5 Best Low-Impact Exercises To Try

by FitMyFoot
September 26, 2016
2 min read

Whether you’re injured, or just wanting to give your body a break, these 5 activities are the best low-impact, high calorie-burning sports that you should be doing!

Barre Workouts: in addition to toning your muscles, barre-inspired workouts can also torch plenty of calories and boost your metabolism. Combine the use of light weights with sculpting moves done at a cardio pace to burn up to 650 calories per class. Using hand weights, resistance bands, or medicine balls while performing exercises can really amp up your burn. Adding resistance of any sort can make your heart work harder, exactly like you would when sprinting during a run.
Cycling: one of the best, and easiest low-impact cardio workouts that you can do. However, if you are in recovery mode from an injury, don’t over do it. Stick to a lower gear to avoid stress on your knees and hips. Riding with the right amount of resistance will never put unnecessary stress on your joints. You should burn around 600 calories in an hour. Try peddling around:
- 60 to 80 rpm (rotations per minute) for hills
- 80-100 rpm for flat roads
- 100 to 110 rpm for sprints.
Power Yoga: what an amazingly effective, low-impact way to stay strong and lean. Even if you can’t walk due to an injury, you can still do yoga. With an average burn of 400 calories an hour, power yoga is a total-body workout that strengthens, keeps your heart rate elevated, increases oxygen uptake, and can even help in recovery.
Rowing: any activity that focuses on your core, and burns up to 600 calories per hour, should be on the top of your list. Make sure that when you're rowing you're powering through your upper body, and not your arms. Get the power from pushing back with your legs, and let the arms and back follow to make it a total-body workout. See you on the water!
Swimming: injured our not, at an average burn of 720 calories an hour, you should be seeking a pool at every chance you get! Improve your caloric output by alternating between different strokes. Focus on your form and your breathing to not only train your entire body but maximize your body’s ability to use the oxygen you provide it with. If you’re like us and live by an ocean, swimming could also be a life saver. (See how Martha McCabe uses her FitMyFoots in her Olympic training)