my knees hurt!

What about some core work, planks, side planks, crunches?

Or upper body work using weights?

Swimming is also easy on the joints.

What's punches lol, is it like hitting a punching bag?

hitting the air or hitting a bag.

More squats, more lunges. You need to strengthen that area - this will do it. I used to cry from doing lunges (at 220 lbs, it HURT!)...now I can do them all day and smile. Stretch into the squat and lunge...go at it slowly, take some time to hold it (static hold)...do wall squat holds.

I have arthitis in both knees and know how hard it is to get a good workout that doesn't hurt you! Start by taking a chondroitin glucosamine msm supplement, it'll take close to a year to see results but if taken daily, it does help.

My cardio is mainly on an exercise bike or rowing machine. If the weather is dry and warm, I can handle walking outside, buy good WALKING shoes, not running shoes.

I also do squats but I make sure I stand flat footed, NO bouncing or jumping, and only go squat til it starts to hurt my knees. It's taken almost 3 years but I can do a full squat now with no pain. Try getting some ankle weights and doing leg extensions to build up the muscles around the knees too!

What kind of shoes are you using? How old are they? Are they a size bigger than your dress shoe?

I had horrible problems with my knees from exercise until I came to realize that I was in the wrong shoe and it was also to small.

I feel it would less on the joints. I do wear sneakers when exercising at home even with carpets.

Yes, try doing the lunges and squats with sneakers, you can even wear knee supports during the exercises.I have the same problem, so when I do lunges or squats I reduce the degree to a half lunge, half squat, hopefully with time the knees and ankles strengthen and you can take on full squats and lunges.

personally, i'd caution against doing anything that really hurts until a doc or physio has said it's ok. nobody can tell you over the internet whether you have an injury, a structural issue, a good reason why your body is sending out warning signs.

i would be trying rest first, different shoes, then talking to my doc if it didn't improve, rather than just plunging in with more, more, more.

Well actually I exercise barefoot because I'm at home on the carpet should I be wearing sneakers? Would that make a difference?

YES! It makes a world of difference. The cushion will absorb the shock that your knees and spine are taking at the moment. I recommend going to a store that specializes in running shoes and have them fit you for the right shoe for your body type and gate. Tell them what you want to do with it, try a jump with the shoe on and then again with it off, then you will be able to tell the difference. If you can not afford to do that, then at the very least, get a shoe that is a half or a whole size bigger than your dress shoe, this helps your ankles, knees and back. I just wish I would have found this information out before I was 32 and had already done damage to my body.

Good luck!

and i completely disagree with this one, specifically for squatting. in order to get the right form for squatting, you should either be doing to barefoot, with minimalist style shoes or completely flat shoes. those types of shoes (or lack of a shoe) allows you to keep the weight in your heel, which is where it's supposed to be. when you are down in squat position, you should be able to wiggle your toes or even lift them off the ground. if you have a cushioned heel, you won't be able to do that as well.