High intensity training doesn’t have to mean high impact. If your body prevents you from running, jumping or skipping or the idea of bouncing around for an hour doesn’t appeal, read on.

Last week I sought the great outdoors for some great whole body conditioning. But how to get my heart rate up without having to run, jump or skip?

Two words. Loaded carry.

The heavier the better but if you don’t have heavy, move your carries to stairs or up a hill and find out how hard they can be.

There are many different ways to perform loaded carries but the simplest is with weights in your hands. Grab dumbbells or kettlebells and just walk away. Note, two buckets of water will also do the job nicely!

In my workout video, I alternated between performing a doubled racked kettlebell carry on the way up and a farmer’s carry on the way down.

For the racked carry, hold your weights on your chest and engage the muscles of your abs and back to ensure you stand up straight. Use your legs to drive through each step. For the farmer’s walk, hold your bells by your side and keep your chest up and your focus on good standing posture.

Loaded carries are a great form of conditioning in their own right and not just when we need a low impact workout so get into it.

Other forms of loaded carries include:

• Overhead carries such as waiter’s walks and press walks. These can be performed single or double arm.
• Weighted backpacks, sandbags or vests. Throw one on or over your shoulders or bear hug it to your chest and complete short runs or walk efforts.
• Sleds or something similar like a weighted rope or tyre. Drag or push it, backwards or forwards, uphills on the sand. You won’t have to go very far. Trust me!

While I had my kettlebells on the stairs last week, it would have been remiss of me not to put them into action as part of a bigger workout. So, I opted to work the shoulders with a single arm push press, the posterior chain with some double KB swings and performed a burpee-thruster combination to finish off the circuit.

**Please note, kettlebells are a tricky implement to work with and double KB swings are an advanced movement so seek some qualified guidance for technical tips before attempting these.

Workout details:

3 stair loaded carries (double front rack on way up, farmer’s carry on way down)

• 15 push-press (right side)
• 15 push-press (left side)
• 20 double KB swings
• 5 burpee-thruster combos

2 stair loaded carries

• Repeat exercises

1 stair loaded carry

• Repeat exercises.