FACT #25: Why Should You Pick Up a Low-Impact Sport?

There are great benefits and enjoyment to be found from an active lifestyle. There are obvious effects like gaining muscle and losing weight, and less visible effects like improved mood and mental health. For many people, engaging in high-intensive sports isn’t a possibility, due to injury, health issues, age, disability, and a range of other reasons. The good thing is you don’t have to be sweating through your shirt in order to enjoy a sport while getting a great, low-impact workout. There are many opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to participate in fun group sports to work on their health, mobility, and fitness while spending time with friends.

So, what exactly are low-impact sports? These activities involve less-intense, jarring, or damaging contact with surfaces like the floor or workout equipment. A good example is to think of walking as a low-impact activity, while running is high-impact. Low-impact sports are fun and social experiences that also protect you from musculoskeletal and connective tissue injuries.

Your body can also have no contact with a surface if you’re playing a sport in water, or you can only have contact with a “third” surface that isn’t the floor, like a pedal or handles. The most central quality to low-impact sports is that these activities do not put a large strain on your joints or muscles and your body is less susceptible to sports-related injury. Keep in mind that, even though low-impact activities reduce your risk of injury, these sports still improve cardiovascular health, build strength and stamina, help with weight loss or weight maintenance, and decrease the likelihood that you’ll damage your joints.

Some of the most recognized full-body, low-impact workouts are those that take place in the water, because your body is suspended and not actually experiencing any solid resistance. Other than swimming laps, which is a great low-impact strength training exercise, you can also try activities like water aerobics or something more familiar, like water basketball or volleyball. Water aerobics is particularly popular because it is more dynamic and interesting than simply swimming laps. Water aerobics classes are often done in shallow water in a group setting, uses water’s natural resistance to build strength, and focus on aerobic endurance and stamina. Other classes within water aerobics include Aqua Zumba, water running, and water yoga.

Another sport that can be enjoyed both in the water and on dry land is rowing. On land, a rowing machine involves the participant being seated while they row back and forth using a two-handed handle. Most rowing machines will have a screen with a pace keeper, to keep you pushing yourself faster. Rowing on a machine is a great cardio, arm, core, and leg workout but still protects your body from high-impact damage. Dry-land rowing is also more enjoyable in a group setting where your peers help and encourage you, which is why rowing machines are growing in popularity in CrossFit gyms.

On water, rowing has a proud and ancient history as a team sport and is most commonly known as “crew.” Crew teams sit in a long boat and propel the boat quickly across the water by performing the back-and-forth motion with their bodies to move the long oars through the water. Crew as a sport can be enjoyed recreationally, with teams meeting on the weekends for practice or fun races, or it can be a competitive enjoyment, with intense races against another team. Both competitive and recreational rowing are great exercises for your body because they utilize all your muscle groups, and the rowing stroke is a motion that supports and protects your body from impact-related injury.

Another sport that can be done both indoors and outside is cycling. If you walk into a gym, you’ll almost always find a spin room lined with stationary bikes. If you sign up for a spin class, you’ll soon find out why it’s labeled as a team sport. Led by an encouraging and energetic instructor, everyone in the room is trying together to do their individual best, following along with instructions, encouraging their fellow spinners to push harder, and even singing along with the music to keep it fun. If you’d rather be outside, join up with a local bike group that meets every week to get your team sport satisfaction. These bike groups can help teach you about proper form on a bike, from how to sit well on a bike to how to fall without hurting yourself. Bike groups like these can be for enjoyment and recreation, or can be more competitive by helping you train for longer distance events.

Cycling is actually a great sport to get into if you’re recovering from an injury, especially related to problems in the knee joints or if you’ve suffered from a torn ACL. The pedal motion builds strength in the muscles in the leg and around the knee, while increasing muscular flexibility and range of motion.

So, who should practice low-impact exercise? Low-impact sports and activities are great for everyone. Even professional athletes need to protect their bodies and incorporate low-impact exercise into their training routines, otherwise, they put themselves at higher risk of injury. Low-impact sports are a great entryway for beginners who are just starting out with a new hobby or getting back into a workout routine. Elderly people can keep themselves fit with a low-impact routine done with friends, combining sport with fun, social time. People with disabilities or those who are hindered by illness or injury can find a great way to build up strength in a supportive and less intense environment. Low-impact sports are even recommended for pregnant women, to keep them fit and healthy through pregnancy, but with reduced risk of harm to the baby. Don’t be fooled by the title of “low-impact” sports. These activities can still deliver a heart-pumping, sweat-inducing, endorphin-releasing workout, with the added bonuses of protecting your body, building strength and stamina, and even helping with mobility and flexibility.