Exercise Alternatives
Recovering from an injury, dealing with bad knees or back pain, or just trying to keep the noise down? These modifications let you stay active without doing the moves that don't work for you right now.
Not every exercise works for every body. Joints wear differently, injuries happen, and some moves are just too loud for a flat or a sleeping household. The swaps below are direct replacements - same muscle groups, same training effect, less impact or strain. Use them whenever you need to, for as long as you need to. Each section shows the original exercise and what to replace it with; the rest of your workout stays the same.
Cardio - but knee-friendly
High knees are a high-impact move - both feet leave the ground repeatedly, putting significant stress on the knee joint with every landing. If your knees are sore, recovering from an injury, or you're just starting out, march steps give you the same cardio benefit without the impact. You're still driving your knees up, still working your core and hip flexors, still keeping your heart rate elevated - you've just taken the jump out of it. March steps are not a lesser version of the exercise. They're just the right version for right now.
Jumping jacks are deceptively high-impact - the repeated lateral jump and landing puts stress on your knees, ankles, and the connective tissue around both. Step jacks remove the jump entirely while keeping the same movement pattern: arms go up, legs go out, just one foot at a time. You still get the cardio, you still work the same muscles, and you keep your heart rate up without hammering your joints on every rep. If your knees are the limiting factor right now, step jacks let you stay in the workout instead of sitting it out.
Squats - but knee-friendly
Squats are one of the most effective lower body exercises there is, but they load the knee joint directly - and if your knees are sore or compromised, that load becomes a problem fast. Half squats reduce the range of motion so you're still working your quads and glutes without pushing the knee into the position where it's under the most pressure. Wall squats go a step further, using the wall for stabilisation and shifting the work away from the joint entirely. For jump squats, dropping down to regular squats removes the landing impact while keeping the legs under load. You're still training the same muscle groups either way. Your knees just get to stay out of it.
Push-ups - but easier
Standard push-ups require your shoulders, chest, and triceps to work together under your full bodyweight, which is a significant load if you're new to training or dealing with shoulder or wrist issues. Knee push-ups reduce that load immediately by shortening the lever - less of your bodyweight is in play, but your upper body is still doing real work. Wall push-ups scale it back further, making them a good starting point if you're building from scratch or coming back from an injury. Incline push-ups sit somewhere in between - hands elevated on a surface, more resistance than a wall push-up but less than the floor. All three versions train the same movement pattern as a standard push-up. Pick the one that lets you complete your sets with good form and work from there.
Climbers - but low impact
Standard climbers are fast and loud - the repeated driving of knees toward the chest at speed creates impact on every rep, both on your joints and on the floor beneath you. Slow climbers take the same movement and strip out the momentum, turning it into a controlled core exercise where each knee drive is deliberate and steady. Step climbers go further, removing any dynamic element entirely and making it a slow, alternating step - one knee at a time, no jumping, no noise. Both variations still work your core, hip flexors, and shoulders. If you're training in a flat, working around knee pain, or just need to keep the intensity manageable, either swap gets you through the exercise without the drawbacks.
Adding equipment
DAREBEE workouts are designed to require no equipment. You don't need to buy anything - but if you have equipment, or want to add some later, here's how it fits in.
If you're a beginner, don't buy anything yet. Complete at least two months of training first. That way you'll know whether you'll actually use it.
Dumbbells. One of the few pieces of equipment genuinely worth buying - as long as you use them regularly. Keep them visible, not stored away; out of sight means out of mind. Good for squats, lunges, side lunges, punches, cross chops, arm raises, sitting twists and get-ups. No dumbbells? Fill two plastic bottles with water or sand - works the same way for most exercises.
Sandbag. Any old gym bag filled with sand works. Any laundry basket filled with books works too. Use your imagination - improvised equipment is completely valid. Good for squats, lunges and push-ups.
Resistance bands. Replace bicep extensions with dumbbell curls or resistance band curls for direct bicep work.
Still have questions?
The DAREBEE Help Desk on the community forum is the best place to ask. The team answers questions there, and chances are someone has already asked the same thing.
