any ideas instead of lunges??

nikic50
nikic50 Posts: 209
in Fitness and Exercise
My knee really kills me during/after lunges - anyone know of another exercise similar to lunges that would have the same effect on my body & hopefully not hurt my knee?? I'm looking for all that expert advice out there :frown:

Replies

  • BamaBreezeNSaltAire
    BamaBreezeNSaltAire Posts: 966 Member
    I'd like to have ideas too!
  • Anna800
    Anna800 Posts: 639 Member
    Good old lying on the floor leg lifts, remember those from the 90s? lol Pilates has some moves as well.
  • KnittingKnadine
    KnittingKnadine Posts: 17
    When starting out, I had to do my lunges with support. It kept me more upright and took a bit of the strain off my knees. I used the Quad machine at the gym because it has a large bar across the back and no one uses it.
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
    My knee really kills me during/after lunges - anyone know of another exercise similar to lunges that would have the same effect on my body & hopefully not hurt my knee?? I'm looking for all that expert advice out there :frown:

    Well the primary muscle in the lunge is the quadriceps and if you go long and deep enough you hit the glutes and hammies as secondaries. If your purpose is to work the quads then you'll probably experience the knee pain on any quad dominant exercise. Do you have a brace or something to wrap your knee in?
  • harr3mi
    harr3mi Posts: 87 Member
    You might be extending to far forward on your lunge if your knee is hurting.
  • HauteP1nk
    HauteP1nk Posts: 2,139 Member
    squats (SO MANY VARIATIONS OF SQUATS TOO), deadlifts, leg presses, etc.
  • NikoM5
    NikoM5 Posts: 488 Member
    Personally I find nothing hits the glutes like lunges for me but squats and deads are great for legs. Deads also work the back as well. Question about your lunges though... does your knee ever go beyond your toes? If yes then that could be adding to your knee pain.
  • nikic50
    nikic50 Posts: 209
    My knee really kills me during/after lunges - anyone know of another exercise similar to lunges that would have the same effect on my body & hopefully not hurt my knee?? I'm looking for all that expert advice out there :frown:

    Well the primary muscle in the lunge is the quadriceps and if you go long and deep enough you hit the glutes and hammies as secondaries. If your purpose is to work the quads then you'll probably experience the knee pain on any quad dominant exercise. Do you have a brace or something to wrap your knee in?

    I don't currently have a knee brace, but I may have to invest in one. Squats don't hurt & lunges only hurt my left knee - not my right. I watch to make sure I'm not going over my toe, but I guess I can't say I do that 100% of the time.
  • Wilson929
    Wilson929 Posts: 100
    Doing a squat with your back against a wall. Takes the weight pressure off, but still working the leg muscles.
    And again, the good ol' 1990's style leg exercises while on the floor. I do these while I watch TV and play with my daughter on the floor.
  • iWaffle
    iWaffle Posts: 2,208 Member
    Have you tried reverse lunges where you take a step backwards instead of forwards? Those are easier on the knees than forward stepping lunges. I'm not an "expert" but I know this because I have a torn cartilage in my right knee. I'm always trying to do the most while still babying that knee a bit. The leg press machine never really bothers my knee.

    Don't forget to add in something like Romanian dead lifts to work the back of your legs and glutes. That's not hard on the knee at all.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    Dumbbell Step-Ups
    Stiff Legged Deadlift
    Leg Curl
  • billgiersberg
    billgiersberg Posts: 163
    I hate lunges. I hate them even when I use an aid to help me balance. I do my strength training using a Totalgym which is nice because I can vary the level of weight by using different angles but not with the lunges. That's ALL my weight on the knee joint. I found this webpage about substituting something in place of lunges. I hope it will help. I don't have knee pain but I do hear strange sounds from one knee when I squat and so I do try to not overdue any leg exercise out of concern for injury to the joint.

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/543329-what-exercise-can-you-do-in-place-of-lunges-and-squats-to-tone-legs/
  • plbrown81
    plbrown81 Posts: 32 Member
    I second the step ups. The other option is "stair lunges", which is essentially holding dumbells and taking the stairs two at a time. I find both put much less pressure on my knees, but still cause quad burn.

    However, since lunges work pretty much everything, you have to substitute in other exercises for butt and hamstrings as well...
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
    Squats, stair climbing, step ups!!!
  • TONYAGOOCH
    TONYAGOOCH Posts: 470 Member
    Lunges hurt me to but I have found that if you take a longer stride when stepping out and don't go all the way to the ground with the lunge it doesn't hurt near as much. I also come straight back up and make sure I have my balance before I take another step and I keep my hands either on my hips or my thigh.
  • rainwalkerSK
    rainwalkerSK Posts: 81
    Ignore this totally if you have any sort of knee injury, but I had bad knee soreness when I first started working out (and by "first started" I mean the first six weeks, really)-- it was worse in my left knee, too. Someone recommended knee straps to me. I got one at Walgreens, wore it while working out, iced my knee and took ibuprofen after working out, and occasionally wore it when not working out if I was having any soreness or pressure. Slowly, as my muscle tone improved, the soreness went away. Again, if you have any sort of injury, this is BAD ADVICE, and it's worth checking with your doctor to rule out a more serious problem anyway, but in my situation, it was just that my knees were never designed to carry around an @$$ as big as mine, and when I'd gone to the doctor with knee issues in the past, his recommendation was always to strengthen the muscles.
  • TONYAGOOCH
    TONYAGOOCH Posts: 470 Member
    Squats, stair climbing, step ups!!!

    I personally think these things are harder on knees than lunges.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    and I keep my hands either on my hips or my thigh.

    but then how do you hold on to the dumbbells?? :smile:
  • nikic50
    nikic50 Posts: 209
    Thank you all so much - I knew I could find some great ideas out there!! You've all been extremely helpful...THANK YOU
  • TONYAGOOCH
    TONYAGOOCH Posts: 470 Member
    and I keep my hands either on my hips or my thigh.

    but then how do you hold on to the dumbbells?? :smile:
    lol....I don't :tongue:
  • mlb929
    mlb929 Posts: 1,974 Member
    Work on other things to strengthen your hip - look for hip strengthening exercises - hip raises, hip lowers, leg drop on stairs, donkey kicks with ankle weights, monster walks with bands on your feet, seated with a band on your knees, there are a lot of options. Once your hips get some strength to them, lunches shouldn't hurt - Also - Try to not go so deep in lunges that they hurt your knees, do them with less drop to not cause pain, little by little, you will strengthen and the pain will go away as you can lunge deeper.

    Are your lunges painful front and back lunges both or just one direction - switch to side our curtsey lunges or only front or only back until you develop some hip strength.
  • 75Juniper
    75Juniper Posts: 376
    You might be extending to far forward on your lunge if your knee is hurting.

    This has been my experience. The more improper my form, the more problems I have. This also applies to squats.
  • NikoM5
    NikoM5 Posts: 488 Member
    DO NOT use the leg curl machine if your knees hurt.
  • Beana21
    Beana21 Posts: 91 Member
    There's a section of my workout program (Power 90) where they do a lot of walking lunges at two different points. I'm pretty overweight still and I don't like to put too much weight on a single knee, plus I had a bad knee injury about six months ago and I only got feeling back in it fairly recently. When it comes to the lunges section I just do three variations of squats. Yeah I'm probably not getting the same workout but it's something and I'm noticing a difference in my thighs.

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