Question: It seems that just about all exercises for bums and thighs involve lunges and squats. I have weak knees, did those about two weeks ago and I'm still in pain when I walk, it feels like my knees should belong to a 80-year old. What are the alternatives for these types of exercises?

Answer:

There are a couple of alternatives to lunges and squats, although those two are definetly the most effective. Exercises such as step ups and leg press can be used. My concern is less about the types of exercises (lunges and squats) and more about how you are performing these exercises. If you are not performing the exercises correctly you are still going to experience pain for other exercises.

For both lunges and squats it is vital that your knees track in-line with the centre of your feet, and that your front knee does not pass the vertical line of your toes. This is probably why you are experiencing pain with these exercises. With squats in particular, the movement initiates from the hips and not the knees.

I know this is a lot of information to take in, so a handy tip for squats will be placing a box/bench behind you and letting your bum touch the box/bench on the downward movement of the squat and then pushing up through the heels on the upward movement.

For lunges, try do the exercise in front of a mirror-that way you can see your knee staying in line with your foot and see that your front knee is not going over your toes. Also push up through your heel to return to the starting point. This will assist in not letting your knees go over your toes (as well as activating glutes more which will make the exercise more effective).

Also, I would suggest that you contact a sport scientist or biokineticist to assist you in strengthening the muscles around your knee so that you will not experience as much pain when performing these exercises as the knee will be more stable.