Do you get knee pain during your core and glute exercises? Sports physio Maryke Louw demonstrates eight core and glute exercises that are easy on your knees. She also gives some tips on how to adapt or replace each of these exercises if your knees are still complaining. Remember, if you need more help with an injury, you're welcome to consult one of our physios online via video call.
This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on sales at no extra cost to you.
In this article:
We’ve also made a video about this, and the article has links to the video clips that demo each of the exercises:
How to gain the most from these core and glute exercises
Before we start, a few things to help you get the maximum benefit from these exercises.
I’ll be demonstrating eight exercises – four that target mostly the core and four that target mostly the glutes but also some core. You don’t have to do them all. Some of them work the same muscle group, just in different positions and with different techniques. The idea is to pick the ones that work best for you and your knees.
You know the mantra “No pain, no gain”? That is a silly and dangerous approach. If an exercise causes you pain – in the knees or elsewhere; while you’re doing it or in the 24 hours afterwards – it either has to be adapted, or you’ll have to ditch that specific exercise and try another one from the options I’ve provided here.
The exercises do not have to be done on an exercise mat on the floor. If it hurts you knees to get down on the floor, it’s fine to do them on your bed.
When the instructions below say, “gradually increase” or “work your way up to”, it means over the course of several weeks (or however long it takes), not within one exercise session.
💡These exercises are safe for most people. But if you have a serious knee injury or a chronic health condition, they may not be right for you – check with your doctor or a physio before you try them.
Isometric crunches
Targets: Your core.
📽️ Video demo
Instructions
Lie on your back, feet flat on the floor, knees bent about 90 degrees.
Tighten your tummy muscles and push your lower back into the floor by tilting your pelvis backwards.
Slowly lift your head, then your neck, then your upper back off the floor.
Hold the position for 5 to 10 seconds.
Come back down: upper back first, then neck, then head.
Rest for as long as you held the position.
How many?
Gradually increase the duration of your holds until you reach anything from 30 to 60 seconds. Again, rest for as long as you’re holding it.
Once you can do 4x30 sec or 3x60 sec holds with good control and form, you can move on to making it more difficult.
How to make it more difficult
Do movements with your arms while you’re holding the position, e.g. side-to-side movements, “marching” movements.
You could hold light weights or do the arm movements with resistance bands to make it even more challenging.
💡 Top tips
If your knees aren’t comfortable at 90 degrees, straighten them somewhat. You could also put some cushions under the back of your knees.
If your neck isn’t comfortable, support it by putting your hands behind your head. Alternatively, isometric curl-downs (see below) may be a better exercise for you.
Isometric curl-downs
Targets: Your core.
📽️ Video demo
Instructions
Sit up straight, feet flat on the floor, knees bent about 90 degrees. You can hook your feet under something sturdy like a couch/sofa if you want, but make sure you use your stomach muscles for this exercise and not your hip flexors (at the front of your hips).
Tighten your tummy muscles and lower yourself backwards a little by curling your spine at your lower back. Make sure not to “hinge” back at the hips with a straight spine (that is also an exercise, but it’s not the one you’re meant to be doing here).
Hold the position for 5 to 10 seconds.
Slowly come back into the upright position.
Rest for as long as you held the position.
How many?
Gradually increase the duration of your holds until you reach anything from 30 to 60 seconds. Again, rest for as long as you’re holding it.
Once you can do 4x30 sec or 3x60 sec holds with good control and form, you can move on to making it more difficult.
How to make it more difficult
Go down lower and then hold it.
Have a weight on your chest.
Do movements with your arms while you’re holding the position, e.g. side-to-side movements, “marching” movements.
You could hold light weights or do the arm movements with resistance bands to make it even more challenging.
💡 Top tips
If you have lower back issues, this exercise might not be the best for you – rather do the isometric crunches.
Like with the isometric crunches, adjust the angle of your knees so that they’re comfortable.
If your feet aren’t hooked under something sturdy and they lift off the floor when you go down, it's because you are not controlling the movement properly with your tummy muscles; practice the movement in a shallower position first and concentrate on the balance in your body.
Russian twists
Targets: Your core and especially your oblique (side) stomach muscles.
📽️ Video demo
Instructions
Start in the same seated position as for the isometric curl-downs. You can hook your feet under something sturdy, but you will get better practice at controlling the movement properly if you don’t.
Same curl-down as for the isometric curl-downs.
