Walking lunges work all the major muscles of your lower body at once and mimic functional movements that you might be called upon to perform in everyday life. Walking lunges are also inexpensive -- the only equipment you really need is a sturdy pair of shoes. But this type of lunge can be hard on your knees if your technique isn’t spot-on. A few other multi-joint leg exercises are more beginner- and knee-friendly.
Knee-Friendly
Each exercise listed here makes monitoring your knee position easier than during walking lunges, but making each exercise knee-friendly by maintaining proper form is, ultimately, your responsibility. Always make sure your knee tracks directly over your toes -- in other words, both the foot and knee of each leg should point in the same direction throughout the movement. Also, no matter which exercise you’re doing, remember to restrict yourself to no further than a 90-degree bend in each leg.
Stationary Lunges
If juggling the multiple joint movements, leg positions and positional shifts of walking lunges is too much, try doing stationary lunges instead. Once you figure out the proper spacing for your legs, you won’t have to move them again until you’ve completed working that side. Make maintaining proper form -- and protecting your knees -- easier by putting pieces of tape on the floor to mark proper foot position.
Squats
As long as you keep your knees over your toes and remember to let your hips stick out behind you, squats are an excellent exercise for working your hips, hamstrings and quadriceps. As with stationary lunges, being able to maintain the same foot position makes maintaining proper form easier — and your knees are both in easy sight, as opposed to partially hidden when you do walking lunges.
Leg Dips
During leg dips, you only have to concentrate on proper form with one leg at a time; the other leg is simply along for the ride. Plant your front foot on a stable, elevated platform and straighten it, lifting your body up over the step, then bend your knee until your back foot gently taps the floor. As with every other exercise that features knee flexion, watch your knee carefully to make sure it tracks over your toes.
Leg Press
As long as you adjust the machine properly -- you should start with your knees bent at 90 degrees, feet between hip- and shoulder-width apart -- the leg press is one of the most beginner-friendly exercises. Because the machine functions along a set range of motion, all you have to do is pay attention to keeping your knees over your toes as you lift.
