We all know that you can’t skip lower body day, but if you suffer from weak, achy knees, it can be tempting. You don’t need to though. This five-move workout from Sweat App trainer, Brittany Williams, goes easy on the knees, so that you can still keep your legs strong, but without the discomfort. There are no lunges or squats either (which are most likely some of your least favourite lower body exercises).
The thing with knee pain is rather than avoiding all lower-body exercises altogether, you’re better off focusing on exercises that can work around the pain (not exacerbate it). That’s what this workout aims to do. Williams focuses on closed-chain movements – so your feet remain in a stationary position, there’s no moving through space – therefore putting less strain on your joints.
You’re aiming to complete three rounds of this workout and you’ll need a set of dumbbells. Rest for 90 seconds between each exercise (if your dumbbells are quite heavy, you can make this slightly longer), then two minutes between rounds. If you only have access to really light weights, we’d do every exercise for as many reps as you can. Here’s the workout:
- Hip thrust - 12 reps
- Romanian deadlift - 12 reps
- Side lying clamshell - 20 reps (10 per side)
- Supported inner thigh lift - 20 reps (10 per side)
- Glute bridge - 12 reps
Here's another lower-body workout that's easy on the knees, if you're looking to complete two sessions a week which, again, will take no longer than 30 minutes. Also, don't forget to give your upper body some love too – this six-move dumbbell workout is performed entirely on the weight bench, so you can give those legs a well-deserved rest.
