There’s a myth that your time at the gym was wasted if you didn’t leave sweating profusely and feeling a little like you wanted to die. We hear people spouting things like, “Go hard or go home!” and sometimes it’s more than a little tempting to just go home.
There are an array of reasons why you might not be cut out for hardcore workouts like CrossFit or Krav Maga. Maybe you’ve suffered an injury, or have chronic joint issues. Maybe you’re pregnant or are carrying an excess of weight that makes high impact workouts dangerous for your body. Good news! You can still reach our weight loss and fitness goals without risking further damage to your body.
Low impact workouts are the new CrossFit. Okay, that might be an overstatement. But really, these workouts put far less strain on your joints while still having powerful health benefits. Not to mention, they’re more sustainable as you get older.
Here are 3 of the top benefits to doing low impact workouts:
1. Low impact workouts helps you lose weight.
If you’re familiar with the science behind weight loss, you know in order to burn calories, you need to stay in the middle to high range of your target heart rate zone. But, you don’t need to be jumping around or running to achieve this.
Exercises like the elliptical, swimming, walking and cycling will all increase your heart rate without putting loads of strain on your body. Working out for weight loss doesn’t have to be miserable or painful!
2. It’s great for your heart.
Low impact workouts will help strengthen and improve your cardiovascular health over time. If you’re at a higher risk of developing heart disease, research shows that participating in a low impact exercise routine will help prevent the development of cardiovascular diseases.
If you’ve received any prior diagnosis’, be sure to consult your doctor before starting a new exercise routine.
3. It will help you build your strength and endurance without damaging your joints.
Doing low impact exercises will help you build up muscle endurance and strength over time, without putting undue stress on your joints. It will help you get the muscle tone you’re looking for, without injuring yourself. Yoga is particularly great for this.
Joint damage is one of the main reasons people choose to start a low impact exercise routine. It’s easy to avoid exercise when you’re dealing with a sore knee, or ankle, or hip. But research has found that these low impact exercises might actually help promote the faster healing of damaged joints.
Low impact workouts are especially important for those who have had joints replaced or suffer from chronic joint diseases like osteoarthritis. Keeping those joints moving is incredibly important. Low impact exercises will accomplish this, without doing further damage.
There are many benefits to low impact fitness routines. The most important thing, is to start doing them, and stay consistent. You don’t have to allow joint pain to hold you back from losing weight or improving your overall health.
