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Low-impact exercises are often overlooked and overshadowed by high-impact, high-intensity and high-speed moves. But low-impact workouts still play a very important part in many training regimes and can be just as effective at burning fat and improving fitness as their high-intensity counterparts. Low-impact exercises boast a massive list of benefits that make them the perfect choice for beginners to exercise, older adults, people with injuries or joint problems, as well as during and post-pregnancy.
Low-impact exercises are any movement that is gentle on the joints or can be performed in a fluid motion. In a nutshell: it usually involves stepping, walking, and other movements that don't get your feet pounding against the ground.
There are many benefits of low-impact exercises but here are our top 3:
Are easier on your joints – studies have even shown that low-impact exercise may even promote the healing and recovery of damaged joints
Can decrease the risk of heart problems – moving your body and getting your heart pumping can improve blood pressure, reduce cholesterol and even lower the chance of developing type 2 diabetes
Don’t equal low intensity - reach your target heart rate zone, which is between 60 and 75 per cent of your maximum heart rate, and start burning big calories and hitting big fitness goals.
Like all types of exercise, many factors will aid the success/results of training but typically, with the right diet, one will start to see small changes in the first couple of weeks with more significant results showing around the 3-6 month mark.
Don’t know where to start or are new to low-impact training? Then check out 7 of the best low-impact exercises below that are suitable for all fitness levels:
Hop on the bike for a low-impact option that can get your heart racing and muscles well and truly switched on. Pound the pedals to your beat or join a Sprint class for some H.I.I.T. training.
A UK-based paper, Cycling and Health, stated that as well as improving physical health, this low-impact exercise has a positive effect on emotional health – improving levels of wellbeing, self-confidence and tolerance to stress while reducing tiredness, difficulties with sleep and a range of medical symptoms.
Using your legs, your back, your arms, and your core, the rowing machine is a fantastic all-over body workout that can be scaled up and down in intensity through the effort put in, while still ticking off both your strength and cardio goals.
The elliptical machine – or cross-trainer – takes all impact off the joints with its gliding motion and adds a sneaky upper body workout at the same time – meaning a big fat blasting workout with the whole body working up a sweat.
A study found that heart rate and oxygen consumption while training on an elliptical machine are almost the same as those of running on a treadmill – but the impact force through the feet is more comparable to walking, highlighting the low impact nature of the elliptical machine for users.
Zumba class can be a very fun and energetic way to add some funky moves to your exercise routine and this Latin-inspired cardio dance craze can have you vigorously hitting big calories without realising just how hard you’re working.
Most strength training exercises are low impact, but also a great way to work up a sweat and feel the muscles working. Make sure you ditch the squat jumps or other plyometric movements and go for static moves such as squats or lunges, push-ups, pull-ups and core work. Try a Body Pump class that is focused on targeting all the main muscle groups – it will be low impact but a great way to challenge your body.
Known for its many benefits including increased flexibility, better posture, improved muscle tone and strength, stress relief and boosted blood flow, yoga can be completed by all fitness levels and will certainly slow your body down for the better. Yoga classes can be found at most of our clubs with all different styles to target different results.
Research published in Complementary Therapies in Medicine has shown that practising yoga is more effective than physical therapy at reducing pain, anxiety and depression, and improving spinal mobility.
TRX exercises are based around a suspension strap system and can work every muscle in the body in an intense way. With no added weight needed for exercises, TRX allows you to increase or decrease the intensity of a movement through the angle of your body while staying easy on joints and low impact in its nature.
At Goodlife Health Clubs we have a wide range of low-impact cardio exercises to target weight loss:
Swimming
For our senior members, we offer classes that will get you moving but will be kind on your joints:
For the time when life gets in the way and you can’t make it to the gym, you can jump onto the App Store/Google Play and download our Kubofit app. There you will find a list of exercises and workouts that are low-impact and deliver results. Below is a list of a couple of must-do exercises to include in your next training session:
Squats
Lunges
Push-ups
Dumbbell bent over rows
Dumbbell shoulder to overhead
To even push your heart rate higher, you could try these in your next at-home low-impact workout:
Dumbbell clean and jerks
Dumbbell snatches
Wall balls
Dumbbell thrusters
Dumbbell push press
Renegade row
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