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FOCUS ON FITNESS
Low Impact Aerobics Tidbits and Tips

Introduction
 Low impact is often used in the same sentence as light, easy, or maybe even relaxing, but that is far from the truth. Yes, your low impact workout can be easy, but so can any workout if you make it that way.  Even if your workout is low impact, you can still have a great workout to burn calories without ever jumping, running, or stressing your joints out.

Benefits of Aerobic Activity
Aerobic activity, or cardio for short, is a vital part of any workout, and, if your main goal is to lose weight, it is going to become the foundation of your workouts. Aerobic activity is also the most common form of exercise you will see. Just take a drive on a nice summer day and you will see people biking, walking, jogging, or maybe playing basketball or soccer in a park. The reason so many people are doing it is because cardio has so many benefits to your body and your health. Some of the main benefits from a good cardio routine are listed below. 

  • Helps with weight loss
  • Improved energy and stamina levels
  • Improved heart strength
  • Increased lung capacity 
  • Improved circulation 
  • Increased joint and muscle strength
  • Increased balance and coordination
  • Reduce risk of high blood pressure
  • Reduced risk of stroke
  • Reduced risk of some cancers
  • Reduced risk of heart disease 
  • Reduced risk of bad cholesterol 
  • Reduce risk of stress or depression
  • Lower resting heart rate

You may have one main goal such as weight loss as your reason to start your cardio program, or maybe all the reasons listed and more are why you decided to start a cardio program. The fact is, no matter who you are or what your goal is, cardio is one way to help better your body and health.

 
Consult your Doctor
Before we begin talking about exercise programs, it is important that if you have not had a recent checkup that you consult your doctor and talk about what form of exercise is right for you. Also, if you have any joint, back, or muscle pain talk to your doctor to make sure you will not increase any of these conditions. Yes, exercise can decrease muscle joint and back pain, but, only if you are exercising properly and with the correct form. So before you begin have a checkup. 

Ideas for Aerobic Activity
People decide that they need to do a low impact cardio program for many reasons, but joint health or joint pain is usually the most common. Depending on where the pain is located and what is causing your pain will be the deciding factors on what activity is best for you. Your doctor or a certified health professional would be a good start for some ideas on different activities. 

For people with joint pain or arthritis swimming, walking in a pool, water aerobics, or treading are great options that will offer a huge calorie burning workout, but none of the impact involved in a normal workout. Also, the warm water usually really helps people who have arthritis. If you do not have access to a pool, some other options are the recumbent bike, step class, or a cross trainer/elliptical.  

Pools are one of the best low impact activities for anyone who struggles with arthritis or lower body and back pain. So, if you just want an idea of how to have a quick low impact aerobic exercise program, consider water-based exercise. 

Warm Up
At the start of your workout, you should always warm-up for a couple of minutes. A warm-up does not have to be complicated at all and can be anything from riding the bike for a few minutes or even doing a couple of short stretches. The main idea to keep in mind when planning your warm-up is to focus on the area that you are about to workout. If you are swimming, warm your arms and legs up and if you are going to do a step class or bike, focus more on your legs. If you are prone to joint pain, this is vital part of your workout to keeping your joints and muscles from being stiff.  Your warm up should be about 50-75% of your workout intensity and last about 3-5 minutes. 

Pool Warm Up Ideas: Your pool warm up should match your activity. If you’re planning on doing a water aerobics class, warm up with a set of calf raises, jumping jacks, pushups on the edge of the pool. Make your goal to do 2-3 sets for 15-20 repetitions.

Swimming warm-ups have many different forms, but here is a great way to warm up before you hit the lap pool. Start by walking one lap forward and one lap backward pushing against the resistance of the water. Next, grab a kick board, and, having your arms straight in front of you, and warm up for 2-3 laps.

Exercise
Depending on your goal and workout intensity, the exercise time frame and intensity will change, but a good rule of thumb is to shoot for three days a week for 30 minutes. In the beginning 30 minutes straight may be too much so it is okay to break it up into sections if needed and build up to the full 30 minutes. The main factor in your workout phase is to make sure your workout is challenging for you throughout the whole workout, but also not so challenging that you have to cut your work out short. 

There are several ways to gage the proper intensity level of your workout. The first is a simple talk test. To perform this when you are doing your cardio, see if you can still carry on a conversation. If you are unable to talk, you are working out too hard, but if you are able to carry on a conversation and talk almost a whole sentence without a breath, then you need to raise the intensity. The second way, which is the best way, is to buy a heart rate monitor. This allows you to have a constant idea of the intensity of your workouts. 

Cool Down
Cool down is a vital part of your workout to help reduce soreness and joint stiffness. For your cool down, gradually reduce your intensity or speed. After you complete that, spend 5-10 minutes and work on some static stretches that focus on the body parts you just worked out on. Stretching will be the most vital part of your cool down to help reduce muscle stiffness. For each stretch, reach until you feel a gentle pull of the muscle and hold for 10-15 seconds.

Pool Workout: Slow down your speed for the last couple of laps, then at the end of the final lap, or in the deep section spend 3-5 min treading water. Afterwards, head to the edge of the pool or the locker room and spend a couple of minutes stretching your quads, hamstrings, calves, back, and arms, holding each stretch for 10-15 seconds.

Conclusion 
Whatever your reason is for switching to a low impact workout, remember that your workout can be just as effective in helping you to burn calories and maintain a healthy lifestyle without the pressure and pounding on your body.
 

Nathaniel Billing, BS, CPT, is currently working as an Exercise Physiologist at Pacific Nutrition and Wellness in their pre and post surgery care program for people who have bariatric weight loss surgery.  His goal is to help people who have never exercised or maybe have had years since they have last exercised, reach their individual fitness goals and learn to make activity a personal part of their lives.   He received his Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science from Indiana Wesleyan University and graduated as a Certified Personal Trainer from National Academy of Sports Medicine.


Article ID: WD196
 
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