Does climbing hurt your knees?

Mountain climbing is also an effective exercise. People who climb mountains regularly generally have better physical fitness, enhanced immunity, and naturally healthier bodies. However, long-term mountain climbing will also have a certain impact on the knee joints. We all know that there will be noise in the knee joints when going down the mountain. This is because the weight of the body will cause a certain impact force on the knees when going down the mountain, thus affecting the health of the knee joints.

Does climbing hurt your knees?

Mountain climbing is a double-edged sword, which has both advantages and disadvantages for the knee joints. When climbing a mountain (or walking up stairs), the knee joints will be under certain pressure, especially when going down a mountain (or stairs), which will exert a greater impact on the knee joints. If the athlete's physical fitness and function are weak and the knee joint's tolerance is poor, and the amount of exercise exceeds the athlete's tolerance, it will cause certain damage to the knee joint. This is why some experts do not recommend that elderly people go hiking frequently. They are worried that ordinary people do not understand the principles of exercise and excessive exercise will lead to the opposite effect.

Does this mean that people with bad knee joints or diseases such as rheumatism cannot climb mountains? Actually, this is not the case. When climbing, it is particularly necessary to mobilize the muscles near the knee joints, which helps to strengthen the knee joints. From this perspective, mountain climbing can exercise and strengthen the knees, and people with knee degeneration and poor function need this sport more.

In short, climbing mountains correctly and in accordance with individual circumstances is beneficial to all people; blindly exercising without considering individual circumstances is likely to be counterproductive. Therefore, it is best to adopt an expert's guidance as to what kind of exercise to adopt and how much exercise to do, especially for people with rheumatism and arthritis.

Do these exercises after climbing

1. Brisk walking

After coming back from climbing the mountain, continue walking briskly. Just walk for more than 15 minutes. Bring your iPod with you, and you can listen to a few songs before the trip is over. It won’t be boring. Remember to land on your heels and then transition to your toes when walking, so that you can fully stretch your hamstrings and achieve a better calf slimming effect.

2. Practice yoga

If your calves become thicker after climbing mountains, you can try practicing yoga. Stand with one foot in front of the other, with the toes of the front foot facing forward and the toes of the back foot facing sideways. Both feet should form a 90-degree angle and the heels should be in a straight line. Bend forward with your upper body as close to the front leg as possible. Take a few deep breaths and stand up. At the beginning, the distance between the two feet can be larger, and then the distance can be reduced as you become more flexible. The feeling of stretching is that the back of the thighs and calves will be a little sore.

3. Stand on tiptoes

Stand one leg straight and bend the other, with half of the sole of the foot standing on the edge of a step, a small stool, or any object more than 20 cm high, with the heel hanging in the air. You can use your hands to hold on to a wall or place a chair next to you for balance. First, stand on tiptoe while counting to five, but pause for a moment at the highest point, then slowly lower your heels while counting to five until you reach the lowest point. Switch sides when you have achieved your desired number of reps. Do as many times as you can, but ideally do at least three to five sets without interruption each time.

It must be stated that in any case, increasing muscle mass is beneficial to health. This means that fat is reduced and muscle is increased. Although the calves may look thicker in the short term, the health benefits are still great. And as long as some methods are adopted, it can help to slim down the calves.