Hi Dan,what strengthing exercises for the knees would you recommend for me,I had a medial meniscus surgery in Nov.1997 and I have a partial micro tear again, but the doctor said by strengthing it and keeping it strong I should be ok. I am a daily runner, duathlete and cyclist. The knee in question just started to take a little water, first time since the operation. I am in my mid 40`s and have plenty of mileage. Can you suggest something,maybe a few exercises or a program?

I have had 4 knee surgeries (scopes) to remove torn cartilage in my knees. These injuries occurred when I was playing football. Since that time I have not had any problems. I lift weights competitively and train very hard. It definitely helps to keep your muscles strong. Training with weights has always been good for me but if I try to run, then my knees will swell up a little because I don't have any "padding" in them!

To be a conservative strength coach (wow, that’s an oxymoron) I would recommend that you stay away from heavy, or deep squats until your knee feels better. Stick with the leg press movements. And, try out the Get Lean Program. This program won’t necessarily make you lean unless you combine it with a quality-eating program. But, the weights are lighter and the reps are higher. This will help to strengthen your muscles without stressing your knee joints. I have also included a response that is somewhat similar to yours but this person was overweight. It doesn’t sound like you are overweight because of the type of activities your are involved in but, it’s hard to tell over the Internet! Thanks for your question. Let me know how it goes.

Response:
Losing weight would definitely help improve your knee health. I would suggest moderate intensity cardiovascular exercise using a stationary bike. Type in “aerobic exercise” in the search area of our web page to see some of the articles I have written on aerobic or cardio exercise guidelines. Then you really need to focus on your diet. This is so incredibly important. Even if you worked out really hard for an hour you would still only burn roughly 300-400 calories. This is great, but it is tough to reduce your bodyweight by working out alone. You have to change what and how much you eat along with consistent training!

Try to eat smaller portions of food up to 4-6 times per day. Eating small, well balanced meals throughout the day, along with drinking lots of water and not snacking later in the evening before bed helps to keep your body away from storing extra calories as fat. Check out our nutrition section and article archive for more nutrition information.

For your weight lifting I would avoid heavy squats and leg extensions. Try to stay with leg presses with lighter weights and at higher reps. Also, avoid deep range of motions on those leg presses. The Get Lean Program would be a great place to start.