Fat deposits in the knee area usually do not bother doctors, since they are located far from vital organs, and this is not fraught with negative consequences for health. But thick knees look quite unaesthetic, preventing us from wearing open clothes. An integrated approach will help you get rid of knee fat. First, you need to lose weight in general, taking care of nutrition and exercise. Secondly, you can perform special exercises aimed specifically at correcting this area.
Causes of fat on the knees and features of their structure
The main reasons why fat appears on the knees are as follows:
- Poor nutrition. Eating a lot of unhealthy, fatty and high-calorie foods leads to weight gain, and excess fat will be deposited in particular on the knees.
- Slow metabolism . Metabolic processes slow down with age. You can also “kill” your metabolism by constant overeating or, on the contrary, by fasting. Due to impaired metabolism, fat can attack the areas under and above the knees, on the buttocks and thighs, thus making the figure heavier.
- Hereditary predisposition. The tendency to accumulate fat in any problem area can be inherited. This does not mean that you will absolutely have this deficiency - if you take care of your lifestyle and the prevention of excess weight gain, you can maintain a slim figure.
- Lack of physical activity. An inactive lifestyle causes muscles to atrophy and the body loses tone. In addition, without exercising, we do not burn the calories we eat, which also provokes weight gain. In the absence of physical activity, muscles become flabby even in young people, and even in those who are not inclined to be overweight.
The knee itself includes muscles, ligaments, bones, tendons and cartilage. And the following muscles are responsible for the work of the knee joint:
- Quadriceps femoris muscle. A group of muscles that is responsible for straightening the knee and flexing the leg at the hip joint.
- Biceps femoris. It includes three muscles and is responsible for bending the leg at the knee.
- Calf muscles. Provide flexion of the knee joint and foot.
The inclusion of all these muscles ensures the movement of the knee, so exercises that work them are often required. Fat deposits that detract from the appearance of the knees and accumulate around the joint can be shaped like “rolls” or “balls.” Fat can also cover all the muscles of the legs, thereby significantly spoiling their appearance. To remove fat from your knees, you need to take care of things like physical activity and a proper balanced diet.
Static loads
Static knee exercises will help men and women with heart and joint diseases achieve slender legs. During their implementation, there is no dynamic load on the musculoskeletal system, as a result of which it is almost impossible to cause damage to health.
Statics can also be effectively used by beginners with underdeveloped muscles and people who are obese.
Plank
The exercise has a complex effect on the muscle corset - the abs, chest, calf muscles and the front surface of the thigh receive the load.
Performing the exercise:
- Lay out a sports mat on the floor and sit on it with your stomach down.
- Place your elbows in front of you at chest level.
- Place your toes on the surface.
- Raise your body up to a level where your head, back, buttocks, hips and shins are in line.
- Pull your stomach in and hold this position for 45-55 seconds (if after this time a burning sensation does not occur in the abdominal muscles, the duration of the plank should be increased).
- Take a short break to rest (no more than a minute) and perform 3 more series.
"High Chair"
During the exercise, the gluteal and thigh muscles are pumped. As a means of getting rid of fat in the knee joint, the “chair” is especially effective when performed immediately after high-amplitude movements: squats, lunges, jumping.
Execution algorithm:
- Approach a vertical surface (wall, cabinet, door) and lean your back against it.
- Keeping your shoulder blades pressed against the wall, take a small step forward.
- Lower yourself into a squat position, simulating sitting on a chair.
- Maintain this pose for 50-60 seconds.
- After a minute's pause to recover, perform the exercise 3 more times.
Leg spread
This exercise allows you to pump up your thighs from the inside and work out your pelvic adductor muscles.
Implementation technique:
- Place a yoga mat on the floor and lie on your back on it.
- Place your palms under your buttocks.
- Raise your legs up at a right angle and spread them to the sides to the maximum possible width.
- Fix in this position until a burning sensation occurs in the thighs.
- Take a minute break to rest and repeat the exercise 3 more times.
Proper nutrition to eliminate fat from the knees
By adjusting your diet, you can lose weight in general, including fat from your knees. Avoid crash diets. Follow a healthy diet and eat healthy foods. To lose weight, you need to create a calorie deficit, that is, spend more than you consume. It is enough to reduce your diet by just 500 kcal per day (and this is the approximate calorie content of one chocolate bar) to start losing weight. Build your diet around vegetables and fruits, low-fat dairy products, grains, fish and meat.
Do you want to know how to remove fat from the inner thigh? Read our article!
Another point is drinks. Without noticing it, we get a lot of extra calories from them. Avoid sugary carbonated waters, packaged juices, and minimize alcohol consumption. But you need to drink a lot of clean water - it helps normalize metabolism and control appetite, helping to lose weight.
