However, this buzzword could cause some confusion in fitness. Mainly with the difference between “low impact” and “low intensity”. Because, guess what, these workouts are usually not the identical.
“The inclusion of the nickname ‘low’ is what really puts people off,” he says Lynsey pricetraining and development director at SLTwho saw people mixing up terms. “Workouts will be low impact and low intensity, but like SLT, workouts may also be low impact and high intensity.”
First of all, let’s define some of these training.
What is Low Intensity Training?
The advent of girl hot walks and the growing emphasis on the importance of recovery means you will have heard more about “low intensity” workouts. These are workouts where the center rate increases, but not dramatically, consisting of less strenuous types of continuous movement.
“Low intensity speaks specifically of the ‘state of equilibrium’ where heart rate levels stay during exercise,” says Price.
Examples of low-intensity workouts include walking or cycling, restorative yoga, or anything that gets you moving while “you may still easily hold a conversation without getting overly breathless,” explains Price.
That does not imply they don’t seem to be a very important a part of your fitness routine. Low-intensity workouts provide essential muscle recovery between heavier efforts while keeping your blood circulating and your body moving. And, to be honest, they are only very nice.
“In addition to improving cardiovascular fitness, a few of the other advantages of low-intensity training include less fatigue and pain, higher mood, higher sleep quality, and improved mobility and balance, all while protecting your joints,” says Price.
What is Low Impact Training?
Just because this workout has the word “low” within the title doesn’t make it easy. Unlike low intensity workouts, “low impact” doesn’t discuss with the quantity of effort you place in. Instead, it’s about how much (or how little) external stress you place in your joints.
“Low-impact exercise minimizes the forces that usually ‘ratchet joints’ and cause excessive ‘wear and tear’ on the body,” says Price.
For example, squats can have a small or a huge impact. The low impact squat is a body weight squat, perhaps slowed right down to gain more time under tension. The high-impact version is the jump squat because the skin force of landing back on the bottom puts pressure on the knees and hips.
The advantage of low-impact workouts is that they supply muscle development without causing “wear and tear”. “Low-impact workouts are far more balanced for the body,” says Price. “They minimize injury and likewise aid recovery.”
Price’s favorite low-impact exercises involve slow and controlled movements (as in SLT classes). This includes “lunges and side lunges with sliders, and diagonal body weight work that will be done in your knees and planks on the ground. Weight plates, ankle weights and bands are at all times great so as to add on!”
Can low impact and low intensity workouts overlap?
Workout will be low impact and low intensity, reminiscent of walking or gentle yoga. However, low-impact training like SLT is definitely high-intensity training since it “focuses[es] on secure work of muscle groups to finish fatigue” but these slow, controlled movements don’t put as much stress on the joints as HIIT classes or running.
Doing a low-intensity, high-intensity workout can be quite difficult: are you able to imagine jumping or running without getting your heart rate up?
So yes, there’s some overlap between low impact and low intensity, but each has its own merits, and one definitely doesn’t require the opposite.
“Low-impact, high-intensity workouts put less strain in your joints while elevating your heart rate, improving cardiovascular health and muscle endurance,” says Price. At the identical time, he says, “people feel and promote the positive effects of low-intensity exercise and are far more focused on engaging in activities which might be sustainable for his or her bodies in the long term.”
Conclusion? Lower yourself in a way that seems appropriate to you.
