Low-impact exercises put little or no stress on your joints and can help keep you active and protect your health while minimizing wear and tear. Whether you are one of those older adults who wants to be more active in their day to day or if you worry about your parents or grandparents, we tell you everything you need to know about low-impact exercises.
What is low impact exercise?
Whether an activity has a low or high impact depends on the force exerted on your body. This type refers to those that do not put significant stress on the joints. Your feet don't hit the ground with every step, so you're less likely to experience pressure or pain in joints like your ankles or knees.
Walking may be what most of us imagine when we think of low-impact activities, but there are many other options. Water aerobics, swimming, using an elliptical machine, cycling, yoga and even many strength training exercises fit perfectly. Anything that involves a lot of jumping or hitting, on the other hand, is high-impact, like running, plyometrics, basketball, or skiing.
Low-impact workouts can be gentler on the body, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're easier or less intense. It is a mistake to think that low impact exercise, especially for older adults, has to be low intensity, but that is not the case. Low-impact exercise can be done at any intensity.
For example, walking is a low-impact exercise regardless of speed, but you can make it more intense by increasing your pace or going up a hill. Strength training doesn't involve hitting your joints on the ground or jumping, but it can be an intense workout if you lift heavy weights, increase reps, and limit your rest between sets.
What benefits does it bring to the elderly?
There are many good reasons to be active every day, especially for those 60 and older. And sticking with exercises that put minimal pressure on your joints can help you get the most benefits.
Avoid age-related weight gain
The kilos tend to accumulate a little more easily with age. But exercise helps you burn more calories and preserve more lean muscle mass, which can promote a healthier body composition. Muscle naturally declines after age 30 and is an important determining factor in establishing our resting metabolic rate, or the number of calories we burn at rest each day.
The key is to be active regularly. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends doing at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise a week, plus at least two sessions dedicated to strength training.
They allow you to do what you like the most
Staying in shape makes it easier to participate in daily activities, both the ones you have to do and the ones you want to do. From getting down to the ground to play with your grandchildren, taking nature walks, dancing or taking the stairs calmly, exercise is the key.
But that doesn't mean you have to run a marathon. Low-impact exercises, such as walking and functional strength and balance movements, can help simplify daily tasks.
A daily walking program that includes strength and balance exercises that is associated with fewer disabilities in older adults who were considered relatively frail, according to a February 2020 review published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Reduce the risk of falls
Low-impact exercises that promote balance, coordination, and lower-body strength, such as lunges and planks, can help you avoid slipping and tripping. For example, if you lose strength in your shin muscles, you are more likely to shuffle your feet and have a higher risk of tripping when walking on a carpet.
Relieve aches and pains
Not only are low-impact exercises less likely to not trigger sore or crunchy joints, but they can also help ease the pain you already have. That can be especially true if you have osteoarthritis (the breakdown of the cartilage between the bones), which commonly begins in your 50s.
Activities like walking, biking, swimming, and gentle strengthening exercises help combat stiffness and keep your joints flexible. This is because doing low-impact exercises helps keep muscles strong to support the joints, reducing stress on them.
They keep your bones strong
As you age, sedentary lifestyles, lower levels of calcium and vitamin D, and hormonal changes make bones less resistant. The key is to make sure your low-impact activity involves some weight bearing, which means it is performed on the ground against the forces of gravity. Walking is one of the best weight-bearing activities, but water activities, such as swimming, are weight-bearing. If you do water exercise as your main fitness regimen, be sure to spend at least two days a week exercising on land.
Strength training with your own body weight, resistance bands, machines, dumbbells, and kettlebells are other great ways to condition your bones to support more weight, making them stronger and stronger.
The best low-impact exercises for older adults
Older adults should aim for a combination of aerobic, strength, flexibility, and balance exercises. And there are plenty of low-impact options to suit both novice and veteran users.
Walk
It's one of the easiest ways to maintain your cardiovascular endurance and protect mobility as you age. You can start with an easy walk, or try increasing the intensity by increasing your pace or adding Nordic walking poles . Poles increase the activation of the upper body and abdomen and tend to increase walking speed.
Swimming or water aerobics
Consider spinning in the pool, walking on water, or a group gym class (when it's safe to go back to group exercise). These are the closest to zero gravity while you are still on planet Earth. They are ideal if you have osteoarthritis or other joint problems that cause problems during exercises on land.
Bicycling
Pedaling helps strengthen your legs while increasing resistance. If you have questions about your balance or want to exercise at home, you can use a stationary bike or connect your existing road bike to a fixed support. You can engage your core by using it to help you support your weight. Try not to 'dump' your upper body weight on the handlebars.
Low impact strength training
Lift weights, you use resistance bands or body weight exercises such as push – ups or bird-dog, everything works. Just stay away from any strengthening exercise that involves jumping or catching heavy objects.
If you are adding resistance, choose a weight where you can perform 8-12 reps and the last 2-3 reps are difficult to complete.
Yoga or Tai Chi
Both can help keep you agile and protect your range of motion, which is especially important if you have arthritis. Tai chi is generally a low intensity exercise, which makes it very beginner friendly. You can start practicing yoga at a low intensity and build up from there.
