Pain in the knee joint is one of the most common pathologies that can be observed in gyms, along with shoulder pain. It is an injury that prevents us from getting the most out of our workouts and that even drives many users to despair, frustrating them until they leave the sport.
The work of the quadriceps is essential if we want to stop suffering from this ailment, since strong legs will help the knee to eliminate impact.
Discover the 3 best quadriceps exercises to strengthen your knees without danger of damaging them.
Why is it important to strengthen the quadriceps?
You have been doing physical activity for a long time, but suddenly one day you feel like your knee starts to creak in certain movements. You leave it behind, but instead of disappearing, you notice that it becomes swollen and inflamed. It is the moment when you realize that you have a more serious damage than you initially thought, so you go to the doctor and the first thing he tells you is that you should take anti-inflammatories. After ingesting them, you notice that the inflammation begins to disappear, but the moment you leave them, the discomfort returns and you despair and you start looking for other alternatives to treat the injury.
You go to the physiotherapist and he recommends strengthening your quadriceps , since a very strong quadriceps will take stress off the knee and protect it from injury. You join the gym and put yourself in the hands of the monitor. You tell him about your situation and he suggests exercises to strengthen your legs. After a while working, you realize that not all exercises feel equally good to the joint, so you start to choose the safest ones, which are the following.
3 quadriceps exercises to take care of your knees
1. Quadriceps extension with shortened range of motion
The main recommendation that is usually made when you go to a gym and ask for help to strengthen the quadriceps is to refer to the quadriceps extension machine. This machine is one of the few that makes the quadriceps work in isolation and with a single-joint movement. But, when it comes to rehabilitating a knee injury, this machine must be adapted, since the full range of motion that these machines provide can be harmful to the knee.
You must perform the movement in its last angle, without making the full descent. Many times the descent reaches a right angle to the knee. If the angle of movement can be adjusted on your gym machine, select a small angle, which only allows you to perform the last phase of the exercise. If, on the other hand, in your gym this machine is not adjustable, you must control the movement yourself.
With this exercise you will feel like the quadriceps is the one that performs all the movement, so the effort will fall mainly on those muscles.
2. Step ups Peterson
With this exercise we will seek to perform a movement that allows the knee to be correctly aligned with the ankle, to give stability to the joint. It is an exercise that involves much more muscle than the previous one, so it must be done with care.
- Stand on the side of a step or step. One leg is supported on the platform and the other stretched out of it.
- Try to bring your unsupported leg to the ground.
- Once you have come down, control the movement on the way up.
It is recommended to work the exercise in front of a mirror, to be able to be aware of the knee alignment at all times.
3. Squat in trx
This exercise takes stress off the knee, so if there is any ailment in this joint it is advisable to start with it before starting in free squats.
- Grab a trx with both hands and move back until it reaches head height and your arms are slightly flexed.
- Spread your legs shoulder-width apart and squat, flexing your hips, helping you hold the weight with your arms.
- Go down to the lowest point possible, usually down to a right angle to the knee.
- Hold the position for a couple of seconds and return to the starting position.
Conclution
If you have discomfort in the knee joint, the best way to eradicate these symptoms is to strengthen the muscles involved in its movement. A stronger musculature will eliminate the impact and stress to be borne by the joint, so to a certain extent, it will protect it and keep it healthy.
To strengthen the muscles of the knee you should start doing leg exercises, but not all of them will be suitable for your joints, so we suggest that you start by including these 3 exercises and then continue progressing and adding more variety of them.
Reference
- Brooke, Mars. 3 Knee Friendly Quad Exercises That Aren’t Squats. For Breaking muscle. (Revised January 2018).