Hold the position and slowly twist your torso from side-to-side. Don’t force the movement – go only as far as is comfortable. Keep your tummy muscles tight and your lower back rounded – don’t arch your back.
Slowly come back into the upright position.
How many?
Work your way up to 3 sets of 10 to 12 repetitions (side-to-side twists) each.
Rest 1 minute between sets.
How to make it more difficult
Hold a weight in your hands.
Once you can twist far enough with a weight and with good control, you can place the weight on the floor at the end of the twist and then pick it up again before twisting to the other side.
💡 Top tips
If you have back issues, the ball rotation exercise (see below) might be better for targeting your oblique muscles.
Like with the exercises above, adjust your knee position if necessary, so that they’re comfortable.
Ball rotations
Targets: Your core and especially your oblique (side) stomach muscles.
📽️ Video demo
Instructions
Lie on your back with and exercise ball against the back of your thighs and your calves resting on it.
Place your arms on the floor, out to the sides, to stabilise your upper body.
Tighten your tummy muscles and lift your bum and lower back slightly off the floor.
Using your tummy muscles (not your leg muscles), slowly rotate your hips and legs first to one side, then to the other side, making the ball follow your movements.
Control during the whole movement is important – don’t let gravity do the work for you when your legs go down to the side.
This exercise ball comes with a pump and in various sizes and colours:
How many?
Work your way up to 3 sets of 10 to 12 repetitions (side-to-side rotations) each.
Rest 1 minute between sets.
How to make it more difficult
Increase how far you rotate once you can do the above with good control.
💡 Top tips
Use an exercise ball with a diameter that is at least the same as the length of your thighs; this will make for a more comfortable position. The one I used in the video is a bit small for me; the Amazon one above comes in various sizes.
Adjust your knee position for more comfort if necessary.
Prone leg lifts
Targets: Glutes and lower back.
📽️ Video demo
Instructions
Lie on your stomach, with your forearms on the floor in front of you and your forehead resting on your hands.
Have one leg flat on the floor and the other one bent 90 degrees (sole of your foot pointing to the ceiling).
Tighten your tummy muscles (this is to keep your back and hips horizontal) and lift the bent leg as far as it will go without your back and hips tilting out of their horizontal position.
Concentrate on using your glute muscles, not the muscles in your back.
Lower your leg slowly back down.
How many?
Start with 5 leg lifts one side, rest 30 seconds, then 5 leg lifts the other side, and work your way up to:
10 to 12 lifts one side.
Rest 30 seconds.
Same for the other side.
3 sets of these with 30 seconds rest between sets (giving each side about a minute’s rest at a time – 30 seconds total rest, and about 30 seconds while the other side is working).
How to make it more difficult
Straighten the leg that you’re lifting.
💡 Top tips
If the prone position hurts your back, see whether putting a cushion under your stomach helps; if not, choose from the other three glute-targeting exercises below.
Side leg lifts
I like this one because you can really target the glutes and, while it starts off easy, you can really make it quite difficult as your strength and control improve.
Targets: Mainly your glutes, but also some core.
📽️ Video demo
Instructions
Lie on your side, with your head supported by either your bottom arm or a cushion. Your top hand can rest on your hip.
Have your bottom leg slightly forwards and bent at a comfortable angle – this is to help stabilize you.
Your top leg should be straight.
Ensure that your hips are stacked/vertical (so, not tilted backwards or forwards) throughout the exercise. Tighten your tummy muscles to control this.
Slowly lift your top leg as far as it will go without having to tilt your hips backwards.
Slowly lower your leg back down.
If you have to move your hips to lower your leg far enough for your foot to touch the floor, don’t lower your leg that far – foot in the air in the bottom position is fine.
How many?
Work your way up towards:
10 to 15 lifts one side.
Rest 30 seconds.
Same for the other side.
3 sets of these with 30 seconds rest between sets (giving each side about a minute’s rest at a time – 30 seconds total rest, and 30 about seconds while the other side is working).
How to make it more difficult
Have an exercise/resistance band around your legs. For this, the bottom leg has to be straight as well, so make sure you have good core control with the easy version before you attempt this.
There should be no slack on the band with the top leg in the lowered position, so that you get resistance right from the start when you lift your leg.
Exercise bands are available in sets (of usually three or five), with each band having a different resistance. So, you can start with the least resistance and gradually work your way up to heavier resistance.
If existing knee pain is a problem, put the band around your thighs, just above the knees, and not around the knees.
Here is a selection of exercise bands available on Amazon. You can also visit the
TheraBand Store for more options.
