Health and Fitness Hub

Will Knee Strength Exercises Make You Fitter?

Written by health-and-fitness on February 9th, 2009

If you need to get your knees stronger there are a few knee strengthening exercises that are easy to do and will make a huge difference to your fitness

If you suffer from a condition called chrondromalacia patella this first exercise will be really useful. This is a condition caused by the softening and degeneration of the cartilage underneath the knee cap ‘patella’.  It usually occurs when the muscles and bones of the knee are out of alignment.

Sit in a chair, back straight but not tensed. Your leg should be bent at 90 degrees, the thigh parallel to the ground, the lower leg vertical. Tense the thigh, hold for 5 seconds then release. Switch legs and repeat. Do 10 reps for each leg. Easy, huh!

Be sure to breathe normally during the exercise.

Another exercise does a little more to build strength in the muscles that control bending at the knee.

Sit up straight and breathe normally, then cross your legs at the ankle. Push forward with the rear leg and back with the front leg. (A little tricky at first, but think about it!)

Change over by reversing the direction of the cross.  If your left leg was in front, move it to the back and but your right leg in front.  Do ten reps for each leg in each position.

How To Get Those Calves Working

Now for something a little more strenuous.

For this next exercise avoid standing on a concrete or metal floor.  If your balance is not to good you may be better to do the following exercise on a mat or carpet.

Stand upright, heels together, toes a little apart.  Make sure to keep your balance.

Lift you heels so that your a standing on the balls of your feet.  Be sure to keep your balance!  Hold this position for around 5 seconds.  It may help to imagine an invisible piece of string attached to the top of your head pulling you up. Repeat this lifting ten times.  As you get stronger and build up the strength in your legs you will be able to increase the length of time you can hold the stance.

To change this exercise a little try bending your knees a little once you have raised your heels and are standing on the balls of your feet.  This will also work your bottom as well as your hamstrings and quads.  Again hold for 5 seconds then straighten your legs and lower your heels.  Repeat for 10 reps.

If you can make sure you carry out these knee strengthening exercises a couple of days a week or better still daily, you will have strong, healthy knees in to time at all.

If you want to tone up the rest of your legs, take a look at these details for the best leg exercises.  These exercises will help you build strong, sexy legs quickly.  To get the rest of your body into shape, find loads of health and fitness tips here.

Tags: calf stretches, knee joint exercises, knee strength exercises, knee strengthening exercises, spinning