If you have ever cut a workout short because your knees started complaining the second a squat or a lunge showed up, you are not alone. Most workout plans are built around the same handful of knee-loading moves, so the moment your knees say no, you either push through pain or you stop altogether. Neither of those should be the only options.
That is exactly why I built Knee Friendly & Strong, a 28 day plan that never once asks your knees to squat or lunge, and still gets you leaner, stronger and moving better than you have in years.
Your knees are not the reason you can’t get lean
Here is the part that gets missed. Your knees are not the reason the old plans did not work. They are just the reason those particular plans did not work for you. Squats and lunges are not the only way to build a strong lower body and burn fat, they are just the most common way, and most programs never bother to build an alternative.
Knee Friendly & Strong swaps those moves for hinges, presses, rows, glute bridges and core work, all of which build real strength through your legs, glutes and full body without loading the knee joint the way a squat or a lunge does. Better still, because this training strengthens the muscles that support and stabilise the knee, your knees actually get stronger as you go, not weaker.
Here is what a knee friendly leg session looks like in practice:
Real strength work, zero squats or lunges in sight.
Why the old advice, just modify, doesn’t cut it
“Just modify it” sounds helpful, but in practice it usually means doing a worse version of a move that was never right for your knees in the first place, session after session. That gets old fast, and it rarely feels like real progress.
Knee Friendly & Strong is not a modified version of another plan. Every single workout was built from the ground up to be knee friendly, so you are never scaling something down, you are doing exactly what the plan intended.
How the 28 days are built
Each week of Knee Friendly & Strong has its own theme and flow. You will move through knee friendly strength days, conditioning days that get your heart rate pumping with zero squats or lunges, and a standing arms and abs day that never touches the floor. Active recovery walks and full rest days are built in throughout, because your knees, and the rest of you, get stronger on rest days too.
There is no guesswork. You just open the calendar, tap the day, and press play.
Here is one of the conditioning sessions, all the intensity, none of the knee-loading moves:
What’s inside Knee Friendly & Strong
Knee Friendly & Strong is a done-for-you plan, and it is fully interactive, so it works the way you do:
- 20 follow-along workout days mapped across a balanced 28 day calendar
- Never a single squat, lunge or knee-loading move
- Every calendar day and workout title links straight to the video with me
- MY WEIGHT boxes to log your weights on every exercise
- Tick every move off as you go, plus space for notes on every workout
- A tappable 28 day calendar so you always know what’s next
- Active recovery and rest day guidance built in, with journal prompts to check in as you go
You can fill it all in on your phone, tablet or computer, or print it and use pen and paper. However you like to train, your plan keeps up.
Who it’s for, and what you need
This plan is for women over 40 whose knees can’t take squats or lunges, but who still want real fat loss and a stronger, leaner body. You do not need a gym. Just a set of dumbbells, with a mini band or a chair handy for a few sessions. Most workouts run 30 to 50 minutes.
By week three, this is what strong and knee friendly looks like:
How to get started
The easiest way to start is with my free Knee Friendly calendar. Pop in your email and I will send you the printable 28-day schedule, so you always know what is coming and every workout links straight to the video.
Or if you want the complete experience, the premium version is $17 USD and includes everything you need to actually follow through:
👉 Grab the free Knee Friendly calendar
- The interactive calendar with every workout linked straight to the video
- The full ebook with all 20 workout days, every exercise, every timing detail, and space to log your own weights so you can watch yourself get stronger week by week
- Tick boxes to check off every move, plus room for notes on every workout
- Active recovery and rest day pages with recovery tips and journal prompts, because your knees, and the rest of you, get stronger on rest days too
👉 Get the premium plan for $17
When you invest in something, even a small amount, you show up differently. You take it more seriously. You actually do the thing.
Your knees are not holding you back here, they get stronger with you. Train knee friendly and strong, and feel energised, not exhausted.
Penny x Garage Fitness Girl
