You don’t need to be doing super High intensity exercises every time you hit the gym in order to stay fit. While it’s good to implement some intensity in your workouts, low intensity exercise could serve you good as well; if done consistently of course. Today, I will give you 7 low-impact exercises that you can implement to your day in order to stay fit. These exercises could also be very good if you implement them in your rest days in order to “stimulate the recovery process without imposing undue stress onto the body.”

Click here to learn more about active rest days.

here’s the list:

• Walking
• Yoga
• Swimming
• Cycling
• Hiking
• Kayaking
• Low-Intensity Strength Training

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#1 | Walking

By far one of the easiest and best low-impact exercise you can do is walking. Aiming for ~10,000 steps a day is a very good start and can easily help you stay fit, and even in some cases lose weight! Many people underestimate the huge impacts of simply walking more, here are just some of the benefits of walking:

• Lower body mass index (BMI).
• Lower blood pressure and cholesterol.  
• Lower fasting blood sugar (glucose).
• Better memory and cognitive function.
• Lower stress and improved mood.  
• Longer life.
• Stimulate fat loss

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#2 | Yoga

Implementing yoga to your day, especially rest days, can be super beneficial to not only your body, but to your mind as well. According to doctors, “Just 15 minutes of yoga a day can change your brain chemistry and improve your mood” (Tempelman). On top of that, here are some of other benefits yoga has to your body:

• increased flexibility.
• increased muscle strength and tone.
• improved respiration, energy and vitality.
• maintaining a balanced metabolism.
• weight reduction.
• cardio and circulatory health.
• improved athletic performance.
• protection from injury.

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#3 | Swimming

Swimming is a great way to activate your whole body, along with countless of other benefits. Taking a day to go out to your local pool and just swim a couple of laps can do you very good if you keep it consistent. Here are some benefits swimming has to your body:

• keeps your heart rate up but takes some of the impact stress off your body
• builds endurance, muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness
• helps maintain a healthy weight, healthy heart and lungs
• tones muscles and builds strength
• provides an all-over body workout, as nearly all of your muscles are used during swimming

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#4 | Cycling

Even if you don’t like walking, there’s always something else, cycling is another great low-impact exercise with studies claiming that cycling may “reduce your risk of developing heart disease and cancer by 45 percent compared to nonactive commuters” according to a study published in the BMJ British medical journal. Cycling is great as it does not strain any muscles or joints, provides active recovery for your muscle, and it’s even great for the environment! Here are some benefits cycling has to your body:

• increased cardiovascular fitness.
• increased muscle strength and flexibility.
• improved joint mobility.
• decreased stress levels.
• improved posture and coordination.
• strengthened bones.
• decreased body fat levels.
• prevention or management of disease.

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#5 | Hiking

Hiking takes your walking to a whole other level, with beautiful things to see and constant discovery a long the way, hiking makes an easy and fun way to implement low-impact exercises to your day. Put on a backpack and some comfortable shoes and take a day out to explore the beautiful world we live in and improve your health at the same time! Some benefits of hiking include:

• Lower your risk of heart disease.
• Improve your blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
• Boost bone density, since walking is a weight-bearing exercise.
• Build strength in your glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, and the muscles in your hips and lower legs.
• Strengthen your core.

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#6 | Kayaking

Kayaking is very productive way to stay active throughout your week as it works your arms and core, and you even get the chance to see some awesome sites! Working out while exploring? That’s a check in my book. Here are some benefits of kayaking:

• Improved cardiovascular fitness
• Increased muscle strength, particularly in the back, arms, shoulders and chest, from moving the paddle
• Increased torso and leg strength, as the strength to power a canoe or kayak comes mainly from rotating the torso and applying pressure with your legs
• Reduced risk of wear-and-tear on joints and tissues, since paddling is a low impact activity.

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#7 | Low-Intensity Strength Training

Lifting heavy weights and light weights make well-rounded training programs for muscle growth and overall health; lifting light weights during your rest days will assure you’re getting adequate recovery and muscle growth without any sort of strain to your muscles. Here are some benefits of low-intensity strength training:

• Greater hypertrophic gain
• Better range of motion
• Reduce risk of injuries
• Allows for proper form to be learned in exercises

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Bottom Line

There are many benefits of doing low-impact training from reducing the risk of injuries to promoting muscle growth; low intensity exercise should be implemented to your workout routine as a way to get active rest during rest days or as an add-on to your normal workout routine.

Leave a comment!

Do you already do one that’s on this list?

What low impact exercises do you enjoy the most?

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References:

“5 Advantages to Lifting Light Weight.” Muscle & Fitness, http://www.muscleandfitness.com/workouts/workout-tips/5-advantages-lifting-light-weight.

“Benefits of Yoga.” American Osteopathic Association, osteopathic.org/what-is-osteopathic-medicine/benefits-of-yoga/.

Department of Health & Human Services. “Canoeing and Kayaking – Health Benefits.” Better Health Channel, Department of Health & Human Services, 30 Aug. 2014, http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/HealthyLiving/canoeing-and-kayaking-health-benefits.

Department of Health & Human Services. “Cycling – Health Benefits.” Better Health Channel, Department of Health & Human Services, 30 Nov. 2013, http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/cycling-health-benefits.

Department of Health & Human Services. “Swimming – Health Benefits.” Better Health Channel, Department of Health & Human Services, 30 Aug. 2013, http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/swimming-health-benefits.

McGrattan, Juliet. “The 10 Benefits of Doing Yoga Every Day.” Netdoctor, Netdoctor, 31 Oct. 2019, http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/healthy-living/fitness/a28508/yoga-health-benefits/.

“On Your Bike: Cycling to Work Linked with Large Health Benefits.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 19 Apr. 2017, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-cycling/on-your-bike-cycling-to-work-linked-with-large-health-benefits-idUSKBN17L2ZO.

Robinson, Kara Mayer. “Hiking Benefits Heart, Mind, and Body.” WebMD, WebMD, 15 Sept. 2013, http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/hiking-body-mind.

Tim, et al. “How to Take an Active Rest Day.” 12 Minute Athlete, 11 Apr. 2019, http://www.12minuteathlete.com/how-to-take-an-active-rest-day/.

UP Nutrition Athletes. “What Is Active Rest?” 1 Up Nutrition, 1 Up Nutrition, 23 Dec. 2018, 1upnutrition.com/blogs/expert-advice/what-is-active-rest.