Knee deep in power

Most people today complain of discomfort in their knee joints. That’s because it’s one part of the body that is over used, and we end up using the knee joints to walk, run, sit or stand. That’s why, it is important to strengthen the muscles around the effected joint, so that you are able to avoid overuse of the joint structure which causes potential injury. Resistance training will definitely help in strengthening muscles that support the knee, and here are a few exercises that can help people avoid knee problems.

Turkish Get up
A unilateral move which works on the entire body and creates a good amount of tension in the glute and hamstring area. Your glutes and hamstrings are utilised in movements like running, squatting, etc, and happen to play an important role in stabilising the joints. you perform this move by holding a kettlebell in one hand, use the other elbow to lift your chest up, get into a bridge hold by lifting your hips up towards the ceiling and stand completely on both feet, pushing one leg behind to maintain balance. you finish this movement by coming back to the starting position following similar steps in the reverse order. Perform Turkish Get Up a few times on both hands to get a good exercise.

 

Band assisted lunge hold
One of the reasons for discomfort in the knee joint could be tight hip flexor muscles and that’s why it becomes very important to stretch them nicely. Place a resistance band against a pole and step inside with one leg, get into a split stance keeping the upper body straight at all times. Hold it at each side for 30 to 60 seconds for three rounds everyday and you will see a lot of improvement in the functionality of the knee and hip joint both.

 

Overhead squats
A variation of the famous squat engaging your entire body, especially your mid-section like no other workout. Start this movement by holding a barbell in an overhead position, keeping the shoulders active, and elbows locked. Start pushing your hips back and down at the same time and descend until they reach lower than the knee, get back up until you reach full extension of the hips and knee. Throughout this movement, keep the load in overhead position. Combine it move with another conditioning activity to get a really good workout.

Snatch
This one is an Olympic lift, involves pretty much your entire body to work in tandem. Start this movement by placing your feet in line with your shoulders and keeping the barbell in connection with your shin bone. Keeping the bar at mid shin and start raising your hip and shoulder at the same time, perform a hip extension followed by a shrug and transition the barbell to an overhead position. Make sure you quickly get under the barbell and you can do that by performing a quick squat. Post this, get all the way up until full extension of hip and knee, maintaining the overhead stance. Start this movement using a PVC pipe, get the technique right and progress to a full snatch loading more weight as you get comfortable with it.

Single leg bridge
Start this movement by lying down on your back, feet flat on the ground and hands close to your butt. Lift one leg off the floor and raise it up towards the ceiling, as straight as you can. Post that, lift your hips up to their full potential, hold for a bit, and get back down. Perform 10 repetitions on each side to warm your posterior chain up. 

— The writer is a city-based fitness expert.