Tag: low impact exercise for beginners

If you are someone living with a hidden disability like me, or you have other restrictions to your mobility, or to your physicality generally, be that permanently or coming in ebbs and flows, then this video might be of value to you.

I don’t know about you, but exercise has always been a little bit of a tricky situation to navigate and manage. There are certain triggers for my hidden disability where excessive exercise or excessive cold, can trigger a painful episode. Sometimes exercise can be the trigger for the trigger!

However, low impact exercise might be something you want to consider if you haven’t already, because you’re looking at exercise that is still going to have great benefits to your health, but with minimal negative impact and stress on your joints and sometimes muscles. So this may be an area of exercise you wish to explore.

Remember that you should always listen to your body, and even with low impact exercise, if it is causing you pain or harm then you probably shouldn’t be doing it and you might want to consult a medical professional for specific advice.

So I have 4 ways that you may want to explore plus 1 extra option that I think is fun with a high ‘feel-good’ factor.

Walking & Power Walking

The wonderful thing about walking, if you are physically able to do so, is that you can control it quite easily, and you can do this within your home, in your building, or outside. It is an immediate feel-good exercise and shifts your mood. It can help you to manage your weight, it is really good for your balance and coordination, and you can make it more strenuous if you wish by going up a hill, or an incline. You may decide to invest in a treadmill for the long-term, or maybe you have lots of spaces outside where you can walk. Even if you live in a built up area, I think walking is a great, immediate, low impact exercise to consider as part of your regular routine.

Pilates

Over the years this has become my favourite go-to low impact exercise for my body and my mind. There are so many benefits for you including building your core strength, improving your alignment, improving your breathing and your breathwork, and depending on how you use pilates, there can be a cardio element too which is great for your heart health. If you are physically able, I would encourage you to try pilates. I first found out about pilates over a decade ago when I was researching how best to rehabilitate after surgery, and I also found out about an actual machine called a Pilates Reformer, so it can be as gentle as you want or as advanced as you want. My muscles and body respond so well and I’m super grateful. Perhaps this could work for you too?

Cycling

So this is mostly low impact but perhaps not for everybody. Great that you can do it indoors or outdoors if you are physically able. It is non-weight bearing and is generally low impact. If you have an issue with your knees, or specifically joint health around your knees is very important to you, you may want to get some advice before you start as some people can find this very challenging on the knees.

Swimming

This can be a wonderful exercise for you if you are physically able, or if you have help with managing your hidden disability and you can go to swimming classes with someone else in the water with you. That can also be quite wonderful. Yes it is low impact exercise, but it can also give a resistance training element with the resistance of the water and the different strokes you’re using. If like me you have a hidden disability that can be triggered with hot and cold temperatures, then you may want to do a bit more research and have a little think about that. So it depends on your circumstances.

Dancing and Moving Freestyle to Your Favourite Music (Loud)

So I love this! Though it isn’t technically a sporty exercise, but the feel-good element is really high. So you whack on your favourite music or some thumping music, nice high volume, and just dancing, moving your body, moving how you are able. Sure, you would have to have a think about how you might make this a regular activity so that you have the impact you desire. However, this can become a great way to instantly change your mood and change your state and you get a bit of a sweat on, which is so good for you. A great tool to have up your sleeve.

So enjoy yourself, exercise safely and I look forward to hearing how you get on.