Yesterday I told you a little about how my body took quite the beating after 15+ years of football, and how I’ve been focused in recent years on yoga, mobility training, and “pre-hab” – type corrective exercise.
Well, I’ve got a Disney trip coming up where I’ll be logging 15,000 to 20,000 steps a day for the better part of a week. My knees are already saying “oh boy.” So I’m being proactive.
Here’s what I’m doing: a daily 5 to 10 minute mobility and strengthening routine targeted specifically at the knees.
Now, quick disclaimer. If you’ve got a serious medical situation going on, that’s outside my scope. I’m not diagnosing or treating anything. What this kind of routine CAN help you with is:
- Reduce knee pain and stiffness
- Improve knee stability and tracking
- Restore squat, lunge, and step confidence
- Bulletproof your knees for long-term training
- Move better in everyday life (stairs, walking, getting off the floor)
And honestly, if someone tells me their only goal is to get stronger and lose body fat with kettlebells, I’d say kettlebells can absolutely form the foundation. Great for strength, great for conditioning. But the one thing that tends to be missing is mobility and flexibility work. And it doesn’t have to be a 45 or 60 minute yoga class. I’d actually argue that a focused 5 to 10 minutes daily on a targeted area is more effective than a long session once in a while.
So here’s an example 8-minute sequence you can add to your training today:
#
5-10 Minute Knee Support Sequence
- Glute Bridge Hold (1 min) — Activates the glutes and takes load off the knee.
- 90/90 Hip Stretch (1 min) — Opens the hips, which directly reduces stress on the knee joint.
- Terminal Knee Extension (band or bodyweight) (1 min each leg) — Fires up the VMO, the quad muscle most responsible for knee tracking.
- Wall-Supported Calf Raises (1 min) — Strengthens the lower leg and improves ankle stability.
- Step-Back Lunge with Knee Drive (30 sec each side) — Low-impact strength and balance.
#
Do that daily, layered on top of your kettlebell training, and your knees will thank you.
If you want the full 28-day version of this, the 8-Minute Knee Fix Challenge includes targeted work like this every single day for a month. You’ll start day one and finish day 28 in better shape than when you started, knees included.
It’s on a last-chance sale right now. Check it out here:
-> 8-Minute Knee Fix (last chance for original pricing)
— Forest