The Kneehaber
Articles
What I've learned from four ACL tears and a decade of training around them: the exercises, the gear, and the mistakes worth skipping.
Not sure where to start? Pick what you're dealing with.
- "My knee hurts and I want it to stop" Knee pain · 6 articles
- "I tore my ACL or my meniscus" ACL + meniscus · 4 articles
- "I want stronger knees" Strength training · 8 articles
- "I want a routine I can follow" Routines · 4 articles
- "I want to know what gear to get" Gear · 2 articles
- "I want to hear your story" My story · 3 articles
All articles (22)
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Strength training
Why You Should be Training Knees Over Toes for Knee Health and Strength
Where "don't let your knees go over your toes" came from, what the research says now, and the ATG knees over toes exercises I use after four ACL tears.
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Knee pain
Knee Pain Is Usually Not a Knee Problem
Why weak feet, calves, quads, hamstrings, glutes and hips show up as knee pain, what the research says, and the exercises I use to train each one.
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Strength training
Strong Feet, Strong Knees: Why I Train Below the Knee First
Your feet are the tires on the car. Why strong feet, ankles and calves take stress off your knees, and the exercises I use to train them, with video demos.
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Strength training
Why Strong Quads Create Quiet Knees
The four parts of the quad, why the VMO matters so much for your knees, and the five quad exercises I'd recommend for almost any knee, each with a video.
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ACL + meniscus · Strength training
Want to Prevent ACL Tears? Strengthen Your Hamstrings
Four years with no ACL. Why your hamstrings do the ACL's job, what the research says, and the hamstring exercises I'd recommend, home to gym.
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Strength training
Hips: Mobile and Strong. Why Your Knee Caves In, and What a Desk Job Has to Do With It
Why stiff, weak hips make your knee cave in, what a desk job does to them, and the hip mobility and strength exercises I'd recommend, home to gym.
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Knee pain
Knee Flare-Ups: Why Isometrics Are the Best Thing You Can Do to Calm the Pain Down
A flare-up usually means too much too soon. Why isometric holds calm a hot knee down, the holds I use, why ice is rarely the answer, and the next-morning rule.
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Knee pain
How to Heal Patellar Tendonitis: The Three Phases That Fixed Mine
Jumper's knee doesn't heal with rest. What's going on in the tendon, why rest and ice keep failing, and the three phases that fixed my knee, with sets and reps.
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Knee pain
The Pain Behind Your Kneecap: Runner's Knee, Chondromalacia and What's Actually Hurting
What actually hurts with runner's knee and chondromalacia, why the scan can't explain it, and the quad and hip plan I'd start with, sets and reps included.
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ACL + meniscus · Knee pain
Torn Meniscus: Why Training Comes First (and How I Train on Almost None)
They did fake knee surgery on 146 people and it worked. Why a torn meniscus usually isn't a countdown to surgery, how I train on almost none, and the red flags.
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ACL + meniscus · My story
Living Without an ACL: How My Knee Works Without a Crucial Ligament
I've torn my ACL four times and I live without one. Who that can work for, the strength training that makes it possible, what it costs, and how I train.
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Knee pain · My story
You Are Not Your MRI: What a Scary Knee Scan Really Means
My imaging says bone-on-bone and a knee replacement before 40. That knee summited Kilimanjaro. What a knee scan can and can't tell you, with the research.
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Routines
Strong Knees for Ski Season: The Session I Run Every Fall
Why ski knee injuries happen in the first week of the season, and the full ski-prep session I run every fall on a knee with no ACL: Spanish squat holds, lateral and curtsy lunges, skater hops, rapid twist drops and the Downhill Burner, with a video for every exercise and the free 3-day Ski Guide.
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Routines
Knee Strengthening Exercises at Home With Resistance Bands: The Kneehab Weekly Routine
Three days a week of knee strengthening exercises you can do at home with resistance bands and a door anchor. 17 exercises with sets, reps, why each one works and a video demo, plus a free PDF of the whole routine.
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Gear
My Go-To Gear For Stronger Knees
The equipment I use every week for knee strength and mobility: backward treadmill, slant boards, bands, tib bar, and more. None of it is required.
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Routines
Strengthen Your Knees at Home: 9 Best Exercises for Strong, Pain-Free Knees
The 9 best exercises to strengthen your knees at home, from banded TKEs to Spanish squat holds, plus my budget-friendly equipment list.
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Routines
Bulletproof Your Knees at Home: A Complete Knees Over Toes Workout
A complete knees over toes workout you can do at home, with the budget-friendly equipment swaps I use in my 100 sq. ft. gym. Full video walkthrough.
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ACL + meniscus · Strength training
Nordic Hamstring Curls: The Ultimate Exercise for ACL Protection
Why Nordic hamstring curls help protect your ACL, how they compare to other hamstring exercises, and how to start eccentric Nordics at home.
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Gear
ATG Backward Treadmill Review: Revolutionizing Knee Health
I unboxed, assembled, and tested the ATG Backward Treadmill at home. How backward walking helps your knees, and my honest take on the treadmill.
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Strength training
Strengthening the Tibialis Anterior Muscle: A Key to Alleviating Knee Pain
The tibialis anterior sits just below your knee and rarely gets trained. Why it matters for knee pain, and how to strengthen it with tibialis raises.
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Strength training
Strengthen Your Knees with Backward Sled Drags: Five Surprising Benefits
Five reasons backward sled drags help heal and strengthen your knees, and how to start doing them without spending much on equipment.
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My story
My Story - Four ACL Tears in Eight Years
From 2015 to 2023 I tore the same ACL four times. This is the long version, tear by tear: what happened, what I learned, and where my knee is today.
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