In last week’s blog I talked about how to get fit for summer by starting running. As I mentioned, running isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and for some people it is unsuitable because they have an injury or perhaps bad knees so this week I’m looking at what other exercises you can do to get fit.

We’ll start with mini trampoline exercise because this is of course my favourite exercise for several reasons:

1) It’s a great calorie burner

2) It tones the legs & bum

3) It’s fun

4) It can be done in all weathers

5) It doesn’t hurt my knees or shins

Everyone thinks of mini trampoline exercise being just for kids but really it’s even more effective for adults. It’s also great in summer because you can take it outside and exercise in your back garden.

Mini trampoline exercise burns approximately 500 calories per hour and you don’t have to be super fit or coordinated to do it. Just start by jogging or pushing side to side and try to build up your effort each time and you’ll feel your fitness increase every session too.

Swimming, aqua aerobics and aqua jogging are also low impact exercises and you have the added bonus of water resistance to give you an extra workout. You don’t burn quite as many calories with swimming as you do bouncing, but it still works your entire body including your core muscles in your stomach, lower back and glutes that will help prevent lower back pain.

Aqua aerobics is a little bit more fun and varied and although you’ll need to be coordinated to keep up with the instructor, it also doesn’t matter so much if you go wrong because your body is under water so no one can see if you go left instead of right!

Aqua jogging is great too, especially if you really want to get back to running after injury. You wear a float around your middle to keep your torso above the water and you basically have to run through the water trying to keep upright. It’s not easy and you don’t move very quickly but I highly recommend it for any runners or wannabe runners who are concerned about previous injuries.

Finally, I recommend some simple floor exercises that will help you build strength in the muscles and give you definition and tone. Abdominal exercises such as crunches, plank and core twists are great for working the stomach muscles, while lower back raises or bridge are good for working the back and glutes in the bum.

You can also build up strength in the leg muscles so the joints are supported more. Squats are a fantastic exercise for this and so are side lunges and both of those exercises can be done at home without any equipment.

I hope that helps you get started – feel free to ask a question if you need any more advice on how to exercise even if you have an injury or weakness.