Running may be the latest exercise trend today but it is not for everyone. Yes, running does help you in burning those fats and all, but the pounding that your knees and ankles are getting can hurt in the long run. Unless you are pushing yourself to run up the hills and back down again, you might be better off doing other workouts that will get you in good shape too minus the possible injuries. Want to know what these exercises are? Here are a few recommendations to try.

Jumping rope

Jumping rope was fun back when you were a kid but you might be surprised to find that it is still one of the best exercises that you can do to build stamina, speed up your heart rate, and burn those extra calories you’ve been storing in your body. Start with the basics first before moving on to the more complicated routines. You can even try doing more reps as you progress with your training.

Burpee

Here’s another exercise that will leave you breathless, sweating, and burning those calories. For this workout, you will need to go into a squat position where your arms are positioned in front of you and your weight on the heels of your feet. Now jump your legs backward as soon as you place your hands on the floor before you. You will now be in a push up pose. Keep your core tight as you execute one push up then jump your legs back in to go back into a squat position. Jump up with your arms raised above you then lower yourself into a squat upon landing. Do as many reps as you can manage within a minute.

High knees

Since you won’t be running, running in place is a good substitute but do the high knees if you want to get the most out of your workout. As the name suggests, you should raise your knees as high as you can when you are running in place to really workout those leg muscles and core too. Try to do as many reps as you can within one minute. Remember to keep your core tight throughout the workout. This will leave you feeling breathless and your heart pounding after for sure.

Broad jump

Doing broad jumps work the entire body. What’s great about this workout is that it is designed to boost one’s strength as well as sense of balance. In this workout, you should start with your legs about a little bit wider than your hip’s width. Now lower yourself into a squat. Swing arms toward your back then jump forward as far as you can manage. Now turn around then jump back to your first position. You can set your own number of reps if you like or you can do as many repetitions as you can manage within one minute. You can increase the number of reps that you do as soon as you get the hang of landing.

Tuck jump

In this exercise, you should go into a tall squat then jump up. You should touch the sides of your knees then land on the balls of the feet to reduce the stress that you are putting on your knees. Make sure that you have control with your movements when you land. The better you get with your landing, the more reps that you can do. 

These are just a few exercises that you can do to stay in shape even when you are not running. You will find that it is easier to get your shape better with these exercises.