Something slightly different for you today.
Seeing as you’re subscribed to this newsletter – you’ll know I do a lot of shoulder rehab work.
But what you may not know
(because I haven’t done much content on it)
I also help clients overcome hip, knee and elbow injuries too
(Current success rate is 100% – touch wood)
So, if you’ve ever wondered: ”Which movements should I do to build knee strength, improve mobility and eradicate pain?”
This letter is a must read.
Below, you’ll find 5 exercise to bulletproof your knees for good – hope you these exercises as valuable as my clients and I have 🙂
If you want pain-free knees that are:
• Stronger
• More stable
• More mobile
You must challenge the knee muscles through their full range (long to short).
But it gets complicated…
Why?
I’ll tell you after you’ve taken a quick look at the image below…
See Ollie: some knee muscles are “biarticular”
This means they cross over >1 joint.
1/ Hamstrings (knee + hip)
2/ Rec Fem (knee + hip)
3/ Gastroc (knee + ankle)
And that means you need >1 exercise to challenge these muscles through a full ROM.
Let me show you how…
🏴 // Leg Extension //
Why?
Use this to challenge Rectus Femoris in it’s shortest position and other quads from their mid to shortest positions.
A tip:
If you can’t squeeze into the top postion, you need to lighten the load!
What it looks like:
🏴// Sissy Squat //
Why?
Use this to challenge all quads towards their longest positions (degree of knee extension unique to individual)
A tip:
Regress the exercise by starting in a kneeling position on the floor.
What it looks like:
🏴// Seated Leg Curl //
Why?
Challenge short head Biceps Femoris in it’s shortest position, and other hamstrings from lengthened to mid positions.
A Tip:
Push yourself into the seat to increase stability and increase your strength / output.
What it looks like:
🏴// Lying Leg Curl //
“Another leg curl!?” – Yep.
Why?
Challenges hamstrings from their mid to short positions (Not including the short head of Biceps Femoris).
A Tip:
Push your legs and hips into the pad at all times to prevent “exercise cheating”.
What it looks like:
🏴// Standing Calf Raises //
Why?
Challenges your Gastroc from it’s lengthened to mid position (you lengthen gastroc by extending the knee).
A Tip:
“Tip toe” towards the top as if you’re trying to reach over a wall to grab something.
What it looks like:
🏴// Seated Calf Raises //
Why?
Challenges your Gastroc from it’s mid position to fully shortened (because you shorten Gastroc by flexing at the knee).
A Tip:
Towards the top, try to push the front of your foot forward to improve control.
What it looks like:
Hope you found this useful, my friend?
To summarise, here are 6 exercises I recommend you use to build stronger knees:
• Leg Extension
• Sissy Squat
• Lying leg curl
• Seated leg curl
• Standing calf raise
• Seated Calf raise
Anyways, that’s it from me today –
Have an awesome weekend and see you next week 🙂
— Ollie E.
ps. All image credits in this email go to “strength level”
