Your knees and ankles, along with your hips, are major weight-bearing joints in your body. Every time you walk, run, climb stairs or squat down, your knees and ankles support your body weight. The loading experienced by your joints increases dramatically if you run, jump or perform leg exercises in the gym. Your ankle and knee joints are vital for almost every daily movement you perform, so it is important to keep the joints and the muscles that control them in good shape.
Benefits of Knee and Ankle Exercises
As weight-bearing joints, your ankles and knees must be strong enough to support your body weight. This strength comes from the muscles located on the front, back and sides of the joints in question. Making sure these muscles are strong, flexible and equally balanced from front to back and left to right ensures your joints are properly controlled, evenly balanced and less likely to become injured either acutely or chronically.
Muscles Affecting the Knee
Your knee joint is controlled by two major muscle groups--the quadriceps located on the front of your thigh and the hamstrings located on the rear of your thigh. Your quadriceps are made up from four individual muscles: vastas lateralis, vastas intermedialis, vastas medialis and rectus femoris, which together are responsible for knee extension or straightening. Knee flexion or bending is controlled by the biceps femoris, semimembranosus and semitendinosus--collectively known as your hamstrings.
Exercises for the Knee
You can exercise your knees using a variety of training modalities, including free weights, resistance training machines and body weight exercises. Leg extensions and leg curls, performed using resistance training machines, isolate your quadriceps and hamstrings respectively, whereas squats, lunges and leg presses use these muscles together. Lunges and squats are classed as functional exercises, as they replicate movements you are likely to perform on a daily basis and have a positive carryover to everyday life.
Muscles Affecting the Ankle
Your ankle joint is controlled by three major muscles and a host of deep minor ones. The major muscles located on the rear of your ankle are your gastrocnemius and soleus muscles--essentially your calf. These muscles are responsible for extending your foot away from you in a movement called plantar flexion. Located on the front of your shin, your tibialis anterior opposes your calf muscles and is responsible for pulling your foot upward. Although considerably smaller and weaker than your calves, your tibialis anterior muscles are very important, and by keeping them strong, you reduce your likelihood of developing shin splints--a condition common in long-distance runners and walkers.
Exercises for the Ankle
You can exercise your ankles using a variety of training equipment, including resistance machines and free weights, as well as wobble boards and other balance-improving equipment. One of the most common ankle exercises is the calf raise, which involves raising yourself up onto your tiptoes. This exercise can be performed seated or standing, using resistance training machines or simply your own body weight. All variations of calf raises target your gastrocnemius and soleus muscles. To strengthen your tibialis anterior muscles, simply pull your toes towards your shins against resistance in the form of weights resting on your toes or a rubber band wrapped around your foot.
References
- "Anatomy of Exercise: A Trainer's Inside Guide to Your Workout"; Pat Manocchia; 2009
- "Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning"; National Strength and Conditioning Association; 2008
- "ACSM's Resources for the Personal Trainer"; American College of Sports Medicine; 2009
Member Comments