Cardio that won't hurt my knees?

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  • kaetra
    kaetra Posts: 442 Member
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  • erikahernandez360
    erikahernandez360 Posts: 17
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    I have very bad knees also, and a few years ago I hurt my knee really bad and started swimming. It was a miracle! I started off just paddling around, then laps and then water aerobics! My knee healed very well and even though I still have "bad" knees it's like I don't when in the water. The water is sooo invigorating and it's fun too. I did 4 days a week right up until I had my first daughter, now I have a elliptical in my garage and do that, I also throw Mrs. Sansone in the mix every now and then. But oh how I long for the water again.....
  • shimmergal
    shimmergal Posts: 380 Member
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    bump
  • Jeff92se
    Jeff92se Posts: 3,369 Member
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    at home? I don't know. what exercises hurt your knee and what exercises don't? You can try isometric exercises vs just cardio. Pushups, pullups, planks, supermans, etc.. etc.. etc....

    Can you jumprope at all?
  • legrangetackett
    legrangetackett Posts: 21 Member
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    I have trouble with my knees too sometimes. Try fast punches (Upper Body Cardio)- punch your right arm to the left side of the room. Punch your left arm to the right side of the room. Then punch in front and up and down (Switch it up) As long as you keep moving fast and keep your heart rate up, it's a great work out! Put on a fast song you like and make up a routine with it.

    Also, try stretching and strengthening exercises (such as straight leg raises.) The more you strengthen the muscles around your knee, the less pain you'll have. You might talk to a doctor to give you a list of exercises/stretching ideas.

    Don't give up!
  • Hellbent_Heidi
    Hellbent_Heidi Posts: 3,669 Member
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    Stay away from squats and lunges, but as others said..elliptical is awesome!

    I have arthritis in my knees and the glucosamine chondrotin combo worked WONDERS, however, I had to stop taking it because I'm allergic to shellfish and its got some warnings about that (even though I had a whole shellfish-allergy conversation with the idiot at GNC who talked me into buying it..ugh!). Anyway, I did notice an immediate difference when I took that supplement.
  • taglientep
    taglientep Posts: 338 Member
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    Hey man I have really bad knees from football wrestling and lacrosse. I have found using the elliptical has been great. I get a great workout and it doesnt hurt my knees at all
  • Hericksen
    Hericksen Posts: 43 Member
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    Thanks for all these ideas everyone!

    I'm starting to wonder if this was really caused by my exercise, because aren't the Leslie sansone walking videos low impact too? I've been entering in my exercise as low impact cardio. The dvd I have is the 5 day slim down, I only do a mile at a time, once I did almost 2 miles at a time.
    My left knee feels fine. I wonder if my right knee hurts because of something else.
    We bought a van about a month ago and two of my kids are in the 3rd row. There have been quite a few times when I have knelt on the floor (in the 2nd row) to help reach them to help them buckle or something, and it's mostly my right knee that does that. Maybe that's the cause? I don't really do a whole lot of kneeling any other time.
    I do stretch out after my workouts too.
    I don't want to quit my walking video if it's not an issue.
  • Hericksen
    Hericksen Posts: 43 Member
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    If an exercise video says low impact, does that mean it really is?
    I have a low impact step aerobic dvd that I haven't done before (it's by Cathe Friedrich).
    I want to add in strength training pretty soon, I don't want to do just cardio because I don't want to lose a ton and then still be flabby with lots of extra skin, so I want to do cardio one day, strength the next and so forth. I'm looking for a good strength video, I have a few checked out from the library right now. I think I'm going to do pilates and something else. Pilates is low impact too, right?
  • apeecaleb
    apeecaleb Posts: 58 Member
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    I love doing Pilates, especially if your looking for an at home workout.
  • hbrittingham
    hbrittingham Posts: 2,518 Member
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    You aren't wearing those TONER shoes (Sketchers and some others make them)?

    Nope. I have some but I never wear them and haven't worn them in months.

    I want something I can do at home because I'm a stay at home mom and can't go to gym unless I have somewhere for my kids to go (I'd want free or cheap and that's hard to find).
    I don't have any exercise equipment at home other than some 3 lb weights and an aerobic step. My husband wants to buy an elliptical though. I think it would be fun to have an exercise bike too.

