Exercise in general is good for you. When you’re stationary, your body can’t fight disease and repair itself as well as when you get your blood flowing. Sedentary people tend to spend too much time sitting and are generally inactive resulting in them becoming either overweight or obese.
Low impact exercise is the type of exercise that doesn’t put stress on your body. That means, it’s kind to your joints and bones and muscles. Low impact exercise includes activities like walking, yoga and swimming. There are many benefits of low impact exercises.
Free Report: 6 Risks of a Sedentary Lifestyle5 Benefits of Low Impact Exercises
1. Mental Health
Low impact exercise helps with depression. If you suffer from anxiety, panic attacks, stress or depression, then you know the common feeling that happens with them. You feel paralyzed, you might feel lethargic – basically, you don’t want to move! You especially don’t have the heart to embrace a high impact, exhausting routine.
So a low impact exercise regimen can help release endorphins in your body and give you some hope and happiness during your day. It will be even better if you engage in things you find fun (like dancing or swimming), or sign up for low impact exercise where you’re socializing with others (like dance lessons)!
2. Reflexes
Low impact exercise improves your reflexes. This can be perfect for those who have suffered an injury – as well as the elderly population who has started to see some decline in this area of their lives.
3. Cardiovascular Health
This form of exercise helps with cardiovascular health, even if you’re not vigorously moving about. All you’re doing it shooting for your target heart rate, and with high impact activities, you usually go way over that target rate.
4. Blood Presssure
Low impact exercise helps lower your blood pressure. Whenever you exercise, you’re strengthening your heart. The heart needs to be strong to pump blood vigorously through your body without working so hard, and exercise helps it get strong.
5. Weight Loss
Weight loss is an obvious benefit to low impact exercise. Any time you’re moving, you’re burning calories. Sedentary individuals are more prone to gain weight and become obese. It might take a little longer than if you were to adopt a high impact regimen, but the overall long-term weight loss will be the same if you stick to it and exercise consistently.
Best Low Impact Exercise Equipment
Many people who have to (or want to) go on a low impact exercise routine don’t enjoy working out in public. But some love it for the socialization factor. If you don’t have a pool, you can join a place like your local YMCA to get aquatic movement.
Ellipticals & Stationary Bikes
Ellipticals are the most sought after low impact machines. You can either invest in the foot pedals only, or get a full-scale machine that includes movement for your arms. Stationary exercise bikes are also perfect for low impact exercise. You have two choices – recumbent or upright. A recumbent bike allows you to sit in more of a bucket seat, where you’re slightly reclined. An upright bike is what you would use when cycling outdoors, only this one is an indoor, stationary version.
Rowing Machines & Stair Climbers
Rowing machines are wonderful total body low impact workouts. You can get regular rowers that work with magnets, or you can invest in a water rower that uses fluid as the primary resistance factor.
Stair steppers and stair climbers are loved by many low impact exercise enthusiasts. You might think that stepping up stairs would be high impact, since it tends to wear many people out, but the impact on your joints is actually small. Of course, you do have the option of increasing the resistance if you start to believe the machine has become too easy on your body – and this is a milestone that you’ll be happy to achieve.
The Risks of a Sedentary Lifestyle
Whether you simply hate exercising or you have a valid reason for avoiding high impact workouts, you’ll enjoy becoming addicted to fun, low impact exercise routines that get your heart pumping without causing you to wake up the next morning, barely able to move due to stiffness.
It’s probably not coming as any big news flash to you that exercise and smart nutrition combine for an unbeatable system of health, vitality and wellness in both mind and body, from head to toe. Besides, if you live to be 70 or 80, but the last 40 years of your life are plagued by health problems because you decided you would rather sit and lounge your way through life rather than being active, is that really living?
Check out these 6 serious health risks directly related to a sedentary lifestyle and you might just have enough motivation to start enjoying the benefits of low impact exercises.
