Options for folks with bad knees that should help strengthen knees:
https://www.livestrong.com/article/96957-weight-loss-exercises-people-bad/
https://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/a20703336/workout-for-bad-knees/
Exercises for folks with limited mobility:
https://www.sparkpeople.com/blog/blog.asp?post=4_workouts_for_people_with_limited_mobility
https://www.livestrong.com/article/34964-lose-weight-cannot-walk/
That all said, this blog is dedicated to how I have been successful losing weight and a good portion of that is walking. Now for me, I started off diving straight in at a goal of 10,000 steps a day and there have only been, tops, a handful of days I didn't meet that goal, and those days were early on in my weight loss journey. Since then I haven't let anything stop me from getting all of my 10,000 steps, at least, in. I have walked in place on the plane to Korea and back (not... the whole duration of the flight but I did walk for a long while on the flight!) and on road trips I have stopped at rest stops and gas stations (my mom had to sit around while I got my steps in at a gas station for about 30 minutes at 10:30pm, haha) to get my steps in. I think the only times I didn't make it to 10,000 was earlier in 2017 and I was sick, I think I made it to 8,000 and went to bed, haha.
Now, that is for me. For some people starting at 10,000 steps from the get-go is probably unrealistic. My suggestion is wearing your fitness watch or pedometer for a normal day, don't change anything about it or try to get extra steps in, and see how many steps you get in on your average day. From there I would suggest adding maybe 1,000 or 2,000 steps to your routine, that is about 10-25 minutes of decent paced walking. So lets say on a normal day you would get 3,000 steps, try to up that to 4,000 or 5,000. Then in a week or two try to add another 1,000 or 2,000 and continue to work you way up to 10,000. Eventually you may find that you can do more than 10,000 easily! There are some days I end up with 14,000, my current record is 17,333 (although, that day I walked around Seoul all day then got stuck walking up a mountain to get to Namsan Tower instead of taking the bus. I also got 100 flights of stairs that day.).Be realistic with yourself. If you are pretty sedentary in your day to day life then going from 2,000 steps a day straight to 10,000 is going to make you feel nuts... and exhausted... and probably hurt. I mean, if you want to I'm certainly not going to stop you, just don't hurt yourself and you should be good. I still do suggest working your way up to 10,000 steps. Or maybe you already find that you get about that many steps a day already, maybe you have a really active job, in that case my recommendation is to add an extra couple thousand and adjust your eating habits, or perhaps, instead of upping the step count, focus on abs, toning, and muscle building.
I prefer to get my steps in organically or through organized workouts, so either having an active day where I am moving around a lot, going for a walk at the park, or completing a DVD workout. Unfortunately sometimes that just doesn't work out and I have to march in place a lot, I try to throw in some other moves so it is less monotonous and because your body can kinda get to where it gets used to certain movement and kinda ignores it so if you throw it off its groove it has to double time to try to figure out what you are doing. That was a horrible explanation but I hope you get the idea. Anyway, I try to add in some high knees, maybe a simplified version of a grapevine, a cha-cha-cha, heel taps, etc... any movement counts and is better than and burns more calories than sitting. Something my mom started doing when she first got her fitness watch was walk in place during tv commercials.
One of my jobs keeps me busy but not in terms of physical activity, it is a lot of little tasks that don't involve much movement, so on the days I work there I have found that I have trouble getting steps in so I started brainstorming how I could get steps in while at work. One of the ways I do it is by every time I complete a task I walk in place for a minute or run up the stairs and go to the bathroom, or sometimes I'll do jumping jacks for a minute. This works for me because I don't take a lunch break, it is a part time job so I'm usually not there for long hours and if I am I'll eat while I work. My other job is very uneventful, I work front desk at a small town hotel, so I can walk in place or run up the stairs, jog around the lobby, etc., and my boss doesn't care as long as I am there if the guests need me.
