Down on bended knee

“[N]o matter what Middleton wears,’’ columnist Hilary Alexander wrote, “her knees are almost always on show.’’

On the positive side, maybe now we can stop doing triceps work. But it’s scant solace. If there’s one body part harder to remedy — or conceal — on a hot day than Bingo arms, it’s got to be chubby or saggy knees, especially since the fashion dictators decreed several years ago that nude stockings are over.

At Revolution Fitness, in Boston, personal trainer Mike D’Angelo hears from people “all the time’’ worried about fat knees. D’Angelo, an optimistic guy, insists there are solutions. But what a lot of work, especially when we’ve also got hips, guts, and dreaded back fat to work on.

“If you shape the muscles around the knees that helps shape the knees,’’ he said.

Here’s one thing not to focus on while sweating leg lifts: the impossibility of spot reducing or eliminating sagging skin. (There’s no patella-specific diet.) No less a fitness role model than actress Demi Moore reportedly got a knee lift to make hers look more taut and youthful, according to a 2006 story in the Daily Mail.

Even those with skinny knees can’t win. Back in 2007, the Daily Mail reported that supermodel Kate Moss had hit Sir Paul McCartney’s 65th birthday party wearing a dress that revealed a pair of “distinctly bony knees.’’

What’s a regular person (who would kill for Moss’s bony knees, let alone Middleton’s) to do? Shave, exfoliate, and conceal. Yes, M.A.C. Cosmetics makes a Face and Body Foundation, which, when all else fails, can be applied to the knees. It’s $32 for four ounces.

If that doesn’t work, you can always get down and pray. At least your knees will be good for something.