Best Forms of Low Impact Cardio (Updated for 2024)

Low impact cardio is a versatile exercise category because it can fit just about anyone’s lifestyle and health goals. Older people use it to stay active. Professional bodybuilders use it to help lose fat. It’s often the first step in many people’s fitness journeys. 

What sets low-impact cardio apart is that it gets your heart pumping without any jumping or jarring on your joints. These exercises will help you build healthy habits without putting too much stress on your body.

1. Walking

Walking is the king of all low-impact exercises. It can help you maintain a healthy weight or lose weight, depending on your goals. It improves your cardiovascular fitness and reduces your risk of developing heart conditions, diabetes and other problems. Walking can also strengthen your bones and muscles, if you keep an all-around active lifestyle.

The benefits of walking go far beyond improving your fitness levels, though. It can lower stress levels, improve your mood and even help with memory and sleeping habits. Start with a simple 30-minute walk every day on a flat surface, then slowly increase the difficulty over time. While low-impact exercises are designed to limit the stress on your body, you still need to push yourself if you want to see improvements.

The beauty part of walking is that you don’t need any special equipment to get started. All that’s required is a supportive pair of shoes and a safe place to stroll, such as a park. You can also try mall walking if the weather doesn’t cooperate. Take the family and walk after dinner — it improves everyone’s health and provides a safe space for your kids to open up that’s less intimidating than the table. 

2. Swimming

Swimming is a more challenging exercise than walking because it recruits all the muscles in your body, but the water also takes some pressure off of your joints. Many rehabilitation and therapy exercises take place in water for this reason. It’s an effective workout with a reduced risk of injury or reaggravating a chronic issue. Additionally, you can walk in the water — it provides natural resistance to build strength. 

Swimming has the same benefits as walking, plus a little bit more. Since it’s a full-body exercise, it can heighten your coordination, balance and even posture. It also challenges your respiratory system, improving your conditioning. The best part: it’s not a chore. Swimming is a leisurely activity that people of all ages and lifestyles can thoroughly enjoy. You can do laps or participate in a water aerobics class. Some sessions also include special water weights for toning and cardio at once. 

3. Cycling

Cycling is usually a more intense exercise than walking and swimming, but it’s still a safe low-impact activity because of the fixed range of motion. You perform the same exact movement over and over again and rarely put your body in a precarious position. Additionally, you can go at your own pace and on terrain of your choosing, so it has a more flexible range of difficulty.

It has all the benefits of other low-impact exercises, namely increased fitness levels, decreased stress and improvement of cardiovascular health, but it also helps with joint mobility. The movement of cycling thoroughly loosens up the ankles, knees and hips without putting too much strain on them, which helps alleviate issues like arthritis and lower back pain.

You can cycle indoors or out. A good road bike doubles as transportation, letting you combine exercise with running errands — use saddlebags or baskets to carry your groceries home. However, those who get leery of biking in traffic can get an equally great workout on a Peloton or other stationary cycle. 

4. Elliptical Machine

An elliptical machine is, for lack of a better phrase, a controlled version of running. The movement is similar, but rather than making impact with the ground on every footfall, you simply glide into the next step. This feature takes the main setbacks people experience with running out of the equation. You won’t feel any joint pain or shin splints on an elliptical machine, which makes it a great low-impact workout.

You can also adjust the resistance on elliptical machines according to your fitness level, so anyone can add it to their routine. They’re also much simpler to use than other cardio machines, with no complicated controls involved. Just hop on and go!

5. Rowing

Another low-impact piece of cardio equipment you can use is the rowing machine. An intense rowing session can burn a significant amount of calories and push your body to the limits in as little as 15 minutes, making it a super time-friendly workout. It improves your strength, speed, endurance and coordination, forcing your biggest muscle groups to work together to repeat the movement. 

Like the elliptical machine, you can also adjust the level of resistance on the fly, allowing you to keep on rowing without interruption. Another cool improvement you might see from rowing is increased grip strength, which is a more important health indicator than you might think.

6. Dance 

Do you think you’re too tough to dance? Tell that to the scores of professional football players who take ballet lessons to improve their mobility and grace on the gridiron. This form of low-impact cardio can also improve your luck with the ladies. Many women love a guy who isn’t embarrassed to hit the floor with them at the club. 

Dance can also be budget friendly. Sure, you can invest in lessons, and doing so can teach you some new, sleek moves. However, all you really need are your favorite jams and a place where you can groove like no one’s watching. 

7. Martial Arts 

There are dozens of forms of martial arts, and each one teaches you something new about self-defense — and yourself. Some practitioners stick with a particular discipline, earning a black belt or higher. Others study multiple styles, integrating what they learn in various lessons. 

You can choose from Muay Thai, karate, judo, kung fu, kendo, Krav Maga, capoeira, or jiu-jitsu. Additionally, nearly every gym that offers group fitness classes has some form of cardio kickboxing to elevate your heart rate 

8. Yoga

Yoga is the most relaxing exercise we’ve discussed thus far. It focuses on improving your coordination, balance, flexibility and core strength. While it probably won’t burn as many calories as the other exercises on this list, it will still give your cardiovascular and respiratory systems a unique challenge. Yoga also comes in many different forms and specialties. Here are some of the most popular ones that also provide cardiovascular benefits:

• Hatha: best for beginners, focuses on simple poses and breathing exercises
• Vinyasa: another good option for beginners, with a wider variety of movements
• Kundalini: meditation-focused, sometimes includes chanting along with the different poses
• Bikram: consists of 26 specific poses and is usually held in a hot room to increase sweating
• Iyengar: uses straps, blocks and other props to help align your body in multiple positions

Yoga’s meditative qualities also makes it an effective exercise for improving mental health, which sets it apart from the other low-impact exercises we’ve discussed.

9. Step Aerobics

Aerobics is another great way to improve coordination and flexibility, and step aerobics makes things a little more challenging by adding an elevated platform to the mix. Most step workouts involve replicating functional movements that you perform throughout the day, such as walking up and down the stairs. 

Becoming more confident in those everyday activities will also improve your mental health and give you the courage to try more intense workouts over time. Start with a simple routine, then slowly work your way up to more complex movements.

Add Low Impact Cardio to Your Routine

The above exercises are low-risk, high-reward activities. They make you stronger and more agile while not putting too much pressure on your joints. Try them all out, pick your favorite and add it to your routine as soon as possible!