These 3 Simple Knee Exercises Stopped My Pain and Improved My Surfing (Video)
When I was 15 years old I realized I would never become a professional snowboarder, I couldn't keep up with the level of progression and was afraid of getting seriously injured. I had already banged up my knee pretty badly--a hairline fracture in my tibia left me pain that would follow me for years.
By the time I was 26, the pain was still there and I never thought it would go away, I was always afraid to that I would injure it even worse. I consulted with several doctors over the years and they would just give me vague directions for physical therapy. A friend of mine who is an endurance athlete and ultra-runner was convinced I could get past it, it was just a matter of strengthening the right muscles. I was still skeptical.
It wasn't until I heard of Ben Patrick, more commonly known by his Instagram handle @kneesovertoesguy. Before him, I had seen many different mobility experts on social media but a pro snowboarder friend of mine swore by him--he helped him recover from far worse injuries than me.
Patrick's story is quite remarkable, he went from being a mediocre basketball played in college who was plagued by terrible injuries to an internet fitness sensation who has worked with everyone from professional athletes to school kids to senior citizens. His entire theory is built around the fact that we are almost always locked into doing one motion--say walking forward, not backward--and this keeps us lopsided and easily prone to injury.
Ben is the founder of Athletic Truth Group (ATG), an online and brick-and-mortar training system rooted in rehabilitative strength and joint health. After years of debilitating knee and shin pain (including multiple surgeries), he rebuilt his body and performance, going from a sub-20″ vertical to a documented 42″ leap.
Walking backwards
Now I realize that this may sound--and look--quite silly, but it works. It is a fundamental restorative exercise that is great for your lower body. For those who are very athletic and need more of a challenge, you can up-level this by walking backwards uphill. For those who are perhaps mobility impaired or elderly, you can make this easier by walking with someone guiding you. Check the video below for the full scoop.
Squats
Before you think you need a squat rack and tons of weights, here this out. Squatting is an incredible powerful restorative pose even when it is done without any weight. Yes, that's right--you don't need to hit the gym for this one but it still may be harder than you think.
As kids, we are great at this. We are nimble, flexible and light. We can plop down into a squat easily. The thing we don't realize is that as soon as that ability starts to go, we are setting ourselves up for future struggle. I personally couldn't get into a deep squat fluidly, I had to go down slow and carefully. Once there, I could only stay for about 30 seconds before it became too much. You'd be surprised how many adults can't get into a deep squat.
https://youtube.com/shorts/Ia3EYoDaxdQ?si=TO3wbTFjw2wrgFlG
Tibialis raises
Now this is the one that really helped me given my past injuries. This is one of the cornerstone exercises of the Knees Over Toes program and all you need is a wall. Start by leaning your back against the wall and placing your feet a bit out from the wall--the farther you go, the harder it is. Once you find the sweet spot for moderate difficulty, do 20 reps. Then flip around and do 20 single leg calf raises to balance it out while your circulation is pumping. These can be modified in various ways for increased difficulty or ease.
https://youtube.com/shorts/M0e70uJ3z0E?si=YoViZHlnGF1zv4d_
For me, this is what helped build the muscles in front of my knee which helped support it overall no matter what I was doing. Once I did this for a few weeks I could feel a pronounced difference in the water and was surfing without costant fear of injury. For what it's worth, I feel better in knees now than when I did 10 years ago.