5 Habits to Keep Your Knees Strong as You Age
Here are five simple habits to protect your knees for the long run.
By Jack Nuske
04/08/2025
Your knees work hard every day - often being exposed to forces that are many times your body weight. As we age, keeping them strong and pain free becomes increasingly important. Here are five simple habits to protect your knees for the long run:
- Keep Active: Regular movement keeps joints lubricated and muscles strong. Mix walking, swimming, or cycling with some resistance-based strength work.
- Strengthen Your Legs: Strong quads, hamstrings, and glutes can assist with taking pressure off your knees. Strength exercises (done with good form) like squats, step-ups, and bridges go a long way.
- Don’t Skip Mobility: Restrictions in the hips or ankles can change how forces act through the legs and cause the knees to compensate. A few minutes of daily stretching or foam rolling can improve joint health.
- Watch Your Weight: Every extra kilogram or pound adds extra load to your knees — up to four times more with each step(1). So even small weight changes matter.
- Listen Early, Not Late: Don’t ignore knee niggles. Catching issues early can prevent them from becoming worse or chronic. If your knees are aching, stiff or holding you back, it’s worth getting them checked.
1 - Messier SP, Gutekunst DJ, Davis C, DeVita P. Weight loss reduces knee-joint loads in overweight and obese older adults with knee osteoarthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 2005 Jul;52(7):2026-32. doi: 10.1002/art.21139
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