Many people think “low impact” means water aerobics and boring yoga classes that don’t burn many calories, but it’s so much more.
If you’re like me, you hate running and your knees hurt after a tough workout session. It’s okay, you can give your body a break and get fit at the same time.
You can stay in shape and even lose weight with low impact training.
What is Low Impact Exercise?
Low impact training is simply an exercise that takes away the force placed on the joints in your body. Your knees, ankles, and hips aren’t forced to work their hardest to get a good workout.
You won’t be doing any plyometrics in your workouts. Walking is the low impact version of running. When you run, you put force on your joints.
Low impact doesn’t mean you don’t work as hard, it just means you take the force away from your body.
Benefits of Low Impact Training
Low impact training is great for people that have joint pain. Aches and pains are normal as you age, especially if you’ve done a lot of athletic activity in your life.
When you’re recovering from surgery, low impact exercise is best for your body. You don’t have to do low intensity exercises just because they are low impact.
As long as your joints aren’t working hard to get in a workout, you’re still getting the same great effects of low impact exercises.
Extensive Benefits
There are extensive benefits besides just taking the force off your joints. You can get a great cardiovascular or strength workout without plyometrics.
You can even use it to cross-train because you can use different muscle groups for your different exercises.
You can get in a great workout and build endurance without injuring yourself. The best thing is that you do it with your own intensity levels.
You don’t have to go too hard. You just need to know how hard to push your body.
Low Impact Doesn’t Mean Low Intensity
I thought the same thing. I thought low impact exercises meant I would be bored and wouldn’t lose any weight working out.
This is the truth: low impact does not mean low intensity. When you’re doing low-intensity exercise, your heart rate should be kept at 60% of its maximum rate for 30-60 minutes.
You can keep up your intensity while remaining low impact. This means things like power walking and swimming are still low impact, yet high intensity. You can walk on inclines using different muscles as well.
With low-impact workouts, the intensity is really up to you. When you increase your speed or make your body motions bigger, you’re increasing your intensity levels.
Increasing your range of motion increases your intensity while keeping exercises low impact. You can even do walking lunges or regular squats.
This engages your muscles without hurting your joints. One of the best low intensity workouts is on the elliptical. You can burn a lot of calories without hurting your joints on this machine.
You use intervals to boost your heart rate, and you pump your arms for a larger range of motion. The intensity level is up to you when it comes to low impact training.
High Impact Crash
There’s not some competition where high impact fights low impact exercises. Some people thrive off of high impact while others just cannot do it for the sake of their body.
I used to love the high impact exercises. I thought if I wasn’t killing myself at the gym, I wasn’t getting in a good workout.
I was so stressed out. My body hurt all of the time. I would crash after these exercises.
The problem is that I was using these workouts as a form of stress release for that time. My body was so stressed out that it wasn’t good for me. I needed to slow down.
I needed to find a routine that worked for me. I started to incorporate more speed walking and yoga classes in my routine.
I started to lift weights that actually worked for me. These workouts propelled my fitness levels. I was excited about working out.
I was happy when I left the gym. I was spending more time with my family on walks and in the pool. For me, high intensity, low impact workouts worked best.
Low Impact Appetite Effects
You’ve heard about Olympic trainees eating thousands and thousands of calories per day. When you’re working out hard, you eat all day. You crave carbs.
There’s no problem with eating more calories than you burn. The problem is when you eat too many calories and cannot burn it off.
Low impact exercises help you crave less. You always need to balance your diet with your exercise. If you don’t, you cannot lose weight.
Will Only High Impact Exercise Keep Me In Shape?
The good news is that you don’t have to run a marathon every month to stay in shape. No matter the impact of exercise, you can benefit your health.
It’s best to incorporate both high and low impact exercises into your routine. You can stay in shape by consistently moving along with a healthy diet. It’s in your hands.
As long as you’re getting your heart rate going and moving, you’re burning calories. You don’t have to pound the pavement to get in shape. You just need to do a workout in your own way.
Should Only Beginners Engage In Low Impact Training?
It doesn’t matter if you’ve been working out for decades or just beginning, you can do low impact exercises.
You don’t have to be an expert to train. You might feel silly in a yoga class or water aerobic class, but you will learn.
You also don’t have to worry about going from being an everyday runner to a person that works out on an elliptical.
There is no set time to start low impact exercises. Biking and swimming are great ways to get in low impact exercises. You can learn as you go as well.
