30-Minute Low-Impact Workout

There are many benefits of low and no-impact workouts including:  Increased flexibility, reduction (and in some cases elimination) of joint pain, increased strength and cardiovascular fitness. 

Here is a quick, yet very effective, no-impact workout to throw into your routine. This workout starts with five (5) rounds of Sun Salutations to warm up your heart, mind, and body.  I am not a yoga instructor but I had a little help from my sister, whom is an exceptional yoga instructor in California, for my Sun Salutation sequence.  After the warm up, the workout will take you through two (2) rounds of low impact exercises, so have a timer or watch handy for this one.  Then you can move into a short but sweet abdominal routine.  30-minutes....great workout!

The 30-Minute Low Impact Workout:

 

Warm Up:  5 rounds of sun salutations (~6 minutes)

IMAGE: http://vinyasayogasystem.posterous.com/sun-salutations

• Inhale reaching to the sky, arms high
• Exhale, to forward fold, head hangs arms rest on the ground, or on your legs
•  Inhale, half way, keeping finger tips on ground or shins
• Exhale step back into lunge, dropping the knee.
• Inhale, step the other leg back into plank
• Exhale down to chaturanga and inhale up into cobra
• Exhale down into downward dog (hips high, heels pulled down toward the mat)
• Breath
• Inhale, bringing one leg back up into a lunge. Exhale.
• Inhale, bringing the other leg up into a forward fold.  Exhale.
• Inhale bringing the arms up and overhead.
• Exhale down into prayer pose
• Repeat the sequence

Workout:  2-Minute Stations (2 Rounds = 18 Minutes total)

IMAGE: http://www.gymboss.com/?src=IAP

**Alternate through each exercise in the station, for 2-minutes total (set your timer for 2 minutes and rest for 30 seconds in between each station).  Repeat 2-3 times though.  Move as fast as you safely can to get as many reps as possible.  This is an interval training workout.

Station #1 (2-Minutes) 
 A) 10-Inch Worms (start in plank position, walk your feet up to your hands then walk your hands back out to plank.  Repeat 10 times)
B) 10-Squat hold (squat down (knees behind the tips of your toes!) and hold for 10 count.  Rise up and repeat)

       Rest for 30-seconds

 

Station #2 
A) 20-Bicycle Crunches
B) 20-Bridge Booty Dips (lie on your back, move into bridge position and dip your booty down to just above the ground, then push through your heels to lift your booty back up to bridge.  And repeat.

       Rest for 30-second

Station #3 
A)10-Superman (on your stomach, lift hand and feet off of the ground.  Then lower and repeat)
B)10-Tricep dips 

Station #4 
A) 20 Reverse Leg Lifts (on all fours, lift your leg straight back and up.  Repeat 10 times, then switch legs for 10 more)

        B) 10-Push Ups (any variety....on your knees, on your toes, hands shoulder width, or close together)

       Rest for 30-seconds and repeat. 

      ABS:

     A) 30 flutter kicks (in a V-sit, extend your legs and do 30 flutter kicks)
      B) 10 Rounds of Walking Plank (in plank position, walk sideways to the left 2 times, then to the right 2 times.  Repeat this for 10 rounds.

      C) 30-Heels to the Heavens (lying on your back, extend your feet up and lift your pelvis off of the ground, using your lower abs (not momentum).  Repeat 30 times 

And Stretch....those that stretch are 22% stronger than those that don't!!  Stretch your major muscle groups after each workout.

 

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