I'm sure others out there don't have this option so maybe you'll have to brainstorm other ways for you to keep active through the day, feel free to ask me and I'll brainstorm options with you! Some ideas for people with desk jobs could be getting one of those pedal exercisers for under your desk, or maybe a fitness band around your knees and flex and unflex while you work. Neither will get you steps but at least you are keeping your muscles active and therefore burning calories, which is really the goal anyway! Plus, you are still building muscle! Maybe when you go to the bathroom take the longer route, if there is one. I don't know, but I'm more than willing to try to help you think of options!
Now that it is getting hot and gross here I don't like going on walks outside as much (yeah, I am a big baby about getting sticky and nasty) so I like to do more workout videos, they are also really great for rainy days and in the middle of winter when you also don't want to go outside, haha. Some great walk type workouts can be found on youtube! https://www.youtube.com/user/walkathomemedia
I also have a lot of workout DVD's that I rotate through, the youtube link above is for Leslie Sansone's Walk At Home channel but she also has DVD's you can buy and find various places, they are GREAT for steps and perfect for beginners, mostly steps but also some light muscle work, a slight step up in difficulty would be Turbo Jam where you will get steps but you will also do some muscle work and get your whole body involved in the routine. Turbo Fire is a, rather big, step up from Turbo Jam, but it is great! Billy Blanks Jr. has a great "Dance With Me" series, great for people a little more coordinated than me, haha. Shaun T has a fun routine in "Rockin' Body".
Then there are the advanced programs such as the P90 series (P90x, P90x2, P90x3), and Insanity. 100% honest, I won't ever do regular Insanity again, I did the whole program completely through twice and it is an amazing program but if I am totally honest, after about 30 minutes I start to check out of a workout and my efforts start to die off. I do, occasionally, do the Insanity Max 30 workouts, they are more my speed. As for the P90 series, I'll do them sometimes, I mean, they are great workouts, don't get me wrong, but I don't find them enjoyable and Tony Horton's personality doesn't really work for me (NO shade on Tony! I doubt he will ever see this but I am sure he is a super nice dude in real life it is just I don't think his P90 persona and I mesh well. Please don't hate me, Tony Horton!). Like I said, they are great workouts, they just aren't ones that I enjoy doing and therefore it is hard to motivate myself to want to do them so I stick with the things I can motivate myself to do because I know that if I make myself miserable I won't stick with it.
But yes, both the P90 series and the various Insanity programs are all great quality fitness programs and if you can handle them I definitely recommend them but they are not things I would recommend starting with, I mean, there is even a huge disclaimer on them when you put the DVD in that you cannot skip that tells you not to do the workouts if you aren't relatively, sorta, healthy. My brother does a hybrid routine of various P90x3 workouts and Insanity Max 30 workouts, occasionally I join him, chatting with him is the only way I get through those workouts, haha.
I forgot to mention gyms and gym memberships. I have never had a gym membership and I don't ever plan on getting one. I know other people really like gyms and fitness centers but it isn't my thing. I already don't particularly enjoy working out, plus, I am an introvert by nature so gyms are just putting two things I don't feel comfortable or confident in together: looking like a dope to burn calories and socializing. Nope, not for me. That would motivate me to NOT workout, personally. For others, perhaps more outgoing and social folks, it is a PERFECT solution and a great way to motivate them. For me, I'll stick to working out on my own or with close family members and friends. Plus I am cheap, I don't want to pay for a membership, I'd rather buy a DVD that I get to keep and feel like a dope in the privacy of my own garage, haha.
Not that anyone should ever be ashamed of where they are in their fitness journey, be proud of yourself at whatever stage of the journey you are in because you are working toward a better quality of life for yourself and, actually, the people around you as well. If you are just starting your journey be proud that you made a step towards better health, if you are halfway to your goal be proud that you have worked so hard and made so much progress, etc. Anyway, don't be ashamed, shame is not healthy or good for the spirit. That said, if you aren't comfortable working out in front of others then don't feel like you have to, if you are then go for it! I, personally, am only comfortable working out with certain people and in certain environments so that is what I do.
Anyway, to summarize: figure out a realistic physical activity routine for your life. My personal recommendation is walking a lot and incorporating other types of exercise into your fitness routine but if that doesn't work with your job or your physical abilities then find a way to burn calories and build muscle that does work in your life and I'd be happy to try to help you in finding something that works for you!
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