Sore knees? Try this eight-move low-impact bodyweight work to strengthen your joints

Prevent injury and improve your joint health with this knee-strengthening routine

A woman stretching on a yoga mat
(Image credit: Getty)

Whether you’re running, lifting weights or just going about your everyday activities, your knees deal with a lot, so it pays to protect them. Fortunately, you can use this eight-move, low-impact routine and it takes less than 20 minutes. 

This short bodyweight workout from certified personal trainer Margie Tuttle (@move.with.margie) helps strengthen the muscles around the knee, including the calves, quads and hamstrings, to make the joint more resilient. 

To try the full session, complete the exercises as a circuit, one after the other. Perform each one for 30 seconds, followed by a 45-second rest, and run through the eight-move circuit three times in total.

It's important to get the technique just right to get the most from this session and prevent any additional pain. So, be sure to check out Tuttle's demonstrations before you start to perfect your form, then unroll your yoga mat and try them for yourself. 

Watch Margie Tuttle's low-impact bodyweight workout

It's an ideal warm-up for before you start a run, lower body strength session, or quads workout. And while it could be useful if you're already experiencing pain, we'd always recommend talking to a medical professional before starting. 

If the soreness is quite a recent development, it's worth considering whether you can pinpoint any causes of join pain, like arthritis or injury. There may be tweaks you can make like eating different foods for joint pain

There are some nutrients that can calm inflammation and help strengthen the connections between ligaments. It's possible to get many of these from your diet, but taking some of the best supplements for joints could also be an option. 

Tuttle's short routine is also a great way to ease yourself back into some movement. It's a low-impact workout, which means there are no hard shocks to your joints or lots of jumping and running. 

If you're looking for other ways to boost your body's resilience, why not try these anti-aging yoga moves, which will help strengthen your muscles through a wide range of motions. 

Or, you could invest in one of the best foam rollers, which can help reduce post-workout soreness and increase mobility when used as part of a warm-up. This also promotes blood flow to the massaged area, helping boost your recovery. 

Alice Porter
Freelancer Writer

Alice Porter is a freelance journalist covering lifestyle topics including health, fitness and wellness. She is particularly interested in women's health, strength training and fitness trends and writes for publications including Stylist Magazine, Refinery29, The Independent and Glamour Magazine. Like many other people, Alice's personal interest in combining HIIT training with strength work quickly turned into a CrossFit obsession and she trains at a box in south London. When she's not throwing weights around or attempting handstand push-ups, you can probably find her on long walks in nature, buried in a book or hopping on a flight to just about anywhere it will take her.