Low-impact cardio everyday?

creesama

So I've been doing the elliptical everyday this week and I really enjoy it. Where I'm only doing 20-30 minutes a day, is it ok to keep it as a daily routine? It has been nice to just have some me time while also feeling like I'm improving myself. Eventually I'll work in some strength training, but for now 20-30 min is all I can seem to squeeze in these days (work, everyday chores, a 2 year old, and 6 month old).

TeaBea

It's low impact so you should be okay. But, repetitive movements can still cause some people issues. I used to do Leslie Sansone videos daily but found I would get sore feet. I changed my footwear and socks and the problem went away. If you start to have a nagging (anything) take a break, or find a way thru it. Don't forget stretching. This helps many people also.

HeidiCooksSupper

Daily light impact cardio is good for your heart and has other exercise benefits but it won't do the muscle building of heavy weight lifting. A combination is probably best. In any event, doing one or the other is certainly better for you than none!

What @TeaBea said about repetitive movements is something to watch for. As for stretches, you might want to read up on the pre- versus post-exercise opinions on stretching. Pre- used to be preferred, now there's some research to show post- may be better. I don't think the jury is totally in on this yet.

ninerbuff

HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »

Daily light impact cardio is good for your heart and has other exercise benefits but it won't do the muscle building of heavy weight lifting. A combination is probably best. In any event, doing one or the other is certainly better for you than none!

What @TeaBea said about repetitive movements is something to watch for. As for stretches, you might want to read up on the pre- versus post-exercise opinions on stretching. Pre- used to be preferred, now there's some research to show post- may be better. I don't think the jury is totally in on this yet.

Actually the studies show that post is much better than pre. And the type of stretching you do pre REALLY MATTERS.


A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

HeidiCooksSupper

Oo-oo, @ninerbuff, you got some URLs I could read and learn the latest on stretches? I'm lousy about it.

ninerbuff

HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »

Oo-oo, @ninerbuff, you got some URLs I could read and learn the latest on stretches? I'm lousy about it.

Youtube has a lot for free. Pick one that suits you. Make sure to pick one for your current fitness level and age though.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

AnnPT77

creesama wrote: »

So I've been doing the elliptical everyday this week and I really enjoy it. Where I'm only doing 20-30 minutes a day, is it ok to keep it as a daily routine? It has been nice to just have some me time while also feeling like I'm improving myself. Eventually I'll work in some strength training, but for now 20-30 min is all I can seem to squeeze in these days (work, everyday chores, a 2 year old, and 6 month old).

I may just be making an academic quibble here, but I'll toss it in just in case:

Low impact is one thing, and low intensity is another. I'm not sure whether we're using terminology differently, but I just want to check. Specifically, if you're going all out, maximum effort, every day (even for only 20-30 minutes), that would be high intensity, though still low impact (on an elliptical, which is generally considered a low impact exercise). It's also possible to do high-impact exercise (running, say) at low intensity (running quite slowly ). Impact is usually used to mean actual *impact*, how hard you strike a surface or how much shock-stress you put on joints.

It's probably fine to do low(er) intensity exercise every day, even as a beginner, where the intensity level is defined in terms of your current fitness level. Doing high intensity exercise every single day generally is not a good idea for anyone - elite athletes don't do max effort/high intensity training every single day, so us regular folks certainly shouldn't.

I'm oversimplifying a little, because duration matters in addition to intensity, frequency, and modality (type of exercise), when scheduling workouts. But I gather from this and other threads that you're a relative exercise beginner, which is a great thing. As long as most/all of your daily elliptical workouts are low intensity, you should be fine. Just pay attention to whether you are starting to feel some cumulative fatigue, over a period of time . . . if you are, take a day or two off to recover.

Otherwise, keep going on your very good current course: Wishing you much success!

creesama

AnnPT77 wrote: »

creesama wrote: »

So I've been doing the elliptical everyday this week and I really enjoy it. Where I'm only doing 20-30 minutes a day, is it ok to keep it as a daily routine? It has been nice to just have some me time while also feeling like I'm improving myself. Eventually I'll work in some strength training, but for now 20-30 min is all I can seem to squeeze in these days (work, everyday chores, a 2 year old, and 6 month old).

