This seems to be a very common issue among the fitness world. For people who have been active for most of their lives, it’s not rare that they may suffer from bad knees. This is a side effect from over-use of the joints in the knees. Due to constant pain in the knees, many people begin to believe that they will never be able to tone their legs again. After all, how do you tone your legs when most leg exercises and cardio activities put pressure and strain on the knees?

Don’t set up that appointment for a knee replacement quite yet. There are plenty of exercises and cardio activities you can do to not only tone those legs but also strengthen those knees. So, what are some cardio activities that are knee friendly and also may help you build up those joints as well? To name a few, there is the elliptical, recumbent stationary bike, swimming, and even fast paced walking. Just make sure to avoid running because this puts unwanted tension on the knees.

Exercises for toning the legs while avoiding those bad knees would be box squats, reverse lunges, step ups, Romanian deadlifts, and leg press with a high foot position. These are some of the absolute best exercises for toning your legs but they are slightly modified to keep them bad knee friendly. Not only will these exercises help tone your legs, but they will also help strengthen the knee joints as well. If you are unfamiliar with any of these exercises, visit youtube and watch a video on these exercises for proper form and technique. This is crucial for keeping those knees safe.

Along with these exercises, you can also help your knee joints by supplementing with fish oil and glucosamine. Surgery should be the absolute last resort when it comes to knees because the earlier you get them repaired, the better chance you have of needing them repaired again in the future.

-Tom