High Knees touch

High Knee Touches is a great exercise to add variety to your aqua jogging routines. This exercise is specifically great for endurance, but it also works your core and lower body muscles and helps develop flexibility and balance. So it's a great workout for anyone who loves aqua aerobics. It is easy to learn and suitable for almost all ages and levels.​

How-To

Starting Position:
Stand in waist to chest-deep water and place your hands in front of your abdomen. Let your palms face downwards.
Execution:
Lift your knees and try to touch your hands in an alternating jump motion. Keep a steady pace throughout the entire workout. This will help keep your heart rate up. When you land, go on your toes first and then heels. Then slightly bend your knees to complete your safe landing and give your body the next upward push. 
Target:
This exercise primarily targets your cardiovascular system. It works your front leg muscles as well as your gluteal and abs. 
More Tips:

• Don't move your arms. Reach with knees only while keeping your hands still in front. 
• If you feel that the exercise is too easy or too hard for you, then raise or lower your hands level accordingly. 
• Breathe regularly throughout the entire workout to keep your muscles from becoming tired too soon. Remember, this is a prolong aerobic activity. You need your muscles to perform at their best for as long as possible. 
• Don't start jogging fast immediately. You need to get there first. Start with a simple warm-up then gradually add intensity as you feel your body asking for more. You can start with a five-minute walking on spot as a warm-up. Do the same when cooling down with two extra minutes of stretching. 
• You can combine this exercise with any shallow water jogging variation. But this can also be a standalone workout, if you only aim to work your core and lower body muscles. 

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​Intensity

​This is an aerobic workout. But nothing stops it from being more than that if you like. You can do a prolong aerobic activity, or you can do as many high knee touches as possible in a set amount of time. Or, you can go Pilates and do one leg at a time, at a comfortable pace, with bigger range of motion. This is completely up to you to decide. 

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Variations:

When exercising, variations help keep things interesting and give your muscles a new challenge. The same goes for exercise programs. Each time you repeat the same workout, your muscles adapt to it and make it harder to improve your fitness. 
Single leg high knee touch and double leg high knee touch are great for both changing the movement and the intensity of your high knee touches. Single leg high knee touch would put more load on one leg, leading to stronger leg muscles, while decreasing the aerobic intensity. Double leg high knee touch would do the opposite. It would require a more explosive movement with less recovery time but the force exertion on the other hand would be a joint effort of both your legs, thus placing less load on your leg muscles. Both variations have their cons and pros, so make sure to use them, and the original movement, appropriately in your routine. 

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​Safety:

There are general safety considerations to apply when performing aqua aerobics:

1. Use proper form when executing the movement.
2. Start slowly and build up the intensity.
3. When jumping, be aware of your surroundings.
4. Exercise when lifeguard is present
5. Read the signs and familiarize yourself with safety regulations
6. Don't exercise in extreme water temperatures