Commit to it!
Here’s a fun factoid: about a fourth of all adults in the United States suffer from chronic knee pain. Your knees aren’t just a bendy thing you use to kick people, they’re a vital component in your ability to walk. Some folks get pain specifically in the joints of their knees when they walk, while others feel pain located in the kneecap itself. Whatever the cause, the remedy is to increase your knees’ flexibility, and you don’t even need to go crazy to do it. With a few square feet and five minutes, you can get a proper, flexing knee workout.
First, try some standing leg lifts. Spread your legs wide, put one leg forward, and while making sure to keep your quads tight, lift the front leg up and down. Do this ten times, then switch legs.
Second, standing hamstring curls. Same general position as the standing leg lift, but instead of lifting your front leg up, bend it backwards toward your butt using your knee, then back down. Ten reps, then switch.
Third, inner-thigh leg lifts. This is kind of a fun one; stand wide and lift one of your legs up. Slowly swing it over to the other side of your body and give it a little spin. Make sure to keep those quads squeezed! Ten reps, then switch. Feel free to put on some music and get a little jazzy with it.
The most important aspect to working your knees is careful support. Your knee is a vital component of your leg, but it also needs a support system of its own. With careful, gradual movements, you can build up muscle around your knees to give them the room they need to work.
