutes, and adductor magnus in a closed chain kinetic pattern. This is especially important with age because it’s a very functional movement that directly mimics getting up from a chair or toilet. It’ll let older women control knee travel while at the same time keeping their center of gravity over their midfoot (safer),” Schlottman points out.

1. Begin by standing tall in front of a sturdy chair with your feet hip-width apart on the ground, toes pointing forward.
2. Activate your core and keep your chest lifted.
3. Reach your arms forward.
4. Bend at the knees and hips and slowly lower into a squat—as if you’re about to sit down. Make sure your weight stays in your heels.
5. Hover just about the chair’s seat for a moment, approximately 5 seconds.
6. Press through your heels to rise back up.

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

Step-Ups

“Unilateral (one-legged) exercises like step-ups will correct [the] strength differences you have between legs. This is important because if one leg is stronger than the other then you can cause one leg to absorb more joint stress than the other. Step-ups build functional single-leg balance and quad strength that’s needed especially when older and climbing stairs or navigating curbs,” Schlottman explains.

1. Begin by standing tall, facing a 6- to 8-inch step.
2. Place your left foot firmly onto the surface, keeping your core engaged and chest tall.
3. Press through your left heel to lift your body until your left leg is straight and you’re standing on the surface.
4. Use control to lower back to the start position.

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

Terminal Knee Extensions With Band

 

“TKEs are a very safe joint-friendly exercise that builds quad strength and patellar stability,” Schlottman says.

1. Start by securing a resistance band around a sturdy anchor point behind you.
2. Loop the other end around the back of one knee.
3. Stand tall, facing the anchor point with your knee slightly bent and the resistance band taut.
4. Straighten your knee by tightening your quads and pressing the back of your knee against the band.
5. Hold for a moment before gradually bending your knee to return to the start position.
6. Switch sides.

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

Seated Leg Extension

“It’s a total myth that leg extensions are inherently ‘bad for the knees.’ They actually isolate the quadriceps (specifically the rectus femoris) but without putting any compressing loading on the spine or hip joints. This lets you do safe micro loading that can be repeated without placing excessive stress on your knees,” notes Schlottman.

1. Begin sitting tall with your back supported against the chair.
2. Place your feet flat on the floor.
3. Hold the sides of the chair for added stability.
4. Straighten your left leg out in front of you until your knee is completely extended. For max quad engagement, keep your toes flexed toward your shin the entire time.
5. Hold for 2 seconds at the top before lowering.
6. Repeat on the other side.

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

Glute Bridges

“If you want healthy knees, then you’ll need strong posterior chain support. The hamstrings and glutes play a big role as dynamic stabilizers for your back and knee joints. With glute bridges, you’ll build glute and hamstring strength but without the axial spinal loading. This helps to keep any compressive forces easily balanced across the knee joints,” Schlottman explains.

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

The post 5 Daily Exercises Women Over 70 Need to Keep Their Knees Strong appeared first on Eat This Not That.