Training to Keep Your Knees Strong

The first time I ever ran a race of any significant distance (10 miles), my knees hurt for days afterward. I could barely force myself up and down the stairs. Even now, I occasionally put on a leg brace if I feel that familiar ache coming on.

So it was with quite a bit of a relief that I read the results of recent studies which seem to show that "Marathon running does not cuase severe, acute lesions of cartilage, ligaments, or bone marow in well-trained runners" (according to European Radiology) and that running "appears not to increase the risk of osteoarthritis of the knees and may even have a protective effect" (according to Runner's World).

Still, as I increase my mileage, the knee will continue to be an area on which I focus. Here are 4 exercises to consider adding to my routine:

• Four-way kick (kick in 4 directions, working up to 3 sets of 50 in each direction, with your ankle strapped to a cable machine or uisng a resistance band).


• Lateral step up with kick (step up, then lift knee of opposite leg, working up to 2 sets of 12 on each side).


• Hip lift (balance on one leg, using wall for balance, lift opposite hip with its knee slightly bent but leg relatively straight, working up to 20 times per side).


• Step down (just what it sounds like - working up to 2 sets of 10).