I may just be making an academic quibble here, but I'll toss it in just in case:

Low impact is one thing, and low intensity is another. I'm not sure whether we're using terminology differently, but I just want to check. Specifically, if you're going all out, maximum effort, every day (even for only 20-30 minutes), that would be high intensity, though still low impact (on an elliptical, which is generally considered a low impact exercise). It's also possible to do high-impact exercise (running, say) at low intensity (running quite slowly ). Impact is usually used to mean actual *impact*, how hard you strike a surface or how much shock-stress you put on joints.

It's probably fine to do low(er) intensity exercise every day, even as a beginner, where the intensity level is defined in terms of your current fitness level. Doing high intensity exercise every single day generally is not a good idea for anyone - elite athletes don't do max effort/high intensity training every single day, so us regular folks certainly shouldn't.

I'm oversimplifying a little, because duration matters in addition to intensity, frequency, and modality (type of exercise), when scheduling workouts. But I gather from this and other threads that you're a relative exercise beginner, which is a great thing. As long as most/all of your daily elliptical workouts are low intensity, you should be fine. Just pay attention to whether you are starting to feel some cumulative fatigue, over a period of time . . . if you are, take a day or two off to recover.

Otherwise, keep going on your very good current course: Wishing you much success!

So I'm doing low impact (elliptical) and varies on intensity. Some days I go harder than others, but always enough to break a sweat. So far I've done 7 days in a row and my legs afterwards are jiggly feeling and I'm sweating and breathing fairly hard, but I don't stiffen up or wake up sore the next day. I just have enjoyed it and want to make it a habit. I'm sure days will pop up where I need a break or things are too chaotic to hop on. But if I can just get a light 20min in to continue the day to day habit, I think I'll stick with it better long term. Also, once I start strength training, that could give the elliptical a break.

Thanks for all the responses everyone! It's all been helpful!

AnnPT77

creesama wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

creesama wrote: »

So I've been doing the elliptical everyday this week and I really enjoy it. Where I'm only doing 20-30 minutes a day, is it ok to keep it as a daily routine? It has been nice to just have some me time while also feeling like I'm improving myself. Eventually I'll work in some strength training, but for now 20-30 min is all I can seem to squeeze in these days (work, everyday chores, a 2 year old, and 6 month old).

I may just be making an academic quibble here, but I'll toss it in just in case:

Low impact is one thing, and low intensity is another. I'm not sure whether we're using terminology differently, but I just want to check. Specifically, if you're going all out, maximum effort, every day (even for only 20-30 minutes), that would be high intensity, though still low impact (on an elliptical, which is generally considered a low impact exercise). It's also possible to do high-impact exercise (running, say) at low intensity (running quite slowly ). Impact is usually used to mean actual *impact*, how hard you strike a surface or how much shock-stress you put on joints.

It's probably fine to do low(er) intensity exercise every day, even as a beginner, where the intensity level is defined in terms of your current fitness level. Doing high intensity exercise every single day generally is not a good idea for anyone - elite athletes don't do max effort/high intensity training every single day, so us regular folks certainly shouldn't.

I'm oversimplifying a little, because duration matters in addition to intensity, frequency, and modality (type of exercise), when scheduling workouts. But I gather from this and other threads that you're a relative exercise beginner, which is a great thing. As long as most/all of your daily elliptical workouts are low intensity, you should be fine. Just pay attention to whether you are starting to feel some cumulative fatigue, over a period of time . . . if you are, take a day or two off to recover.

Otherwise, keep going on your very good current course: Wishing you much success!

So I'm doing low impact (elliptical) and varies on intensity. Some days I go harder than others, but always enough to break a sweat. So far I've done 7 days in a row and my legs afterwards are jiggly feeling and I'm sweating and breathing fairly hard, but I don't stiffen up or wake up sore the next day. I just have enjoyed it and want to make it a habit. I'm sure days will pop up where I need a break or things are too chaotic to hop on. But if I can just get a light 20min in to continue the day to day habit, I think I'll stick with it better long term. Also, once I start strength training, that could give the elliptical a break.

Thanks for all the responses everyone! It's all been helpful!

That sounds like a good plan. I think the sweet spot for cardio exercise is something that fits into your day well with good life balance (enough time/energy for other important parts of life), is just that nice little bit challenging, but leaves one energized rather than exhausted for the rest of one's day (other than maybe a few minutes of "whew" feeling right after the workout).

It sounds like you've got things pretty well dialed in - good show!

creesama

AnnPT77 wrote: »

creesama wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

creesama wrote: »

So I've been doing the elliptical everyday this week and I really enjoy it. Where I'm only doing 20-30 minutes a day, is it ok to keep it as a daily routine? It has been nice to just have some me time while also feeling like I'm improving myself. Eventually I'll work in some strength training, but for now 20-30 min is all I can seem to squeeze in these days (work, everyday chores, a 2 year old, and 6 month old).

