I see women every week, in clinic and inside GLOW10, learning how to keep training with knee niggles. Whether it’s an old ACL repair, general wear and tear, or a knee that’s just never quite felt “normal” since having kids, lunges are consistently one of the trickiest movements to navigate.
The tricky part is that knee pain on lunges can come from a lot of different places. Under the kneecap, a meniscus or ligament issue, arthritis, among others.
I can’t diagnose that for you here, but what I can tell you is this. Pain on lunges doesn’t automatically mean lunges are off the table for good.
A few things worth trying first:
TWEAK
Shorten your stride, it takes stretch off the back knee.
Keep your feet hip-width apart rather than in a straight line, a narrow base often causes more wobble than your knee can handle.
Hinge slightly through your front hip to shift more work onto your glute.
Or simply hold onto something for balance, sometimes it’s not the lunge itself causing the pain, it’s the instability.
Still uncomfortable even with those tweaks?
SWAP
Step ups or goblet squats instead, similar strength benefits, less demand through the knee.
And if step ups and reduced-range squats are still a no, that’s useful information too. Time to get your butt to a physio. Not a fail. Just your body asking for a closer look.
Save this before your next session, or send it to someone who’s quietly given up on lunges because of their knee.
PS
Every exercise in our GLOW10 programs comes with physio cues and alternatives, so you always know exactly which exercise to swap out and why. I reckon it’s the most adaptable strength training program out there, because our bodies are complex, and as women over 40 we’re usually carrying something, you know what I mean?