Low-impact exercise involves having at least one of your feet staying in contact with the ground, or when the movement does not require excessive impact or force on the lower body joints. This type of exercise gives you a great cardio workout without putting too much strain on your body.
Low-impact exercise is perfect for those who are beginners to exercising, as well as older adults, people with arthritis or osteoporosis, pregnant women, obese individuals, and people with bone, joint and connective tissue injuries.
What are low-impact exercises?
If you have pre-existing injuries or you’re simply new to exercising, it’s a good idea to get a sense of which exercises will be good for you, based on your needs.
Remember to warm-up your body before attempting any exercise, and, always stretch afterwards. This will help your body recover and keep it in tip-top shape for your next workout.
Walking
Choose level surfaces that will absorb the impact, such as grass or dirt. Focus on keeping your posture straight and your shoulders rolled back. Start with a short distance and gradually increase it. Eventually try to aim for 30 to 60 minutes daily.
Cycling
Go cycling on an exercise bike or bicycle, avoiding very steep inclines if you have knee or hip problems. Cycling is great for those with ankle and back pain, as well as neck pain, because it keeps your body steady instead of putting more strain on your neck from your head bobbing up and down, such as when running.
Swimming laps
Swimming helps alleviate stress on your bones and joints, while improving your strength, fitness and flexibility. Try for as many laps as you can, and gradually increase them: to swim for 30 to 60 minutes. Breaststroke is the lowest-impact swimming style, but if you’ve got bad hips you might want to steer clear of this stroke and go for freestyle.
Lunges and squats
Lunges and squats are great exercises for strengthening the muscles in your thighs, hips and buttocks. If you have bad knees, strengthening the legs and muscles around the knees by doing lunges and squats will help stabilise the knee joint. Always check your form as you do these exercises, and ensure you’re using the right technique. It is better to do shallow lunges and squats with excellent technique, than to go too deep and cause yourself an injury. When doing exercises of this nature, it is good to do sets of three, increasing the number of repetitions as you develop. Start with three sets of five repetitions, performing 15 lunges and squats each in total, about two to three times per week.
Aerobic workouts
Cardio training and dance routines are great low-impact exercises. They involve using your own bodyweight (and sometimes small hand weights) to perform effective low-impact exercises.
For an easy low-impact workout, why not try this 15-minute total body workout for beginners by Daniel and Kelly from Fitness Blender?
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