What Is a High Intensity, Low Impact Workout?

Discover what a high intensity, low impact workout is, and learn how it can help reduce injury risk and burn calories. 

What is a high intensity, low impact workout? It’s a way to exercise and get all the benefits of a high intensity workout without the added stress on your body, particularly your joints. We will discover all the benefits, and how to integrate these into your workout routine.

What is high intensity?

High intensity workouts are a series of short bursts of vigorous exercise followed by brief rest times, also known as HIIT (high-intensity interval training). HIIT workouts are created to challenge your body and boost your heart rate. This helps to build body muscle and burn calories. With HIIT’s versatility there are endless options to create a great workout that aligns with your schedule whether you have 30 minutes or an hour there are HIIT workouts for you.

What is low impact?

Low impact workouts are designed for everyone: beginners, those with joint problems, and chronic pain, senior citizens, pregnant/postpartum women, and people with autoimmune diseases, and more. It’s generally a safer exercise method. By lowering the risk of injury due to hard impacts for exercises that involve running and jumping you are ensured the movements would be gentler on your joints with low-impact cardio. For example, cycling is considered a low-impact exercise but you can still receive the same intensity from the cardio workout without putting your body through too much.

Benefits of high intensity workouts

• Calorie burn: High intensity, low impact workouts burn calories, and support your metabolism

• Targets the full body: movements engage multiple muscle groups, which ensures a balanced and productive workout.

• Improved bone density: Just because the workouts can be adjusted to be low impact, doesn’t make them easier. You can gain bone density and strength from these workouts.

• Versatility: All impact exercises can be modified for each individual based on their fitness level, making these workouts suitable and comfortable for all ages.

• Lower injury risk: Compared to high impact exercises, high intensity, low impact workouts avoid causing joint stress.

• Can continue while injured: With high intensity low impact workouts, you can continue to work out with the right modification if you are injured. In comparison, if you did high impact workouts, the likelihood of being able to complete these while injured is low.

• Improved Mental Health: HIIT workouts can create a healthier lifestyle, and balance stress and anxiety.

Are low impact workouts effective?

Yes, low-impact workouts are very effective. Certified personal trainers recommend these workouts because they improve your overall fitness while reducing the risk of injury. Strength training and low-impact cardio increase flexibility, muscular strength, and endurance, while providing health benefits and preventing wear and tear on your body and joints. Low-impact workouts can be more effective than taking rest days because these workouts also aid in recovery, which is beneficial in the long run when it comes to healing correctly.

Do high intensity, low impact workouts burn fat?

Yes, high intensity, low impact workouts aid in burning fat. These workouts stimulate fat loss and improve cardiovascular health by maintaining a high heart rate given by intense, but low impact movements.

How to Do High Intensity, Low Impact Workouts

When it comes to participating in the best high intensity, low impact workout, you want to make sure you’re thinking about the following components:

• Warm-up: Begin with a a dynamic warmup to strengthen your joints and muscles.

• Choose your exercise from a variety of low impact cardio and bodyweight exercises:
  • Low-impact cardio exercises: swimming, cycling, stationary walking
  • Bodyweight exercises: squats, lunges, push-ups, seated leg lifts, loop band cupid rows, loop band lateral walks, and loop band seated abductions.

• Set the intervals: exercise in high intensity intervals (ex. 30 seconds doing the workout, and then 30 seconds rest), and repeat. You can also do high intensity exercises for several minutes, then alternate with lower intensity exercises.

• Cool down: End your workout with a 5-10 minute cool down to slowly bring your heart rate back down and stretch your muscles.
  • Deep breathing exercises
  • Hamstring, shoulder, and neck stretches
  • Full body stretches 

Example of a high intensity, low impact workout

Every True40 class is a high intensity, low impact workout. We offer modifications and challenges, so you can scale the workout to what your body needs. You can also opt to add in more impact when it resonates with you. If you don’t live near a studio, we offer on demand classes you can do from anywhere.

You can also try something like this at home or your local gym if you’re short on time. Here’s an example of an ideal Low Impact High-Intensity Workout:

1. Warm Up:
   • 5 minutes of speed walking or light cycling
2. The Workout:

After each workout take a 30-second rest before moving to the next

• 30-second bodyweight squats
• 30-second stationary lunges 
• 30-second push-ups (modify to knees for less difficulty)
• 30-second mountain climbers (modify to low-impact variation)
• 30-second plank hold

Repeat these exercises 3-4 times

3. Cool Down:

• 5 minutes of stretching focusing on key muscle groups

Low Impact HIIT at True40

At True40, we specialize in high intensity, low impact workouts. Our classes incorporate concepts of strength training, cardio, barre, Pilates, and yoga without the risk of injury. True40® Studio “encourages and empowers people to move true to their bodies, and ultimately step into their highest, truest selves.” 

What is a low-impact high-intensity workout? It’s an influential way to meet your fitness goals by intertwining the best of high-intensity and low-impact workouts. By incorporating these workouts into your routine, you can burn calories efficiently, reduce the risk of injury, and enjoy a full-body workout. Don’t wait, and start your workout journey today! Click here to book a class at True40® Studio.