Cardio Workouts For Those With Knee Problems

By Maryl Joop


In my early twenties I played numerous sports, ran long distance, went mountain climbing but I have since had issues with knees (probably from those twenties) which has resulted in chronic knee pain and sharp pain when I play sports. This pain has eliminated many of the different activities I used to participate in but I don't want to become sedentary and put on thirty pounds so I have tested out different activities I can do to get my heart rate up and burn calories. For those who also suffer from knee issues here are some ideas that can hopefully get you back in the game.

Keep a Schedule

Expect the Worst When considering how much liability insurance you may need, start by expecting the worst to happen. In the event of someone being injured on your property, you may be fortunate enough to see everything work out. However, when it comes to gauging your need for liability insurance, prepare for the worst, and then you won't be caught without adequate coverage.

Get an Umbrella Policy While you might have liability insurance, you could very well not have enough of it. For instance, a homeowner's insurance polity usually includes some liability protection. However, your policy will probably only cover a couple hundred thousand dollars of personal liability, which can often not be adequate.

* Food-As you eat throughout the day make sure that as you come closer to bed that you are not hungry and not overfull. Hunger or thirst may wake you for a midnight snack while being beyond full will probably guarantee you a trip to the bathroom as well as be hard to digest, keeping you up at night. * Nightcap-Make sure to avoid alcohol before bed. Nightcaps may make you fall asleep but they will likely wake you up later in the night as well as reduce your sleep quality. * Caffeine-Definitely a poor idea any time after lunch as the effects of caffeine last for hours and may end up preventing you from falling asleep. * Electronics-Not a good idea before you is going to bed. The light shining into your eyes will suppress your body's release of melatonin and using electronics will stimulate your mind rather than help you relax and prepare for bed.

I lighten the weight and lift my lower leg only 4-5 inches. This is still enough to stress your lower leg muscle and make you feel the 'burn'. Keep the weight low to prevent any injury and do 20+ reps using this small angle of movement. You can get your heart rate up while preventing your leg muscles from atrophying from lack of use. Other machines you can use include hamstring extension machines (which have little stress on your knee as your leg is moving backwards), stiff-legged deadlifts, and calve extensions.

Walking, Elliptical, and Cycling These exercises offer low impact to your knee but elliptical machines and cycling involve bending your knee repetitively. For my injury (patella femoral disorder) this is a bad idea, but if your injury is strictly impact these are great exercises for you. Walking is always a great idea but it takes a long time to burn calories. Instead of setting apart time to walk make it part of your day. Bring something to do and just head off to different destinations. I have gotten into the habit of listening to books on mp3 so I will pop in my headphones and walk to the store. If you insist on heading to the gym for your workout jump on the treadmill and increase the incline to make it a harder workout.

Simple acts like roping off a dangerous area of the house or putting up signs in the yard to make sure people are aware of potentially hazardous situations can prevent liability problems altogether, saving you time and money.

- The most important tactic is learning how to relax your mind because even with the perfect setting you will keep yourself up in your thoughts. Organize everything that you may worry about before heading to bed and then whether or not you got everything done empty the worries from your head. You can do this through meditation or relaxation exercises.

Hopefully these different techniques help you get the sleep you have been craving. If you are having consistent issues your individual health insurance plan should cover visits to your doctor for sleep deprivation. You should probably head to a physician if you have persistent daytime sleepiness, frequent morning headaches, loud snoring, or trouble breathing during sleep.




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