Abdominal Exercises Knees

I've been warming up with high knees for years: during sideline runs on my high school field hockey field, in sweaty dorm room HIIT workouts like Insanity, before runs or strength-training sessions today. It's simple but effective, intense but not too hard on your body. And ever since those Insanity days, listening to Shaun T yelling to engage your abs! with every step and drive, I've assumed high knees are great move for your abs, too.

As it turns out, high knees might not actually be the core workout they're cracked up to be. Doing high knees will work your abs, but probably not to the degree you are hoping for, said fitness coach Nick Leyden, MS, CSCS. High knees, he explained, are really meant to ramp up your heart rate and burn calories and fat. Your abs come into play, especially your lower abs and obliques. But, Nick explained, your hip flexors typically take over the exercise, becoming the predominant and primary mover of our lower leg as we bring our knees up and down.

So should you still be sweating it out with high knees? Sure; Nick recommended using the move in HIIT workouts, as a high-intensity finisher set, or even in between strength training sets to rev up your heart rate. High knees are also helpful in a running warmup, he said, because the exercise wakes up your body and helps to develop a proper leg driving motion.

Minute Ab Workout

High knees are great for getting your heart rate up and warming up for a run or workout, but ultimately, high knees provide very little stimulus to your abs and a lot of impact on your joints, Nick said. Try one of his recommendations for a more effective core workout or peruse our 30 favorite ab exercises for more ideas.

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