When you get a knee injury, it is tempting to just remain in bed all day, or do as little as possible. While it is important to get enough rest shortly after you get the injury, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to move around when you feel comfortable doing so.
Here are some options for exercising even if you have a knee injury:
Modify Your Cardio Workouts
With a knee injury, you can usually still do cardio workouts, though you need to make some modifications. You don’t want to do anything that will hurt your knee or inure it more.
For example, if you are used to running being your main source of exercise, this is going to put too much stress on your knees, but that doesn’t mean you can’t exercise outside.
Instead of running, try slower walking or even going on a hike, as long as it is flat ground since inclines can hurt your knee. You can also try some low-impact aerobics, modifying moves as needed.
Try Seated Exercises
For more serious knee injuries or following knee surgery, just walking might be difficult. IN this case, you can instead get your workout with your upper body only by trying seated exercises. The seated workouts include lifting weights while sitting in a chair or on the edge of your bed, working your arms, shoulders, back, and even sometimes your abs.
Some seated workouts involve moving your legs to work those muscles as well, but won’t put the stress of your body’s weight on your knees, so they tend to hurt much less.
Use Kettlebells
Kettlebells are a lot of fun and provide a much better workout than you might imagine. The great thing about this is that most moves won’t use your knees at all, even though you are going to be standing. You just want to avoid moves like lunges and squats, since those are bad for your knees.
Aside from that, the rest of the moves with the kettlebell you can still do, including the kettlebell swing. Just wrap your knee to keep it supported during the workout and be careful of how much stress is being put on your bad knee.
These are just a few workouts you can do when you have a knee injury. Feel free to try some of your ordinary exercises when your knee begins to heal, starting slow and not pushing yourself too much.