I may just be making an academic quibble here, but I'll toss it in just in case:

Low impact is one thing, and low intensity is another. I'm not sure whether we're using terminology differently, but I just want to check. Specifically, if you're going all out, maximum effort, every day (even for only 20-30 minutes), that would be high intensity, though still low impact (on an elliptical, which is generally considered a low impact exercise). It's also possible to do high-impact exercise (running, say) at low intensity (running quite slowly ). Impact is usually used to mean actual *impact*, how hard you strike a surface or how much shock-stress you put on joints.

It's probably fine to do low(er) intensity exercise every day, even as a beginner, where the intensity level is defined in terms of your current fitness level. Doing high intensity exercise every single day generally is not a good idea for anyone - elite athletes don't do max effort/high intensity training every single day, so us regular folks certainly shouldn't.

I'm oversimplifying a little, because duration matters in addition to intensity, frequency, and modality (type of exercise), when scheduling workouts. But I gather from this and other threads that you're a relative exercise beginner, which is a great thing. As long as most/all of your daily elliptical workouts are low intensity, you should be fine. Just pay attention to whether you are starting to feel some cumulative fatigue, over a period of time . . . if you are, take a day or two off to recover.

Otherwise, keep going on your very good current course: Wishing you much success!

So I'm doing low impact (elliptical) and varies on intensity. Some days I go harder than others, but always enough to break a sweat. So far I've done 7 days in a row and my legs afterwards are jiggly feeling and I'm sweating and breathing fairly hard, but I don't stiffen up or wake up sore the next day. I just have enjoyed it and want to make it a habit. I'm sure days will pop up where I need a break or things are too chaotic to hop on. But if I can just get a light 20min in to continue the day to day habit, I think I'll stick with it better long term. Also, once I start strength training, that could give the elliptical a break.

Thanks for all the responses everyone! It's all been helpful!

That sounds like a good plan. I think the sweet spot for cardio exercise is something that fits into your day well with good life balance (enough time/energy for other important parts of life), is just that nice little bit challenging, but leaves one energized rather than exhausted for the rest of one's day (other than maybe a few minutes of "whew" feeling right after the workout).

It sounds like you've got things pretty well dialed in - good show!

Thanks! I appreciate the feedback you've provided on many of my posts. They are always insightful and help a ton. Glad to hear that I'm on the right track!!

lgfrie

I'm kinda stumped as to what the issue is here, tbh. I'm a big fan of low impact, low intensity cardio. That could be because I have a very bad ankle & am as a result pretty limited as to what I can do exercise wise, but I find low intensity cardio to be a major, major supplement to my overall diet and health program. I started with 5 minutes per day but now I'm up to an hour a day 7 days a week. My blood pressure and RHR have plummeted and it's certainly helped not only with the weight loss all by itself but also keeping me in a health-focused state of mind, which helps with calorie compliance as well - I tend to start grazing on days when I don' t get to work out. Daily cardio is one of the only things I can think of in life with no downside LOL Of course, that assumes there are no injured or stressed body parts in need of rest. That's a big caveat.

mylittlerainbow

My personal trainer switched me to the elliptical from the treadmill because I was walking so much anyway and she didn't like the repeated pounding on the feet and shins you get with the treadmill. I then switched to an arc trainer because the elliptical has too big a tread for me at 5'0" even at the shortest setting. It's a nice cardio workout without all the banging on the limbs.

This isn't my only form of exercise - I do strength training, I do a foam roller with a routine on that, and I still do a lot of walking but more indoors now.

Dogmom1978

mylittlerainbow wrote: »

My personal trainer switched me to the elliptical from the treadmill because I was walking so much anyway and she didn't like the repeated pounding on the feet and shins you get with the treadmill. I then switched to an arc trainer because the elliptical has too big a tread for me at 5'0" even at the shortest setting. It's a nice cardio workout without all the banging on the limbs.

This isn't my only form of exercise - I do strength training, I do a foam roller with a routine on that, and I still do a lot of walking but more indoors now.

I love my arc trainer! It’s also supposed to be even lower impact (especially on the knees) than an elliptical. My arc trainer kicks my *kitten* as I tend to go with go big or go home, but the calorie burn helps keep me under my goal and lose weight, plus my HR is down and I feel a lot better.