Permanently regain knee flexion and extension.

The exercises I will show you in this article will bulletproof your knees. You will never feel so much as a twinge in your knees again.

You will move like a world-class athlete. You will do splits and backflips. You will get a promotion at work too. I can’t explain how but that’s how powerful these exercises are!

If you’re new to my content, you might not be accustomed to my sarcasm. But with this sarcasm, I try to instill some important lessons for the reader.

Truths that took me a long time to learn myself. Like the cold hard truth that despite what anyone tells you, there is no perfect exercise or routine that will fix all the problems in your body.

There is no such thing as “bulletproofing” your knees, hips, back or whatever else. This type of messaging is good marketing though.

It’s a great way to hook and motivate people. There is nothing wrong with that at the outset. People need a good story to believe in themselves and do the work.

The problem is what happens after a few weeks or months of slaving away with the exercises that promised salvation.

After spending hours and boat loads of energy, your knees or hips still feel like shit. Maybe another area of your body is flaring up because of all the extra load and stress you’ve put on your nervous system.

This is not sustainable. It’s not going to improve how you move or feel.

I recommend another approach. One that promotes health and longevity. A strategy that works with your body and not against it.

Knee Extension Muscles and their Function

Before I share the exercises, let’s make sure you have a proper understanding of what each movement is.

When it comes to movement anatomy and function, I like to keep it as simple as possible. Easy and comfortable movement is natural and effortless. It should be as easy to explain as it is to perform.

Knee extension is simply the act of straightening your knee. The main muscles responsible for this movement are your quads, which are some of the biggest muscles in your body.

Ensuring that muscle groups like this are strong and capable makes global improvements to how your entire body moves and feels.

Knee Flexion Muscles and their Function

Flexion of the knee occurs anytime you bend your knee. The main muscles responsible for knee flexion are the hamstrings.

Similar to the quads, the hamstrings are a huge muscle group and optimizing their movement and function does wonders for how your whole body moves.

Most people blame their hamstrings for being too tight and might spend a lot of time stretching them. This might be true but the general rule is that tight muscles are also weak muscles.

Increasing strength in the hamstrings will also increase flexibility. And hey, maybe after spending a few months of strengthening your hamstrings, you’ll finally be able to touch your toes.

Cool!

Knee Extension Exercises

As I mentioned earlier in this article, you need to set some realistic expectations for yourself when working on your movement.

Exercise does not fix pain or stiffness. It can help but it’s only one small piece of a larger puzzle.

Other important factors include your psychology, behavior, lifestyle and your overall belief system.

Exercise can improve strength, flexibility, endurance and confidence in your body. These are some pretty incredible benefits. And with them, comes more resiliency in the way you move and feel.

There are no perfect exercises. There are only good exercises at a certain time.

You will eventually outgrow an exercise and need to move on to something more challenging if you want to continue improving. This is a good thing. This is how fitness works.

To help identify progress objectively, I recommend practicing movements that incorporate what you're working on.

So for knee extension, performing standing knee extensions periodically is a great way to see if you are improving in knee extension.

This movement is great because it also acts as an exercise. I find that the best exercises are just movements that are sometimes scaled down to a person’s level of ability.

With this principle in mind, below are two more knee extension exercises that you can experiment with. Pick one out of the three exercises (including the standing quad extension above) that challenge you but does not feel impossible.

You should be able to do 2 reps somewhat easily and it should only get challenging by the 3rd rep.

Once you select an exercise, I recommend you perform it 1-2x a week for 3-10 reps, with a 2-5 second hold at the extended position. Make sure you don’t go to failure.  Leave a few reps in the bank.

Knee flexion exercises

Similar to the standing knee extension exercise, you will want to periodically test whether your knee flexion is improving with some staple exercise that incorporates this movement. 

I really like using the seiza position for this purpose. Although you will also need some mobility in the feet to perform this well, you should notice obvious improvements once you open up more knee flexion.

You can use the seiza position as an exercise too but it won’t feel quite like some of the other ones since it’s a rest position.

But practicing the seiza at least once a day is a great way to get practice in the movement and teach your body how to access knee flexion safely and efficiently.

I personally practice this position every morning for about 20-30 reps. I do 10-20 reps with a block under my butt and another 10-20 reps without one. Use a yoga block or whatever other support you need to make this movement comfortable.

The body will not make adaptations through tension, pain and discomfort. Find the easiest way to get in and out of the movement. Every now and then, practice removing the supports.

In addition to this daily seiza practice, you can build strength in knee flexion by focusing on tried and true exercises that target the hamstrings. Two of my favorite exercises are demonstrated below - the RDL and the squat with feet elevated to get more knee flexion work. 

These are true strength exercises that will fatigue your nervous system if done correctly. I recommend selecting one and only performing it 1x a week for 3-4 sets and 4-10 reps.

Make sure you periodically test whether your knee flexion is improving with the seiza or any other similar position that demands knee flexion. 

Closing Thoughts

Exercise should improve life and not interfere with it.  

Most of you out there have jobs, families and other important responsibilities. You don't need another overwhelming stressor that you need to recover from.  

On the other hand, if you want to make changes to your body, you need to put in some effort. Just like the body won't make adaptations when it is tense, it also won't make adaptations if there is not a sufficient stimulus. 

The only way to know how much exercise you need is through trial and error. Experiment with different intensities and frequencies until you see progress without getting overly fatigued. 

Less is more when you're figuring out what works best for you. Start small and build up.

This may go against the popular advice now which is all about adding more exercises, more often and with more intensity. But what's the point of always getting exhausted and not making any gains?

Be mindful of your goal. Find what works.  Be consistent for a long time. That's how you change your body.