Dull knee pain

[GRLMGC]

I had been exercising pretty regularly during the summer. These past few weeks, I haven't been very good about it. Part of it is sheer laziness but part of it is also because I've been having a dull knee pain. It's not excruciating or anything. I can manage it with no problem. The thing is, I'm afraid of exacerbating the problem by doing anything that puts too much stress on my knees. Most of my exercise videos include lunges, squats, and a lot of jumping. Can anybody recommend a calorie-burning exercise that will take away the stress from my knees? I've been doing a little pilates but I don't feel its enough.

[CrispyQ]

1. I love step aerobics, but my knees

can only handle about two of those types of workouts a week. I have an exercise bike, which I loathe. It's a good no-impact workout, but I have to concentrate through the entire workout or I find myself going slower & slower. Also, time barely passes on the bike.

My solution is walking. I found a really good hill near where I live. It's pretty steep, especially the last half, so I just walk up & down & up & down. I do at least 6 hills each time & I get in a sort of zen state & really enjoy it. I also bought a weighted belt to make the workout harder. My belt holds up to 20 pounds, but currently I only have 8 in it & let me tell you, it makes a difference, even if you aren't on an incline!

http://www.amazon.com/Weighted-Belt-w-20-lb/dp/B0002T2FXY/ref=sr_1_2/102-2338533-6255352?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1191590229&sr=8-2


Also, here's a website that has a ton of exercise video reviews written by (mostly) women who use them. Maybe you can find some low impact ones.

http://www.videofitness.com/

[GRLMGC]

2. Thanks!

I can't really think of any hills by where I live but I'm sure I can find one.

[soleft]

3. Swimming and using an eliptical machine, also exercise bike

The way I avoid boredom on the bike is I challenge myself to go another tenth of a mile everytime I use it. My goal is to do 5.5 miles in 20 minutes, and when I get there I go up another level. Usually when I go up a level I start out at 4.5 or 4.6, then build up from there.

And to keep me focused even futher, I print out a little card that breaks the 20 minutes into 1 minute intervals, so in order to reach my goal, I know how far I have to advance at the end of every minutes.

So it looks something like this

1 .275
2 .55
3 .825
4 1.1
5 1.375
6 1.65
7 1.925
8 2.2
9 2.475
10 2.75

And I listen to upbeat music as well.

[Ellen Forradalom]

4. Aquacize and jogging in the water

The running store has flotation devices for rehabilitative running in the pool. There are also gizmos for pool exercise. Do some googling to find some more ideas and perhaps find a trainer who can work with you.

If you haven't got access to a pool, I second the elliptical trainer idea.

[Deja Q]

5. I bought knee braces as I noticed pain after vertical weight lifting.

I've improved knee joints so it takes more to get them to ache, but those braces come in handy.

I bought the top end stuff that has the metal hinges on the sides.

Especially with walking (something I need to do more of), they help a great deal and I am improving.

Highly recommended for anyone with knee soreness.

And REST the knees too. They need to be strengthened. Not crushed. :hug:

And see your doctor as well. Or call the nurse for when to rest and when to continue. I have for my condition.