Knee pads

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DavidC1857
DavidC1857 Posts: 149 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am very much a beginner at strength training. And this is actually my first "asking a question" post on here, so take it easy on me.

One of the exercises I'm doing is lunges. I believe I'm calling that right. Step forward with one leg, drop down on the other knee, then stand back up. I actually started this with just body weight, but I'm up to the point where I can do them holding dumbbells.

The problem is I've had bad knees since I was a teen. I've lost a LOT of weight so I'm not worried so much about knee strain. I'm not feeling knee pain once I'm done. But when I drop down on a knee again and again it hurts.

So I'm thinking knee pads. I tried doing them on a mat. But since I step forward with one leg and then drop down, I'm trying to stand on that mat with one foot and hit it with the other knee. Having my foot on a cushy mat really messes up my already poor balance.

Can anyone recommend knee pads that would just provide cushion, be flexible enough to allow for pretty free movement and stay in place when I work out. I looked at some volleyball pads on Amazon and they look like they'd probably work. But I thought I might seek out some advice before I started plopping down money.

Replies

  • DavidC1857
    DavidC1857 Posts: 149 Member
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    bump
  • Leadfoot_Lewis
    Leadfoot_Lewis Posts: 1,623 Member
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    Sorry your post is confusing - So are you dropping your back knee and hitting the floor with it? If so, then it's not necessary to do so. The main thing when you're doing lunges is to make sure the front knee doesn't go past your toes (obviously bad for the knee)
  • DavidC1857
    DavidC1857 Posts: 149 Member
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    Sorry my post is confusing.

    Yes, I step forward and go all the way down to the floor on one knee. The knee on the floor is what gets sore, even though it's carpet. I had not considered not going all the way down, nor am I sure I'm strong enough to only go part way.
  • just_Jennie1
    just_Jennie1 Posts: 1,233
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    Sorry my post is confusing.

    Yes, I step forward and go all the way down to the floor on one knee. The knee on the floor is what gets sore, even though it's carpet. I had not considered not going all the way down, nor am I sure I'm strong enough to only go part way.

    Hold onto a chair with one hand until you get your form proper. Once you have that down pat you can practice letting go on the way down but keep the chair there in case you get unstable.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    I wish I could give you a recommendation. I wear knee pads during my dance practice, but I've only ever purchased them from other professional dancers that sell them. Maybe check in dance stores. They are just soft, like a very flexible knee brace, with felt padding on the inside, where the knee is.

    Edit: Oh, yeah, I was just responding to the knee pads. Yeah, definitely better to realize you were doing it wrong. I wasn't sure what you were describing and thought maybe it was some other kind of lunge.
  • DavidC1857
    DavidC1857 Posts: 149 Member
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    Yeah. It appears my problem is not that I need cushioning on the knees, it's that I need to learn to do it right. I went back and looked at the video's and saw that the person demonstrating was not going all the way down on the knee. So I've been doing it wrong all this time.

    Oh well, I think I did say I was new at this.
  • Cranquistador
    Cranquistador Posts: 39,744 Member
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    Yeah. It appears my problem is not that I need cushioning on the knees, it's that I need to learn to do it right. I went back and looked at the video's and saw that the person demonstrating was not going all the way down on the knee. So I've been doing it wrong all this time.

    Oh well, I think I did say I was new at this.
    :flowerforyou:
  • phjorg1
    phjorg1 Posts: 642 Member
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    your knee shouldn't be hitting the floor when doing lunges.. knee pads are a bandaid fix to a bigger problem.
  • DavidC1857
    DavidC1857 Posts: 149 Member
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    Hold onto a chair with one hand until you get your form proper. Once you have that down pat you can practice letting go on the way down but keep the chair there in case you get unstable.

    Interesting, though not really surprising when I think about it, is that they were much easier to do today when I did them right. The hardest part was actually getting back up off of the floor, basically. That is where I was losing my balance and such.

    I was able to do them this morning with 16 pounds in each hand and maintained my balance fairly well throughout. Yet I still feel like I got the intended effect.

    Thank you everyone who responded. You were all very helpful.
  • Ottawa_Randy
    Ottawa_Randy Posts: 42 Member
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    I am still heavy and don't drop to my knees to make a catch in sports but have a variety of knee pads. I definitely don't think your knees should be touching the ground in lunges.

    My favorite pad/support now is the Mueller's Jumpers Support.
    Non intrusive and small profile but keep everything aligned for me. I play Dodgeball 3 hrs/week and prefer these to te larger pads.

    Mueller-strap-colours-180.jpg

    http://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.htmlhttp://www.ebay.ca/itm/New-Mueller-Jumpers-Runners-Soccer-KNEE-STRAP-SUPPORT-Tendon-Pain-Relief-Pink-/190836651617?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c6ec03661

    You can find these in different colors and should be able to find them for under $20/pair.

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