what's high impact mean?

judkinsjenny
judkinsjenny Posts: 220
edited October 4 in Health and Weight Loss
What does "high impact" mean when we are talking aerobics? To me, it means stomping your foot really hard. lol For a fat girl "high impact" isnt a whole lot. what i did today burned my lungs, made me pour sweat, i was breathing like a cow and i thought i might die. is that high impact, even though it may not be LABELED high impact? What is high impact for some, may not be high impact for another. Right?

Replies

  • MikeSEA
    MikeSEA Posts: 1,074 Member
    Whenever I've done something high impact, it usually means I end up feeling my heartbeat in my gums :)
  • judkinsjenny
    judkinsjenny Posts: 220
    LMAO!!!! oh man! lol
  • TluvK
    TluvK Posts: 733 Member
    High impact typically means an exercise that could be somewhat jarring to your body, like your knees, ankles, etc. So, really, jumping of any kind where you are coming down hard. I think if you're talking about breathing hard, you would call it high intensity, which, yes, I think can definitely vary by the person.
  • surfrgrl1
    surfrgrl1 Posts: 1,464 Member
    I borrowed some information from another site.
    http://www.dailyspark.com/blog.asp?post=fitness_defined_lowimpact_and_highimpact_exercises
  • CakeFit21
    CakeFit21 Posts: 2,521 Member
    High impact is anything like jumping. Things that impact your joints. Running is high impact. Elliptical and bike are low impact.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,024 Member
    High impact relates to actual movements that put pressure and strain on the joints. You knees, ankles, hips, etc. Usually there is jumping, or fast stopping movements involved.
  • MarieNevada
    MarieNevada Posts: 395 Member
    high impact refers to the impact on your physical body through jumping. not impact on your heart rate. lol sorry. so if it involves jumping it's high impact, if it doesn't, it's not. ie. jumping jacks-high impact. eliptical-low impact. step aerobics can be mixed, usually written as high/low impact. running-high impact, walking-lower impact. et cetera.
  • MrsWagz
    MrsWagz Posts: 41
    It usually implies jumping to some degree or even just a bouncing motion when you move.. It's a higher intensity workout.. Running is high impact, TurboFire is REALLY high impact.. Anything where your really getting your heart rate up there..Kinda hard to put into words now that I think about it! lol
  • plantgrrl
    plantgrrl Posts: 436 Member
    When I did Weight Watchers, I found their definitions very helpful:

    http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=20971

    Light Easy:
    Does not induce sweating unless it's a hot, humid day. There is no noticeable change in breathing patterns.

    Moderate Somewhat hard
    Will break a sweat after performing the activity for about 10 minutes. Breathing becomes deeper and more frequent. You can carry on a conversation but not sing.

    High Hard
    Will break a sweat after 3-5 minutes. Breathing is deep and rapid. You can only talk in short phrases.
  • judkinsjenny
    judkinsjenny Posts: 220
    allright. you burn more cals on high impact than on low impact. it sounds like the fat girl (me) did high impact. hope my joints hold out...(in my choked voice)
  • judkinsjenny
    judkinsjenny Posts: 220
    yeah, that was me today!! lol
  • MikeSEA
    MikeSEA Posts: 1,074 Member
    allright. you burn more cals on high impact than on low impact. it sounds like the fat girl (me) did high impact. hope my joints hold out...(in my choked voice)

    That's a good question. I'd like to know as well. If I had to guess, either one could be lower or higher in intensity. When I did do high impact exercises with a trainer, he said it was so that I could work on form and my body would know how to react to the same situations in real life (jumping, falling, etc). At the time I guess I didn't think about it terms of calories burned, but the jumping sure worked my legs.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,024 Member
    When I did Weight Watchers, I found their definitions very helpful:

    http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=20971

    Light Easy:
    Does not induce sweating unless it's a hot, humid day. There is no noticeable change in breathing patterns.

    Moderate Somewhat hard
    Will break a sweat after performing the activity for about 10 minutes. Breathing becomes deeper and more frequent. You can carry on a conversation but not sing.

    High Hard
    Will break a sweat after 3-5 minutes. Breathing is deep and rapid. You can only talk in short phrases.
    This describes INTENSITY not the actual IMPACT.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,024 Member
    allright. you burn more cals on high impact than on low impact. it sounds like the fat girl (me) did high impact. hope my joints hold out...(in my choked voice)
    You did high intensity not high impact. High intensity doesn't always mean high impact. You can lift weights at high intensity and sweat and gasp for air, but it's not high impact.
  • judkinsjenny
    judkinsjenny Posts: 220
    thats what the exercise thing on MFP said, that it burns more. for 10 mins of low, its 75 cals for high its 103
  • TluvK
    TluvK Posts: 733 Member
    thats what the exercise thing on MFP said, that it burns more. for 10 mins of low, its 75 cals for high its 103

    High Impact, coupled with High Intensity will burn the most. It sounds like this is what you did -

    Example 1: Say you were to jump with two legs up in the air and land on two feet every 90 seconds. You've just done High Impact/Low Intensity

    Example 2: You step up on a step 60 times in one minute You've just done Low Impact/High Intensity.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,024 Member
    thats what the exercise thing on MFP said, that it burns more. for 10 mins of low, its 75 cals for high its 103
    Then it's high INTENSITY. There's a difference between high intensity and high impact.
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
    thats what the exercise thing on MFP said, that it burns more. for 10 mins of low, its 75 cals for high its 103

    High Impact, coupled with High Intensity will burn the most. It sounds like this is what you did -

    Example 1: Say you were to jump with two legs up in the air and land on two feet every 90 seconds. You've just done High Impact/Low Intensity

    Example 2: You step up on a step 60 times in one minute You've just done Low Impact/High Intensity.

    Exactly. Think about the word "impact". It means a forceful contact between two things, i.e. your foot and the ground.
  • judkinsjenny
    judkinsjenny Posts: 220
    no, it realy said high impact.
  • judkinsjenny
    judkinsjenny Posts: 220
    ill look up high intensity if its there.
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
    no, it realy said high impact.

    I hate to be the one to break it to you, but it is possible that MFP is wrong :tongue:
  • judkinsjenny
    judkinsjenny Posts: 220
    must be cuz i looked it up on google and i did medium impact high intensity. it doesnt matter i guess i dont eat my ex cals since if i do i gain weight.
  • borichfan
    borichfan Posts: 208 Member
    What about walking at a fast pace on the treadmill? It feels like it puts a strain on my legs, knees and joints when i walk like 4 or 5 mph on treadmill.
  • TluvK
    TluvK Posts: 733 Member
    What about walking at a fast pace on the treadmill? It feels like it puts a strain on my legs, knees and joints when i walk like 4 or 5 mph on treadmill.

    If you are literally stomping on the treadmill, then I guess it could be high impact. But, I imagine you're not stomping, just walking heavier. Medium impact?
This discussion has been closed.

Categories