Leg muscle training without knee load
The knee joint is a very important joint for the legs, which makes many movements of the human body possible. During most leg exercises the knee is more or less heavily loaded. Leg exercises that can be performed without loading the knee are not so easy to find.
- A leg exercise that does not cause any problems for the knee is the lateral leg lifting. The starting position is lying sideways on a fitness or yoga mat. The upper leg is now spread out upwards and slowly brought down again against the force of gravity.
Since the legs are stretched, the knee is not under any load here. – Another exercise is the pelvic lift. Here the starting position is lying on your back, with arms at the side of the body on the floor.
The feet are up and now the pelvis and the lower back is lifted off the floor and guided upwards until a bridge is formed from the shoulders to the knees. As there is a maximum joint angle of 9°, the load on the knee is very low. – Climbing stairs is also a good leg workout. However, you should make sure that the angle in the knee joint is not less than 90°. The steps should therefore be of normal height and the athlete should only take one step at a time.
Leg muscle training at home
To train the leg muscles it is not absolutely necessary to go to a gym. Many exercises enable a varied training without any aids or equipment. – Sitting on the wall is a simple exercise that is well suited for beginners.
The upper part of the body is positioned with the back upright against a wall. The thighs are horizontal so that there is a 90° angle in the hip joint and knee joint. The execution is quite simple.
This position should be held for a certain time (30 – 60 seconds). The arms should rest on the side of the upper body and not rest on the thighs. – An exercise for the muscles of the front shinbone is to bend the toes while standing.
To do this, you move into the starting position, standing against a wall. With the palms of your hands you can support yourself against the wall. The feet are placed about ten centimeters away from the wall.
To do this, the toes are alternately tightened and lowered again. The legs are trained alternately for 60 seconds in three sets. – Squats can also be performed without weight.
However, a broomstick can be used as an aid. The starting position is hip-wide with the feet pointing slightly outwards and the arms slightly crossed in front of the chest. Now the legs are alternately bent and stretched without the upper body getting out of its straight position.
The upper arms always remain at shoulder level. The soles of the feet, especially the heels, remain on the ground at all times. In addition, care should be taken to ensure that the knees always remain behind the tips of the feet during flexion.
The straight posture of the spine is extremely important, so you can also put your feet underneath your heels. – A good exercise for the rear calf muscles is performed standing up and is a good beginner’s exercise. You only need a wall as support.
The starting position is the one-legged stand in front of a wall. On this wall you can support yourself if you lose your balance easily. The other leg is bent.
Now the heel is lifted so that only the tip of the foot still has contact with the ground. After a short break in tension, the heel is lowered again. Two times 25 repetitions should be done on each side. In order to vary the amplitude, the exercise can also be performed on a stair step, so that when the heel is lowered, you can go even further down.
