Baggy Knees: Smooth Them Out with This Lift and Shape Exercise Routine

The knees that we thought looked alright this past summer when we wore our shorts, now get hidden under long pants and longer skirts all winter. When next spring rolls around and we uncover those knees again, we will be shocked to see that those are not the same knees that we had last summer.

Gravity has taken it's toll, our once smooth knees are baggy and saggy, resembling a wrinkled pair of hose that need pulling up.

You can combat the baggy knees that gravity is trying to give you with a simple lift and shape routine. While it is targeted specifically for your knees, this routine will also make your entire leg stronger and more shapely. As we age, there is a reduction in the collagen and elastin in our skin, substances that make our skin snap back into shape. There is no way to get that back, but we can build up muscles surrounding the baggy skin area, such as the knee, and give our knees a smoother appearance.

Doing shallow knees bends regularly will build up the quadriceps muscle that run along the front of your thigh above the knee. These knee bends can be done almost anywhere, all you need is a chair or something of a similar height to hold on too.

To begin the exercise, stand up straight and hold onto the back of the chair, (the chair should be directly in front of you with chair back facing you). Now bend your knees and move your rear away from your body as though you were going to sit down. Keep your knees directly above your ankles or the tops of your feet. Do not allow your knees to move past your toes, this can actually hurt your knees and will defeat the purpose of the exercise.

Squat down as far as you can in this manner, remembering that correct posture is more important than the depth of the squat. Begin with two sets of 10, working your way up to two sets of 15.