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Build a Better You: Strengthen your quads for better knees
There are several good reasons to focus on building muscle and strengthening your quadriceps. Beyond aesthetics, from a functional standpoint you need your quads to move throughout the day. You use your quads to stand, walk, run, jump and sit, essentially, for everything you do.
The quads power daily movements, but they are even more important in athletic movements. Strong quads support speed in sports that require sprinting such as football. They power jumps in games like basketball and make you faster in cycling. In all sports, they stabilize the knees, which helps you to move with greater agility.
Since the quads play such a major role in most movements, weakness in your quads can lead to injuries and is more common if you have problems with your knees. The quads are the primary muscles that support this crucial joint, so if they are not strong enough, the knees will suffer.
When it comes to the types of exercises to strengthen your quads, you can’t go wrong with the basics: squats and lunges. They are ideal for building quad strength. As compound movements, they both hit the quads but also the hamstrings, glutes and other muscles. You will get more done with one movement and both will make a big impact on the quads.
How to perform a squat:
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your hands by your sides.
- Extend your arms out in front of you and slowly bend your knees, pushing your hips back to squat down. Lower your body as if you were sitting back into a chair.
- At the bottom of your squat, your thighs should be parallel to the floor (or go as low as you comfortably can with good form). Your knees should be over your toes, not flaring out to the sides or caving in toward the midline of your body. Keep your gaze straight ahead.
- Pause for a moment at the bottom of your squat. Keep your spine neutral the entire time and all four corners of your feet anchored firmly to the ground.
- Press through your heels to stand back up and lower your hands by your sides.
How to perform alternating lunges:
- Stand with your feet about hip-width apart and your arms by your sides.
- Take a step forward with your right leg, about three feet, bending the knee until it forms a 90-degree angle.
- At the same time, bend your left leg to 90 degrees until your knee hovers an inch or two off the ground. Your heel and toes should be aligned.
- Press into your right heel and use your glutes and hamstrings to stand back up, bringing your right leg back to the starting position. Repeat on the left leg.
A great thing about squats or lunges is that there are so many variations, and you can add weights to progress. Start with the basics to get good form before trying to add weights.
Isabela Joyce is a certified personal trainer and nutritionist at The M.A.C. She can be reached at IJoyce@the-mac.net.
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