Fitness coach Jeff Cavaliere knows that working out pain-free is critical to lasting progress. On Nov. 16, 2025, he broke down six simple exercises that can help fix knee pain permanently.
“Exercise can help. Strengthening the muscles around the knee is the way to go to get rid of some of this knee pain. A lot of us are probably using the wrong exercises and focusing on the wrong muscles.”
With over 14.2 million YouTube subscribers, Cavaliere has become one of the most sought-after fitness educators in the space. Having maintained a lean, muscular physique for over three decades, gym-goers from all walks of life have extracted value from his teachings.
From breaking down bodybuilding-style workouts to stretch demonstrations for longevity, Cavaliere doesn’t just list exercise options; he performs them and dives into exactly why they should be included in workout routines. Since knee pain is one of the most common complaints inside the gym, he gave his solution to the problem.
Jeff Cavaliere Reveals 6 Exercises That Can Fix Knee Pain Forever
Find his exercise options from the video below:
- Lifting One Leg and Spell ABCs
- RDL
- Hip Lift
- Bench Squat
- Drop Squat
- Reverse Lunge
Lifting One Leg and Spell ABCs
The first exercise is simple but effective: standing on one leg and spelling out the ABCs with it.
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“We can game-ify it by having you use the up leg to simply draw out the alphabet in front of you. So, A, and then B, and C, you work your way all the way through and try to maintain your balance,” he shared.
RDL
The bodyweight Romanian deadlift is another go-to for Cavaliere. He noted that hinging at the hip allows for the best results.
“One leg is going to come up off the ground, and what you’re going to do is lean forward, hinge at the waist, act like you’re picking something off the ground, that knee is going to bend a little bit naturally to go down, and as you come out of this, you drive through the hip.”
Hip Lift
By leaning against a structure and raising one leg into the air, lifters can stimulate the glute medius.
“All you do is lean against something. So, either this case or a rack, or a wall on that side, you stand on the leg outside or furthest away from the wall, and let yourself get lazy, let the hips drop out. The only muscle that’s really going to bring that back to center is that glute medius.”
Bench Squat
The bench squat puts safety rails in place in case you lose your balance, making it the perfect addition for strengthening the legs, which can help with knee pain.
“Having that surface there in case you couldn’t actually go all the way down, you know it’s going to catch you… It removes a lot of those psychological barriers that biomechanically open up the possibility to actually do a squat.”
Drop Squat
The drop squat, or simply lowering the dumbbell in a straight line, helps lifters correct the biomechanics of their form.
“It biomechanically fixes your squat. I don’t care how bad your squat form might be right now because a bad squat form will contribute to more knee pain.
Put the dumbbell right in front of you, and simply lowering that dumbbell straight to the ground is going to fix how much knee flexion you need for your torso size. You’ll see it basically creates the biomechanical perfect squat.”
Reverse Lunge
By lunging backwards, Cavaliere explained that it takes unnecessary load off the knees. To overcome knee pain, he urged lifters to focus on slow and controlled movements.
“All you want to do is lunge backwards. You hold the dumbbell in the same leg or side of the leg that’s going backwards. What that does is it causes this hip to want to fall. You want your body to fall in the direction of the weight. If the body falls in the direction of weight, what happens to this hip over here? It bumps out.”
“Your job is to make sure that it doesn’t. That it stays locked in place here. Nice and stable. So I don’t care about speed on this exercise; I care about precision. If you want to overcome your knee pain, slow movements, controlled movements with progressively heavier weights is going to be the key,” he shared.
Hypertrophy isn’t Cavaliere’s only concern. He’s also after any exercises that can improve quality of life. He recently explained how to incorporate six different movements to help people feel stronger and more comfortable with the demands of the everyday grind.
Cavaliere believes knee pain can be corrected, but emphasized that it takes certain exercises, along with proper execution. He is adamant that improving leg strength is an essential ingredient if your goal is stronger knees.
RELATED: Jeff Cavaliere Breaks Down 8 Body Parts Women Find Most Attractive and How to Build Them
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