Low-impact exercises get your heart rate up and engage your muscles without overstraining your joints. The body stays supported with at least one foot on the ground throughout the move.
But low-impact isn’t the same as low-intensity. Just because these exercises are low-impact and accessible to people of varying fitness levels doesn’t mean they’re easy or ineffective.
Ahead, find 12 low-impact moves that protect your joints while still delivering real results.
Low-Impact Cardio Exercises
Cardiovascular (or aerobic) exercise includes activities that raise your heart rate and get you breathing harder than at rest. And it doesn’t have to be so intense that it’s uncomfortable or hard to sustain. Research shows that regular low-impact aerobic exercise can improve physical fitness, including endurance, balance, flexibility, and even strength.
1. Walking
Walking is among the most accessible exercises for every fitness level. You don’t need any special equipment, gym, or apparel. You can walk virtually anywhere, anytime, often without having to change into workout clothes.
It’s not only low-impact and joint-friendly but also has a very low risk of injury compared to other types of exercise. Start with a beginner walking routine and progress with incline, speed, or duration to challenge your lower body and cardiovascular system.
See our 5-2-4 and 12-3-30 structured walking workouts for inspiration.
2. Elliptical
The elliptical is a popular cardio machine, and for good reason. It has two revolving foot pedals and sometimes handlebars to simulate the motions of walking, running, or climbing stairs with minimal impact on the joints.
Since your feet stay planted on the pedals, there’s no high-impact foot strike, as with jogging on a treadmill. This makes the elliptical one of the most joint-friendly machines in the gym. You can also adjust the resistance, incline, and speed from beginner-level to advanced.
See our stair climber vs. elliptical comparison for a breakdown of each machine.
3. Stationary Bike/Indoor Cycling
Upright stationary bikes and recumbent bikes (in which you sit in a reclined, laid-back position) have minimal knee load when set up properly. Using these exercise machines regularly has been shown to improve cardiovascular fitness.
They’re a good option for low-impact steady-state (LISS) cardio or short interval bursts. With guidance, music, and community, instructor-led indoor cycling classes can offer motivation and add structure to what can otherwise feel repetitive.
4. Rowing Machine
A rowing machine (aka ergometer) is a seated exercise machine that mimics the movements of rowing a boat through water. It’s considered a full-body workout that can improve upper-body strength with almost no joint stress on the knees, while increasing your heart rate and breathing.
It’s understandable to feel intimidated if you’ve never used one before (let alone rowed on a body of water), but indoor rowers can actually be beginner-friendly. They’re one of the most underused machines on the gym floor for people who default to the treadmill.
5. Swimming or Water Aerobics
Water supports the weight of the body and eliminates virtually all joint impact while conditioning major muscle groups with resistance in every direction. Research shows that swimming and water aerobics classes can be particularly good aerobic options for those managing arthritis, recovering from injury, or building up fitness levels after a long break from exercise.
Factory Store Online locations with pools offer lap swimming and low-impact Aqua Fit water aerobics classes.
Low-Impact Strength Exercises
Low-impact resistance exercises keep one or two feet on the ground at all times and use slow, controlled movements. The goal is to engage major muscle groups and build strength while minimizing impact on the joints.
6. Goblet Squat
A goblet squat is a strength move where you hold one dumbbell or kettlebell (any weight) against your chest with both hands, as if you’re holding a large cup, hence the name, *goblet*.
The front-loaded weight counterbalances your bodyweight as you sit back into a squat, supporting better posture. This squat variation is designed to help protect your lower back and allow you to go deeper while maintaining proper form.
Goblet squats are a low-impact exercise since your feet stay planted on the floor the entire time. They aim to help build lower-body and core strength while improving balance.
7. Dumbbell Row
A dumbbell row involves pulling a weight up toward your body while positioned at an incline to engage your arms, back, and core muscles. You can do one side at a time while bent over a bench or a two-arm row with lighter weights in a partial squat or hinged stance.
