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Knee Strengthening Exercises to Cure Knee Pain Once and For All

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The knee strengthening exercises found on this page will solve all your knee problems… I've been there.

I know how to fix knee pain.

Knee pain is a problem I am very familiar with…

Most of my family members have knee problems. I've had knee pain in the past, and I am always working to improve my knees.

I will tell you something right now — something most people won't tell you:

“You will have to work hard to improve your knees and prevent knee pain.” If you're looking for a quick fix that actually works, you're not going to find it anywhere.

What you will find here, though, is a plan to improve your knees with knee strengthening exercises. You'll also find several other tips, tricks, and secrets scattered throughout this page.

Start using the tips, tricks, and secrets you find on this page and you'll immediately start to see results with your knees. Trust me… I've been there and this stuff REALLY works.

99% of Knee Problems Can Be Solved By Fixing the Areas That Affect Knee Function and Movement…

Knee strengthening exercises will strengthen the muscles around your knees.

This, of course, will take pressure off your knees if you learn how to strengthen those areas correctly through proper form and technique with certain exercises.

I performed Squats the wrong way for several years that led to some of my knee problems. If you've been doing squats and you're knees have started hurting, you don't have to stop doing them…

You just need to start over and learn how to do squats properly.

Knee strengthening exercises aren't always weight training exercises…

The muscles around your knee most likely have tons and tons of scar tissue built up. I'm talking about your thighs, your calves, your butt, your adductors, abductors, and pretty much every muscle group in your lower body.

Scar tissue in those muscle groups can and will affect your knees negatively.

Think of scar tissue making a muscle tight. When a muscle is tight, it makes it harder for your knee to track and function properly. When you have scar tissue built up, there are other forces pulling on your knees in different directions and that leads to knee pain.

You can strengthen your knees with the right weight lifting exercises, BUT you also need to get rid of scar tissue and keep your entire lower body mobile and flexible so your knees are always functioning properly. Today, I'm going to give you a plan to do so…

Step #1: Implement the Correct Weight Lifting Exercises

One-legged exercises are going to be your best option for strengthening the musculature around both knees. You want to make sure your strength in both legs is balanced. Strength imbalances in legs can cause you to put more stress on one knee and lead to problems.

What are some of the best knee strengthening exercises?

  1. Step Ups

  2. Lunges

  3. Bulgarian Squats or Split Squats

  4. Cossack Squats

  5. Single Leg Romanian Deadlift

  6. Single Leg Squats

  7. Pull Thru

  8. Dumbbell or Kettlebell Swings

  9. Hip Belt Squats

Within the WLC System, you simply substitute some of the exercises above into each weight training program.

It's easy to adapt our weight lifting programs for any goal you have… including knee strengthening.

For example, instead of Barbell Squats you would do Barbell Lunges. If your knees are in worse shape and it hurts to do lunges, you would do an exercise like Step Ups because they are easier than lunges.

Step #2: Get Rid of Scar Tissue With Regular Foam Rolling

A wide foam roller and a tennis ball are your best tools to get rid of scar tissue.

I have tons of experience with a foam roller, and I continue to use mine each and every day to keep my knees healthy and functioning properly. You will need to do the same.

Using a foam roller and a tennis ball to roll over the muscles in your lower body is exactly like getting a deep tissue massage. The massage keeps the muscles healthy by eliminating any and all scar tissue.

This will hurt! I've had tears come to my eyes because I've had so much scar tissue in my legs. The more scar tissue you have — the more its going to hurt. It will get better, though.

You have to continuously use the foam roller… and with time, the scar tissue will go away and your knees will feel like new.

Taking a few days off from foam rolling every now and then is recommended. Your body always needs time to recover from any stress.

Step #3: Increase Mobility and Flexibility

Before, during, and after each weight lifting workout, you should be doing mobility and stretching exercises. These aren't hard to learn how to do and will work wonders for your knees.

They also serve as a great pre workout warm up instead of the typical 5 minutes on a cardio machine. They are actually a MUCH, MUCH better warm up for weight training.

You can do some between sets and exercises. They are easy to fit in and are well worth the extra time. They also don't take much energy to perform. You'll love how much better your knees and your entire body feels after doing these exercises.

There are also some great static stretching exercises you can do to help your knees:

Step #4: Implement Sled Training as a Cardio Exercise

Sled training is an excellent exercise you can do for your cardio workouts. Running and any other high impact exercises is most likely leading to more knee problems and more knee pain.

Running can't compare to sled pulling and sled dragging when it comes to burning calories and helping to strengthen the musculature around your knees.

Sled training is one of the best knee strengthening exercises you can possibly do so take this seriously. It's not hard to get the tools you need to start pulling and dragging a sled. The sooner you implent this… the sooner your knees will feel better.

What's great about sled training is that 95% of the time knee pain doesn't surface when pulling or dragging a sled. You get awesome strength gains without any pain.

So, if you have trouble doing squats, lunges, or other exercises due to knee pain… you can still build tremendous strength in your legs with sled exercises.

