top of page

Bad Knees? Shift Your Focus To These Lifts

Knee pain can be a huge reason why you might not wanna train hard, or worse, not train at all. But it doesn’t have to sideline you despite what many people may think. There are still plenty of ways to get in quality training with bum knees.

When it comes to lifting, lower body lifts can largely be divided into two categories: knee dominant and hip dominant lifts.

Knee dominant lifts heavily involve the quadriceps because of the significant knee bend that occurs during the movement. Examples of knee dominant lifts would be squats, split squats, lunges, and single leg squats.


As you might imagine, knee dominant lifts place a heavy emphasis on, well… your knees! Who woulda thought?! These exercises are the movements that tend to make anyone with knee pain wince in anticipation of the pain they might experience if they perform these movements.

But worry not my achey knee fitness enthusiasts because there are still a wide array of lower body options at your disposal. This is where hip dominant lifts come into play.