Low impact workouts?

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rkeck
rkeck Posts: 2
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey all,

I was always a cross country runner and basketball player growing up so now at 22 my knees really don't stand for a lot of hard workouts. I've been able to cut back to long power walks on a treadmill and I just started some basic weight training but I was hoping someone might have a good idea of a workout I can do at home as well. I used to do jump roping but the jumping is really hard on my knees.

Any ideas are extremely welcome!

Thanks!

Replies

  • jcsTN517
    jcsTN517 Posts: 8 Member
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    like you, i have bad knees but because of dancing, gymnastics, and cheerleading when i was younger...you might not be able to do this at home unless you buy a stationary bike, but i love riding the stationary bikes at the gym...specifically, expresso bikes (www.expresso.net) b/c it keeps track of your trails, times, etc. they have these wonderful screens and you can ride along the beach, in the woods, etc. you can find the nearest location of an expresso bike on the website. it's free, too!! in the trails, there is a pacer in addition to other random riders that you can pass. if you do a trail another time, you can "race" a ghost version of you.
  • Corbinsmom
    Corbinsmom Posts: 117
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    I have bad ankles, but I love bellydancing it was pretty low impact. My sister needs two knee replacements that the insurance company won't give her and she can bellydance for long periods of time. Watch out though it's adictive and you will end up dancing in a restaurant in about a year and wonder .... how did I get here?
  • katielouhoo
    katielouhoo Posts: 676 Member
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    i have a bad knee as well, and cannot do the things i did years ago for exercise. i have found water aerobics work great for me. (not something to do at home, i know) but i can work really hard with no adverse effects afterwards.

    so, that class is 3 days a week & then between those days i try to get in 30 to 45 min on a stationary bike.
    and then strength/weight training, trying to build up the muscles to support the knees.
    with my weight loss and the exercise i've been getting the last six mos, my knee is doing better- don't get me wrong it is still a bad knee, i've got permanent cartilage damage; so it will not just stop being bad, but it isn't slowing me down.
    -katie
  • rkeck
    rkeck Posts: 2
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    Thanks for all of the great suggestions! I may look into a belly dancing DVD or something similar as I can do it my bedroom and avoid belly dancing in front of my roommates!

    Thanks for all of the suggestions. I may incorporate some water aerobics and/or spinning into my regular gym routine!
  • pinbotchick
    pinbotchick Posts: 3,904
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    Leslie Sansone has some good low impact DVDs. They incorporate side stepping, front kicks, heel raises and forward walking. Try Netflix or the library for ideas before you buy a DVD.

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