Low-impact exercise: minimum effort, maximum reward

When someone says exercise to improve cardiovascular fitness, perhaps you think running, burpees, or tennis, but cardio exercise comes in many shapes, forms and sizes – and not all cardio has to be high-impact.

And, according to the experts, low-impact forms of cardio can be a safe and effective alternative to high-impact exercise.

Low-impact exercise is any form of exercises which causes minimum impact, where “impact” is defined as the amount of force exerted on bones and joints during exercise.

Where high-impact exercises – including jumping and jolting movements – put a high level of impact on your joints, low-impact exercises such as yoga, swimming or Pilates apply less force to your joints and is generally gentler on your body.

Clinic director and titled musculoskeletal physiotherapist Cindy Parks from Coastal Balance Physiotherapy Torquay said low-impact exercise, as the name suggested, meant less strain through your joints allowing you to focus on endurance, flexibility and balance without the possibility of overloading your system.

“This makes it a necessary component to any fitness program, whether you’re a weekend warrior or an elite athlete, or if you are starting rehab post-surgery, post-injury or have an inflammatory condition such as osteoarthritis or need to keep your bones strong to prevent osteopenia or osteoporosis.

“Think bike riding, swimming, walking, or even weight training with lower resistance and higher reps.

“Speak to your personal trainer, physio, osteo or chiro to help get you going if this is a key factor that is currently missing from your weekly routine or if you’re not sure how to get started.”

According to Lachlan Cooper from The Injury Clinic Geelong, these types of exercises are often perfect anyone new to exercise or for those with joint and injury concerns.

“It’s all in the name! Low-impact exercise is a broad term and refers to any form of exercise that keeps impact to a minimum, typically placing less strain on joints and bones compared to other forms of exercise,” he said.

Cooper said low-impact exercise is a great way to get moving while reducing the likelihood of pulling up sore, but that didn’t mean it’s less effective.

“A common misconception is that low impact exercise is ‘easier’, however this is not always the case. There are many different types of low-impact exercise which can develop strength and cardiovascular fitness whilst being challenging and fun.”

Cooper said consistent exercise was the key to a longer, healthier and happier life, and an important way to remain independent in older years.

“We should maintain our fitness even when our body isn’t able to hold up to impactful exercises.”

Common low-impact exercises include swimming, walking, resistance training, cycling, yoga, elliptical cardio and rowing.

Cooper said a great way to get started with low-impact exercise was by contacting a physiotherapists or strength and conditioning coach to assist in programming low-impact exercises, particularly for those who struggle with aches and pains.

“There are countless types of low impact exercise to choose from.

“Exercise doesn’t need to go for a long time or be excessively challenging, either.

“Some studies have demonstrated that you’ll experience considerable health benefits with only 20 to 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise, three times weekly.”

Just In Time Personal Training and Workplace Health managing director and personal trainer Justin Moran said their team found low-impact exercises a great way to help people new to exercises break unhealthy habits.

“Our approach to people is to try to find a way to get people exercising, and sometimes low exercise can be the first step into realizing that they can do more.

“For people who have bad habits in their life, or haven’t exercised at all, or if they have they’ve gone and done high-impact exercises and it’s put them off, it’s a stepping stone into building up some level of base strength and mobility to have stronger tendons, ligaments and bones, and enable them to move into other levels of exercise.

“At the end of the day, our body is made to move, our bodies have to maintain all sorts of forces, so ultimately low-impact exercise enables us to get the benefits of life in a more effortless way, and it reduces our chances of injury.”