Have you ever woke up one day and noticed some nagging fat on the sides of your knees when you looked in the mirror?
You are not alone, we get a lot of visitors to kneefat.com with a similar issue.
It seems quite common for people to gradually develop what seems to be excess fat in problem areas, especially as we age.
While some areas are more resistant to exercise-induced fat loss than others, every area of your body can be targeted with specific exercises for fat loss or reduction.
These are some exercises that I have found beneficial to implement into my fitness plan to target fat to the sides of my knees.
While I am not a fitness expert, I am a woman who had a hard time getting rid of my flab in areas that were bothering me. So I started trying different exercises and have seen an improvement in the appearance of my knees.
While I didn’t use calipers to actually measure the amount of fat around my knees before and after my workout program (wish I would have though!) I can tell you for sure that my knees do look better.
I don’t feel so self-conscious about wearing knee-bearing shorts or skirts anymore. The only bad thing about it is that I can’t tell you exactly which specific exercise gave me specific results. But I don’t think that would help you anyway because everyone’s body is unique and responds to different exercises a bit differently.
This is why I believe it is so important to experiment with different types of exercises or workout programs. Over time, you will learn what does and doesn’t work for your body. Just ensure that you stick with whatever program you decide to follow or design for 3 – 4 weeks before you switch.
This is just a rule of thumb, but generally, it takes that amount of time for your body to adapt so you can’t be sure whether or not it is working unless you stick with it for a bit.
Also, take pictures and measure the circumference of the area around your knee so that you can have some solid data or proof about your progress. When you see an improvement in your photos or a lessening of circumference… it is very motivating!
So with all that said, let get to the good stuff. The exercises that will help you lose fat on the sides of your knees!
7 Best Exercises To Get Rid Of Fat On The Sides Of Your Knees
- Squats
- Lunges
- Biking
- Stair Stepping
- Walking Backwards… Uphill!
Squats and lunges are two of the best exercises to get rid of fat on the sides of the knees. But there is something else awesome about squats and lunges… they help you lose stomach fat, thigh fat, back fat, and guess where else?
Squats especially, but lunges as well, help you lose fat everywhere. That’s right, they can help you lose fat around your whole body because squatting and lunging utilize so many large muscles in your body that they burn a ton of calories compared to isolation-type exercises that focus on one muscle at a time.
Additionally, bicycling and the stair-stepper are two great cardio exercises that can focus the body’s effort on your fat knees. When biking, I would suggest putting the bike or the machine into the highest resistance you can handle and go at a slower speed.
If you are riding a real bike you can really up the ante by not sitting down while you peddle for as long as you can handle. You should feel your quads burning real good if you do this for more than a minute. When you can no longer take it anymore, sit down and peddle at a slower rate until your legs are ready for another round.
Then get off that seat and peddle standing up for another iteration of as much as you can take and keep repeating the process. This is like a bike version of the fartlek run (alternating sprinting with a slower jog or walk).
This will make the difficulty quite difficult and could even turn it into a slightly anaerobic fat knee exercise rather than a solely aerobic exercise. You should “feel the burn” pretty good by doing this and may not be able to go as long as if you used less resistance… but it will be better to get rid of fat around the knees. So if that is your goal, focus on exercises that will take you closer to your goal for at least 3 – 4 weeks. Then try something else.
Hold to the same principle for the stair-stepper. Use the highest resistance you can handle to achieve a slightly anaerobic exercise.
Spot Reduce Fat Knees?
Just to be clear, by doing any exercise you cannot spot reduce fat. Localized fat loss can only be accomplished via surgery. However, by focusing your exercise regimen on a certain problem area you can increase the muscle strength, size, and shape in that area.
This in turn will make fat less noticeable. For example, by performing an increasingly difficult squat workout every other day for a month you will begin to strengthen your hamstrings, quads, glutes, and even your calves to a lesser degree.
The result will make you seem and appear more toned due to the same amount of fat now being stretched over a larger surface area. You will also feel much better! Being strong feels great!
Why Do Squats and Lunges for Fat Knees?
Why are squats and lunges the best exercises to get rid of fat on the sides of knees?
What about leg extensions and leg curls?
Well, lunges and squats work nearly your entire legs and as an added bonus they also work your stabilizing muscles including your core (back and abs). Because squats and lunges do this, they end up being two of the most efficient exercises. They will show the most results in the least amount of time.
It Takes Some Time
Always remember throughout this process that adipose tissue did not gather around the knees overnight so it is going to take a while to lose it. Keep at it because it is definitely possible to get rid of fat knees but you will have to shed some adipose tissue all over to do so. Keep at it!
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