There is no right or wrong way to approach working out this way.
Painful Doesn’t Mean Effective
Many people think a workout is only as good as the pain it produces. When your muscles hurt, it means you’ve done an effective workout.
While this is true, you can also engage muscles in a beneficial way during a low impact workout. You can get great benefits from yoga, Pilates, walking, and the elliptical.
Your body produces endorphins during these exercises as well. You build strength in your core by doing yoga.
Your back health is improved when doing Pilates. Core strength is great for your entire body. Any exercise helps your body improve circulation, balance and posture.
Group Low Impact Fitness
You don’t have to workout by yourself to get in a great low impact workout. Many people love going to group fitness classes. You can do spin classes at high intensity, yoga for meditation, Zumba for some dance or water aerobics.
Water aerobics are some of the best classes because they take away all of the impact on your joints.
If you workout best in a group, it’s just fine to take these sort of classes to get a low impact workout.
Low Impact Strength Training
Lots of people run from the thought of cardio activity. They don’t want to get their exercise on a bike or even in a pool.
You can actually do low impact strength training with the same results. This helps strengthen the body. You can do movements like rope pulls and sled pushes.
Be aware that some strength exercises do associate high impact training. Those with lowering and lifting are often tough on the joints.
When you’re in a controlled lifting routine, you can easily do low impact exercises. This means you do eccentric movements slowly while watching your every move.
This helps your muscle growth and even improves bone density. Don’t ever let your weights bounce. Always control the weight at a slow pace.
Think Primal Movements
Foundational ancestral movements improve the body’s ability to work hard while limiting impact. They are things like yoga and activities that have primal-exercise philosophies.
Ancestral movements are all about balancing relaxation and the tension in your body. Your body is never too loose, yet never too rigid.
Your body is better able to move, balance, and stabilize. Doing these sort of movements means you hold your form and keep your body in proper alignment.
You can even crawl across the floor, work on punches, or do yoga poses to keep the fun in these exercises.
Best Low Impact, High Calorie Cardio Exercises
The thought behind high intensity, high impact workouts is that you’re able to burn fat in a little amount of time.
This means for low impact, you need exercises that you do on a consistent basis. You need to commit more time to your exercises.
Walking is one of the best low impact activities for any person, no matter their age. Swimming helps you lose weight and gain muscles because it helps you use all of your muscle groups.
The elliptical is a great cardio machine that helps you burn a high amount of calories without hurting your joints.
Many people love Zumba and other dance classes because it keeps up their momentum while helping them push towards their fitness goals.
Get In The Water
We already told you how great swimming is for your entire body. Some people get bored swimming laps.
If this is you, try rowing. Rowing at a high intensity burns about 600 calories an hour. Your whole body gets a great workout.
You can rent a kayak for a few hours on a pond or lake. Get some sun, and get a great little workout. If you don’t feel like going to the local watering hole, get on a rowing machine at the gym.
You’ll notice quickly that your entire body is engaged while rowing. On a machine, you’re pushing with your legs and following with your upper body.
Go Old School With Your Workouts
A low impact workout means you can think out of the box. Do you remember the days in your childhood at a local skating rink?
You were actually getting in a great workout on those skates. Get on some rollerblades. This is a great way to get a low impact exercise while having a lot of fun.
You can burn almost 900 calories an hour on your skates. The best news is that you’ll be outdoors enjoying nature as well.
If you don’t want the extra sun, head to that old skating rink and go around a few laps. It’s best to focus on skating rather than gliding on roller blades. You can alternate between high intensity skating then going a lower speed.
Make It Work For You
You don’t have to do any workout that you don’t want to do. Make sure low impact exercises make you happy. You have to give yourself permission to want to do the exercise.
When you change your workouts, make sure it makes you happy. If you aren’t doing something that makes you happy, you’ll burn out quickly.
Low impact workouts help you feel great, look great and be in great health at the same time. Find the low impact exercise that helps you feel the most empowered.
Find friends that enjoy doing these exercises with you. Once you find the exercise you love most, you’ll find what works best for your mind and body.
In conclusion, low impact training is beneficial for your body. You don’t have to injure yourself to stay healthy. You can do all sorts of wonderful exercises without putting much force on your joints.
Take control of your health by doing low impact exercises. Stay focused, stay strong and stay in control. By doing so, you’ll notice the healthy benefits from low impact training.
