Revolutionizing Knee Health: The Power of Kneesovertoes Exercises
Knee pain and injuries are not just a concern for athletes but affect a wide range of individuals, including the elderly and those leading a sedentary lifestyle. Traditional fitness paradigms often caution against exercises that place the knee over the toes, citing increased risk of injury. However, emerging research and practical experiences are challenging these long-held beliefs, advocating for the benefits of exercises that put your legs in a knees-over-toes position.
Rethinking Knee Health: A Paradigm Shift
For years, fitness experts have warned against letting the knee move past the toes during exercises like squats and lunges. This caution was based on the belief that such movements put undue stress on the knee joint, potentially leading to injury. However, recent studies and anecdotal evidence, popularized by Ben Patrick (kneesovertoesguy) of the Athletic Truth Group, suggest that knees-over-toes exercises, when performed correctly, can actually strengthen the knee joint, improve flexibility, and reduce the risk of injury.
The theory behind this is that traditional research drew a causal relationship between the knees extending over the toes and knee injuries, which caused many physical therapists and athletic trainers to avoid exercises that place the knees in this position. However, in athletic movements like sprinting and jumping, this position is unavoidable. Rather than avoid exercises that emphasize a knees-over-toes position, the kneesovertoesguy philosophy focuses on "regression", which essentially means starting slow with little to no resistance, and building the strength of the knee slowly by adding resistance, through "progressive overload".
Regression: Starting from Zero
Embarking on a journey to improve knee health begins with the principle of regression, a concept central to the kneesovertoesguy philosophy. This approach emphasizes starting with the basics, using bodyweight exercises that minimize stress on the knee while maximizing therapeutic benefits. A quintessential example of this is backward walking. This simple yet effective exercise enhances blood flow to the knee area, crucial for healing and strengthening. It also gently engages the muscles and connective tissues around the knee, preparing them for more challenging exercises ahead. Other foundational activities in this stage include split squats, tibialis raises on a wall and the calf stretch. Using squat wedges (check out the ProWedges) can also help with regression by changing your squat angle to take some of the stress off of your knees and ankles in either a traditional squat or a split squat.
Progressive Overload: The Process of Bulletproofing
Once a solid foundation is established through regression exercises, the next step is to introduce progressive overload. This method involves gradually increasing the resistance or intensity of the exercises, thereby steadily building the strength and endurance of the knee. For backward walking, this might mean incorporating a sled to add resistance, enhancing the strengthening effect on the knee and surrounding muscles. Similarly, for exercises like lunges or split squats, the progression could involve adding weights, such as dumbbells or a barbell. At this stage, you can also upgrade from wall tibialis raises to a tib bar (check out the TibSolo or the TibPro) The key to progressive overload is consistency and gradual incrementation. It's not about how much weight you can handle at once but about how steadily you can increase your capacity. This is the stage in which you can make real strides in not only bulletproofing your legs to prevent further injury, but maximizing athletic performance.
How to Get Started
If you haven't already, check out Ben Patrick's youtube channel. Ben is the foremost expert on this subject and provides tons of free content. Ben's coaching business, Athletic Truth Group, also offers personalized programming and coaching, you can get $20 off your first month by using this link. We've also got a free exercise guide that has a wealth of information on a ton of kneesovertoes exercises, which can be found here. Good luck on your fitness journey!