Suggestion for DVD that will not cause knee pain?

Isabelle_1929

Could someone suggest a workout DVD that I could use and that does not create knee pain?


For the very first time of my life (I am 45), I have knee pain. I started the "30 days shred" 10 days ago and my knees hurt so bad, I almost fell on the ground today. I had to go down a few stairs in the subway and had to hold my tears. I almost called for help.

I can't believe this.

Both knees hurt equally, at the back, front, above and below the knees. I did not "fell" or "cracked" anything. It just started by being a little sore - of course, it's exercise - but after 7 days or say, my knees were not only painful, but extremely stiff.

A little background: I have always walked a lot - I never owned a car. I snob elevators. I played tennis a bit when I was younger, and badminton, Of course I have always used my bike in the summer, I did cross country skiing, and ice skating once on while. I have done some elliptical / stationary bike over the years, etc. Heck - I used to jog four times / one hour per week, up to running a half marathon! I am not a "sporty" person, but I am reasonably active.

So, have I experienced knee pain? Never ! In fact, I never had a single muscle / joint issue that required treatment or that lasted more than a couple of days.

I have no idea what exercise on the DVD (level one) caused this.

Sorry for the long story, but I just wanted to give you an idea of what I CAN do, and what I should avoid.

So now I must work out, so I must find something suitable.

What I need:

Something EASY to follow. I have zero coordination and HATE dancing with a passion. So no choreography. (I loved J Michaels for that: it seemed perfect, plain and simple. This is really too bad I have to give it up.) I don't mind if it's boring.

And yes, I must do it at home.

Any suggestion?

TIA!

victoria_1024

Fitness blender videos on YouTube have some good low impact options. If you type fitness blender low impact into a search on YouTube you might find some good options.

Isabelle_1929

victoria_1024 wrote: »

Fitness blender videos on YouTube have some good low impact options. If you type fitness blender low impact into a search on YouTube you might find some good options.

Thanks. When you say "low impact", what do you mean? No strain on the knees?

pomegranatecloud

You should be seeking advice from an orthopedist and/or physical therapist.

Isabelle_1929

pomegranatecloud wrote: »

You should be seeking advice from an orthopedist and/or physical therapist.

You are right ... but I cannot afford one in private clinic, and in the public system, it's covered if you are injured and require treatments.

I will not take any chances though ! I will stick with running / cycling / stairs climbing for exercising my legs, unless I get a good recommendation.

TeaBea

30 Day Shred is famous for causing knee issues. There are 2 possible reasons for your knee pain.

1. High impact cardio. High impact means both feet leave the ground. Your knees can take a beating. I'm over 50, so I look for low impact cardio - Leslie Sansone for example. A higher intensity, but lower impact is step aerobics. Older people need lower steps (mine is 4"), so this isn't zero impact either. Look for Jenny Ford.

2. Squats & lunges. For me the moving (forward) lunges are murder. I'm not real coordinated, so I avoid these. I can do squats & regular lunges but I need to focus on form. Keep a chair handy and use that to keep you steady if needed. Many people injure themselves with incorrect form. For this reason, I will keep cardio & strength training as separate workouts, nothing labeled circuit training. Kelly Coffey Meyer is my favorite. Collagevideo.com gives reviews that tell you the impact level for everything.

Preventative & maintenance (of sorts). Stay away from squats for several days. When you come back, do it slowly to focus on form. Find a lower body workout on Fitness Blender. You may eventually move onto higher impact cardio BUT, you may find yourself trading off low & high impact days. Stretching is important. It may be more important for you than other people. I do yoga at least once a week, and add stretches to the end of daily workouts. This keeps things in check.

Isabelle_1929

TeaBea wrote: »

30 Day Shred is famous for causing knee issues. There are 2 possible reasons for your knee pain.

1. High impact cardio. High impact means both feet leave the ground. Your knees can take a beating. I'm over 50, so I look for low impact cardio - Leslie Sansone for example. A higher intensity, but lower impact is step aerobics. Older people need lower steps (mine is 4"), so this isn't zero impact either. Look for Jenny Ford.

2. Squats & lunges. For me the moving (forward) lunges are murder. I'm not real coordinated, so I avoid these. I can do squats & regular lunges but I need to focus on form. Keep a chair handy and use that to keep you steady if needed. Many people injure themselves with incorrect form. For this reason, I will keep cardio & strength training as separate workouts, nothing labeled circuit training. Kelly Coffey Meyer is my favorite. Collagevideo.com gives reviews that tell you the impact level for everything.

Preventative & maintenance (of sorts). Stay away from squats for several days. When you come back, do it slowly to focus on form. Find a lower body workout on Fitness Blender. You may eventually move onto higher impact cardio BUT, you may find yourself trading off low & high impact days. Stretching is important. It may be more important for you than other people. I do yoga at least once a week, and add stretches to the end of daily workouts. This keeps things in check.

Thank you.

The more I think about it, it seems likely that the squats caused the problem. This is the only "move" that I am not used to.

No more squats until knees are good. And I like your idea of doing cardio and strength separately, so I could focus more on the moves.

fiddletime

I had the same thing happen after 6 days of 30 Day Shred. I'd done 3 months of Beachbody T25 and didn't have the pain I had in 6 days of 30DS. I'm 61. I'm doing a 3 month DVD now called XTF Max. It has a different workout each day and has leg day, arm day, core day and so on. It's s nice variety. I have a bad foot so can't bend it to do a lunge. I do squats instead. Watch your knees on those however and avoid them for a few weeks till the pain is gone.

I got into weights after my foot injury (bunion) and enjoyed Body Beast a ton. I used a stationary bike to get my cardio in doing Body Beast. Once my foot was less painful I did 30ds then XTFMax. Slower and lower key but is a nice contrast. I'll try p90x3 next.

Isabelle_1929

fiddletime wrote: »

I had the same thing happen after 6 days of 30 Day Shred. I'd done 3 months of Beachbody T25 and didn't have the pain I had in 6 days of 30DS. I'm 61. I'm doing a 3 month DVD now called XTF Max. It has a different workout each day and has leg day, arm day, core day and so on. It's s nice variety. I have a bad foot so can't bend it to do a lunge. I do squats instead. Watch your knees on those however and avoid them for a few weeks till the pain is gone.

I got into weights after my foot injury (bunion) and enjoyed Body Beast a ton. I used a stationary bike to get my cardio in doing Body Beast. Once my foot was less painful I did 30ds then XTFMax. Slower and lower key but is a nice contrast. I'll try p90x3 next.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll look those up.

cbihatt

If/when you do squats and lunges, make sure your knee does not go out past your ankle. If you keep them lined up, it helps keep your knees from hurting.

I am currently doing Chalean Extreme. It focuses on free weights, but she is very good about instructing for form.

You could also try Pilates or a ballet-inspired workout. They tend to require straight legs and are surprisingly good workouts for very small movements.