Squat alternatives for bad knees: 9 home moves, easiest first

The best squat alternatives for bad knees are moves that keep your knee bend shallow or move the work to your hips: a sit-to-stand to a raised chair, a box squat, a wall sit held above the painful depth, hip bridges, a hip hinge, a low step-up and a supported split squat. Most knees that hurt in a deep squat are fine at a shallower one, so you can usually keep training your legs while the knee settles.

Below are nine alternatives you can do at home, in order from easiest to hardest, with sets and reps for each, a simple pain rule to choose between them, a ready 20-minute leg session, and the signs that mean your knee should be checked before you train it.

Why squats hurt bad knees

A squat bends your knee under the weight of your body. The deeper you go, the more your thigh muscle pulls the kneecap against the thigh bone, and the higher the pressure behind the kneecap. That's why pain at the front of the knee, around or behind the kneecap, often shows up in the bottom half of a squat and on stairs. Arthritis in the knee tends to dislike deep bending and twisting under load for similar reasons.

Squats aren't bad for healthy knees, and leg strength is one of the most useful things you can build for knee pain. The 2019 American College of Rheumatology and Arthritis Foundation guideline strongly recommends exercise for people with knee osteoarthritis, and strong thigh and hip muscles are part of most knee rehab programmes. The goal isn't to stop training your legs; it's to find the version your knee tolerates today and build from there.

The pain rule: how to tell which alternative is right

Physical therapists often use a simple pain-monitoring approach. Rate the knee from 0 (no pain) to 10 (the worst pain you can imagine):

• 0 to 3 during the move: fine to continue.
• Settles within an hour or two: fine.
• No worse the next morning: fine, and you can try a little more next time.

If the knee goes above that during a move, or it's stiffer and sorer the next morning, step back to an easier alternative from the list below, or make the range smaller. The Arthritis Foundation gives a similar rule of thumb: if joint pain after exercise lasts more than about two hours, do less next time.

Test each new move with one easy set before a full workout. Your knee will tell you which ones it likes.

9 squat alternatives for bad knees, easiest first

How to do each one

1. Quad set

Sit on the floor or bed with your leg straight and a rolled towel under the knee. Tighten the muscle on the front of your thigh to press the back of the knee into the towel, hold 5 seconds, relax. This wakes up the thigh muscle without bending the knee at all, so it's a sensible first step on a sore day.

2. Hip bridge

Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat and hip-width apart, heels about a foot from your bottom. Squeeze your bottom and lift your hips until there's a straight line from knees to shoulders, pause, lower slowly. If the front of your knee aches, move your feet a little further away. To make it harder: hold a dumbbell across your hips, or lift with one leg while the other stays straight.

3. High wall sit

Stand with your back against a wall, walk your feet about two feet forward, and slide down only until your knees are slightly bent, well above the depth that hurts. Hold. Holding still at a comfortable angle lets your thigh muscles work hard with less irritation than moving through the painful range. Over the weeks, slide a little lower or hold longer.

4. Sit-to-stand to a raised seat

Put a firm cushion or two on a sturdy chair so the seat is higher than your knees. Sit near the front, feet hip-width, lean your chest forward, stand up through your whole foot, and sit back down slowly over 3 seconds. Every few weeks, remove a cushion. When you can do 12 slow reps from a normal chair without pain, you're doing a real squat to a seat.

5. Hip hinge (Romanian deadlift)

Stand tall holding two bottles or dumbbells in front of your thighs. Keep your knees soft and still, push your hips back, and slide the weights down your thighs towards your knees with a long back. Stand up by squeezing your bottom. Your knees hardly change angle, so this is the move to lean on when bending the knee hurts. Keep the weights close to your legs to protect your lower back.

6. Box squat to a chair

Stand in front of a chair, feet a little wider than hip-width and toes turned slightly out. Push your hips back and down until you lightly touch the seat, without dropping onto it, then stand. The seat sets your depth, so you never go lower than your knee likes. Holding a dumbbell at your chest (a goblet hold) makes it harder and often makes it easier to sit back.

7. Low step-up

Use the bottom stair or a sturdy step about 4 to 6 inches high, and hold the banister. Put one whole foot on the step, push through that heel to stand up, and step down slowly with the other leg. Do all reps on one side, then switch. Lead with your stronger leg first. A higher step means more knee bend, so raise it only when the low one is easy and pain-free.

8. Supported reverse lunge

Stand next to a counter or chair back and hold it. Step one foot back and bend both knees only as far as is comfortable, keeping most of your weight on the front heel, then push back up. Stepping back keeps the front shin more upright than a forward lunge, which many people with sore knees find kinder.

9. Supported split squat

Take a long stride stance, back heel up, one hand on a counter. Lower straight down by bending both knees, as far as is comfortable, then stand. Unlike the lunge, your feet stay put, so it's easier to control. The back-foot-raised version (Bulgarian split squat) is harder and deeper: keep it for when your knees have been calm for weeks.

