5 Lower Body Exercises for Women Over 40
Hello everyone, I'm cat teacher fitness!
Introduction: At the age of 40, many people's knees have not been "maintained" and "repaired" when they were young, so when they encounter knee flexion and quadriceps muscle action, the knee will hurt, causing deep pain. Squats are avoided, mistaken for squatting is an action that will damage the knees.
Proper squats don't affect the knee joint, which in turn increases knee stability and strengthens the musculature around the knee; it's your knee history that causes your knee pain when you squat, not your knee pain.
Squat is a very good multi-joint and multi-muscle group compound movement. It is the king of lower body training movements. It can not only exercise the leg muscles, but also the gluteal muscles.
There is a popular saying in the gym: "Men can't stand squatting; women can't stand squatting; men can't stand squatting; both men and women can't stand squatting on the bed", which shows that squatting is very necessary for both men and women, especially those who are 40+ Middle-aged people must practice movement to stay young and not old.
However, due to the age of 40 and the history of knee problems, there will be a "clack" in the knee when squatting, or upper and lower pain after squatting (insufficient knee joint synovial secretion, quadriceps femoris) Tendonitis and patellar tendinitis), can not be repaired for a while, what should I do? How to train the lower body?
Squatting is supported by the stool behind you after you sit down, so it completely releases the pressure of the weight on your knees when you are squatting, allowing you to focus more on pushing your hips back when you are squatting (glute force), and your quads when you are squatting up. Muscle strength.
Muscles Targeted: Quadriceps, Glutes.
How to do it:
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart (or wider) in front of a bench that is knee-height (or higher).
Toes facing forward, knees to toes (not buckled in when squatting), core tight, this is the starting position.
Inhale, push your hips back, bend your hips and knees, and sit back down until you're fully seated on the stool (you won't feel pressure on your knees at this point) with your arms straight or folded in front of your chest.
Push your quads to the starting position, squeezing your glutes but don't overextend your lower back, and don't lock your knees.
Repeat 12-15 times.
You can also upgrade to a single-leg squat:
Squatting against the wall is a relatively static movement, which can well balance the muscle strength of the lower limbs under the condition of body stability and joint alignment, and has the benefits of preventing and improving knee pain, chondromalacia, patellofemoral cartilage damage, knee arthritis, etc. People who are prone to pain due to strength, or when the muscle strength recovers in the early stage after knee injury, it is recommended to do the static squat against the wall
The quadriceps is an important muscle to protect the knee joint. Squats can increase the muscle strength and endurance of the lower limbs, especially the quadriceps on the front of the thigh. By enhancing the strength of the quadriceps, the stability of the knee can be increased, and it can also promote circulation. , relieve knee pain.
Muscles targeted: Glutes, quadriceps.
How to do:
Open your feet shoulder-width apart, toes facing forward, and adjust the distance between your feet and the wall (so that your thighs are parallel to the ground when you squat, and your thighs are perpendicular to your upper body).
The upper body is straight against the wall, the hands are straight forward (can be cradled in front of the chest), the back and head are pressed against the wall, the core is tense, and the pelvis is kept neutral.
Bend your hips and knees and squat down until your thighs are parallel to the ground and your calves are perpendicular to the ground.
When squatting, keep your knees on your toes and don't buckle in.
Stay still for more than 30 seconds, gradually increasing the still time.
You can also increase the difficulty and add half-body training movements while squatting:
The straight-leg deadlift is a multi-joint, multi-muscle-group exercise in the lower body with minimal knee involvement, fully trained through the hip movement that will help "provide stability to the knee joint by strengthening the hips" sex".
Muscles targeted: Glutes, hamstrings, lower back.
How to do:
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes facing forward, knees slightly bent to toes, holding dumbbells in each hand in front of your legs.
Keeping your core tight, then push your hips back, bend your hips, and slowly lower the dumbbells down your shins until your hamstrings are tight.
Push your hips forward, extending your hips and squeezing your glutes at the top.
Keep your knees slightly bent and your upper back straight throughout.
Repeat 10-12 times. (Women over 40 can choose to start with dumbbells with 2 male hands)
You can increase the difficulty and change to a single-leg dumbbell straight-leg deadlift to train balance and stability.
Kettlebell swings are a great exercise to increase your heart rate and burn calories. The prime movers are mainly the hips, hamstrings, and are a great choice for those with poor knees and ankles. The hamstrings and glutes are the most important for the knees. Two stabilizing muscles, therefore, strengthening these two muscles is very useful for improving knee pain.
Muscles targeted: glutes, hamstrings.
How to do it:
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes facing forward, knees to toes, grasping the top of the kettlebell handle with both hands.
Push your hips back, bend your hips and bend your knees into a squat, placing the kettlebell between your legs.
Push your hips forward, fully extend your hips and use momentum to swing the kettlebell to about chest height.
Focus on squeezing your glutes.
Repeat 12-15 times.
Glute bridge to activate the entire hip area without any impact on the knees. The hip muscles connect 2 vulnerable and easily damaged parts of the body: the knees and lower back muscles. If the hips are weak, they are bound to be bigger The pressure is distributed between the knee joint and the lower back, allowing these two parts to compensate, which can cause lumbar muscle strain and knee joint damage. Conversely, low back pain and knee pain can be relieved and repaired if strong gluteal muscles share the pressure on the knees and lower back.
How to:
Lie on your back on the floor and bend your knees so your heels are on the floor.
Place your hands at your sides, or place your hips on your hips to feel the force of your glutes, bend your knees, and let your feet touch the ground for support.
Keeping your back straight and your core engaged is the starting position.
Use your hips to lift your pelvis off the floor so that your thighs are basically in line with your upper body.
Slowly lower your hips under the control of your glutes so that they are close to but not touching the floor.
Repeat 12-15 times.
You can also raise your legs to do a glute bridge:
Write at the end: Do you have any other lower body exercises that do not hurt your knees, please leave a message below and let me know!