FITNESS

Centr Team

5 of the best cardio workouts for bad knees

Luke and Alexz can help you to burn fat, get stronger and tone all over with Centr Unlimited, the 6-week program with low-impact modifications for every exercise.

Nutrition has a big role to play in weight loss, as do everyday functions like regular movement and simply existing (all the processes happening inside your body are responsible for 60–70% of the calories you burn every day). Of course, adding exercise into the equation will make a positive contribution to achieving that calorie deficit.

While the kind of exercise often recommended to assist weight loss is high-impact cardio, it’s possible to lose weight with low-impact exercise (or no exercise at all!) If you’re looking for a form of exercise that can burn as many calories as a high-impact cardio session, without the knee pain, high-intensity, low-impact training (HILIT) can be just as effective.

Let’s take a closer look at HILIT and other styles of training that can help get you and your knees back into the exercise game.

5 of the best cardio workouts for bad knees

The best exercise for bad knees will differ depending on your particular pain points and what’s most accessible and sustainable for you. Let’s take a look at some of the most common recommendations.

1. Swimming

Could the best cardio exercise options for people with bad knees be in the pool?

There’s a reason swimming is often prescribed as rehabilitation after an injury: it’s low impact and works major muscle groups. Lap swimming will deliver a great full-body cardio workout.

Any stroke will lift your heart rate, but you may find the straight-leg kicks of freestyle or backstroke more comfortable for your knees than the frog kicks required for breaststroke.

The other benefit of swimming is that while the buoyancy of water takes the stress off your knees, it also provides resistance which means the muscles around your knees will be working harder and building strength.

The one drawback may be finding access to a pool – we don’t all have one in the backyard and some places may only offer seasonal access.

2. HILIT

To really get your heart rate up and maximize fat burn, you can’t go past HILIT – high-intensity low-impact training.

This style of training involves short bursts of movement at maximum intensity, followed by a short period of rest.

Because you’re training at your highest intensity, it only takes 20-30 minutes to deliver an effective cardio workout. And with exercises covering all planes and ranges of motion, you’ll work the whole body.

Bring the burn (without the knee pain) with Alexz Parvi’s HILIT (high-intensity low-impact) workouts on Centr.

A HILIT workout designed by an accredited trainer – like Alexz Parvi’s Bodyweight HILIT sessions on Centr – will ensure you get the maximum benefit from your time on the workout mat.

As well as being a big fat burner, HILIT will help to build cardio and muscular endurance, tone and define your body, and strengthen your posterior chain to further support your knee joints.

3. Walking

It’s free, it’s easy and walking consistently at a moderate-to-brisk pace will deliver a good cardio workout. Wear a comfortable and supportive pair of sneakers to decrease the load on your knees, and find an even walking surface.

Depending on the type and level of your knee pain, walking may not be low-impact enough – and you certainly shouldn’t overdo it. However, you may find that your knees feel better when walking, as the exercise will lubricate the joints, reduce stiffness and increase your range of motion.

4. Cycling

What’s the best cardio machine for bad knees? Cycling on a stationary bike is a low-impact cardio classic.

As you’re pushing those pedals to get your heart rate up, your quads, hamstrings and glutes will also be getting a workout – the stronger they are, the more they’ll protect and support your knee joints.

If you are cycling outdoors on a regular bicycle, stick to flat terrain in order to minimize potential knee impact.

5. Functional training

Knee pain can be caused, or aggravated, by bad movement patterns.

For instance, tight or weak hips and glutes can refer pain down to your knee. That’s where functional training comes in. Incorporating foundational movement patterns (such as crawling and squatting) into your workouts can retrain your body to move as nature intended.

Da Rulk’s Functional Training workouts feature low-impact modifications to protect your knees while you improve your mobility.

Chris Hemsworth swears by functional training to maintain mobility when adding muscle, and his functional trainer Da Rulk will help you do exactly the same by improving joint mobility.

His Centr workouts include low-impact modifications, removing the explosive element from exercises while keeping you moving to maximize mobility, strength and cardio benefits.

Want more low-impact workout advice?

• You've got to try this low-impact HIIT workout
• Alexz's top 10 low-impact exercises to bring the burn
• The best low-impact workouts you can do at home
• LISS cardio vs HILIT: which one is better for you?
• Get high-definition results with Centr Sculpted