It used to be that when you looked to a personal trainer for advice on how to get fit, it all came back to one thing - high impact. Toning up and getting healthy meant doing lunges and burpees, usually combined with a traumatic flashback to your PE endurance test, even if it was at least ten twenty years ago.

Recently there has been a lot of interest in the low impact counterparts of exercise routines. There are many reasons for this - you may have been diagnosed with a health condition that makes high impact problematic. Alternatively you could be currently suffering from an injury caused by your usual activity (see here for our recent article on common sports injuries even you could get).

It even could be something as simple as you are trying to do a quiet workout after the kids have gone to bed, as there is nothing quite like the disheartening feeling you get watching a toddler do 20 jumping jacks with ease while you are taking your first water break after one.

There are many low impact exercises to choose from, so you are sure to find one that fits. Something as simple as swimming is a great workout for all ages, and it only requires swimwear and a small fee every time you want to go. It also provides an all over workout.



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For those of you that have access to equipment such as weights, you can follow plans like this. Dumbbell sets have a range of heaviness, so you can adjust as required to find the right balance between low impact while still challenging yourself.



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However, if you are a novice who is tentatively making the first steps to make an exercise plan, or if you are looking for a different type of challenge - you start to consider the practicalities of starting a new activity. You might not have the equipment or the time to go swimming or go to a gym. This is why a piyo workout is increasingly popular. Combining Pilates and Yoga, it has the added advantage of being low impact, and it requires no equipment. For added comfort, you can use a yoga mat and shoes, but these are not essential to get started on the plan.

The PiYo workout uses your bodyweight to push yourself, so unlike when you use external equipment or follow a high impact plan - the risk of injuring yourself or overdoing it is reduced. Most people see Pilates and Yoga as a way to relax, which is true - there is a lot of emotional advantages to yoga and pilates. Reduced cortisol (the so-called ‘stress hormone’) is a big positive, but this means the fact that they are also a proven way to lose weight and get healthier can be overlooked.

It almost reads like a ‘too good to be true’ advert - a way to emotionally feel better and get healthier. Thankfully there are lots of sources out there that prove otherwise, so if you put the effort in - you will see (and feel) the results!