Exercises You Can Do Now to Save Your Knees Later

Don’t wait until you’re hobbled to actively protect your knees

Pop a squat – or 10

Indelicate squat discussion first. “You’re going to be doing that kind of loading on the knee joint just to get on and off the toilet,” says Neal Pire, a certified health coach and exercise physiologist in the New York City metro area. He emphasizes it’s important to do exercises that prepare the knee for regular day-to-day activities. 

Lunge for long-term knee health

Like squats, lunges can also be an excellent exercise to improve strength in your quads and butt to help support your knees, says Dr. Jeremy Close, a sports medicine physician with Rothman Institute at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and director of the sports medicine fellowship at the Philadelphia-based university

Step-up your game

Whether you’re familiar with step-ups or not, you get the general idea. “You’re lifting your body weight using one hip, one leg to get that weight up – like you would going up the stairs,” says Pire, who is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine. "Keeping the hip joint muscles strong and well-conditioned along with muscles around the ankle strong and well-conditioned will help minimize the risk of injury at the knee joint," he says

Strengthen your core

A weak back and stomach can put extra stress on the joints that support your body. "A good core strengthening program is important and paramount to the health of your knees, hips and lower extremities – so [do] a lot of abdominal exercises and lower back exercises,” says Siffri, who is chief of sports medicine at Greenville Health System in Greenville, South Carolina.

Go bipedal.

Running has taken a pounding for the pounding it can take on the knees. But for most, Close says, it’s a safe activity. “I think running is a great activity. It’s easy to do. It’s low cost. We’re all designed to run for the most part,“ he says. “It’s just being smart about what you can tolerate.” 

Take a joint ride.

Whether you're biking with friends or riding alone, racing the clock or just catching a cool breeze, taking to two wheels can strengthen your squads and calves and improve overall leg strength to bolster knee health. Cycling is also a low-impact activity, Close says.

Get elliptical, elliptical.

Though many do just fine running on a treadmill, Siffri recommends alternatively trying an elliptical machine for an aerobic workout that works the legs while being easy on the knees. "Your foot is planted against a platform – so there’s not that repetitive impact that can also lead to degradation of cartilage over time," he says.

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