If you're eager to ramp up your aerobic fitness but your knees cringe at the thought of running, you're in luck. Low-impact cardio delivers all the fat-burning, heart-thumping benefits of traditional aerobics—without the pounding.
In this guide, we’ll debunk the myths, walk through the benefits, and show you the 8 best low-impact cardio options that torch calories and protect your joints.
Take Your Fitness To The Next Level
What Are Low-Impact Cardio Workouts?
Low-impact cardio exercises raise your heart rate without excessive stress on your joints. Unlike high-impact movements like jumping or sprinting, these workouts keep at least one foot on the ground and rely on smooth, controlled movements to reduce force through the knees, hips, and ankles.
These workouts are perfect for:
- Beginners
- Older adults
- People recovering from injuries
- Anyone with joint sensitivity
Characteristics of Low-Impact Workouts¹:
- One foot always on the ground: Reduces joint stress.
- Smooth, controlled movement: Less risk of abrupt impact.
- Low joint stress: Ideal for people with arthritis or past injuries.
- Elevated heart rate: Still burns calories and improves cardio fitness.
Top Benefits Of Low-Impact Cardio
Whether you're recovering from an injury or just looking for joint-friendly training, low-impact cardio delivers impressive benefits.
1. Protects Your Joints
Running generates impact forces 3-8x your body weight per step²! While running can be safe for many, low-impact cardio offers a joint-friendly alternative for people managing pain, arthritis, or overuse injuries.
2. Improves Heart Health
Low-impact does NOT mean low-intensity. These workouts still raise your heart rate and strengthen your cardiovascular system. They improve circulation, lower blood pressure, and help reduce your risk of heart disease.
3. Supports Weight Management
You can absolutely burn calories and fat with low-impact workouts. When paired with a healthy diet, they support weight loss and maintenance.
4. Can Act As Active Recovery
Gentler movement keeps you mobile, pumps blood to sore muscles, and supports recovery without taxing your nervous system or joints.
5. Everyone Needs Low-Impact Cardio Choices
Even if you love high-impact workouts, low-impact sessions let you increase your overall training volume while reducing injury risk.
Best Types of Low-Impact Cardio
When you examine different forms of cardio, you notice that many are actually low-impact to varying degrees.
Here are our favorite forms of low-impact exercise.
1. Cycling
Let’s start with cycling, as it has a ton of benefits;
- A low level of skill or learning is required.
- Every gym has stationary bikes.
- You can join spinning classes
- Easy to modify intensity to increase the duration
Keep in mind that a cycle ergometer was the initial tool used for the Tabata protocol, as it allowed athletes to achieve ultra-high levels of intensity.³ In other words, these can be intense!
Pro Tip: Avoid knee pain by adjusting your bike seat. Your knee should be slightly bent when the pedal is at the lowest point.
Check out our picks for top folding bikes here!
2. Ellipticals
The elliptical is a class low-impact piece of cardio equipment.
It’s designed to mimic the motion of running, but rather than your foot coming off the ground, it never leaves the foot platform!
Further, it involves your upper body as well to give you a full body workout. It’s downside is that they can be bulky. However, if you have the room, check them out here!
3. Stairclimber
The stairclimber is low-impact BUT DEFINITELY NOT low-intensity!
The stairclimber is an awesome cardio exercise that simultaneously gives your muscles a legit workout. In fact, its main drawback is that it can be too demanding for some people, especially for longer durations.
Regardless, climbing stairs for 30 minutes will prove that low-impact exercises are no joke.
4. Swimming
We love swimming. It’s a great full-body workout that basically negates any impact on your joints. You still need to be mindful of overuse injuries, primarily with your shoulders. Regardless, it’s a great choice.
The main drawback is that you need a certain level of skill and endurance. Most people use the freestyle stroke, which is a great stroke. However, it does take time to become efficient.
Further, it will take some training before you can swim 30+ minutes straight. However, we recommend you put in the effort if you find it interesting.
Keep in mind you can also use other methods besides freestyle. This includes using;
- Kickboards
- Webbed gloves
- Breaststroke
- Combat stroke or side stroke
5. Deep Water Walking
- High resistance, low impact
- Great for cardiovascular endurance and leg strength
- Ideal for rehab or low-impact HIIT
You don’t need the ocean—pools work too. Just walk briskly in waist-to-chest-deep water.
6. Rucking
Rucking is a fairly new form of low-impact cardio. It’s derived from the military and involves wearing a weighted pack and going for a hike. That’s it!
Pro Tip: Start with 10% of your body weight and build up gradually.
7. Walking Hills Or Incline Treadmill
We really like these two options as the impact is on the same level as walking. However, due to the incline, you can still increase the intensity high enough to have you sucking air.
If you have time, go to the gym, set a treadmill to an incline, and walk while you watch your favorite TV show or listen to a podcast.
Or, buy one for your home gym, so you’re never missing out.
Either way, you’ll quickly realize how demanding this exercise can be.
8. Low-Impact Aerobics
Low-impact aerobics was all the rage in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. However, aerobic classes have fallen slightly out of favor, but that doesn’t mean they should! In fact, these aerobic classes make one of the best choices for low-impact cardio at home!
Regardless, they still remain great options for certain populations. Now, we’re including all types of aerobic classes here, including;
- Aerobic exercise
- Dance exercise (i.e. Zumba)
- Boxercise or other fight-based aerobics
One of the main benefits is these take part in a class form, which provides;
- Motivation
- Social community
- Guidance
More importantly, they can increase your heart rate and be fun! Some people find continuous exercise boring, so aerobic classes are a much more appealing choice.
Optimizing Low-Impact Aerobic And Cardio
Due to the false association of low impact with low intensity, some people may not get the benefits they could. The primary issue that holds people back from benefiting from using low-impact exercise is simply not training hard enough.
Again, low impact DOES NOT mean low intensity.
This was noted during research into low-impact aerobic dancing. Researchers found that dancing could elicit improvements in cardiovascular health. Further, when done at low-intensity, low-impact aerobics burns about 4 calories a minute. However, when performed at high intensity, dancing burned 10-11 calories per minute.⁴
Therefore, when you partake in low-impact exercises, be sure to perform them with proper levels of intensity.
Low Impact Cardio And Aerobics: Final Say
It’s time to redefine low-impact cardio! All of the above options are great forms of training that can benefit any trainee while saving stress on your joints. However, they can all deliver an intense and challenging workout to improve your cardio health, burn calories, and improve your overall general fitness.
References
- Said M, Lamya N, Olfa N, Hamda M. Effects of high-impact aerobics vs. low-impact aerobics and strength training in overweight and obese women. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2017;57(3):278-288. doi:10.23736/S0022-4707.16.05857-X https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2694281/
- Alentorn-Geli E, Samuelsson K, Musahl V, Green CL, Bhandari M, Karlsson J. The Association of Recreational and Competitive Running With Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2017;47(6):373-390. doi:10.2519/jospt.2017.7137 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28504066/
- Tabata I. Tabata training: one of the most energetically effective high-intensity intermittent training methods. J Physiol Sci. 2019;69(4):559-572. doi:10.1007/s12576-019-00676-7 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31004287/
- Williford HN, Scharff-Olson M, Blessing DL. The physiological effects of aerobic dance. A review. Sports Med. 1989;8(6):335-345. doi:10.2165/00007256-198908060-00003 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2694281/
0 comments