Frequent, split meals in small portions contribute to weight loss. It is optimal to do this every 2-3 hours. You can snack, but it's important to do it right. Use fruits, vegetables, nuts, and fermented milk drinks as a snack. They will help you get rid of hunger without gaining weight.
Features of losing weight in the knees
Let's start with the fact that local weight loss is impossible. If you do abdominal exercises, this does not guarantee that the extra centimeters will go away from your waist. The same is true with the legs.
A simple formula works: by reducing the total amount of fat in the body, you also reduce problem areas.
Fat disappears evenly and requires an integrated approach, including nutrition. A balanced diet for weight loss plays no less important role than physical activity.
A little about cardio training
Now you need to figure out what exercises are useful for those who do not know how to remove fat from their knees. Initially, in order to lose weight in general, you need cardio training. The most basic thing is walking at a fast pace.
To improve the walking effect, you can walk on hilly terrain, which increases the stress on the muscles. You can also resort to interval training, alternating between walking at a normal and fast pace.
Running is another great way to improve the appearance of your knees and overall body. You can jog - this, by the way, is an excellent warm-up and warm-up before the main workout. Running can be alternated with walking, climbing stairs, and so on.
Over time, your muscles will become stronger and more toned, and then you can use weights for running. They increase the effectiveness of training by promoting faster fat burning.
An exercise bike and a treadmill can also be excellent helpers in the fight for slender knees. To improve efficiency, it is recommended to do interval training, alternating speed. You need to devote time to cardio training about three times a week.
We fight fat over the knees with masks
In addition to regular physical activity and increasing daily activity, additional cosmetics can be used. Masks will help remove fat from both knees and thighs. You can go to the pharmacy and buy a ready-made product or create it yourself.
One of the effective masks consists of cabbage leaves, kefir or sour cream . The vegetable should be finely chopped and add to it any of the indicated dairy products of your choice. After bringing the mass to a homogeneous consistency, apply it to the area near the knees where fat has accumulated. Wrap your feet in cling film and cotton cloth. The mask is washed off after thirty minutes.
Another proven option is honey. The mask consists of only this one sweet product. It is distributed to problem areas near the knees. You should also insulate your feet with film and fabric. The honey is washed off after half an hour. It is recommended that before going to the shower, perform a light massage in areas where fat is deposited on the knees.
The third mask consists of blue clay. The rock is mixed with water until a thick, homogeneous mass is obtained, then applied to the knees. It is recommended to lay the clay in a not too thick layer. Warm your legs, you can even wear pants to ensure better warming. Wash off the clay after a couple of hours.
How to remove fat from knees: the best exercises
You can remove fat above and below the knees with exercises aimed at working this particular area. Do them regularly to soon see clear changes for the better. Now let's move on to a direct examination of the most effective exercises for the knees.
Walking on your knees
This exercise comes to us from Eastern practices, where it is known as “Taoist walking.” It is extremely widely used for treatment and prevention purposes. When walking like this, all the muscles involved in the work of the knee joint are used. The exercise is aimed at losing weight on the outer and inner sides of the knees, as well as the hips. The exercise is performed like this:
- You need to get down on your knees. To begin with, you can place a towel folded several times under your joints.
- Start walking your knees on the carpet. Keep your back straight, try not to tilt your head.
- There may be some pain at first, so a few steps will be enough. Start with one minute and gradually increase the exercise time to 10-15 minutes.
This exercise is considered useful for arthrosis. Its effectiveness lies in stimulating active points located on the knee joints.
Bike
This simplest exercise, familiar to us since childhood, perfectly works the muscles that are responsible for flexion and extension of the knee joints, and the load will be soft and safe. “Bicycle” is included in rehabilitation programs after knee injuries. The essence of the execution is as follows:
- Lie on a hard surface on your back, position your arms and legs in a way that is comfortable for you. The spinal muscles need to be relaxed, the lower back should be pressed to the floor.
- Place your hands behind your head, raise your shoulders slightly. Bend your legs at the knees.
- Now imitate riding a bicycle by bending your knees one at a time. Use your elbows to reach opposite knees alternately. It is recommended to repeat the exercise 10-12 times and perform 2-3 approaches.
Breathing should be free while performing the exercise. Do not delay it so as not to overload the cardiovascular system.
Squats
Classic squats perfectly work out the buttocks and thighs, in addition, they perfectly tighten the knees. There are a large number of types of squats. First you need to master the classic ones. To perform them, you need to stand up straight with your feet approximately shoulder-width apart. Place your hands on your belt or behind your head. Squat until your knees form a right angle, then return to the starting position. It is recommended to repeat the exercise 10-12 times and do 2-3 sets in total.
Jump Squats
This version of squats specifically targets those leg muscles that are responsible for the formation of the knees. Thanks to the position of the hands and jumping, the load increases, which works both the outer and inner sides of the knees.
