5 Exercises to Strengthen your Knees

If you’re getting back to the gym and your knees are feeling cranky, we’ve got some exercises for you. Strength and conditioning coach Luka Hocevar walked us through his top exercises for making knees feel better for better workouts. 

Quad Full Roll

10-15 reps per leg

 

We’re going to fully roll the quad and then find the icky spot. But not only are we going to just roll it, once we find the spot we’ll flex and extend the knee. You’ll do this to any spots that feel tight and wound up.  

Couch Stretch

30 seconds per leg

 

We can have our foot back on a chair (a Bulgarian split squat stand works great for this). I’m going to push my ribs down, squeeze my back, and lean back. You’ll feel a massive stretch. Next, I try to push my quad down for about 5 seconds and release, try to get a little more range of motion each time. 

Step Down

10-12 reps each side.

 

I’m going to stand on the side of a box (it can be a low box). I’m going to push my knee forward as far as I can, tap the ground and come back up. If the box is too high, what we can do is just lower our bodies. You’ll be driving that knee forward and feel your quads. We’ll go up and down controlled.  

Hamstring Curls

 

2 sets x 12-15 reps

 

We can do these with valve slides or the hamstring curl machine. We want to engage our backside, the hamstrings, which attach to the backside of the knee. To make my knees feel better, I’m going to squeeze my butt. I drive my heels up to my butt and then control my legs back down.  

 

Knee Extensions

 

2 sets x 12-15 reps

 

You may have one of these machines at your gym, or you can use two resistance bands. The main thing is that we’re going to brace and go full extension. Squeeze at the top, control on the way down and focus on getting activation and blood flow to the quads.