New to the exercising thing with bad knees

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Paula46151
Paula46151 Posts: 7 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have bad crackling knees but I want to get started on an exercise routine. My husband and I are going to start riding our bikes a couple times a week, but with bad weather coming on, what do I do when it's 10 below out? I have the Slim-In-6 program, does anyone have any other ideas?

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  • ilovedeadlifts
    ilovedeadlifts Posts: 2,923 Member
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    does it hurt when they crack? otherwise it's not really an issue. mine pop all the time.


    I wear knee sleeves on my knees to keep them warm during training sessions. feels a bit better.
  • Paula46151
    Paula46151 Posts: 7 Member
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    Well, they don't really hurt when they crack, but like if I go dancing, the next morning they are swollen like crazy and painful.
  • kinrsa
    kinrsa Posts: 111 Member
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    I injured my knee badly playing sports in college. After my knee surgery my athletic trainer had me do quad strengthening exercises every day for 15 minutes. It was painful & boring but after about 6 months I could run again with no trouble. There are tons of quad strengthening exercises online. I use them when I've fallen out of the habit of running every day (along with a knee brace). Bad knees don't mean you can't ever run. It's my preferred winter exercise, along with long walks.

    I cycle a LOT. That's really easy on the knees. Spinning is good, too.

    I've heard yoga is fine but haven't tried it. Everyone says swimming is great for knees but I hate it.

    Rowing machines at the gym are also fun.
  • ValleyGirl198
    ValleyGirl198 Posts: 2
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    OMG!!! I have been experiencing the same thing except for 3 weeks now, and its painful to do any sort of bending crouching (lunges and squats are out for me!!!!)
    And I too went out dancing and the morning and days after i have experienced pain, then swelling .. then pain.. and now im swollen again!!!
    I need something that Im able to do that wont reinjure whatever I have done to my knee-- I cant pop it, and hurts mega when i do anything strenuous!...
    I had to stop the treadmill or walking because of the impact and pain i would get, and ive been advised to get a recumbent bike.. weight is off the joint and it will still benefit me!
  • gxm17
    gxm17 Posts: 374
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    I had bad knees when I first began exercising and, for me, yoga really helped. You can get into the poses slowly and then you hold them for a while. Completely low impact and most beginner-level DVD practices show you how to modify the poses if you need to.
  • jbp616
    jbp616 Posts: 1 Member
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    If you have access to an indoor pool, swimming is a great alternative. An elliptical is not hard on the knees like running or jogging is, so you way want to give that a try.
  • MommaKit79
    MommaKit79 Posts: 852
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    I have the same problem but I still do my workouts. When doing lungs and squats, ALWAYS try to put the weight on your heels and tighten up the glutes while doing it. I ahve found that if I try to do this, it helps A LOT!!!! every once in awhile, I get swollen knee (Right knee is the worst) and it is still hard to remember to do these things while in the middle of a workout but, it helps.

    GOOD LUCK!! Knee pain can be a annoying!!!
  • AMHouse85
    AMHouse85 Posts: 285 Member
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    Maybe try the Leslie Sansone Walk Away the Pounds. It's low impact and didn't bother my knees and you can do it half intensity, you don't have to sit down as low or do the arm motions, or you can up the game and add weighted gloves/ankle wraps too. I started with just the 1 mile and am now up to the 4 Mile Super Challenge. I'm pretty sure you can check it out on YouTube.
  • NWCountryGal
    NWCountryGal Posts: 1,992 Member
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    Strength training to build muscle to protect joints and bones. I am doing that especially because of my age, 59 but I think it is good for everyone. Here's an article on RA although it might be interesting for you as well:) denise

    http://www.arthritistoday.org/conditions/rheumatoid-arthritis/staying-active/why-lift-weights.php
  • kimharper13
    kimharper13 Posts: 33
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    When my husband and I started our lifestyle change are exercise of choice was walking. I had built up to walking 5 miles a day around our neighborhood. I love it! Then one evening my knee started bothering me some but I thought I could just "walk it out". By the time I completed my walk I was in tears, the next morning I could not walk at all due to the pain. A couple doctor's visits and an MRI later I found I had a stress fracture of my tibia near my knee joint. Walking had come to an end. I was so upset because we had just started and had gotten into a good habit. I decided to try swimming, there were a couple different indoor pools in our area and I found I could swim without any pain at all even when the fracture was new. I now swim for an hour and half six days a week and it's wonderful! We don't live in a large town so if I could find two indoor pools that offered free swim time, I am sure you can find one around your area. I also use the stationary bike at our local gym four days a week to keep my body for getting use to one routine. Of course, once my doctor gives me the okay I will mix things up a little more but swimming will be my number one exercise. I love it!!
  • PLUMSGRL
    PLUMSGRL Posts: 1,134 Member
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    The popping and cracking are most likely due to chrondromalicia (softening and raggedy cartilage) and/or Osteoarthritis.
    Low impact exercises are best Try Leslie Sansone Walk away the pounds DVDs at Walmart and Target for about $10. Each DVD is 1-5 miles, 4 basic easy moves, 4-5 mph, set to music you do inside. Nice easy burn. When you drop about 5-10% of your body weight do some basic (no added weight) moves with squats and lunges with your feet at least hip width apart (easier on the joint). These moves will help build muscle that support your knees in time. Don't rush it!
  • cbrrabbit25
    cbrrabbit25 Posts: 384 Member
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    Strength training to build muscle to protect joints and bones. I am doing that especially because of my age, 59 but I think it is good for everyone. Here's an article on RA although it might be interesting for you as well:) denise

    http://www.arthritistoday.org/conditions/rheumatoid-arthritis/staying-active/why-lift-weights.php

    this has helped my knees as well. i think maybe my knees were taking too much of the impact but when i made my leg muscles stronger, the knee pain decreased. it also helps me to burn more calories having stronger legs also.
  • helyg
    helyg Posts: 675 Member
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    I have problems with the ligaments and cartilage in my knees. My favourite forms of exercise are swimming, cycling (both outside and inside on a stationary bike) and walking. I would love to do C25k but I don' think my knees would manage it.
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
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    For a lot of people knee pain is the result of forgetting how to use their glutes (esp) and hams in everyday life; overuse of their quads causing patellar tendon degradation. When doing exercises that primarily load the quads with bent knees (lunges and squats) the damaged tendon becomes obvious and painful.

    Rest and exercise abstinence does not fix this chronic condition. Heck doctors have a horrible track record at fixing this issue.

    Big thing is that you have to grab the bull by the horns and consciously retrain yourself over weeks/months to use your glutes and posterior chain a lot more in everday life.

    And you have to accept a little bit of pain while exercising. A little pain in the knees when doing squats/lunges causes inflammation, and inflammation is the bodies way of healing. The chronic knee condition that a huge % of the population have is a result of a long term issue that the body has ceased repairing, there is no longer inflammation and no longer healing, only degradation. A small amount of pain causes a little inflammation which facilitates the healing process.

    But it is a long, long process. I've been retraining myself to move and doing rehab exercises for a year now. When I first started it hurt all the time and moving was painful, I couldn't do a single bodyweight squat. Nowadays I feel it a little when doing bent leg quad exercises, but barely. The bigger thing is unwinding all the faulty movement patterns that years of knee pain caused (and vice versa that contributed to the cycle of causing further damage).

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