You need to stand up straight, as with classic squats. Place your hands on your chest so that your palms rest on your elbows. Squat and push, jumping up and straightening your knees in the process. In the other version, everything is exactly the same, but you need to keep your arms along your body and throw them up when jumping out. Do 2-3 sets of 10-12 reps.
Lunges
An exercise such as lunges is ideal for those who do not know how to remove fat from the inside of the knees. They work all the muscles responsible for the functioning of the knee joint, as well as the buttocks. There are many types of lunges. Classic ones are performed like this:
- Stand up straight, place your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Bend your knees slightly and take a step forward.
- Keep your back straight and transfer your body weight to the other leg, placing it forward and bending the knee at a right angle. Hold at the peak point for a few seconds.
- Leaning fully on the foot of your front leg, rise and return to the starting position. Repeat the lunge on the other leg.
In total, it is recommended to do three sets of ten times, alternating legs.
Stepping onto the platform
Stepping loads the buttocks and thighs, works the knees and, in principle, helps to achieve beautiful slender legs. This exercise is often performed with dumbbells, but to begin with, you can do it without weights.
Place your right leg on the platform at a right angle so that your thigh is parallel to the floor. Straighten your right leg, lift your left leg, which in this case is the push leg, onto the platform. Maintaining your balance, lower yourself to the floor. Repeat the same, changing legs. It is recommended to perform the exercises in several approaches, each of which should have at least ten repetitions.
Jumping on a bench
Another exercise for beautiful knees, which also helps fight the so-called “ears” on the hips. For it you will need a bench, the height of which should be approximately 30-40 centimeters. Stand next to her with your feet together. Swing your arms, push off with both feet and jump onto the bench. Repeat the exercise at least 10 times. Be careful not to get injured.
These exercises, combined with general cardio exercises, will help remove fat from your knees and make them beautiful. You can also use additional methods, which include salt baths, massages and wraps on problem areas. It is an integrated approach in this case that will help achieve excellent results.
How to do it right
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It’s right to combine clean eating with regular exercise. During this period, it is important to give up any food “junk”, focusing on protein foods necessary for muscle support and growth. You shouldn’t give up carbohydrates and fats either, but their amount in the diet should be moderate.
And, of course, training. An important point: when playing sports, you need to focus on your legs, but not to pump up the muscles, but to dry them out.
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To do this, do not forget about regular cardio (at least 2-3 times a week). Running, fast walking on a treadmill with an incline (uphill), an exercise bike or a bicycle, or an elliptical are suitable. The workout should last at least 40 minutes. Cardio can be done separately from strength training (on other days) or after strength training, but not before.
As for strength training, exercises should be performed all the way, for 30-40 repetitions with a light weight, so that the muscles begin to burn. You should feel a burning sensation. The most effective are lunges, squats, stepping on a bench, and bending and straightening your legs in a machine.
Light weight lunges. Photo from https://elements.envato.com/
The weight is minimal so that you can perform as many times as possible. It is better to squat 30 times with an empty bar than 10 with a heavy weight. And before training, it is useful to warm up the rollers with a massage. You can also attend an anti-cellulite or modeling massage course. If time and money allow, wraps (also a course) will not hurt.
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Additional recommendations
You can supplement the fight against fat knees with various procedures available both at home and in beauty salons. The latter offer a large number of methods to improve the appearance of the knees. A special composition is applied to the problem area, covered with film and placed in a special spa capsule. Despite the fact that this procedure receives good reviews, its disadvantage is its rather high cost.
wraps at home . The same mixtures are allowed as for other parts of the body. For example, you can pay attention to the following compositions:
- Mix honey and cinnamon in equal proportions. To improve the texture of the mixture, it is recommended to add a few drops of any vegetable oil.
- Mix a tablespoon of ginger, two tablespoons of honey and 5-7 drops of grapefruit essential oil, mix thoroughly. The mixture is applied to the area above the knee.
- Mustard wrap has an excellent fat-burning effect. Mustard powder is mixed with olive oil and applied to the skin. You need to be extra careful with this recipe, especially if you have delicate skin, as mustard can cause burns.
- Coffee perfectly speeds up metabolism and burns fat, keeping the skin toned. Mix natural ground coffee and olive oil to obtain a paste-like consistency, then apply the mixture to the problem area.
The whole truth about wrapping with cling film for weight loss
The rules for using all mixtures are the same. The problem area needs to be covered with a layer of 3-5 mm, wrapped with cling film in several layers. The duration of the session is about 15-30 minutes. Then you need to remove the composition and soothe the skin by applying cream. Such wraps can be completed with self-massage. A massage with a hard washcloth or a strong shower jet works well. A course of wraps may include 10-25 procedures.
These simple tips together will help you achieve weight loss on your knees. They will become slimmer and more beautiful, toned and attractively shaped, and you will no longer have to worry about how you look when wearing revealing clothes.
