This Low-Impact Cardio Workout Will Actually Get Your Heart Rate Up
The truth is, we all need a little cardio in our lives. But the good news is, it doesn’t need to look how you might think: A low-impact cardio workout can help you get all the benefits, which can be great for folks who aren’t fans of traditional forms like running or plyometrics, or whose joints get a little angry during them.
Cardio is all about challenging and strengthening your cardiovascular system (heart and lungs), and it’s a necessary part of a movement routine if you want to optimize your health. But it doesn’t have to mean running or jumping or whatever other high-impact, repetitive movement pops into your mind.
If you’re still not sold, know this: Cardio also helps you lift better, if strength training is more your jam, ACSM-certified personal trainer Asher Freeman, CPT, creator of the Nonnormative Body Club in Philadelphia, tells SELF. “Heavy lifts are like sprints, and we need good cardio fitness to get through them,” they explain. “Additionally, cardiovascular fitness can make activities of daily living easier and improve overall health.”
And if your concern is the impact on your knees, ankles, or hips, we’re here to reassure you that you can, in fact, get your heart pumping while also sparing your joints. “Biking, swimming, rowing, kettlebell flows, and using an elliptical are common examples of low-impact cardio,” Freeman says. But good old-fashioned bodyweight exercises can also be extremely effective for high-intensity, low-impact cardio—if you do a couple of simple yet impactful things first.
First: Go hard and limit rest. You can add intensity by doing more work—say, performing an exercise for a longer period of time or adding in more reps to the same duration so you’re moving quicker—and decreasing the length of time between sets or rounds, Freeman says.
Second: Focus on compound exercises that engage multiple large muscle groups at once. For example, think about a curtsy lunge. If you’re just doing the lunge part—a great exercise in its own right—you’ll feel your heart rate increase a bit. But if you add in a side kick at the top of the movement, you’ll notice that you lose your breath much quicker.
By focusing on low-impact cardio exercises, you can put less force on your joints, which is a must for anyone with past or current injuries, Freeman notes. Even if your knees and ankles perform well under pressure, it’s a good idea to vary up your workouts every now and then—both to keep things interesting, and to make sure your joints don’t get too much repetitive stress (read: force from the same motion over and over and over again) and continue to stay healthy for the long haul.
The workout Freeman created below works your entire body—legs, glutes, abs, arms, shoulders, and yes, your cardiovascular system—without putting much impact on your joints. “You should never be coming into contact with the ground with any more force than you do when walking,” they explain. “Still, you’re moving your body from the floor to standing in between exercises and performing full-body movements during each exercise with little to no rest, so your heart has to work hard.”
It includes two circuits of three exercises, and is meant to be done in an AMRAP style, which stands for “as many rounds as possible.” That means you’ll do the listed number of reps of each exercise, and then repeat those three exercises as a circuit for as many rounds as you can in the allotted time. Then, after resting, you’ll do the next circuit of three exercises in the same fashion.
“AMRAPs enable people to move at their own pace and take rests when needed,” Freeman says. Think of it as a Choose Your Own Adventure—you get to pick how long the workout is, and can move as intensely as you’d like to that day. Keep reading for your new personalized low-impact cardio workout.
The Workout
What you need: Just your body! This workout will get your heart rate up without any weights or other equipment.
Exercises
Circuit 1
- Inchworm to Shoulder Tap
- Crossover Punch to Squat
- Bird Dog
Circuit 2
- Curtsy Lunge to Side Kick
- Breakdancer
- Alternating Ball Slam Without Ball
Directions
- Do the first three exercises in Circuit 1 for the listed number of reps. Repeat as many rounds as you can in 3–5 minutes. Choose the time based on how long you want to work out.
- Rest for as long as you need to catch your breath, or drink some water.
- Do the second circuit of three exercises for the listed number of reps, repeating as many rounds as you can in 3–5 minutes. Rest as long as you need to catch your breath and feel recovered enough to push yourself for another round.
- Do each circuit a second time.
Demoing the moves below are Amanda Ting (GIF 1,4), DPT, CSCS, a personal trainer at Mark Fisher Fitness in NYC; DJ Rock (GIF 2), a group fitness instructor, personal trainer, and certified mat Pilates instructor; Paris Alexandra (GIF 3), founder of the Brooklyn Wellness Club, writer, and yoga and mindfulness facilitator; Alicia Jamison (GIF 5), senior coach at Body Space Fitness and adjunct lecturer at Brooklyn College; and Nikki Pebbles (GIF 6), a special populations personal trainer in New York City who also holds a master's degree in psychology specializing in body image and leadership.
Katie Thompson1Inchworm to Shoulder Tap
- Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart and arms at your sides.
- Bend at your waist and place your hands on the floor.
