Sore knees? Do these in your next workout.
Three things plague most of my personal training clients, and in my experience, most active gym-goers.
1) Lower back pain.
2) Hip popping.
3) Sore knees.
Today, we tackle number 3. Sore knees.
The biggest culprit in sore knees is typically squatting movements. Not that squats are bad, it's actually a foundational movement you do every day getting in and out of our car, picking things up, and of course sitting on the toilet.
Sounds like an important thing to get good at, eh?
Squatting can be rough because it involves you to bend and extend at the ankle, hip, and of course, the knee. More moving parts gives you more things that can get cooky.
So, you want to clean up those sore knees? Try these three movements.
First, if you want to keep squatting, try using a heel wedge. This is one of the most common questions I get asked both in my Instagram DMs and by clients. I get this question so much I filmed a two minute video explaining why you SHOULD use a heel lift for squats.
Second, if your ankles are a little suspect...history of ankle sprains or broken bones in your past...this seated ankle mobility movement is a good move to incorporate in your warm ups.
Trainer tip- You'll see me sitting on a medicine ball in this video, but you an sit on a larger yoga ball to start and then progress to a smaller/deeper squat position.
Third, if you need to improve on your hips for squatting, believe it or not, doing floor-based core work is a great place to start. Typically wompy hips come from an inability to maintain your pelvis while you squat. Working against the ground helps keep your pelvis in a 'neutral-ish' position while your knees and ankles continue to flex and extend. This 90/90 march is my go-to move for this.
If you knees bug you, chances are it's not your actual knee that is the problem. Show your hips and ankles some love in your next workout and let me know how it goes!