It’s no secret that I suffer from some pretty severe knee pain. I am well on the mend now, but jogging definitely is not something that is in my future. Despite volleyball being an anaerobic sport, I do need to be able to stay fit and have some cardio base in my training. For anyone who has been injured or has limitations to their training you can take comfort that there is always a way around it. Over time I will cover more options, but if you need to stay aerobically fit while you are suffering from knee pain, I recommended you get on the bike and smash out some intervals.
*Note: Although this is usually a recommended part of your rehab as it will make your quads a LOT stronger, the most important thing you can do is strength training. Check out this post on healthy knees, and keep an eye for a generic knee rehabilitation guide I am putting together!
Why Are Intervals So Good?
I love doing cardio in intervals because I hate cardio. Not everyone is like me, but a lot of you will have issues working out because of lack of time. If you have been interested in fitness you have probably heard of the term HIIT. High Intensity Interval Training. This is basically working out really hard, in intervals. In my opinion (and the opinion of many others) this is a very efficient way to train. For those of us with time constraints, or those that simply get bored doing normal cardio, HIIT provides a way you can get some real aerobic work in, burn a ton of calories, build some muscle and do it all in a very short time.
Why The Bike?
If you are signed up to a gym there are probably stationary bikes. Although not all bikes are the same you can make do with any of them. With MOST knee pain the bike won’t bother you. Your shin stays pretty upright and you don’t put a lot of force through the knee cap when you ride, which is totally the opposite to running. This is why the bike is a good option for those suffering from knee issues, both to keep fit and help your quad strength and rehabilitation along.
How To: Bike Interval Examples
I use the bike a lot. I need it to help build strength around my knee, but most importantly so I don’t die on the Volleyball court. The last three months I have been in rehabilitation from an arthroscope on the knee and I have been struggling with knee pain for two years. The result is me having a few tricks up my sleeve that I am ready to share!
Intervals are simple to do, and you can get them done in ten to twenty minutes. All you need is a bike that has the ability to change the resistance.
I work with a simple ON and OFF system and vary the resistance depending on my goals.
ON= Resistance high and pushing as hard as you can or resistance medium and really spinning your legs over over 100rpm.
OFF= Resistance low and rolling the legs over at around 60rpm or easily.
If you are looking to build more muscle around your legs then you should work on a higher resistance and the rpm will be lower incidentally. If you are looking to get fitter aerobically then you should keep resistance to a medium (3 levels higher than what you are doing on OFF) and spin as fast as you can.
Here are some example intervals you can try out.
12 Minute Interval Workouts
1.
2 Minutes Warm Up OFF
ON (High Resistance) 20 Seconds
OFF 100 Seconds
Do this interval 10 times.
2.
2 Minutes Warm Up Off
ON (Medium Resistance) 30 Seconds
OFF 30 Seconds
Do this interval 10 times.
3.
2 Minutes Warm Up OFF
ON 1 minute
OFF 1 minute
Do this interval 10 times.
4.
2 Minutes Warm Up OFF
ON 10 Seconds
OFF 20 Seconds
Do this interval 10 times.
(Don’t forget to stretch your hip flexors after you ride, sitting in that position can make them tighter if you already have a problem).
As you can see these are very easy to organize. You can get creative, work for a longer time as you build up more stamina, even mix up intervals within one workout. I recommend working up to 20 minutes, and depending on your goals you can lengthen the intervals that you are working. This enables you to keep your cardio interesting, and get through it without a hint of pain from your knee.
If you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask them in the comment section or jump across to the Google Plus community and have a chat there.
mark says
Lauren, you are spot on about interval training. I used to hate them! In high school, the basketball coaches called them “meat grinders”. We ran back and forth from l line in the gym to the next.on hard wood floors.
Our track coaches had us running 200 & 400 meter intervals. We always complained.
Full circle-now I do intervals 3 times a week either on a recumbent bicycle, elliptical machine, or on the grass.
My program is a little different from yours-only 4 minutes of real sprinting. I use Dr. Mercola’s Peak Intervals
Warm up for about 5 minutes
Sprint as hard as you can-till you feel like your gonna die for 30 seconds.
Rest for 90 seconds.
Rinse and repeat 8 times.
This type of sprinting is supposed to burn a lot of calories, raise your HGH production, and keep you super fit.
http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2010/12/24/a-fountain-of-youth-in-your-muscles.aspx