Does low impact cardio do anything?

[MadMike]

I’ve heard of high impact and low impact aerobics/cardio exercise. Low impact sounds like it doesn’t do much. Is that just me not understanding what it is?

[suzieQ]

Oh you can burn lots of calories with low-impact cardio. You likely do lots of it already Walking, strength training, cycling, or if your'e on an elliptical you are engaging in low-impact exercise. Essentially low-impact exercises include any exercise where one foot stays on the ground at all times.

[M-Stark334]

Oh you can burn lots of calories with low-impact cardio. You likely do lots of it already Walking, strength training, cycling, or if your'e on an elliptical you are engaging in low-impact exercise. Essentially low-impact exercises include any exercise where one foot stays on the ground at all times.

Really? I would have thought that power walking, cycling and even some strength training would be considered high impact exercises.

[KenTraver]

Really? I would have thought that power walking, cycling and even some strength training would be considered high impact exercises.

I thought the same thing. Thanks for clearing it up, SuzieQ!

[Tony1968]

I also have to agree that I had no idea what low-impact cardio was. I also thought that if you were essentially out of breath and sweating up a storm from an exercise, regardless if your feet are on the ground or not that you are engaging in high-impact cardio....so what exactly is high-impact cardio? Swimming? Trampoline? Flying? lol

[MadMike]

Thanks for the explanation. I didn't realize the "impact" part meant on your joints and bones etc. I thought it meant outcomes like the impact on your diet!

[KraftMan]

Thanks for the explanation. I didn't realize the "impact" part meant on your joints and bones etc. I thought it meant outcomes like the impact on your diet!

I thought the same thing. I wonder if that's a common mistake.

[TracyK]

Thanks for the explanation. I didn't realize the "impact" part meant on your joints and bones etc. I thought it meant outcomes like the impact on your diet!

Funny! I always thought that impact had to do with the intensity of the exercise. So if you really got your heart rate up that would be considered a high-impact exercise while a low-impact would be a lot gentler ....you know like swimming laps (high impact) vs. aqua fit (low impact).

[ChefMel]

Ok, so to be clear, the "impact" part of a high impact or low impact exercise is referring to how heavy it is on your joints, not referring to the type of effect it can have on reachign your goals? Am I the only one who thinks that’s weird? Why would you ever want a high impact exercise?

[MeSarah]

Ok, so to be clear, the "impact" part of a high impact or low impact exercise is referring to how heavy it is on your joints, not referring to the type of effect it can have on reachign your goals? Am I the only one who thinks that’s weird? Why would you ever want a high impact exercise?

That's what I'm wondering ChefMel. Unless high impact exercises lead to more calorie burning I don't see the point in doing them either...cause, exactly, why stress out your joints for no reason??