Low Impact Workouts: They’re Safer and More Effective than you Think
The American Heart Association recommends 40 minutes of moderate to intense aerobic exercise three to four times each week in order to reduce your risk of having a heart attack or stroke. That exercise doesn’t have to be high impact activity, as low impact exercise can still provide you with a good workout, while reducing the risk of injury to your joints. Here are some reasons why you should consider a low impact workout over a high impact routine.
Low Impact is Suitable for Everyone
Not everyone is capable of handling the additional stress a high impact workout brings. If you currently have joint problems, arthritis, stress fractures or sports injuries, you may experience pain while performing high impact exercise; you also increase your risk of strains and sprains considerably. If you are significantly overweight, are pregnant or have just started exercising, low impact exercise is recommended at least temporarily.
Target Heart Rate
Just because you are performing low impact exercise doesn’t mean you can’t still reach your target heart rate zone, which is between 65% and 85% of your maximum heart rate. You can still reach this level by moving faster and over-exaggerating some of your movements. When walking, you can also vary your routine to include hills or inclines in order to make your heart work harder. Adding hand or ankle weights will increase the intensity as well. On an exercise bicycle or elliptical machine, you could also choose an interval program to help build endurance and elevate your heart rate a bit.
No Lack of Activities
When it comes to low impact workouts, you never have to be bored with your training program. A few of the activities you can participate in are:
- Bicycling
- Roller or ice skating
- Swimming
- Cross country skiing
- Rowing
- Kayaking
- Hiking
- Tai Chi
Best of all, weight training, Yoga and Pilates can all be included in any one of these workouts to help build strong muscles and increase your range of motion without placing undue stress on your joints. As such, you’ll never have to tire of a routine, because there will always be something new for you to try.
When done properly, low impact workouts can be just as intense as high impact routines, but are much safer to do. Even if you’re not currently experiencing joint problems, you could still benefit from making the switch by preventing future problems from occurring.
