Good workouts with bad knees

Any suggestions for a good workout while dealing with bad knees? I’m doing the eating healthy but I’m not seeing any changes. I need my workouts back.

Replies

  • AustinRuadhain
    AustinRuadhain Posts: 2,567 Member
    I have gotten great results using lots of easy walking. As I lost weight, things got easier on my knees, and I got to where I could do more.

    I would look harder at food intake. If you are not losing weight, you are likely either underestimating what you are eating or overestimating your exercise calories.

    Do you have a food scale? Are you weighing everything (even packaged food)?

    Are you eating at a moderate, manageable deficit?

    Assuming you are tracking your food, are you watching to see if some things work well for you, and some not? What works for others in terms of food choices may not work for you.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    Do you have access to a pool? Working out in the water is great for bad knees. A class is nice but even if you can get a flotation belt and "walk" in deep water you can get a great workout.
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    I mean the question really is, what do you mean by "bad knees". Are your patellas subluxing? Do you have knee pain with things like running? What is going to work for some situations won't work for others. At my worst with regards to knee issues, cycling was a recipe for pain despite it typically being recommended for people with knee problems. As it stands now, too much breast stroke kick is still a problem (and potentially always will be) - where "too much" is more than 200 yards.

    What's typically recommended is movement that isn't especially high impact in the laymen's sense. So cycling, swimming, rowing, water aerobics, etc. Whether or not that will work for you and your knees is another question.

    Of course the other thing is that all that is needed to see progress with regards to weight loss is eating in a deficit. You don't need to workout for that, though there are plenty of benefits to working out in general.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    Define "bad knees".
  • Samantharavenclaw84
    Samantharavenclaw84 Posts: 161 Member
    I've had 3 surgeries between the two and headed for another one soon. Walking, swimming and even some slower-paced running have been fine. As has most of yoga (I use a blanket sometimes for more support/double mat). I can even do spin as long as I don't have it next to a running day. I can't do any jumping so I avoid those things during class if they come up.
    Swimming and the recumbent bike were things I did in PT after surgery.

    You should probably talk to your dr or PT first though. Or take a closer look at your food intake.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    "Bad knees" doesn't adequately explain what condition or injuries you have. Advice given in good faith for one injury could be totally inappropriate for a different injury.

    If you have a diagnosis then you need to share it, if you don't have a diagnosis then you need to get one.

    e.g. I've had permanent meniscus and ligament injuries that can't be fixed and restrict my exercise choice, long term but eventually surgically fixed bone injury, medium term but fixed by surgery meniscus tear, short term ligament injuries that I've rehabbed back to close to normal function, infrapatellar fat pad impingement that simply required rest.....
  • lukejoycePT
    lukejoycePT Posts: 182 Member
    Same as other posters.. "bad knees" can mean many things. Sounds like you need to strengthen your knees after you find out what's wrong.