Are bad knees obstructing you from practicing cardio routine? Achy joints and badly hurting ankles or knees can prove to be a major hindrance when it comes to following the daily cardio schedule. However, you can continue with a good cardiovascular workout by following some of the easiest cardio exercises that do not put strain on your joints.

According to Ashley Richardson, a personal trainer, an ankle or knee injury should never stop you from doing cardio. This post talks about those cardio exercises you can perform even with bad knees.

Would you like to know more? Continue reading!

Specially Designed Cardio Workouts:

You can try out specially designed cardio exercises that increase your endurance so that even during an ankle or knee injury, you can continue with the workout session. These workouts help you to develop core strength, build muscle and shape as well as sculpt your body the way you have always wanted. These are performed in a circuit-style followed by a kick core finisher workout that ends up by tearing up the muscles and creating a fit and fab body.

Each exercise is to be performed for around 30 seconds at an elevated pace. The entire circuit has to be repeated 7 times. The workouts that are included in these special cardio routines include:

• Drop Twists
• Dip Turnovers/Push Up
• Double Dumbbell Swings
• 180 Planks
• Crazy Planks
• Core Destroyers

However, you need to perform this cardio routine under the guidance of a trainer. But if you are interested in carrying out the cardio session without any help, then here are the 10 best cardio workouts for you.

1. Scissor Kick:

• Start by lying flat on the ground with your legs together. Your arms should be placed on the sides.
• Keeping your forearms on the ground, lift your legs (about six inches) and shoulders (about one inch).
• Stay in that position. Now spread your legs apart, bring them back towards each other. After this, cross one leg over another.
• This completes one rep. You can begin by doing sets of 50 reps. While performing the exercise, ensure your legs and shoulders are not touching the floor.

2. Swimming:

Swimming is an incredible form of cardio exercise, especially if you want to burn more calories in a shorter time. It burns calories almost equal to what you would burn on a run. However, swimming offers better and a variety of options to make your heart pump faster. Some of the suggested options include:

• Putting a buoy in between your leg and squeezing it tightly so that the upper body is stretched.
• Holding the kickboard in the front so that only the lower half keeps on working.

3. Rowing Machine:

One of the most under-utilized cardio equipment is the rowing machine. Everyone is mostly interested in a complete body workout, whereas rowing machine is especially dedicated to the upper body. It is a great exercise for toning up arms, shoulders, and a better option when your legs or joints are hurting. The legs provide a low-impact support when you are performing the rowing action. So, the lower limbs also get to move and exercise, albeit without putting any strain on the joints.

4. Circuit Weight Training:

This type of weight training builds up the mass of the muscles, increases the heart rate with back-to-back moves, and ensures faster cardiovascular activity.

• The circuit weight training involves lifting lighter weights as compared to the regular weight training exercises.
• Alternating the muscle-group exercises with the reps can enhance the cardio effect of this routine.
• You can alternate a back move with a bicep move and carry the same rep for around 40 to 45 minutes or until your body can permit.
• You can also include bench presses, core exercises, push-ups and curls to keep variety in your workout and ensure the safety of your ankles and knees.

5. Elliptical:

Elliptical is nothing but a low-impact cardio exercise that is almost similar to running. While performing the exercise, you need to make use of both the legs and the arms for power. However, it does not put a strain on your ankle and knee joints and hence can be safely performed even with a burning knee.

6. Yoga And Pilates:

Lately, you come across different forms of yoga including regular yoga, Ashtanga yoga, power yoga and a lot more. However, few of the yogic postures are extremely helpful in developing core and upper body strength. Alternating these and other relaxing yoga forms with Pilates routines can help you reach the desired level of cardiovascular activity. You will find a wide range of yoga and Pilates DVDs that will help you to develop your own combination of workout routine. A grouping of these two will keep your heart pumping and improve your body’s flexibility.

7. Biking:

Biking can be performed outdoors as well as indoors. It is indeed a challenging workout, but it does not put much strain on your ankles or knees. Many doctors even recommend cycling occasionally to retain the flexibility of the joints and to reduce pain in the knees. Depending upon your strength, you can use a stationary bike or even climb a small hill for increasing heart rate.

8. Kayaking:

Anyone can do this exercise. However, you need to be lucky enough to be staying near a lake or an ocean. You will get kayaks on rents around the seashores and the lakesides, and can perform the kick-butt workouts to burn calories and pump your heart without putting any pressure or stress on your knees or ankles. It can be a great cardio workout choice for those who are holidaying around the water shores and missing their exercise routine.

 9. Climbing The Rock:

If you are trained in rock climbing, you can certainly include this activity as a part of your cardio workout. However, if you have not done it before, you should get some training from the nearby rock-climbing center. The trainers will introduce you to the uses of different rock climbing gears so that you can climb the rock safely without hurting yourself. Rock climbing requires the use of arms and legs and hence makes both the upper and lower limbs strong.

With these exercises, you will never be at a risk of damaging your burning knees and can continue your cardio routine without a break.

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by Maanasi Radhakrishnan via STYLECRAZE