After two decades of running around on the tennis courts, my knees finally started to bother me. My friend who’s a physical therapist gave me some exercises and told me to cut down on the court time, and I’m like, come on! I can’t stop playing the game I’ve loved ever since I was a kid! And of course, I kept right on playing.
But when the pain finally got so bad that I nearly cried every time I had to walking up and down the stairs at home, I did give up tennis — just until my knees got better — and took up rowing instead. Rowing is SO not the same… *sigh*.
Then one day, I was surfing YouTube and discovered this 10-minute workout for stronger knees from NASM-certified personal trainer, Jibby of Studio Jibby. And I was shocked that after two weeks of doing it three times a week (which Jibby suggests), my knees truly started feeling better.
The first half of this workout is more of a stretching session, which targets the muscles surrounding the knee, and includes the quads, hamstrings, and hip flexors. I love the relaxing quad stretch and the effective kneeling hip flexor stretch — they feel so good! Then the second half of the workout includes exercises that strengthen those muscles. For me, the quad squeeze, the single leg glute bridge, and the reverse nordic curls were most effective in helping with my knee pain, and the wall exercises put an end to my occasional shin splints.
It’s been nearly 2 months and now I’m back on the courts 2-3 times a week, pain-free! If you suffer from knee pain from tennis, running, weight lifting, or whatever… give this workout a try! It only takes 10 minutes, and isn’t that worth it if it keeps you pain-free and on the courts?