SWAP 1: High Knees → High Knee March

Instead of high knees swap in a high knee march! Make sure you engage your core, stand tall and drive your opposite elbow toward you knee as your lift your leg.

SWAP 2: Jumping Lunges → Reverse Lunges

Replace jumping lunges with reverse lunges. Stand upright, turn on your core and place your hands on your hips or wherever they feel comfortable (perhaps holding some dumbbells to amp up the intensity?). Then take a large step backwards with one foot and drop your hips down into a lunge position. Think about putting the your weight into the foot of your front leg when lowering into your lunge. Once you’ve dropped into your lunge (as low as is comfortable for you) push through your front foot and engage your glute and quad to bring yourself back to an upright position.

SWAP 3: Burpees → Burpee Walk Out

Be gentler on those knees by subbing in burpee walkouts for burpees. You’ll start upright then come to a crouched position with your with your toes underneath your hips and your feet pointed slightly outward and your hands on the floor underneath your shoulders. From there you’ll place your weight into your hands as you step your legs back into a plank position. Hold the plank for a moment, then step your legs back towards your hands (you’ll come back into the crouching position) and then stand yourself back up till you’re upright again.

SWAP 4: Jump Squats → Squats

Let’s do a squat instead! Start standing with your feet hip distance apart, toes turned out slightly, core activated. Bend the knees, sit your hips back and stop once your hips are slightly below your knees. From here drive your heels into the floor to stand up and squeeze those glutes at the top! Extra tip – as you squat give your toes a wiggle just to make sure you’re sending your weight through your heels, activating those glutes and hamstrings.

SWAP 5: Box Jumps → Step Ups

Step ups still use a box, chair or any raised stable surface, but they take out the pressure jumping can put on your ankles and knees. To execute a step up, step one foot onto the box and drive the opposite knee up towards your chest standing all the way up on the box. Then using the leg that’s lifted, step back onto the floor one leg at a time and find your starting position. Repeat starting with the opposite leg and continue to alternate from one side to the next. If this challenges the stability too much, take out the knee drive and simply step up onto the box one foot at a time, then step back down.

SWAP 6: Mat jumps → Mat walk outs

To be a little gentler on the knees, let’s take out the jump and incorporate a walk out into this exercise instead. Start standing at the top edge of your mat, feet hip distance apart. Roll down through your spine, bending your knees as you need until your hands find the floor, then walk your hands out to a plank position. From here, walk your feet in towards your hands, roll back up through your spine, then turn around and go back the other way!