Step #5: Change the Way You Eat

Within the WLC (Weight Lifting Complete) System, I teach you EXACTLY how you should be eating to build muscle and burn fat…

Well it just so happens that the diet guidelines I give you are great for helping decrease knee pain. I will tell you right now that no junk foods are allowed. Junk food simply leads to more knee inflammation and robs your body of important nutrients.

Think natural foods. If a food isn't natural, then it's not recommended within the WLC System.

For example, a frozen dinner is not recommended. Instead you would have wild caught salmon, a baked sweet potato, and steamed veggies.

The better foods you eat — the better your knees will feel. Make sure you eat a balanced and healthy diet consisting of lean protein sources, natural carbohydrates, veggies, and essential fats. The WLC System teaches you EXACTLY when, what, and how to eat to help your knee pain.

The right combination of foods can be VERY powerful.

A Few Other Tips and Tricks You Can Implement

  1. You should always wear knee sleeves when doing any activity… knee strengthening exercises, lifting weights, or cardiovascular exercise. The knee sleeves will keep your knees warm and feeling great.
  2. Fish oil, flax oil, krill oil, and a variety of nuts and seeds added to your diet will help your knees feel better.
  3. The best route to improve knee pain is the WLC System. You'll learn how to implement a COMPLETE program that shows you how to build muscle, burn fat, and create a healthy, fit, and pain-free body.
  4. Stick to your plan, be consistent, and go at your knee pain by doing everything I've told you about on this page. It will take some time to completely get rid of your knee pain, but it's worth the time and effort!

It really does feel great to have pain-free knees.

I hope you've enjoyed this page on knee strengthening exercises, and I wish you the best of luck on your journey to pain free knees.

The knee strengthening plan on this page will really improve your life. It really stinks to have pain each day. Just follow the WLC System and you'll be pain free before you know it.


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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Thanks for the great article and sound advice about strengthening knees and the muscles around them. Very approachable routines.

    Reply

    • You are very welcome Dave. Give some of that a try and let me know how it goes for you. The knee strengthening exercise advice on this page has always worked wonders for everyone who has ever contacted me about it. So hopefully your knees will begin feeling great very soon. Let me know if you need any help or have any questions.

      Reply

  2. Hi Joshua,
    I have really enjoyed your article and plan on starting the plan asap. My knees have almost crippled me and I am a very active person, so you know how frustrated I have been searching for info to help. I really do not want to go the replacement route, they say I am bone on bone. How keep you posted on my progress
    Thanks,
    Gail

    Reply

    • Yes, please give the plan a shot… especially the foam roller. You can create room between the bones in your knee and then you will be more comfortable. Try “walking on your knees” at home for some comfort as well. I am not a knee doctor, though, so I highly recommend you follow their recommendations. Just make sure you find a good one that will do everything he/she can to prevent knee surgery and offer you a solution other that knee surgery. Many just want to do surgery without any other solutions. There is also someone called the Knee Pain Guru who seems to know how to fix knees without surgery. You might see what he can do for you. And yes, please keep me posted on your progress. Would love to hear from you.

      Reply

  3. Hi Joshua,
    I have really enjoyed your article and plan on starting the plan asap. i have knee pain my quad muscle is too weak . how many times a week should i do this workout plus how long it will take me to see some result thank you.

    Reply

  4. Adnan,

    For Step 1 in the above article:

    The weight lifting exercises listed above should be used as substitutes for the leg exercises used in the weight lifting programs I have designed. For example, when you see squats you might substitute step ups instead. When you see stiff legged deadlift, you would substitute 1-legged deadlifts. You simply start using 1-legged exercises to help balance out any imbalances you have that may be causing your knee pain. Some people do squats for years and always favor their left leg versus their right leg. This leaves the right leg weaker and may lead to knee pain. Weight lifting workouts should be done 2 to 4 times per week. 3 is just about the right amount for most people. I would leave a day of rest between workouts.

    Step 2 in above article:

    Foam rolling can be done every day of your knee pain is bad. Work on getting rid of scar tissue as you’ll feel the pain in the area when you use the roller. It will feel amazing to you once you get rid of that scar tissue. Once you don’t feel as much pain when foam rolling, you can cut back the frequency to just a few times per week.

    Step 3 in above article:

    Do these knee pain exercises on your weight lifting workout days as a warm-up before your workout. Also do them in between sets. And do them as a cool-down after your weight lifting workout. Your knees will begin to feel better after just a few days.

    Step 4 in above article:

    Sled training should be done a few times per week for just 10 minutes or so. Don’t push it too hard with the amount of weight you are using and instead focus on feeling your leg muscles work. Take big steps forward and backwards. This will work wonders in getting rid of your knee issues.

    Step 5 in above article:

    IMPORTANT: The food choices you make will play a huge role in getting rid of your knee pain. Certain foods can cause inflammation and that can lead to your knee pain. Getting a higher intake of Omega 3 fatty acids and cutting back on Omega 6 fatty acid intake will greatly decrease inflammation and may lead to an immediate release of your knee pain.

