Adding Definition to your legs

(oh and I have a problem with a knee, so deep lunges are out).

What kind of problem? When I was heavy and out of shape my knees couldn't take much exercise. I'd get pains under the knee cap that would last days if not weeks. I'd really have to take it easy. It hurt my workouts. I figure it was the fact the muscle could lift more than the ligaments could handle and the slightest misalignment caused painful injury.

I started to doing deep squats with no weights and chair lifts, again with no weight. I was very, very careful to have perfect form. I still use very little weight. You simply have to build up the strength in your knees--nice and slow. As soon as you feel a twinge, back off and check form.

As for shape, you build muscle. "Shape" comes from the ratio of thigh to knee to calf to ankle. It's part genetic and part hard work. I run, bike, and lift weights. My limbs are hard looking--corded, defined, striated, and vascular. Too much so for my aesthetic taste, but I'm still carrying extra weight in my torso I'm trying to loose.

What caused me to go with really light weight is one day I was getting up off the floor. Suddenly, I was aware of how much my knees bent to get me up. The common notion of only going down so far to "protect the knees" I felt was the problem. I wasn't working the lower portion of the motion the leg uses to push you up off the ground. That's when I started doing squats as deep as my legs would bent. My butt doesn't quite touch my ankles, but it's close. I also do it on my toes. I'm essentially to doing a deep-bent tip-toe squat. For balance I try to loose my balance forward as I position myself facing a wall. After to bit of practice I gently tapped the wall as I did my squats.

It's basically like you're kneeling and the exercise is where you pop back on your toes--butt on ankles--and stand straight up. Only you do it multiple times and don't let your knees touch the floor.


I'd do them until my thighs started to burn. I'd do them a couple of times a day. I've not had problems with my knees from lifting since.

I major word of caution: go only down as far as the flesh in your hams and calves will allow.

If you want to work your butt more then keep your feet flat. If you're like me then you'll need to hold a weight out at arms' length in front of you to keep you from falling backward.

Hope this helps with your knees.