Hip Strengthening Exercises W/bad knees

R. Alan Hester · 08-09-2008, 09:04 PM

Garrett's post in the the "Negative Effects of Long-term GPP" (http://www.performancemenu.com/forum...?t=2747&page=2) thread regarding ways to have strong hips that save knee trauma got me thinking.

What are some good exercise that provide strong/powerful hips but save knees all with a longevity bias? Deadlifts, RDLs, KB,DB swings, sprints?

Brief History:
--31 years old
--damaged knees in youth playing football (ah, the glory

)
--screwed right hip while training for 50 mile foot race, went through 3 month phys therapy, but it still aches all the time feels tight
--Jumped out of planes in Army with heavy gear and hit ground "wrong" many times
--ran with 100# of gear for many miles for many years for army training (I know, stupid, but I was "hard")

Current: Medial meniscus area of both knees have dull ache after riding bikes, running and weighted squats. On "good" days, an audible loud pop occurs in the medial portion of knee when stepping out of car, which is followed by three days of limping. Also, after siting for more than 15 minutes it takes at least 15 strides for my knees to warm-up.

Paul McKirdy · 08-09-2008, 09:31 PM

I am finding that these: http://wellness.ndsu.nodak.edu/fitne...footDrills.pdf
While holding onto this:
http://www.amazon.com/Jackson-M6T22B...342474&sr=1-17
with a lot of weight in it is building stability for me from my feet through lower back. I am doing these drills all the time now pre-workout and they are turning out to be something special in my case. I was having issues with knees and feet, was.

R. Alan Hester · 08-09-2008, 09:36 PM

Ah, the wheelbarrow. I have one and my driveway is 34 yard hill. I like it.

Paul McKirdy · 08-10-2008, 06:12 AM

Nice very nice! Now whenever I am out driving around I am scouting for exactly that. A nice 50 yardish gentle incline to just go back and forth on with the new toy

.

I have modified the foot drills a tiny bit. Now I do each foot position 30 yards forward and 30 yards backward(all with weighted wheelbarrow). Walking backwards on heels with weight added is an enlightening experience in a good way.

I imagine a 50 yard 10 degree straight linear semi-hard plane would be a most beautiful training apparatus. And then I would do forward and backward from starting low then another set of forward and backward starting from high for 24 total trips. I am starting to think of it in terms of pouring the re bar filled concrete for the building, for me that's ensuring the strongest feet humanly possible, so can pound the hell out of them with weight or whatever.

Mike ODonnell · 08-10-2008, 07:39 AM

I like 1 legges squats/pistols and lunges...don't need a ton of extra weight to do them and you use your body like normal movements. Try barefoot for more fun. Loads of stabilization going on from the hips there. That and most people with knee issues tend to have overdominant quads compared to hamstrings, so be sure to go nice and slow and squeeeeeze those hamstrings all the way down....like you were "pulling" yourself down.

Dave Van Skike · 08-10-2008, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by R. Alan Hester

Garrett's post in the the "Negative Effects of Long-term GPP" (http://www.performancemenu.com/forum...?t=2747&page=2) thread regarding ways to have strong hips that save knee trauma got me thinking.

What are some good exercise that provide strong/powerful hips but save knees all with a longevity bias? Deadlifts, RDLs, KB,DB swings, sprints?

Brief History:
--31 years old
--damaged knees in youth playing football (ah, the glory

)
--screwed right hip while training for 50 mile foot race, went through 3 month phys therapy, but it still aches all the time feels tight
--Jumped out of planes in Army with heavy gear and hit ground "wrong" many times
--ran with 100# of gear for many miles for many years for army training (I know, stupid, but I was "hard")

Current: Medial meniscus area of both knees have dull ache after riding bikes, running and weighted squats. On "good" days, an audible loud pop occurs in the medial portion of knee when stepping out of car, which is followed by three days of limping. Also, after siting for more than 15 minutes it takes at least 15 strides for my knees to warm-up.

I have soem high mileage knees and have rehabbed from a two pattella relocation surgeries; the deadlift variants were and are the best thing I've done...

one place you might look for ideas is over at IGX in the training logs; search for eddie greenghost. that guy has some really really bad knees and his appraoch to training is gold. short answer there is SLDL and heavy. as in very heavy........as far as longevity bias this guys is miles ahead of the game...zero psuedoscience-latest study-devany bs here......also, he lives off porterhouse steaks with plugra butter; drinks coffee and water....so you know he's got his head right.

here's a bump to get you started...

http://www.irongarmx.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=726

Paul McKirdy · 08-11-2008, 02:45 AM

That is some interesting reading. Thanks for the link!

Garrett Smith · 08-11-2008, 05:51 AM

I've also been doing my foot drills forward and backward, the backward does seem to contribute something new to the drills in terms of mobilizing those joints.

Isometrics strain the muscles and not the joint so much. Wall sits at different heights. Pin holds (?), squatting to push the bar up against an immovable surface.

Reverse hypers, weighted or not.

Hip, back, and hip-back extensions.

SLDL, as Dave mentioned. Also one-legged SLDL.

Yoga, depending on the type, really doesn't bend the knees much and can definitely have a longevity bias. Very important for knee health to avoid/modify the stretches where there is torque on the knee (pigeon for example).

GHD raises, making sure your knees are behind (not on top of) the pad.

You may want to get an MRI of your knee, you may have some loose cartilage floating around in there (the pop you're describing).

Obviously, don't forget the*anterior chain as well.

Dave Van Skike · 08-11-2008, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Garrett Smith

I've also been doing my foot drills forward and backward, the backward does seem to contribute something new to the drills in terms of mobilizing those joints.

Isometrics strain the muscles and not the joint so much. Wall sits at different heights. Pin holds (?), squatting to push the bar up against an immovable surface.

Reverse hypers, weighted or not.

Hip, back, and hip-back extensions.

SLDL, as Dave mentioned. Also one-legged SLDL.

Yoga, depending on the type, really doesn't bend the knees much and can definitely have a longevity bias. Very important for knee health to avoid/modify the stretches where there is torque on the knee (pigeon for example).

GHD raises, making sure your knees are behind (not on top of) the pad.

You may want to get an MRI of your knee, you may have some loose cartilage floating around in there (the pop you're describing).

Obviously, don't forget the*anterior chain as well.

nice....

second the one leg SLDL...really need to do those in the warm up more, really good for lower leg strength like heavy carries or dragging but less low back strain.. on the anterior chain, you'll see the eddie doing a lot of standing ab work which is really nice if you've got beat knees..

Garrett Smith · 08-11-2008, 10:24 AM

Thanks Dave, I like it when we're on the same page!

Also, in regards to the mobility/stability continuum in regards to the knee, incorporating mobility drills for the hips is also a good idea. If the hips aren't mobile, they force the joints above and/or below to compensate. So, for the knee, we want the ankle/foot (below) and the hip (above) to be properly mobile. For that, I personally like the Z-Health drills found on the R-Phase DVD/manual.