    In order to do so, cut back on grain fed meats which are found at 99% of grocery stores in existence. Instead, get grass fed meats and whole eggs from free-range chickens. Also cut out sugars and any processed foods that are not 100% natural. For example, start looking at the ingredients list and if you see anything that you don’t recognize… put the food back and don’t eat it. No fast food ever.

    This is very important. The way you eat changes everything.

    If you have any questions, please let me know.

    Reply

  5. Thank you so much Joshua, i already started these knee pain exercises but my problem is i have one leg big quads and the other is small . the small leg cause me knee pain i wanna play football again in the summer .how long it will take me to build again if i work hard please let me know thanks your advice.

    Reply

    • Adnan,

      Depending on the magnitude of the difference in your legs, it could take several months. I can’t say for sure but muscle imbalances can take some time.

      Make sure with 100% certainty that you are doing all 1-legged exercises. Always do a few more reps with the smaller leg and this will help it to catch up a little quicker. Really focus in on the smaller leg and work it a little harder.

      I’ve had the same issues with arms and calves. Many people have sizeable differences between left and right sides of their body.

      Good luck, work hard, and let me know how it goes!

      Reply

  6. Thank you again i started the exercises i will let you know after one month now am feeling lil bit better. my friend told me i should buy protein shake to help me to build muscle fast .Should i buy protein shake and which one is the best Joshua?

    Reply

    • You should work on eating better with real food first before thinking about buying protein.

      Yes, protein shakes can add more overall protein to your diet but you can get plenty of protein without protein shakes and protein supplements.

      Real food is so much more powerful than whey protein because whey protein does not give you any other benefits besides the protein.

      Real food like grass fed beef or whole eggs from pasture raised chickens will give you the protein plus a ton of other awesome nutrients that will lead to more muscle building than whey protein alone.

      If you read within the WLC System Manual, you’ll learn how to eat to really build muscle. Whey protein is not the key. Work on eating real foods first and then you can add whey protein later but you probably will never need it!

      Good luck Adnan.

      Glad you are feeling better already! Hope to hear your results in a month!

      Reply

  7. Josh
    Yesterday, at the va center the therapist told me that I have done an incredible job working my health.
    I was shot up in Vietnam nam , well of course time passes but, after using WLC system today wow. I will try to develop more knee strength as my left knee is shot up as well as lower body . But in turn I’m changing this.
    There are two exercises thru these videos I can use within my workout .
    Again thanks josh
    George

    Reply

    • Hey George! It’s great to hear from you. Hope you’ve been doing well! It’s been a while. I’m very glad you’ve improved your health and body so much. I would love to hear how much better your left knee gets. Please let me know. Best wishes to you George! I am very glad the WLC System has worked so well for you.

      Reply

  8. Hello Josh,
    For the last three years or so I have known I have weak knees. I tried PT and the cost was prohibiting. I tried some exercises independently and was able to gain “some” strength, which allowed me to run my first half marathon this past Saturday. I say “run” but let’s just say I was able to finish it (with much knee pain). I am starting to incorporate the exercises you’ve shown on this article because I want to continue running. The feeling of participating in that marathon was a huge accomplishment for me. I know these exercises will help me become a better and stronger runner.
    Thank you for your advice and all the time you dedicate to help us, physically and spiritually. Take care!

    Reply

  9. Hey Jason!

    Very happy you were able to run the half marathon. That is a huge accomplishment. Great job! Big time great job!

    I guarantee your knees are going to get better as you use these exercises to really strengthen the muscles around your knees and to get rid of scar tissue that’s prohibiting movement of your knees.

    Step 3 is also going to be very important for you.

    If ANY exercise is painful, do not do the exercise. Work up to that exercise and always start with an easier version if needed. I hope you understand what I mean. For example, it might take you some time to work up to Cossack Squats. Go with step ups at a low level and go higher and higher as your knees better.

    Hope this helps, Jason!

    Please keep us all updated here on this page as others will be very interested as well. Thanks much.

    Reply

  10. I have been struggling with patellar tendonitis for a while now, and you’re spot on: the only thing that subdues the pain is regularly foam rolling my IT bands. I think a lot of people want a permanent fix, but it’s just something you have to stay on top of if you live this lifestyle.

    Reply

    • Hey Jon, I think you can fix the knees permanently with time. You’re right that it does take consistency to fix them. If you’re like me, I have to sit at a desk a lot throughout the day for my job. I also have to sit to work on the website so the muscles that are contracted during sitting start to shorten. This alone can lead to knee issues due to extra stress on the knees. That’s just one example. One way I combat this is to constantly stretch my legs and foam roll during my weight lifting workouts. There are also certain exercises like lunges that help to stretch out that muscle under a heavy load. If the correct strategy is employed, I do think the knees can be greatly improved and even fixed permanently (unless there is already permanent damage of some type). I am definitely not a doctor so I am not the authority on fixing knee problems, but I think anyone can improve if they are patient and consistent.

      Reply

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