    I picked up a Proform elliptical off from Craigslist for $75. I used it for about 8 months before I joined the gym and resold it for $150. You can find some good "starter" ellipticals for cheap on Craigslist.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,669 Member
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    If you can't get to a gym and your knees are really bothering you, then try workout ropes. You can do cardio with them and they don't involve leg movement, just support.

    http://www.contractorsrope.com/exercise-ropes.html?gclid=COTu3KfimKwCFQxihwodJyU_Qw
  • Hericksen
    Hericksen Posts: 43 Member
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    I wish I could go swimming more often, I really love it. The pools around here are kinda pricy if we take the kids too and if they are with us, we can't really swim much because we're watching them.
    I think I'll talk to my husband about getting a membership at a recretion center or something. We have talked about it before but the last time we did, we both weren't ready to really change our lifestyle yet so we thought it would be a waste of money. Maybe now would be a better time to do it. I could go with just one kid 3 times a week because the others are in school or preschool. I wonder if any or the rec centers around here have a child care center. I'll look into it.
    I've done water aerobics with my mom years ago and I loved it, so that would be a lot of fun.
  • lisaritter1519
    lisaritter1519 Posts: 3 Member
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    If an exercise video says low impact, does that mean it really is?
    I have a low impact step aerobic dvd that I haven't done before (it's by Cathe Friedrich).
    I want to add in strength training pretty soon, I don't want to do just cardio because I don't want to lose a ton and then still be flabby with lots of extra skin, so I want to do cardio one day, strength the next and so forth. I'm looking for a good strength video, I have a few checked out from the library right now. I think I'm going to do pilates and something else. Pilates is low impact too, right?

    It's low impact as long as at least one foot is on the ground. However, even if a workout is low impact there could be twisting motions that could cause trouble or you could accidentally twist something yourself (I know I have!). Which Cathe step workout do you have? Low Impact Step? I have that one and it is low impact. If your knee is bothering you I would either use only one set of risers or no risers under your step bench. It might be the kneeling in the van that initially aggravated your knee and now the walking motion isn't helping it. I would ice it and give it time. And yes, pilates is low impact.
  • Hericksen
    Hericksen Posts: 43 Member
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    If an exercise video says low impact, does that mean it really is?
    I have a low impact step aerobic dvd that I haven't done before (it's by Cathe Friedrich).
    I want to add in strength training pretty soon, I don't want to do just cardio because I don't want to lose a ton and then still be flabby with lots of extra skin, so I want to do cardio one day, strength the next and so forth. I'm looking for a good strength video, I have a few checked out from the library right now. I think I'm going to do pilates and something else. Pilates is low impact too, right?

    It's low impact as long as at least one foot is on the ground. However, even if a workout is low impact there could be twisting motions that could cause trouble or you could accidentally twist something yourself (I know I have!). Which Cathe step workout do you have? Low Impact Step? I have that one and it is low impact. If your knee is bothering you I would either use only one set of risers or no risers under your step bench. It might be the kneeling in the van that initially aggravated your knee and now the walking motion isn't helping it. I would ice it and give it time. And yes, pilates is low impact.

    Yeah, I think it's the low impact step, it also has something else at the end, body fusion I think it's called.
    I also have two other Cathe dvd's that have 3 each of her older step videos. The dvd that's called Cardio Hits and the one called The classics. I haven't done step aerobics in about 2 or 3 years because I've been too out of shape to get through them without quitting after about 5-10 minutes tops.
  • AZackery
    AZackery Posts: 2,035 Member
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    I started 2 weeks ago and I do mostly walking videos by Leslie Sansone.
    My right knee hurts a lot lately, I'm not sure if the exercising is causing it or something else, but I want to continue to exercise.
    What can I do that is a good calorie burning exercise that won't hurt my knees?
    I still want to do my Leslie Sansone videos too, how often or not often should I do them so I don't work my knees too much?

    Rub some muscle rub on your knee. You can buy muscle rub at the Dollar Tree. Can you pop your knee? It might need a good popping. But, if not, rub muscle rub on it. It will help.

    I like walking with Leslie as well. Belly Dancing is good. Hula Dancing is good. Core Rhythms. Chris Freytag has some good workouts. Walking ones too. I love Chris. She's one of my trainers.

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