[tigrre]

Right now I have a very sedentary lifestyle and I am VERY overweight. If I stand for more than 1.5 hours my knees and feet ache for the rest of the day. I start to have back problems after about 2 hours.

I'm going to a music festival in July and I want to be able to enjoy it and not just leave after 3 hours because of my knees and feet like I did in the past (when I was 40 pounds lighter!.)

I know that losing weight is probably the biggest thing that would help but I can't lose 100 lbs by July so are there any exercises that would help in the task of just being able to stand? I'm going to get a treadmill so I can "reintroduce" myself to walking for long periods of time.

Are there any strength training exercises I can do? I have some resistance bands and light dumbells but I don't think I can afford a gym. Would the knee strengthing exercises in the sticky on this forum help?

As you can see I'm totally lost as to what to do.

[nelie]

There are a couple of things I'd recommend
- A pair of good shoes
- Knee strengthening exercises
- Walking
- If you expect to stand in one place, try shifting around a little rather than standing still
- Do a variety of leg exercises such as squats and lunges
- Sit and rest if you need to and if it is an option

[Eves]

In addition to what nelie said here`s an old tip from marching band.

DO NOT LOCK YOUR KNEES!

Doing mini squats while standing helps as well.

[Lee Ann]

Originally Posted by archy

In addition to what nelie said here`s an old tip from marching band.

DO NOT LOCK YOUR KNEES!

i am terrible for doing that! i always lock my knees...and obviously marching band didn't help me with that (i was in colorguard)

[phantastica]

I've heard that standing is more tiring than walking, so maybe when you're at the concert, walk around more than usual.