Where to start with exercise (when significant knee issue)

[Ecrire]

40, female, recently lost 15 kilos through plain old counting calories only but still another 10 kilos to go to get to South Asian margin for healthy BMI which is lower than white people.

Zero exercise and zero fitness.

key problem when choosing exercise: my right kneecap has repeatedly dislocated from age 9 to 19 resulting in countless falls all through teenage. I also have hyper mobility. Said knee now has resultant early osteoarthritis and the muscles are super weak as my body has compensated in non ideal ways and basically I am not to ever do things like running or anything impacting on said knee. Physio recommends those muscles need strengthening to better support the knee.

Busy work and life with two smalls means no time for gym/swim. What can I start at home that builds up strength in muscles and builds fitness from scratch but does not involve anything that will cause impact on knees?

Is there a gym near you that has a pool and a creche for the kids? Swimming will be the best form of exercise because it's low impact but strengthens your whole body.

Are you able to get out of the house at all to exercise?
And how small are the DC?
You could try Nordic walking, that uses poles so it massively reduces the strain on your lower joints, but done properly (which takes a surprising amount of concentration) it is a full body workout.
There are introductory classes nationwide if you Google to teach you the technique, and then if you think it's for you, buy some poles (they are different to normal trekking poles) and walk. There are also YouTube tutorials but as with many things a class is better if that's possible.
Swimming or any water based sport is of course going to be good and if the money is there a gym with a crèche could be an option.
Have a rootle around on the NHS website. There are a surprising number of exercise resources on there, you will find ones specifically for knee strength I am sure.

To support your knees, you want strong quadriceps, in particular the VMO muscle. There are loads of great YouTube physiotherapy videos online for exercising the VMO.

Thanks all. I’m very active all day in the sense of schools runs work etc but work itself largely desk based and our lives tied to picking up reception and year 4 kids and dropping off and pick up from at school and myriad weekend hobbies etc. Evenings are doable but the reality is that both DH and I just want to crash on the sofa of an evening. Just going for a run would be okay but to drive to gym for the pool and back just never happens. Hence looking for at home videos to see what I could do.

also really demoralised that after such success losing 14 kilos this here through sheer grit nothing is shifting the last 5-10 kilos. I just can’t try anymore :/

pt with a physio background.
ask at local gyms for recommendations.

there is a lot of low impact stength training online but a check with a physio/pt ocassionally might be good.

Could you do cycling? My knees aren’t great so running is out, but I do like getting out on my bike.

My kneecaps dislodge (and move back) quite easily because of patella alta.

My physio referred me to an 'Active for Life' class at the local leisure centre.

For warm-ups, I usually do 10 minutes fast walking on the treadmill. My consultant says I'm not allowed to run. No incline. I've to avoid slopes and stairs...(Also, not allowed to do the breast stroke for cardio swimming. Crawl or butterfly only.)

I do band exercises for the legs and also sit to stand. I was started with a 2kg weight for sit to stand and now do it with a 5kg weight.

Also band exercises for the arms and side raises with small weights.

I'm now using the lat pull machine in the 'big gym' at the centre, plus the low row. Have just started using the leg extension machine and leg curl machine at the lowest settings - with care. I also have a firm tubigrip that I use on my right knee, the one more prone to trouble.

I use the vibro plate to do leg stretches/lunges and side raises.

If you Google patella alta and exercise, you'll find advice about exercises intended to help the quads and stabilise the kneecap.

Recently, my osteopath has told me to do the sit to stand with a squishy ball between my knees, to work on my adductors.

I've had conflicting advice about cycling. The consultant said no - which surprised my GP, my trainer and my osteopath. It's been suggested that maybe he just meant cycling on roads.

At the gym, I sometimes do cardio on a bike for 15 minutes, but at the lowest resistance.

I also use a SPARC machine. Started off with resistance at 2 - it's now at 5. However, it's set to level - no slope.

cycling screwed up my knees.

There are probably youtube videos that have some good ideas for OP