A strong core offers more than just a good appearance. Maintaining core strength is essential for balance, stability, and everyday activities. Whether you’re involved in sports or simply climbing stairs, your core provides stability and safety. Strengthening these muscles can alleviate back pain, enhance posture, support strength training, and even improve breathing. (Here’s how frequently you should work out your core for optimal results.)
Crunches might seem like the default move for a strong core, but doing them in large numbers won’t provide a complete core workout or eliminate belly fat. This is because your core comprises more than just your abs. A strong core also includes your back, glutes, and pelvic floor. If your goal is to lose belly fat, you need to elevate your heart rate and burn calories.
That’s where high knees come into play. This dynamic exercise engages your entire body and significantly raises your heart rate, especially when incorporated into a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) routine. A few rounds of high knees can burn calories and build functional core strength, making them a smarter choice than crunches for achieving visible abs and a healthier core.
The benefits of high knees
When performing high knees at a rapid pace, you might not realize which muscles are engaged, so let’s break it down. Standing tall and raising one knee as high as possible activates numerous muscles. To lift your leg, the muscles at the front of your hip engage while your glutes extend. Your standing leg stabilizes your body, involving your core, quads, and calves.
Quickly switching legs involves a small hop that shifts your weight and engages your lower abs and pelvic floor. Simultaneously, your obliques, transverse abdominis (the deep stabilizing muscle in your core), and back muscles maintain your posture. You may also pump your arms to generate momentum, activating your biceps.
Performed quickly, high knees mimic running in place, aside from the exaggerated knee lift. These rapid bursts elevate your heart rate swiftly, and you may find them challenging to sustain for long periods. This makes high knees ideal for bodyweight HIIT workouts, often more effective at burning belly fat than prolonged, low-intensity routines.
In a 2009 study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, women with metabolic syndrome followed one of three programs for 16 weeks: no exercise, low-intensity exercise five days a week, or a combination of high- and low-intensity workouts. Those incorporating high-intensity sessions three times a week lost significantly more visceral fat than those exercising at a low intensity alone.
How to do the high knees exercise
You might recall doing high knees in gym class, but back then, you probably didn’t focus much on form. While you don’t necessarily need gym shoes, avoid casual footwear that could slip. To engage the small foot muscles, consider going barefoot.
Begin by standing tall with your feet a comfortable distance apart and your weight on the balls of your feet. To activate your core, imagine zipping up a tight pair of jeans and maintain that subtle core lift throughout the movement. Raise your right knee as high as possible while curling your left arm up. Your opposite arm aids in driving the motion and acts as a counterbalance.
Then, hop off your left foot, swing your right arm for power, land your right foot, and raise your left knee high. Continue alternating feet by hopping and driving the opposite knee up, landing lightly each time. Once you establish the rhythm, increase the pace while maintaining the “zipping” sensation in your core. Try synchronizing your breath with your movement for better control.
To transform it into a HIIT workout, aim for 30 seconds of high knees followed by 30 seconds of rest. Repeat for 15 to 20 minutes to aid in burning belly fat. High knees also serve as an excellent warm-up for other workouts, such as running, or can be part of a full-body HIIT circuit alongside exercises like burpees, push-ups, and jump squats.
