how to begin building functional upper body strength at home while keeping weight off knees?

kiela64

I have really bad knees. I'm working with a physio therapist about my lower body. I've had a calf muscle tear, a knee dislocation, and just constant pain/swelling I'm still waiting on answers about.

Part of the physiotherapy includes foam rolling my calves, which involves lifting your body up with your arms - this continues to be very challenging for me even though I've been doing it for several months. There are also other ways I'm aware of my frustrating lack of upper body strength. I started a new job that involves more arm movement and carrying small loads short distances, as an example. My body has gone through some (painful) adjustments to these activities, but I do still find them physically challenging and I would like to work on improving my strength.

Also with the increase in my knee issues, and in more demands that I be around home more often continuously, gym activities have been mostly off the table. Previously safe activities were: stationary bike and swimming, and some group fitness classes. I had a scary experience with my knees and the bike, so I've stopped doing that. Swimming might be okay except for the time constraints/being needed to be constantly at home on my days off. My job is physical so I can't go on workdays, and I'm often needed at home immediately after work.

I have a pair of 10lb dumbbells. They are a little out of my comfort zone, but I can do 10 reps of bicep curls with them. I tried doing this seated on the floor. I am not sure if that's right? I know standing is probably best, but I'm wanting to work on these things without adding extra stress to my knees.

Taking care of my knees is priority #1, working on upper body strength is more for fun, or a side project I'd like to attempt to make life more comfortable and just improve.

I would be interested to know any other seated/floor exercises for the upper body I can do with either the dumbbells I have or my bodyweight that won't involve pressure on the knees (no squats, lunges, no half-push-ups from the knees - I can't do a full push up, etc).

I've in the past looked at bodyweight workouts, but a lot of it is standing/kneeling and I want to avoid those poses. At least for now. I know from reading these forums, strength training is usually encouraged via a program, but I think I'm ages away from being able to throw my full body into a true strength program, if ever.

middlehaitch

There are a lot of chair exercise routines that would be great for improving your upper body strength. Check out YouTube.

If those 10lbs are too heavy for more than bicep curls, use household objects, cans of soup, 2litre bottles of water, whatever you can find.

Bodyweight is fine too, just remember to work on upping your reps as you can't increase the weight.

You are new to this so take it slow, but continue to challenge yourself.

Cheers, h.

AnvilHead

There are a ton of exercises you can do with your dumbbells, either seated or lying supine on the floor. 10 pounds won't be much of a load for some of them, but it's better than nothing and should be helpful in your situation. You could also pick up a pair of resistance bands for not much money and they would open up even more options. Here are some examples using just your dumbbells:

Shoulders:
Seated shoulder press
Lateral raises
Rear delt raises
Front raises
Upright dumbbell row


Chest:
Floor press (like a bench press, but you lie supine on the floor)
Incline press (like above, but prop your back up at a 15-30 degree angle with a pillow or whatever)
Flyes (lying on the floor - limited range of motion, but better than nothing)
Dumbbell pullover


Back:
Bent dumbbell row (standing, but bent over and supporting yourself with one hand on a chair/table/whatever)
Dumbbell shrugs (seated or standing)
(With the addition of resistance bands, you could do several varieties of rows - seated row, lat pulldown, etc.)


Biceps:
Seated curls
Reverse curls
Hammer curls
Concentration curls


Triceps:
Dumbbell kickbacks
Skull crushers (lying on the floor)
(Lots of other varieties with resistance bands)

In place of floor pushups or knee pushups, you could do wall pushups (leaning against a wall) or countertop pushups - both much easier than floor/knee pushups. For core you could do crunches, planks, bicycles, straight leg lifts, etc.


You can find descriptions and video instructions on a lot of the exercises by going to exrx.net's directory, clicking on which muscle group you're working, then finding the individual exercise: https://exrx.net/Lists/Directory

mom23mangos

L-sits, pull-ups, dips, dragon levers..

musicfan68

There are tons of exercises you can do seated. I am disabled - I walk on crutches because my legs are partially paralyzed, so almost all my exercises are seated. If you have access to a gym, you can use cable machines sitting on a stool/chair, or weight machines. You can also use dumbbells for a lot of different exercises.

