Depending on how efficient you are in your game of fitnessyou can choose from a wide range of cardio exercises and also decide the level of intensity you want to perform.
For those prone to injury or who have knee problems, you’ll want to avoid high-impact exercises and do more low-impact exercises. If you’re new to this, here’s how low-impact and high-impact exercises differ from each other.
High-impact cardio vs. Low impact
High-impact exercises are movements that put a lot of force on your joints. It involves a lot of jumping and jerking that could take a toll on your bones and joints.
While high-impact exercises do wonders for cardiovascular health by getting your heart rate up, they can put a high level of impact on your joints, ligaments, and tendons, creating a force equivalent to about 2.5 times your weight bodily.
This can be extremely damaging, which is why high-impact exercises are generally not recommended for older adults or children.
In contrast, low-impact exercises are less risky and gentler on your body. It is also an effective form of exercise that can be done by a wide range of people. Such exercises are most beneficial for people looking to improve balance and stability.
With that said, for those of you who want to venture into cardio, here is a list of exercises that are high impact and can take a toll on your joints.
Running for long hours
Running is an excellent cardiovascular exercise that helps build muscle, improves cardiovascular fitness, and also aids in weight loss.
However, running for long hours in poor form can put excessive pressure on your joints, leading to injury and pain. That said, running too much before your muscles, bones, joints, and cartilage are ready for more can lead to strain, making you more prone to injury.
So before you jump right into it, consider gradually picking up the pace. Start with long walks, then brisk walking, and finally make running part of your exercise routine. Make sure you take it easy.
jumping jacks
Jumping jacks are full-body exercises that improve cardiovascular health and fitness. These not only target the major muscle groups, but also strengthen the bones. Nevertheless, Jumping jacks involve a lot of jumping, which in turn puts a lot of force on your lower body joints.
This is why jumping jacks are associated with an injury riskespecially in the knee and ankle joints.
To avoid such risks, it is important to focus on strength and conditioning first. Strength and conditioning involves exercises dedicated to building muscle and endurance. It includes squats, lunges, bridges, push-ups, dead bugs, and deadlifts.
However, if you still want to enjoy the jumps, start without the jumps. It’s called a modified jack.
«Burpees»
Burpees are a total body workout that helps burn fat, improves blood flow, and helps reduce the risks of heart disease and diabetes.
However, performing burpees is not easy. There are many things that you must master and many things that can go wrong. From putting strain on your back and shoulders to putting your knees at risk, burpees can wreak havoc. So to avoid such circumstances, you need to keep certain things in mind.
- Don’t rush and take it easy. Start with a simplified version or burpees that don’t involve push-ups or jumping jacks. Just simple moves.
- Make sure to engage your core, while keeping your back straight.
- Work on your landings. Avoid jumping and modify by bringing your feet back one by one.
Side to side jump lunges
Side-to-side jumping lunges are a great lower-body exercise. It targets the quads, hamstrings, glutes, hip flexors, and calves, and also works to improve cardiovascular health.
However, there is always the risk of injury associated with this form of cardio. Since movement has a lot to do with balance, posture, and jumping, it can put a lot of pressure on your bones and joints and can put extra force on them.
That said, to avoid such risky circumstances, you can always start with simple lunges or side lunges that are low-impact and effective.
squat jumps
Jump squats are a more difficult variation of squats that help burn fat in your lower body and tone your legs, abs, and glutes. It also improves mobility and balance.
However, if you do this exercise negligently, it can lead to some serious consequences like knee injury. If you are someone who already has a knee or back injury, avoid doing this exercise.
To reduce the impact, you can always go back to a simple squat which is just as effective and can reduce stomach and leg fat.