Accelerate Health

Here are some tips for the gym, when you are working the lower body and want to save your knees…..

1.  Avoid rapidly lowering your body or the weight while performing leg presses or squat variations.

2.  Avoid allowing the knee to bend more than 90 degrees during the performance of leg exercises such as a squat, leg press, or lunge.  Keep the knee from traveling forward of the the foot and also do not drop too low in the squat or bring the carriage back too far in the leg press exercise.

3.  Make sure that the knee tracks over the center of the foot.  Avoid the tendency for the knees to bend to the side as the weight is pushed up during the performance of a leg press, squat, or similar exercise.  Elastic tubing can be placed around the knees while squatting to help train the knee to track properly.  A large “fit ball” can be squeezed between the knees while squatting to help maintain proper tracking and also co-contract the adductor muscles and the vastus medialis muscles.

4.  Avoid the use of elastic knee wraps.