High-intensity training, which many people choose to engage in when they want to look and feel better, is not for everyone. Some individuals require or favor low-impact exercise regimens.

The four main areas where you can adopt a low impact exercise regimen and reap the health benefits without putting your body at risk for injury or exhaustion are strength training, endurance, flexibility, and balance.

What Is Low Impact Exercise?

Low impact exercise is a form of physical activity that is gentle on your body. It is therefore gentle on your muscles, bones, and joints. If you’ve ever experienced soreness from working out the next day, you’ve probably done high impact exercise.

The most popular low-impact exercise that people do is walking. Anywhere, at any time, anyone can walk. You only need comfortable shoes; no special equipment is required.

Depending on your level of fitness, you can walk up and down hills or on a flat surface. You can stroll outside, inside, while stationary, quickly or slowly. Your level of comfort is everything.

Because there is so much moving around and bouncing in aerobics classes, it is frequently thought of as a high impact activity. However, low-impact aerobics classes are also available. Additionally, there are DVDs available that minimize the impact component of aerobic exercise.

A well-liked low-impact exercise is tai chi. It is a traditional Chinese exercise that combines deep breathing with slow movement. Your joints and other body parts will be safeguarded while you stretch and constantly move your body.

Another low-impact exercise is yoga, but don’t think it’s simple. Yoga has the great advantage of allowing you to maintain its low impact while increasing calorie burn based on your exercise preferences as your fitness level rises.

Pilates is a form of exercise that is similar to yoga and tai chi in that you will be strengthening your core while putting minimal stress on your body and benefiting from some low impact exercise.

Water-based exercise is a popular low-impact activity. This could involve activities like water aerobics, strength training, or swimming (like swimming laps in the pool).

In addition to being healthy for your body and mind, swimming is a lot of fun for most people and feels undemanding rather than strenuous. Even local classes are available for this kind of exercise.

Chair dancing may seem silly, and it certainly is, but it’s a lot of fun and a great low-impact exercise you can do to get your blood flowing. When you move and dance while seated in a chair, you are said to be chair dancing.

The majority of your exercises involve your arms, but you’re also working your legs and your middle as well. You can take DVD-based courses. This is particularly useful for elderly, disabled, or morbidly obese people who find it difficult or impossible to move around.

In order to maintain good health, strength training is crucial. More muscle means faster weight loss because muscle burns more calories than fat. Strength training is safe, and you can gradually increase your reps, sets, and weights.

Although playing table games like ping pong may not seem like exercise, it is! Due to the fact that you don’t have to put any strain on your body and that both feet are on the ground, they are regarded as low impact. What’s more, they are fun!

As long as you choose to use one with low resistance, exercise bikes can be a great way to get in low impact exercise. You can usually adjust the resistance level on bikes, but if you exert too much force all at once, your knees may become sore. Gain strength over time and take pleasure in using a stationary bike at home or in a gym.

You can get a great, challenging workout on an elliptical machine without putting any strain on your joints. Many people prefer the elliptical to the treadmill because the latter has a hard surface and the shock of each step can be painful. With an elliptical, you feel as though you are floating in midair while still moving and benefiting from exercise!

You can tone up your body and burn calories by rowing. If you hate working out, you can use a rowing machine at home or in the gym, but you can also learn a sport like kayaking to make it more fun.

A great sport to start playing for some low-impact exercise is golf. Golfers of all ages, including young children and the elderly, enjoy the game. You can ride a cart or walk 9–18 holes while still reaping some of the rewards of each swing, as well as the steps you take to get to your ball, the green, and the tee box.

A fun way to fit in some low impact exercise is by dancing. The use of dance is very diverse:

• Zumba (or other dance) classes
• Kinect or Wii dance games
• Dance DVDs
• Random dancing around the house

There are no right or wrong ways to work in low impact exercise. It’s all about getting some movement during your day. You want to push yourself a little bit, but you should never physically be in pain when doing this type of workout regimen.

Who Needs Low Impact Exercise?

