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Train Today for WEBTRAINER |
Education > Exercises > Knee Strength Knee Strengthening Test: Do Your Knees Wobble on Step-ups?Q. What can I do to strengthen my knees for hiking, particularly on descents? A. It's possible that you have a muscle imbalance between the vastus lateralis and vastus medialis obliquus quadriceps muscles, quad-hamstring ratio, or even further up in your hips. There are a number of things you can do to strengthen all the muscles around your knees. One in particular is what we call a VMO reverse step-up (or simply Step-down) pictured below. But first, here's a simple diagnostic test you can do in the privacy of your own home. Place a sturdy box, bench, or step about 6-10 inches high in front of a mirror and place the foot of your weaker leg on the bench, with the toes slightly turned out. Now, keeping your hips and shoulders square to the front, and arms in front of you for counterbalance, slowly lift yourself up on the high leg without pushing off the floor. Watch what your knee does in the mirror, especially as you slowly lower back down to the floor. If your knee is very wobbly, or if it buckles in toward the midline of your body, then lower the step height and try again.You can do this step-up as a strengthening exercise, or go on to the exercise pictured below. 
The Step-down has direct application to hiking or climbing down mountains. Select a step height that works for you without excessive knee wobbling. Start on top of the step, with toes turned out about 5 degrees, and slowly step off the front end, lifting up on your toes as you do so, just like you'd walk down a stair. The tough part, then, is reversing the movement, starting on your toes and using the leg on the bench to lift you back up to the top. On each repetition, try to mentally force your knee to stay tracking right above your middle toe and slightly pressed outward rather than allowing it to collapse in toward the midline of the body. Perform this exercise 2-3 times a week, 2-3 sets of 10-12 repetitions, taking 3 seconds to lift and 3 seconds to lower. Make sure you are warmed up first. Very often the second and third sets will feel much more stable as the legs get warmed up and familiar with the exercise. Single limb exercises such as this, step-ups, walking lunges, and single-leg squats will do wonders for your balance and also strengthen all the smaller muscles in your ankles and the larger muscles around the knees and hips. |
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