Cardio Exercise Which Doesn't Use My Knees?

[Aussie Peg]

Hello everyone!

I really want to get fit and lose a little weight but I have really weak knees which i have special muscle building exercises for but i want to do something which will get my heart pumping. I cant use my knees until they're nice and strong and I can't think of any cardio exercise which won't require them...help!

Does anyone have any ideas?? I thought of boxing (we have a boxing bag) but that would require me to bounce around and put stress on my knees, dang!

Thanks in advance!

[Michi8]

Swimming! Excellent for overall fitness, and gentle on your joints.

Michelle

[Aussie Peg]

Great idea Michelle! We have a swimming pool too I hadn't even thought of that It's still a bit chilly here but when the weather warms up i'll be splashing about!

Any other ideas? Something i can do indoors would be great so i can do it in the eve and in privacy, but all suggestions are most helpful!

Thanks!

[Michi8]

Are there no indoor pools where you are? We swim all winter here, but most of our pools are indoor due to our climate...it gets awfully cold in the winter, and we only have two months of weather good enough for outdoor swimming in the summer.

Michelle

[Ursa Major]

Do you have a bicycle? Biking will use your knees, but you don't put too much stress on them, and your legs won't have to bear much weight. It is definitely gentle on your knees.

What about walking? Are you able to walk? I've read in different places that walking at a slow pace is more beneficial, and will help you lose weight faster if you're overweight than walking fast or jogging (which is terrible on your knees, even if they're okay).

[eKatherine]

I feel for you. I haven't been able to get any exercise myself since the bone spurs in my foot started to get bad, and I used to exercise all the time. Unfortunately I don't have any suggestions, unless you have a local indoor public pool, which we don't. It would cost me hundreds of dollars to join one of the pools in my area, and then they only schedule public time a couple of hours a day, which makes it good for people who don't have to work, I guess.

Bench press?

[Ursa Major]

I feel for you. I haven't been able to get any exercise myself since the bone spurs in my foot started to get bad, and I used to exercise all the time. Unfortunately I don't have any suggestions, unless you have a local indoor public pool, which we don't. It would cost me hundreds of dollars to join one of the pools in my area, and then they only schedule public time a couple of hours a day, which makes it good for people who don't have to work, I guess.

Bench press?

Katherine, have you tried biking? I have terrible foot problems too (which include bone spurs), but biking is okay (you don't use your heels for that at all).

[jerseyangel]

I have a Pilates machine with a cardio rebounder attachment (kind of like a vertical trampoline). It allows me to get my heart rate up while lying down--no stress on my knees or ankles.

[mommida]

I suggest you look into deep water aerobics. Take the class with a friend.

L.

[eKatherine]

Katherine, have you tried biking? I have terrible foot problems too (which include bone spurs), but biking is okay (you don't use your heels for that at all).

Unfortunately the bone spurs are from an old injury, so they're not in the heel. I used to use a recumbent cycle at the gym I was at when they were diagnosed, and I think I could again, but I haven't found one that was comfortable or had a program that was flexible enough. I also tend to get wrist problems when I ride a regular cycle. Dang, getting old.

[Guest ~jules~]

I use an eliptical machine, its the same motion as walking with less stress on the knees.

[Natlay]

Swimming and water aerobics are great ideas. If you have access to deep water you should also try deep water running. I did that when I had stress fractures and couldn't run. You can use an aquajogger to help stay up or you can go without if you can. It's a great workout and it's nice because you can exercise with other people who might be faster or slower runners because no one is really a fast runner in the water

[bmzob]

Biking requires alot of range of motion on the knees, but no weight stress. The elliptical machine is excellent on the joints, but you would have some weight on your knees...i'd say water is probably your best bet.

[Aussie Peg]

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone!

We have an exercise bike but that leaves my knee in pain (I think the doc said my knee cap goes slightly off track when i bend my leg so i'm starting to build up the inner muscle which keeps it in place with the special exercises). I've very keen on the swimming idea so i'll see if theres any deep indoor pools nearby....otherwise i might have to brave our pool *gasp!*

The pilates thing sounds good too, is there any chance of replicating the exercise without the machine?

[jerseyangel]

The pilates thing sounds good too, is there any chance of replicating the exercise without the machine?

I've never tried it, but there is Windsor Pilates--you do the excercises on the floor.

[Michi8]

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone!

We have an exercise bike but that leaves my knee in pain (I think the doc said my knee cap goes slightly off track when i bend my leg so i'm starting to build up the inner muscle which keeps it in place with the special exercises). I've very keen on the swimming idea so i'll see if theres any deep indoor pools nearby....otherwise i might have to brave our pool *gasp!*

The pilates thing sounds good too, is there any chance of replicating the exercise without the machine?

You can do mat pilates (on the floor) and also on an exercise ball. There are all sorts of videos available, but I highly recommend taking a mat class to get the basics down. Pilates is excellent for working on your core strength...and strenthening your stomach muscles to properly align and support your body.

Michelle

[lisabarella]

Can you circuit Train with light weigths and move station to station quickly? Also Assisted dips/lat pull-ups, along with assisted or full push-ups with definitely get your heart rate up.

[Aussie Peg]

I have a pilates dvd but it involves lots of leg use so i think i'd have to copy the exact exercise jerseyangel was talking about if its possible without the machine

I dont have a gym membership or anything and prefer to do my exercising at home so what does this circuit training involve? we have some weights here, a bench press, gym ball, wrist/ankle weights, punching bag and some of those elastic exercise bands with handles if any of those could help?

There aren't any indoor pools nearby which is annoying and our pool is green at the moment so it may take a while to restore it (i'm heading overseas in about 7 weeks so am hoping to improve my fitness by then) so i dont think swimming is an option

i'm in a dilly of a pickle i do believe!

Thanks again for all your help, I really appreciate it!

[ebrbetty]

how about a glider, i love mine, no impact at all!

[kbtoyssni]

I have horrible knees, too, and I love the elliptial. Get a great workout without any pounding.

I've also recently started rock climbing. Depending on how bad your knees are that might be ok. It's low impact, but you will need to be able to push up from a bent-knee position. I couldn't do it pre-knee surgery, but I can now.

[tarnalberry]

I also have chondromalacia patella - where the kneecap doesn't track properly due to a muscle imbalance. I would stronly encourage that you go through a good course of physical therapy if you haven't already, so you can target the portions of the muscles that are not balanced in strength. You'll want to be doing some plain strength training, not to mention proprioception exercises (balance, essentially - strengthening the fine control muscles).

I find that I can't bike either - even with very little resistance, the high range of motion and, more so, the very large number of repetitions is just too much for my knees. Even now, when they are in pretty good shape and hardly hurt, a bike is just not for me. I would encourage you to walk when you can (not stairs - certainly not going down them whenever you can avoid it). Any time you are up to any walking, do some. It will help over time. I know it's hard at first - at one point, a half mile of walking got very painful for me. But it's also crucial to keep moving to keep the pain from getting worse. (At this point, I can hike for fifteen miles and just be a touch achey the next day, and hardly that.)

Activities I do if my knees are bothering me: swimming, gentle walking (depending on the pain), yoga, kayaking (if you have the facilities).

While it is more convenient to exercise at home, when my knees were at their worst, I had to do something - movement is CRUCIAL - so I got a gym membership (it was very difficult to find a gym with a pool, but you drive if you have to) and went swimming.