Table of contents:
- What is low impact exercise?
- What is high impact sports?
- So should you choose low impact or high impact sports?
Low impact or high impact sports are both beneficial for improving heart health, burning calories, and helping to regulate body weight. The terms low impact and high impact are different from high and low intensity (high intensity and low intensity) that you have probably heard a lot about. The terms low impact and high impact are based on classifications made by researchers in the sports field. Sports are distinguished by their impact on joints. Well, but from that difference which one is better for losing weight, huh? Check out the reviews below.
What is low impact exercise?
Low impact sports are sports in which the movement of both legs or one foot is still on the floor throughout the exercise session. For example, walking, yoga, cycling, swimming, and others.
Low impact exercise is usually recommended for beginners who are just starting out in sports, people who are overweight and obese, who are pregnant, or who are experiencing nerve or bone injury. This exercise is good for them because it can reduce the risk of being more severe.
Low impact sports do not mean lower intensity than high impact sports. Not that low impact also can't burn a lot of fat. This exercise only puts a lower load on the joints with each movement, but that doesn't mean it doesn't need energy.
What is high impact sports?
High impact sports involve jerking movements such as jumping. It's called high impact exercise if there are times when both your feet don't hit the floor or the ground at the same time. For example jogging, jumping rope, skipping, jumping jacks, and other exercises that require both legs to jump. High-impact exercise will put extra strain on the knees, ankles and hips.
However, high impact exercise is not appropriate if done every day without pauses or variations in exercise.
High impact sports activities tend to burn more calories than low impact sports. Because, the heart will pump blood faster so that the burning of calories will be even greater. Although it can burn more calories, this type of exercise has other consequences.
The chances of getting injured are easier in this sport. For example, running fast will put 2.5 times your weight on your legs and this will put a strain on your body. This is why this type of exercise is less comfortable for people who have leg problems or are overweight.
High impact sports do have the ability to burn more calories in a shorter time than low impact sports. In fact, research shows that this exercise can reduce the percentage of fat more than low impact sports.
Research in the scientific journal SPIRIT in 2015 compared a group that did low impact aerobic exercise with a group that did high impact aerobic exercise. Of the two groups, high impact sports had a greater effect on reducing the percentage of fat than low impact sports.
So should you choose low impact or high impact sports?
Although it can burn more calories and reduce the percentage of fat more, high impact exercise requires some consideration. The reason is, there are several risks that are easier to occur when doing this type of exercise. Therefore, when losing weight, choose the one that is most suitable and safe for your condition. Or combine the two.
If you want high-impact sports, of course you can with all the preparedness you have. But you also need to know, not only the low impact and high impact types that affect the burning of more calories. What is no less important is the intensity.
Doing low impact exercise doesn't mean you burn fewer calories. If low impact exercise is done with high intensity, this will also make the calorie burn more maximal. For example, when you are cycling at high speed for a shorter period of time. The body will burn more calories when you are putting in a lot of effort while riding the bike.
For those of you who are beginners, obese, and have joint problems, it's best if you want to lose weight, do low impact sports. By increasing the intensity, you can still burn calories faster, and you will lose weight too.
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