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High knees is a high-intensity cardiovascular exercise that gets your blood pumping while activating your core and strengthening your legs.
Use the simple high knee exercise to strengthen hip flexors, improve coordination and flexibility in the lower body, and increase momentum in your stride. You can use this as a full-body workout or a warm-up!
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High Knees Instructions
Here’s how to do high knees:
- Start standing with feet hip-distance apart.
- Lift the right knee as high as it will go and raise the opposite arm, then switch quickly so the left knee is up before the right foot lands. Gradually speed up to a jogging motion.
- Continue pulling your knees up in a jogging motion for as long as desired.
High Knees Benefits
High knees are an efficient exercise with lots of benefits, including being versatile. You can use this move as a warm-up or add it to your high-intensity interval training routine.
Here are just a few benefits of this convenient total-body exercise:
It’s A Cardio Boost
You can choose the effort you put into your high knees, but no matter how you do them, you will get a great cardio workout. If you are warming up or just beginning to exercise, keep your knees a bit lower and go slower.
If you want higher intensity and can go harder, lift the knees higher and go faster. (You can also add a mountain climber exercise for the ultimate cardio combo!) Of course, anything in between is also great.
Works Your Lower Body And Core
Your legs are moving and getting stronger. This move is simply running fast in place, and we know that running is an excellent exercise for your legs!
To get your knees higher, you must also engage your core muscles, so High Knees is suitable for training your core strength.
No Equipment Needed
The cardio benefits listed are excellent, but even better is that you can do this move right at home. There is no need to go to a gym or head into bad weather, no need to use dumbbells, kettlebells, or a stability ball; just find some space and get moving with your own body.
Easy Ways to Incorporate High Knees Into Your Workouts
The high knees exercise is a great warm-up or full-body exercise on its own, but you can also use it in your bodyweight, circuit, or HIIT workouts.
Here are a few sample high knees workout plan examples to get you started:
Workout #1: 10-Minute Bodyweight-Only Cardio Challenge with High Knees
Jog in place for 1 minute as a warm-up, then do each of the following for 45 seconds, with 15 seconds rest in between:
- Lateral Jumps
- Jumping Jacks
- High Knees
- Front Kicks
- Power Skips
Repeat all 5!
Workout #2: Fat Blasting Circuit Training Workout with High Knees
Move directly from one exercise to the next with little to no break in between. Rest for 1 minute at the end, then repeat the sequence.
- 30 seconds side lunges
- 30 seconds high knee run
- 30 seconds push-ups
- 30 seconds burpees
- 30 seconds plié squats
- 30 seconds bear crawl
- 30 seconds modified army crawl plank
- 30 seconds crab walk
Rest 1 minute. Repeat. Stretch.
Workout #3: Hot HIIT Workout with High Knees
High-Intensity Intervals are all the rage because they get the job done in record time. For each exercise, go as hard as you can for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds and then go hard again.
- Burpees 20 seconds
- Rest 10 seconds
- Plank Jacks 20 seconds
- Rest 10 seconds
- High Knees 20 seconds
- Rest 10 seconds
- Squat Jumps – 20 seconds
- Rest 10 Seconds
Repeat the entire sequence four times.
Explore more high knee workouts and similar exercises:
- Calorie Sizzler Tabata Workout
- 10 Minute Interval Workout To Lose Weight
- 20 Minute No Running Cardio Workout
If you like the idea of getting a great cardio move right in the comfort of your own home, try these exercises that are very similar:
