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Low-impact exercise is cardiovascular exercise that reduces stress on the legs, knees, and feet. Examples include walking, non-jumping aerobic dance, swimming, rowing, and biking. It is beneficial for those with leg injuries, overweight, out of shape, or pregnant. It can still be effective in increasing heart rate by using ankle weights, increasing pace, or involving arms. Sensible low-impact exercise can prevent some injuries, but not all. Good shoes and walking on softer surfaces can also help protect legs and feet.
Low-impact exercise refers to cardiovascular exercise that won’t put too much stress on your legs, knees, and feet, or has reduced impact on your legs, knees, and feet. Examples of high-impact exercises include things like many aerobic dance classes where people perform numerous jumping or bouncing moves. Other high-impact exercises include running and jogging. Jumping or rebounding their feet is more stressful for them and can create or aggravate an injury. For this reason, some people seek low-impact exercise that will have less risk of injury.
Some people may find low-impact exercise to be of particular benefit. These include people who have suffered foot or leg injuries in the past, who are overweight, those who are out of shape and starting a new exercise regimen, and pregnant women. With high-impact work, the added weight of pregnancy or extra pounds puts a further strain on the body and can increase the risk of injury. If you’re at risk of injury from high-impact cardio, there’s no point in doing it. An exercise regimen can be thwarted if you take a break because you’re injured.
Low-impact types of exercise include things like walking, aerobic dance classes that don’t involve bouncing or jumping, and some step aerobics. The other option is to choose cardio exercises that are considered non-impact. These include things like swimming, rowing, or biking.
Some people wonder if you can effectively increase your heart rate by doing low-impact exercise. While it’s true that higher-impact work can elevate your heart more effectively, low-impact work can also be quite effective. However, it can take some work to get you to a target heart rate. Some things that can help get your heart rate up while doing low-impact exercise include using ankle weights to make your body work harder, increasing your pace, such as walking faster, or involving your arms in the exercise. If you walk and use arm motions, while this may seem a bit silly, you’ll be using two major muscle groups and reaching a target heart rate sooner.
Low impact exercise is not impact exercise. You can still injure yourself, and if you have recurring foot, leg, or knee problems, you can choose other exercises that don’t give you this stress. For example, swimming may be a much better alternative if you have conditions like plantar fasciitis.
You can help prevent some injuries, but not all, by performing low-impact exercises sensibly. If you plan to walk, for example, walk on a dirt track, treadmill, or sand, instead of walking on concrete. Choosing good shoes that are suitable for significant walking or things like step aerobics can also help protect your legs and feet.
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