Bulletproofing your knees refers to the act of strengthening and conditioning your knees to reduce the risk of injury and improve overall joint health. This is really important for women because certain factors such as wider hips and hormonal differences make us more prone to injury compared to our male friends. So let's understand how to train smart and adapt our workouts to ensure we bulletproof our knees, whilst we reach our results and unleash our full potential!  

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Why Knees Can be a Problem for Women‍

If you suffer from knee pain, or recurring knee injuries, you’re not alone! Studies have shown women tend to suffer with more knee related problems than men. For example, one study in the American Journal of Sports Medicine showed that women get a particular type of knee injury, called Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries, more often than men do. One reason for this is our hips: women's hips are generally wider than men's, and this can put extra strain on our knees.

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‍The Role of Our Hormones ‍

Our bodies' hormones can also make a difference. Changes in hormone levels across our monthly menstrual cycle can also make our ligaments, (the tissues that connect bones), more likely to get hurt. Not only that but women (in general) are often more likely to have less muscle around the knees, so there's less support to keep them stable.

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‍Moves to Make Your Knees Stronger‍

To make your knees bulletproof, it's therefore a good to focus on moves that build up the muscles around your knees. Here are our top picks for strengthening, building and bulleting proofing those knees:

1. Squats: These are a great move for your lower body. They work your thigh and glute muscles, which can help keep your knees strong. 
2. Reverse Lunges: Lunges, particularly the reverse variation strengthen your glutes, and help to strengthen your knees.
3. Step-ups: Step-ups are great for balance and again can help to strengthen your quads, hamstrings and glutes. 
4. Hamstring curls: This move helps to strengthen your hamstrings, which in turn can help support your knees. 
5. Glute Bridges: An effective exercise for your glutes and thighs, which again can provide support, stability and strengthen your knees.  

The great news is that all our EvolveYou programs will contain some if not all of the exercises above!

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‍Other types of knee protecting movement‍

Gentle cardio like swimming, cycling and the stairmaster are also effective ways to build strength and stability whilst workouts like yoga, barre and pilates are great as they aim to keep your body aligned whilst keeping the pressure off your knees. So if you’re looking for other workouts to add on to your program to support and strengthen your knees why not try:

1. Stairmaster Cardio | Maddie
2. 30 Minutes of Incline Walking | Krissy
3. Legs on Fire | Emily
4. Hip Strengthening Flow | Jen
5. Booty Party | Emily ‍

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The Bottom Line

‍Knowledge is power and by training smarter you can be sure to keep your knees strong, avoid injury, whilst you make the most out of your workouts and your results. 

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