Knee conditioning

[Ryland]

What do you guys do to get your knees solid and prevent injury? Beside the big and general things - lift, ruck, stairs etc. Any PT ish things? So far biking and walking backwards has gone well for me.

 

[43.6N]

Stair doubles was recommended by my PT buddy.
Basically any time you have stairs, take two at a time. Both going up and down.
Can make it a focused workout if wanted. Many knee injuries happen on the downhill. Need to not neglect the eccentric movements.

Then progressive loading with backpack lunges, Bulgarian split squats, pistol squats.

 

[mtnbound]

Hamstring strength is huge in preventing injury. Do not just focus on knee-dominant movements.

 

[Seeknelk]

I've had great luck with the Knees Over Toes stuff on you tube. Out of his stuff the reverse sled drags seem to be the best for me along with reverse uphill walking. The sled takes less skill or balance so in some ways it better. My hiking trails only have one route that is smooth and wide enough for the backwards stuff. If you see a guy walking backwards with a rearview mirror and a backup alarm just wave and keep moving! Kidding but I've thought about the mirror! Neck gets sore...

 

[Zdub02]

Cycle your shoes often and make sure they work for with your body. I recently got a new pair of running shoes and thought they just needed a break in period. They absolutely destroyed my left knee every time I ran. Switched back to old worn out and pair and no more knee pain. This will apply more to aerobic training vs lifting but will still apply.

 

[Ryland]

Thank you all. Definitely a good couple to add to the routine.

 

[bighornbor]

I watched this video and noticed that my forestry (we hike 2-5 miles of timber a day) coworkers that are 50-60 yrs old actually walk exactly like that. They never complained of knee pain so surely it works.

 

[NMELK1118]

What do you guys do to get your knees solid and prevent injury? Beside the big and general things - lift, ruck, stairs etc. Any PT ish things? So far biking and walking backwards has gone well for me.

Walking backwards on a slight incline starting with minimal weight. Work yourself up to carrying plates in hands or resistance bands. Really did a solid for me, was hurting on heavy packouts on downhills where the focus was more on the knee, quad.

 

[Ross]

Protect them at all cost. These are ultra lite weight, but very expensive and painful