When designing our workouts we like to design them for a specific purpose whether that be targeting a specific body part, incorporating a specific training style, or in this case for a specific population that needs or wants low impact. On top of that we try to choose exercises that can be done by a large selection of people, from beginner to advanced, with only minimal alterations and this video is a great example of a routine that does just that.
Related: 4 Week Low Impact - Fat Loss Program - 40 Minutes or Less
If you are an intermediate exerciser then you can go through this video as is or at least with minimal alterations and you should find it plenty challenging despite it being low impact. If you are a beginner on the other hand, you will most likely need to alter the exercises to make them more appropriate for your level of fitness. This is actually very easy to do by just limiting your range of motion and your speed, by doing both you can dramatically decrease the difficulty of each exercise. Just take your time and move at a pace that is comfortable for you, you do not need to keep up with Kelli though that should be your eventual goal.
On the other hand if you are an advanced exerciser and concerned that a low impact workout will not be challenging enough for you then there are some easy modifications you can use to make any exercise more difficult. First, be sure you are doing every motion with as much range of motion as your body will comfortably allow. Once you are at your maximum range of motion start to speed up the motion to as fast as you can control especially if you are still using just bodyweight. You can also add extra resistance. By simply adding wrist and/or ankle weights you can drastically change the difficulty of an exercise with just a few extra pounds. If you still need more of a challenge then just increase the weight, just be sure not to sacrifice form for more weight. Lastly if you don't want to fool with extra weight then you can also increase the difficulty of any movement by contracting all of the muscles in your body so that they are working against each other. For example while doing a jumping jack make sure you are both pulling and pushing your arms simultaneously throughout the entire motion. This goes for every other muscle in your body as well. By simply working against yourself in every movement you can easily increase the difficulty of the exercise, though it will be more for cardiovascular and toning effects than for strength.
Printable Low Impact Cardio Workout
Warm Up (25 sec each)
- Shoulder Rolls
- Torso Twists
- March in Place
- Toe Touch Circles
- Lateral Steps and Swings
- Slow Butt Kickers
Cardio Workout (35 sec on, 10 sec off, ABAB)
- 4 Side Jacks & 4 Punches
- 3 Marches & Forward Kick
- Crunch & Single Leg Drop
- Push Up & Lift
- Alternating Step Throughs
- Side Steps & Knee
- Plank Ankle Taps
- Reverse Step/Lunge
- Double High Knee Push
- Lateral Step Pull
- Side Lunge & Reach
- 5 Marches & Reverse Lift
Cool Down & Stretch (20 sec each)
- Shoulder Rolls
- Arm Swings
- Toe Touch Stretch
- Standing Quad Stretch
- Hamstring Stretch
- Downward Dog
- Cobra Stretch
- Child's Pose
- Torso Stretch
- Full Body Stretch