Take The Weight Off: Four Surprisingly Effective Low-Impact Exercises

It’s easy to think that the effective workouts are high-impact, high-intensity ones. The kinds of workouts designed to make you suffer for it. These workouts are definitely great. But sometimes your body can’t handle being constantly pounded by such intense exercise. The problem is, low-impact exercises aren’t going to do nearly as much good, right? Wrong.

A lot of low-impact exercises are way more effective than you might initially think. These kinds of exercises are also fantastic for beginners or anyone recovering from an injury. It’s honestly amazing the effect that a lot of low-impact exercises can have on your levels of fitness. Here are a few fantastic low-impact exercises that are much more effective than you think.

Swimming

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Few things offer such an all-over body workout as swimming. The amount of work that your muscles are putting in when you’re swimming is amazing. And luckily the low impact nature of this exercise means that you’re not hammering your body too hard or in danger of hurting yourself. Pick a stroke that’s comfortable, go at your own pace and start doing some lengths. The chances are that you won’t even feel how much of a workout your muscles are getting until you actually get out of the pool. Swimming is fantastic for developing muscle, strengthening arms and shoulders, and even improving lung capacity.

Yoga

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People are always shocked by just how much of a workout they can get out of yoga. The image of ambient music and slow, deliberate poses make people think that yoga is easy, but they couldn’t be more wrong! While yoga is definitely not as intense as circuit training, it still offers a fantastic work out. There are lots of different types and levels that you can try, so join some Hot Yoga classes, limber up and start adding some flexibility to your routine.   

Kayaking

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Want a more interesting way to work your arms and core than going for the same routine of crunches over and over? Then why not grab an oar and hit the water? Kayaking is an absolutely brilliant exercise that can give you a serious workout, burning up to four hundred calories. Not only that but it’s a great way to get back to nature as you make your way down a river or across a lake. If you’re feeling particularly daring, you can even use it in the ocean and ride the waves!

Walking

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It’s so obvious that you’d be surprised how many people forget it. Walking is the perfect stress-free way to workout and stay active. Especially if you’ve got a walking routine that you can vary from time to time.

Go from flat roads to steep hills to really work up a sweat. And if you want to get the most out of your walking workout, strap on some weighted ankle or wrists straps and make sure that you really feel the burn.