Low Impact Calorie Scorch

“Just pump it…louder!” The Black Eyed Peas blare from your ear buds. The world blurs into the background as you get lost in an intense sweat session. Running on the treadmill for the last twenty minutes has you dripping. There it goes again, your right knee begins to ache with every pound. As you madly stab at the arrow buttons on the controls, the wheels come to a halt. After running on an aching knee for weeks you’ve had enough.

Oh well, at least you tried to lose that extra 10 pounds, but obviously your body is rejecting the struggle. You aren’t meant to stride among the gazelle legged joggers who prance around the lake as though hopping on clouds. Wrong, wrong, wrong…let’s not head down that dark tunnel.

Shedding pounds is never easy, but something you don’t need to tolerate is joint pain. Ankles and especially knees take a beating from high impact aerobic exercise, like running. There is no doubt that hitting the pavement for a solid run burns calories quickly, amps endorphins and pushes the heart, but it’s certainly not your only option. After a few ankle injuries and random spurts of knee pain over many years of thrashing my body in rehearsals, I too was forced to take high impact aerobics out of my workouts. No worries. Running is a bore in my book anyway.

Here are some spicy ideas for low impact workouts:

Grow Fins: Swimming and just about any movement done under water is stellar for sore joints. “But I’m only 30!” you cry. “I wouldn’t be caught dead in an aqua aerobics class.” Okay, okay… so maybe the class at your gym isn’t quite up to your speed, but that’s no excuse to forgo a sweat session.

Who says taking a class is the only way to workout? Why not invest in some goggles and fins and plunge into salt water. If you live near the beach use it to your advantage. Don’t like swimming alone in open water? Jaws might want a bite! Bring a buddy or aim to splash in while others are lapping the buoys or bobbing on boards.

Most communities have public pools you can join for a small fee or find a gym that offers deals for just utilizing the pool. No need to enroll for a pricey all inclusive membership when you can toss a few bucks at the front desk for the pool a few times a week.

Mix up your strokes for variety. Nothing kills motivation more than boredom. Focusing on the blue line on the pool floor is like watching grass grow. The only way I will stick with it is by flip flopping between strokes or changing the surroundings. Driving to a nearby lake or swimming with the big fish in the waves might involve a little more effort, but keeps my feet kicking.

Walking Is The New Running: Power walking in particular is the latest trend among A-list starlets. Here are the details on their speedy technique. Beyond the trend, it’s important to understand that the impact of running on your joints can be more than three times your body weight, every step is triple the impact of walking. And what’s the exercise centenarians choose over any other? Walking. Upping the intensity of a walk is the trick. Simply add intervals. Alternate between speeds, toss in a few hills, mix up your tunes and voila. Good quality shoes are an essential! Proper cushion and support for the foot flows right up the leg through the ankle and knee joints. Invest in a good pair and replace every few months depending on wear and tear.

Power Walking is my go-to low impact exercise of choice since I’ve been roaming the planet. Losing the Lonely Planet guide and tying on the sneakers is how I find the hidden burrito joint, secluded beach or simply get my barings in a new town. Added bonus: the calories burned. I aim to walk everywhere. Keeping fit and saving money can’t get much easier. Sand power walking and National Park trail blazing are other options to consider. Tone up naturally!

I also had the rare free one-week trial opportunity this week at the local gym. I gleefully hopped onto the innovative TreadClimber contraption from Nautilus. I’m always eager to try new and promising equipment. The TreadClimber is a fusion of a treadmill and an elliptical. It’s basically set up so each foot has it’s own treadmill that oscillates like an elliptical. It claims to burn twice as many calories as normal walking. In a 30 min session I burned upwards of 700 calories…hmmm I’m not convinced. Besides being forced to watch outdated music videos on the plasma’s each day, I barely broke a sweat, and my heart rate didn’t sore beyond 110. And that was on the highest speed! I’m sticking to au natural workouts in the great outdoors.

Peddle Power: Biking outdoors or peddling on a stationary frame is another calorie blasting option. Though nothing could get me into a spin class, it could be your calling! You’ll want to make sure your seat is high enough so that your knees are not bent beyond a 90-degree angle. Your knee should be slightly bent when your pedal is furthest away. An upright stationary bike (looks like a regular bike) gives you a higher intensity work out than a recumbent (reclined seat with pedals out front) bike.

Beware: Once your muscles are fatigued, they can’t absorb as much shock, and the extra stress is offloaded to the joints, tendons, and ligaments. Taking every other day off will give your body a chance to repair itself and prevent overuse injury.

Fat Burning vs. Heart Pumping: Science tells us that within a certain heart-rate range, you will burn fat. Too high of a heart rate takes you out of fat burning mode and into cardio mode (fantastic for your heart). The idea is that when your body needs energy fast, as when running, fat metabolism takes too long, so your bod goes for sugar rather than fat.

The solution: mix a little of both running and walking, but only if your joints can handle it. Apply this to swimming and biking by alternating intensities. Intervals are key.

Anti-Inflammatory Defense: Inflammation around your joints could be the culprit to blame beyond unnecessary pounding, so aim to add these anti-inflammatory foods into your diet. Salmon, olive oil, broccoli, dark leafy greens, blueberries, tumeric, ginger, garlic and green tea top the list.

How do you avoid joint pounding in your work out? What other low impact activities do you enjoy that you can share with the rest of our epic crew?