- Walk your hands forward to come into a high plank with your hands flat, wrists stacked under your shoulders, and your core, quads, and butt engaged.
- Tap your right hand to your left shoulder. Place your right hand back on the ground, then tap your left hand to your right shoulder.
- Walk your hands back to your feet and stand to return to start. That’s 1 rep.
- Do 3 reps.
“Be sure to find a plank each time you walk out,” Freeman says—don’t stop walking your hands out until your torso is fully extended. This exercise primarily targets your abs, arms, and shoulders, and the movement of getting down on the ground and coming back up repeatedly will get your heart pumping, they add. If this move bothers your wrists, leave out the shoulder tap or lower onto your forearms and do toe taps instead, Freeman suggests.
Katie Thompson2Crossover Punch in Squat
- Stand with your feet wider than hip-width apart, toes slightly turned out. Engage your core and tuck your hips to engage your glutes so that your lower back is not arched.
- Bend both knees and sink into a squat, with knees bent to 90 degrees and thighs coming parallel to the floor, or as close as your flexibility allows.
- Draw hands into fists and bring both fists to chest height close to your body (as if preparing to punch).
- While still in the squat position, punch your right fist to the left, crossing your body and allowing your upper torso to rotate naturally in the direction of the punch. Be mindful to keep your core engaged, shoulders down, and chest up as you punch.
- Repeat on the other side. This is 1 rep.
- Continue alternating sides, punching as quickly as possible while staying low in the squat position, for 5 reps.
“Experiment with your stance to learn what feels best,” Freeman says. “If you have any joint pain, make sure that you’re coming to a pain-free depth in your squat.” Because of that positioning, you’ll feel this move in the front of your thighs; adding in the arm movement in addition to the lower-body work requires your heart to work harder, turning it into a cardio move, they explain.
Katie Thompson3Bird Dog
- Get on your hands and knees in a tabletop position, with your wrists stacked under your shoulders and your knees stacked under your hips. This is the starting position.
- Extend your right arm forward and left leg back, maintaining a flat back and keeping your hips in line with the floor. Think about driving your foot toward the wall behind you.
- Squeeze your abs and return your arm and leg to starting position. Then repeat on the other arm and leg. This is 1 rep.
- Continue, alternating sides, for 5 reps.
“This exercise is meant to challenge the posterior chain from your shoulder down to the back of your thigh,” Freeman says. “It is a little less intense than the first two, so it will offer a brief respite before going back into the inchworm. Our hearts have to work harder when we allow our heart rate to slow down a bit before ramping back up rather than staying at a steady state.” If you feel this exercise in your lower back, stop, reset, and focus on using your abdominals and glutes to drive the movement instead.
Katie Thompson4Curtsy Lunge to Side Kick
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands either up in front of your body or on your hips. This is the starting position.
- Step your right foot diagonally behind you and lower your right knee until it almost touches the ground. Your front knee should bend to about 90 degrees.
- Push through your left heel to stand back up and straighten your left leg. As you return to standing, kick your right leg out to the right side. That's 1 rep.
- Do 5 reps on one side, and then repeat on the other side.
This one’s a real lower-body burner. “The kick adds power to the exercise, which increases cardio intensity,” says Freeman. Only lower down as far as you can without feeling pain in your joints, Freeman notes.
Katie Thompson5Breakdancer
- Start on all fours with your hands stacked under your shoulders and your knees stacked under your hips.
- Lift your knees slightly off the floor.
- Keeping your butt low, extend your right leg underneath your torso, rotating your body to open up to the left side. Hold your left arm in front of you (as shown). When you start to get comfortable with the move and want an extra balance challenge, extend your arm out to tap your right foot.
- Return to the starting position and repeat on the other side. This is 1 rep.
- Do 5 reps.
“This is a full-body exercise with an emphasis on the shoulders and abs,” says Freeman. Working multiple muscle groups at the same time means your heart has more places to pump blood—which cranks up your heart rate, they add.
6Alternating Ball Slam Without Ball
- Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart, toes slightly turned out.
- Push your hips back and lower down into a squat like you’re going to pick up a medicine ball from the floor in between your legs. Keep your chest lifted and back flat.
- Push through your heels to stand up as you lift your arms overhead, holding them strong like there’s a ball in between your hands. Rise onto the balls of your feet.
- Bend your knees and lower down into a squat as you pretend to slam the imaginary ball on the floor by your left foot. This is 1 rep.
- Stand up again onto the balls of your feet, raising your arms overhead. Then, squat as you “slam” the ball down by your right foot. This is 2 reps.
- Continue, alternating sides, for 10 reps.
“You will likely feel this one in your lower body, and you might feel your abs crunch as well,” Freeman notes. “The explosiveness of this exercise adds to the cardio intensity.”
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