Which alternative for which kind of knee pain

This is a starting point, not a diagnosis. Knee pain has many causes, and a physical therapist can tell you which moves suit yours.

A 20-minute knee-friendly leg workout

Do this twice a week on days that aren't back to back. Rest 45 to 60 seconds between sets.

1. Warm-up, 5 minutes: march in place or ride an exercise bike, then 10 heel slides each leg lying down, 10 quad sets each leg, 10 small half-squats holding a counter.
2. Hip bridge: 2 sets of 12.
3. Sit-to-stand to a raised seat: 2 sets of 10.
4. Hip hinge with bottles or dumbbells: 2 sets of 10.
5. High wall sit: 3 holds of 30 seconds.
6. Low step-up: 2 sets of 8 each leg.
7. Side-lying leg raise: 2 sets of 12 each side, for the hip muscles that help keep the knee in line.
8. Cool-down: a calf stretch and a gentle thigh stretch lying on your side, 30 seconds each.

Use the pain rule after each session. For a full set of leg moves and a 6-week plan built around them, see our knee friendly exercises for legs.

How to work back towards a full squat

Many people with sore knees can squat again in time; some will always prefer a box squat, and that's fine. If you want to get back to it, change one thing at a time, every week or two, and only while the pain rule holds:

Slow the lowering to 3 or 4 seconds at each step. Slow reps let your knee get used to the load and make a light weight work harder.

Form fixes that take pressure off the knee

• Sit back, don't just bend down. Pushing your hips back shares the work with your bottom and hamstrings.
• Keep your knees in line with your toes. If they cave inwards, widen your stance a little and think of pushing the floor apart with your feet.
• Turn your toes out slightly. Many people find 10 to 30 degrees more comfortable than straight ahead.
• Your knees can go past your toes. Stopping them by force tends to push the strain into your hips and lower back. Let them travel a little if it's comfortable, and use depth, not knee position, to control the load.
• Keep your whole foot down. Rising onto your toes moves pressure to the front of the knee.
• Control the way down. Dropping into a seat or the bottom of a lunge is where most knees complain.

When to get your knee checked before training it

See a doctor or physical therapist before you train through it if:

• The knee is swollen, hot or red.
• It locks, catches, or gives way under you.
• You can't put weight on it, or it hurts at night or at rest.
• The pain started with a twist, a fall or a pop.
• It's getting worse week on week despite easier moves.

For ordinary aches that follow the pain rule, gentle strength work is usually part of the answer rather than something to avoid. If you've had a knee replacement or surgery, follow your surgeon's and therapist's plan first.

Want your whole week planned around your knees? Our free home strength quiz asks where your knee hurts and picks the leg moves for you. Or read how our home strength plan for women over 40 works and what it costs first.

Questions people ask

Are squats bad for your knees?

Not for healthy knees. For sore knees, deep or fast squats are often the problem, not squatting itself. A shallower, slower squat to a seat is usually tolerated and builds the strength that helps knees.

What can I do instead of squats at home?

Sit-to-stands to a raised chair, box squats, wall sits, hip bridges, hip hinges with bottles, low step-ups and supported split squats. All need only a chair, a wall and a step.

Is the leg press better for bad knees than squats?

It can be, because you can set the depth and load precisely, but it isn't automatically safer: a deep leg press bends the knee as much as a deep squat. At home, a sit-to-stand with a set seat height does the same job.

Are lunges worse than squats for bad knees?

Forward lunges are often harder on sore knees because the front knee takes a sudden load. Reverse lunges and split squats, done slowly and holding something, are usually easier.

How often should I do these exercises?

Two or three times a week, with a day between, is the usual pattern for strength work. Quad sets and gentle bridges can be done most days on a flare-up.

Should I wear a knee brace or sleeve?

Some people find a sleeve makes the knee feel warmer and steadier. It doesn't replace strength. A physical therapist can tell you whether a brace suits your knee.

More plain guides on getting stronger at home: all our home strength guides, including how to start strength training at 50.

Sources: Kolasinski S. et al., 2019 ACR/Arthritis Foundation guideline for the management of osteoarthritis of the hand, hip and knee, Arthritis Care Res, 2020. Arthritis Foundation, the 2-hour pain rule. Thomeé R., "A comprehensive treatment approach for patellofemoral pain syndrome in young women", Physical Therapy, 1997 (pain-monitoring model). Escamilla R., "Knee biomechanics of the dynamic squat exercise", Med Sci Sports Exerc, 2001. Fry A. et al., "Effect of knee position on hip and knee torques during the barbell squat", J Strength Cond Res, 2003. Willy R. et al., Patellofemoral pain clinical practice guideline, J Orthop Sports Phys Ther, 2019. This guide is about exercise habits and is not medical advice; follow your doctor's or physical therapist's advice where it differs.