💡 Top tips
If you find this exercise difficult at first, you can flex your top foot (moving your toes towards your shin); this engages your leg muscles and locks your knee, which makes it easier to lift your leg.
With your leg lifted, if it hurts around your top hip/glutes, you’ve lifted it too far.
With your leg lifted, if you feel it in your quads, your leg is too far forward – bring it back so that your hip is straight and you can't see your foot.
Likewise, if you can see your foot when the leg is lifted, your leg is too far forward – bring it back slightly so you can see your toes at most. (This tip obviously doesn't work if the size of your tummy affects your view, e.g. if you’re heavily pregnant.)
Clams
Targets: Mainly your glutes, but also some core.
📽️ Video demo
Instructions
Lie on your side, with your head supported by either your bottom arm or a cushion. Your top hand can rest on your hip.
Have your legs slightly bent at the hips (about 60 degrees) and the knees (about 90 degrees).
Ensure that your hips are stacked/vertical (so, not tilted backwards or forwards) throughout the exercise. Tighten your tummy muscles to control this.
Keeping your feet together, slowly lift your top knee as far as it will go without your hips tilting backwards.
Slowly lower your knee back down.
How many?
Work your way up towards:
10 to 15 clams one side.
Rest 30 seconds.
Same for the other side.
3 sets of these with 30 seconds rest between sets (giving each side about a minute’s rest at a time – 30 seconds total rest, and about 30 seconds while the other side is working).
How to make it more difficult
Have an exercise/resistance band around your legs.
There should be no slack on the band with the top leg in the lowered position, so that you get resistance right from the start when you lift your leg.
Exercise bands are available in sets (of usually three or five), with each band having a different resistance. So, you can start with the least resistance and gradually work your way up to heavier resistance.
Put the band around your thighs, just above the knees, and not around the knees.
💡 Top tips
If being bent 90 degrees hurts your knee(s), straighten your knees somewhat and do the clam by lifting your whole top leg (i.e. don’t keep your feet together).
A common mistake is to try to lift your knee to high, and then things get squashed around the glute muscles, which might be painful. Keep the movement within a comfortable range.
If you experience any problems when doing the clam or simply want an alternative – check out this article on our website.
Glute bridges
Targets: Mainly the glutes (of course!) but also the lower back, core, and hamstrings. A good all-round exercise, but of all the glute exercises in this article, this one is most likely to irritate an already painful knee.
📽️ Video demo
Instructions
Lie on your back with your knees bent about 90 degrees and your feet flat on the floor. (See Top tips below for the pros and cons of having your feet closer to or further away from your bum.)
Tighten your tummy muscles.
Squeeze your glute muscles and, using them, not your back muscles, lift your hips up towards the ceiling as far as they will comfortably go.
Hold the position for 10 seconds, still making sure that you’re using your glute muscles to keep you up there. (You might feel that your hamstrings and lower back are working a little bit – this is fine. If your back is arched, you are probably mainly using the back muscles.)
Lower yourself down slowly.
How many?
Work your way up to 3x30-second holds before making the bridges more challenging.
Remember to rest for as long as you hold the position.
How to make it more difficult
Do the bridges with weight on your tummy or over your hips.
If you want to progress to more challenging variations on the glute bridge, check out this article on our website.
💡 Top tips
If holding the position hurts your knees, going up and down (slowly) without holding the position might be kinder to them. If this works for you, work towards 3 sets of 15 repetitions, and then add weight to make it more challenging.
The closer your feet are to your bum, the less your hamstrings work and the easier the exercise. But if you have knee pain, especially towards the back of your knee, this position can be quite uncomfortable, so then you want your legs somewhat straighter.
If only one knee is painful, it’s fine to have only that leg somewhat straighter.
If you rest your feet only on your heels, it makes the exercise a bit more challenging, but this might be kinder to your knees.
How we can help
Need more help with your injury? You’re welcome to consult one of the team at SIP online via video call for an assessment of your injury and a tailored treatment plan.
We're all UK Chartered Physiotherapists with Master’s Degrees related to Sports & Exercise Medicine or at least 10 years' experience in the field. But at Sports Injury Physio we don't just value qualifications; all of us also have a wealth of experience working with athletes across a broad variety of sports, ranging from recreationally active people to professional athletes. You can meet the team here.
About the Author
Maryke Louw is a chartered physiotherapist with more than 20 years' experience and a Master’s Degree in Sports Injury Management. Follow her on LinkedIn and ResearchGate.
