One problem I find with many sporting activities I have taken part in, is the heavy impact effecting my knee, ankle and hip joints due to running and falling over. As quite a large man, I have trained as a power lifter for many years, I noticed inflamed and aching joints after playing many sports I had enjoyed as a youngster. There are a lot of other people I know who want to be able to exercise, yet not punish their joints and end up with injuries. The question is, are there sports or activities where you can get a very good level of exercise without aching or injured joints? This article will list some activities that are decidedly low impact, yet very good for the cardio vascular system.
1. Swimming has been a real revelation for me. I now swim three times a week and my fitness and health have improved dramatically. There is hardly any impact on joints, and the work out is as tiring and hard as you choose to make it. Swimming between twenty and thirty lengths in a session, three times a week, will certainly keep you fit and healthy. The bonus is you can still walk without aching ankle or knee joints. A good stretching warm up before a swim makes sure there are no muscle pulls or spasms. As your strength grows you can easily add extra lengths to your workout, or even change to more physically demanding strokes like butterfly or front crawl.
2. Golf has been described as a good walk spoiled, but I disagree. I have never slept as well as I have after eighteen holes, participating in any other sport. There is good reason for this. Walking around a golf course is excellent exercise. For those who choose not to use battery powered golf carts, and transport their own clubs around, you will have a really good workout, without any jarring movements or heavy impact on your joints. As with swimming you can avoid any silly pulls by stretching well before beginning your game. Swinging a golf club to drive a ball is also a great way to keep fit as many upper body muscles are used to make a good disciplined swing. I play about twice a month and am able to walk around a course now, without feeling like I have endured a marathon, so I am certainly getting fitter doing it in combination with my other activities.
3. Sailing was a real surprise when I went for the first time. It is very physical, steering, and also manning the sail, together with changing positions with others in the boat to maintain course and stability. However you are not pounding your joints, so this is a very hard and physical low impact sport. I try to go sailing now once a month, and my upper body strength is still of a level similar to when I was lifting heavy in the gym. You will get an excellent back work out, as well as a great cardio vascular one.
There are plenty of ways to keep fit and also avoid high impact sports. My joints have never felt so good, and I spend a lot less time injured than I did playing football or rugby. I hope more people give these and other low impact sports a try instead of giving up on sports because of bad joints.
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