Google "seated exercises" and it will give you lots of ideas.

plythacur

You can also try standing pushups against a wall, a counter edge, or using TRX straps. TRX straps in general can be really helpful for doing assisted or partial body weight upper body exercises. There are a ton of videos out there with demonstrations for those.

kiela64

AnvilHead wrote: »

There are a ton of exercises you can do with your dumbbells, either seated or lying supine on the floor. 10 pounds won't be much of a load for some of them, but it's better than nothing and should be helpful in your situation. You could also pick up a pair of resistance bands for not much money and they would open up even more options. Here are some examples using just your dumbbells:

Shoulders:
Seated shoulder press
Lateral raises
Rear delt raises
Front raises
Upright dumbbell row


Chest:
Floor press (like a bench press, but you lie supine on the floor)
Incline press (like above, but prop your back up at a 15-30 degree angle with a pillow or whatever)
Flyes (lying on the floor - limited range of motion, but better than nothing)
Dumbbell pullover


Back:
Bent dumbbell row (standing, but bent over and supporting yourself with one hand on a chair/table/whatever)
Dumbbell shrugs (seated or standing)
(With the addition of resistance bands, you could do several varieties of rows - seated row, lat pulldown, etc.)


Biceps:
Seated curls
Reverse curls
Hammer curls
Concentration curls


Triceps:
Dumbbell kickbacks
Skull crushers (lying on the floor)
(Lots of other varieties with resistance bands)

In place of floor pushups or knee pushups, you could do wall pushups (leaning against a wall) or countertop pushups - both much easier than floor/knee pushups. For core you could do crunches, planks, bicycles, straight leg lifts, etc.


You can find descriptions and video instructions on a lot of the exercises by going to exrx.net's directory, clicking on which muscle group you're working, then finding the individual exercise: https://exrx.net/Lists/Directory

Thank you so so so much!
This is an amazing list!!! And a wonderful resource thank you!!!!

I will look them up on YouTube and see what I can do. I do physio daily, but maybe every other day or so I could spend some time working on this. I didn’t realize there were so many!

I actually do have a few resistance bands from physio. But I don’t know what gauge/thickness/level or whatever they are. Just colours haha. A peach coloured lighter one, a pale blue medium one, and a dark green heavier one.

kiela64

@AnvilHead thank you again for all of your great suggestions - would you recommend doing one thing for every category that you've divided things into? I'm finding the list (which is wonderful!) a little overwhelming to begin with.

AnvilHead

kiela64 wrote: »

@AnvilHead thank you again for all of your great suggestions - would you recommend doing one thing for every category that you've divided things into? I'm finding the list (which is wonderful!) a little overwhelming to begin with.

If you're still seeing a physiotherapist, I think it would be a good idea for you to run it by them and see if they have any recommendations - they're familiar with your individual situation, limitations, etc. But yes, doing one exercise from each category would probably be a good place to start. With your physio's approval, just doing shoulder press, floor press, dumbbell row (or seated rows with a resistance band) and seated curls would probably be a fine start (your triceps would get plenty of work from the two pressing movements).

kiela64

AnvilHead wrote: »

kiela64 wrote: »

@AnvilHead thank you again for all of your great suggestions - would you recommend doing one thing for every category that you've divided things into? I'm finding the list (which is wonderful!) a little overwhelming to begin with.

If you're still seeing a physiotherapist, I think it would be a good idea for you to run it by them and see if they have any recommendations - they're familiar with your individual situation, limitations, etc. But yes, doing one exercise from each category would probably be a good place to start. With your physio's approval, just doing shoulder press, floor press, dumbbell row (or seated rows with a resistance band) and seated curls would probably be a fine start (your triceps would get plenty of work from the two pressing movements).

Awesome, thank you so much! I'm seeing her today so I'll run it by her if we have time (getting some test results re: my knee).