Building solid muscle around your knees can support healthy joints while reducing stiffness.
Many gym-goers tend to focus on the most aesthetic muscle groups. You know we’re talking about: building sleeve-splitting biceps, six-packs, toned thighs, and sculpted glutes. But there are other areas that are essential to consider as well—especially as you age—and your knees are at the very top of that list.
Knee strength is important to build and maintain after 60, as muscle mass naturally declines and cartilage thins, which increases the load on your joints. Building muscle around your knees can help support your joints, boost stability, decrease stiffness, and avoid falls.
If that sounds good, we have just the right plan to start integrating into your routine. We chatted with experts who share with us five essential morning exercises for you to try that can help restore knee strength faster than gym machines after 60.
“The knee is primarily a hinge joint. Its job is to flex, extend, and transfer force between two mobile joints. Stability is its primary function, and that stability depends on the entire chain firing correctly: foot stable, ankle mobile, knee stable, hip mobile. Machines remove that chain entirely. You can build impressive quad strength on a machine and still have an unstable knee because you widened the quad-to-hamstring imbalance instead of fixing it. The hamstring has to fire eccentrically to decelerate the leg, control tibial rotation, and absorb force during real movement like walking downstairs,” explains Rob Moal, CPT with Train Like Rob who’s based in Vancouver, BC and has over 20 years of experience helping clients build strength, shed fat, and move without pain.
While gym machines may have their place as part of a larger, well-rounded workout, they struggle to channel real-life movement.
“[Machines] tend to isolate muscles, which can result in inadequate training of the surrounding areas—meaning joints may be left weaker and more susceptible to injury,” notes Coach Amanda Grimm, a qualified Personal Trainer, Running Coach, and Sports and Remedial Massage Therapist who holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sports Science. “Machines also remove much of the proprioceptive demand of an exercise, meaning the stabilizing muscles may deteriorate even further than they ordinarily would as we age.”
Below, Moal and Grimm share five morning exercises that can help restore knee strength that are worth adding to your routine.
Romanian Deadlifts
- Stand tall, feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand.
- Bend your knees slightly and hold the weights in front of your thighs.
- Press your hips back as you lower the dumbbells down your leg to about 1 inch below the knees. Maintain a straight back as you do so.
- Squeeze your glutes to return to the start position.
Step-Ups
“This can be done on your own stairs at home and is a real-world, single-leg movement that requires no equipment,” Grimm tells us. “This will help to correct imbalances that a machine may mask.”
- Begin by standing tall, facing a low step.
- Place your left foot firmly onto the surface, keeping your core engaged and chest tall.
- Press through your left heel to lift your body until your left leg is straight and you’re standing on the surface.
- Use control to lower back to the start position.
RELATED: 6 Standing Drills That Keep Your Knees Stronger Than Most People Your Age After 50
Calf Raises
- Begin by standing tall with your feet hip-width apart, holding an optional lightweight dumbbell in each hand.
- Engage your core.
- Rise onto your toes slowly.
- Hold for 2 to 3 seconds at the top.
- Lower with control.
Chair Squats
“These can either be performed sitting on a chair or with your back against the wall, lowering to a squat position. Simple but effective, they literally replicate everyday movement,” Grimm notes.
- Begin by standing tall in front of a sturdy chair with your feet hip-width apart on the ground.
- Activate your core and keep your chest lifted.
- Bend at the knees and hips and lower slowly into a squat—as if you’re about to sit down. Make sure your weight stays in your heels.
- Lightly touch the surface of the chair with your glutes.
- Press through your heels to rise back up.
Glute Bridges
“This can actually be done in bed before you start the day,” Grimm says. “Unlike many machine-based glute exercises, the bridge places almost no compressive load through the knee joint, making it ideal for anyone with knee discomfort or stiffness.”
- Lie flat on your back with bent knees and feet hip-width apart, arms at your sides with palms pressing into the mattress.
- Press through your heels to lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from head to heels.
- Squeeze your buttocks, holding at the top for 2 seconds.
- Lower your hips back to the start position.
Alexa Mellardo
Alexa is a freelance writer, editor, and content strategist based in Greenwich, CT. She has 11+ years of experience covering wellness, fitness, food, travel, lifestyle, and home. Read more about Alexa
