Nowadays I am a big fan of low impact HIIT cardio training or High Intensity Interval Training. Low Impact means that there is no jumping around, no burpees or jumping jacks. These low impact cardio routines are designed to get your heart rate up while protecting your ankle and knee joints from aches and pains.
They are part of my weekly exercise routine, along with two 20 minutes sessions of weight lifting and 1 hour of longer but moderate cardio exercise like bike riding.
Why do I like them so much?
- HIIT are efficient: you only need 15 to 20 minutes 2 times per week to achieve great results (if you are dealing with an autoimmune condition, start slowly and increase gradually. Too much exercise can work against your recovery).
- HIIT burn a lot of calories and fat.
- HIIT increase your aerobic capacity.
- HIIT increase your metabolism.
- HIIT requires no special equipment.
- HIIT is fun!
HIIT training involves repeated bouts of high intensity effort followed by low intensity recovery times. The purpose is to get your heart rate up. Intensity during the high intensity work interval should range around 80% of your estimated maximal heart rate. As a good subjective indicator, the work interval should feel like you are exercising “hard” to “very hard” and you should be out of breath.. Don’t skip your recovery time. Recovery time should place you at 40-50% of your estimate maximal heart rate. I like to march around lightly to catch my breath before the next round.
You can start with a 1:1 ratio, which means 1 minute of high intensity and 1 minute of recovery. As you become more fit, you can adjust the duration of the intervals (for example, 2 minutes of hard work and 2 minutes of recovery).
Below is a YouTube video by Jessica Smith that I love to practice. Her workouts are fun and they really get me working hard. Check it out!
What is your favorite cardio routine? Any good YouTube video you might want to share?
This was a great post. I feel better when I exercise but tend to overdo it and then feel worse. Thank you so much for the video link. I thought this would be a breeze (almost like a warm-up) but it is really a good replacement for running a mile. I will definitely do this again and again.
Hello Sheila!
Thank you for your positive feedback 🙂