Those over 65 are frequently the target audience for low-impact exercises. Our bodies and minds become less flexible as we get older. If we fall, we’re prone to fractures, so low-impact exercise helps you maintain movement without putting yourself in danger.

Low impact exercise is ideal for injured people who have experienced a specific injury or those who are in pain due to a disability, especially during a recovery period.

You can engage in low-impact exercise and reap the rewards for your efforts in terms of cardiovascular, muscular, and additional health benefits whether you are confined to a wheelchair or are able to stand and move.

People who have arthritis frequently experience severe joint pain. Exercise with a high impact may not be an option because every movement can be painful. You can exercise without experiencing pain by moving your body slowly and gently.

Heavily overweight can suffer from orthopedic injuries if they set out on a high impact exercise regimen right off the bat. The best way for you to go about it is to ease into a fitness role through activities like walking and swimming.

There’s another group of people who fit the demographic for low impact exercise – beginners! You never want to engage in difficult, advanced exercise when you’re new because you can injure yourself.

Health Benefits of Low Impact Exercise

The advantages of low impact exercise are numerous. Exercise is good for you in general, and when you sit still, your body cannot fight disease and heal itself as effectively as it can when you are moving.

Exercise with low impact can combat depression. You are familiar with the typical feeling that goes along with anxiety, panic attacks, stress, or depression if you experience any of these conditions.

You might feel lethargic or paralyzed, but you basically don’t want to move! In particular, you lack the courage to commit to a demanding, high-impact routine.

Therefore, engaging in low-impact exercise can help your body release endorphins, which can lift your spirits and make you happier throughout the day. It will be even better if you participate in enjoyable activities (like dancing or swimming) or sign up for low-impact activities that allow you to interact with others (like dance lessons) while exercising!

Your reflexes will improve with low-impact exercise. The elderly population, who have begun to notice some decline in this area of their lives, as well as those who have experienced an injury, may find this to be ideal.

Even if you’re not moving around vigorously, this type of exercise benefits cardiovascular health. All you’re doing is aiming for your target heart rate, and during high-impact exercises, you typically exceed it by a significant margin.

Your blood pressure can be lowered by low-impact exercise. Every time you work out, your heart gets stronger. Exercise makes the heart stronger, which is necessary for it to pump blood vigorously through your body without exerting itself as much.

The obvious advantage of low impact exercise is weight loss. Every time you move, calories are burned. People who are sedentary are more likely to put on weight and develop obesity.

The overall long-term weight loss will be the same if you stick to it and exercise regularly, though it might take a little longer than if you chose a high impact regimen.

Best Low Impact Exercise Equipment

Many people who have to (or want to) go on a low impact exercise routine don’t enjoy working out in public. But some love it for the socialization factor. If you don’t have a pool, you can join a place like your local YMCA to get aquatic movement.

As for machines that help you with low impact workouts, you can either use these machines in the gym (with or without supervision by a trainer), or invest in good equipment for your home and do your exercise every day without excuse.

Ellipticals are the most sought-after low impact machines. You can either invest in the foot pedals only or get a full-scale machine that includes movement for your arms.

Stationary exercise bikes are perfect for low impact exercise. You have two choices – recumbent or upright. A recumbent bike allows you to sit in more of a bucket seat, where you’re slightly reclined. An upright bike is what you would use when cycling outdoors, only this one is an indoor, stationary version.

Rowing machines are wonderful total body low impact workouts. You can get regular rowers that work with magnets, or you can invest in a water rower that uses fluid as the primary resistance factor.

Stair steppers and stair climbers are loved by many low impact exercise enthusiasts. You might think that stepping up stairs would be high impact, since it tends to wear many people out, but the impact on your joints is actually small.

Of course, you do have the option of increasing the resistance if you start to believe the machine has become too easy on your body – and this is a milestone that you’ll be happy to achieve.

Whether you simply hate exercising or you have a valid reason for avoiding high impact workouts, you’ll enjoy becoming addicted to fun, low impact exercise routines that get your heart pumping without causing you to wake up the next morning, barely able to move due to stiffness.