When working up a sweat indoors, we often default to high-impact moves like jumping squats or burpees— but these can be tough on achy joints. This 20-minute low-impact cardio routine is perfect for anyone wanting to boost their fitness without the strain. You’ll engage your muscles, boost endurance, and burn calories, all while minimizing impact and protecting your joints.
This workout uses plenty of compound exercises, which is an effective way to boost cardiovascular fitness, burn calories, and increase overall functional fitness. However, the exercises also incorporate resistance— so you’ll need to grab yourself two heavy water bottles, a pair of medium dumbbells, or a kettlebell— as this will make the exercises more challenging, thus raising your heart rate further, as well as increasing your overall strength.
For this workout, perform each exercise below for 40 seconds, followed by a 20-second rest, before moving on to the next exercise. Once you’ve completed all six, rest for 90 seconds, then repeat the workout three more times, if you have time for four, even better! Remember, just because you may not be jumping up and down like a pogo stick, you will still work up a sweat, so it’s important to sip on water to ensure you stay rehydrated throughout. Here’s your exercises:
- Reverse lunge into a forward lunge with a bicep curl
- Lateral lunge into overhead press
- Kneel to heel drive
- Ground to overhead press
- Dumbbell swing
- Plank to stand
For more low-impact workouts that’ll elevate your heart rate without disturbing your neighbors, try this 18-minute bodyweight routine. Or, if you’re not in the mood for a workout but need some fresh ideas to boost your cardio without running, check out these 12 alternative exercises for a new challenge.