This move tends to have minimal joint impact and no spinal compression, especially when done in a supported position with one hand on a bench. It can help even out postural imbalances from sitting and strengthen the muscles that are easy to neglect with a resistance routine.
8. Glute Bridge or Hip Thrust
A glute bridge is done lying with your back flat on the floor, knees bent, and pelvis raised up. Hip thrusts are traditionally done with your upper back supported on a bench.
These similar lower-body moves strengthen the glutes, hamstrings, and hip abductors. They can be bodyweight-only exercises or progressed with hand weights or a barbell placed at the hips.
9. Farmer’s Carry
A farmer’s carry (or farmer’s walk) is a simple yet effective move. All you do is walk straight forward while holding a heavy dumbbell or kettlebell in each hand, with your arms straight down at your sides.
Meant to mimic the real-life manual labor of carrying a heavy load by hand, a farmer’s carry is considered a functional low-impact exercise. It builds grip strength, supports core stability, and activates lower-body muscles.
Low-Impact Flexibility, Core, and Full-Body Exercises
A well-rounded workout routine will include exercises that improve flexibility, balance, and range of motion, along with moves that build serious core and full-body strength.
10. Yoga
Yoga is an excellent way to build flexibility, balance, stability, and whole-body awareness through controlled, low-impact movement and joint-friendly poses.
The ancient Indian practice has been shown to help alleviate mobility issues, stiffness, and pain for people with knee arthritis. It promotes mindfulness, making it a valuable activity for stress management, as well as recovery between higher-intensity training days.
Many Factory Store Online locations offer yoga classes as part of the group fitness schedule.
11. Pilates
Pilates is a low-impact, full-body strength workout that challenges your core, glutes, and legs while improving posture and control. Sessions typically involve slow, precise movements under constant tension, which makes them much tougher than they look.
Many Factory Store Online locations offer Mat Pilates classes as part of the group fitness schedule, with Pilates Reformer coming soon to select locations.
12. Stair Climber
The stair climber is another simple yet effective option. It simulates the continuous movement of climbing up stairs. Though you alternate lifting each foot, the lack of jumping or complex moves makes it low-impact.
This gym machine allows you to simultaneously do cardiovascular conditioning, endurance work, and high-demand, lower-body resistance training. It can be a great option for people who want more of a challenge in the gym without jumping or running.
Who Benefits Most From Low-Impact Exercises?
Low-impact exercise can be good for:
- Beginners building a fitness foundation
- People recovering from injury or surgery
- Those managing arthritis or other chronic joint issues
- Older adults focused on longevity, balance, and fall prevention
- Those wanting to incorporate movement into a stress-management routine
- Women in the menopausal stage of life wanting to maintain muscle strength and bone density
- Experienced athletes managing recovery and training load between intense sessions
- Anyone who wants to train consistently without accumulating overuse injuries
If you have a recent injury, are recovering from surgery, or are managing a medical condition, check in with your healthcare provider before starting a new workout program.
Can You Build Real Fitness With Only Low-Impact Exercises?
Absolutely. Low-impact exercises can deliver meaningful cardiovascular conditioning, improvements in strength, and body composition changes when progressed intentionally.
The key to seeing real results is sticking to a consistent program with progressive overload. This means increasing the resistance, speed, duration, or complexity of your workout routine over time.
To compare more exercise approaches, see our guide to HIIT (high-intensity interval training) vs. LISS workouts.
How Can You Start a Low-Impact Routine?
Begin slowly and gradually build your way up. We recommend starting with two or three sessions a week, mixing aerobic exercises and strength moves from the list above.
After about a month, add a flexibility or balance complement (such as yoga) and a core-focused strength session (such as Pilates) at least once a week. Over time, you can incorporate more moves, increase your weight to add resistance, or progress by bumping up the speed or duration of your workouts.
Factory Store Online puts all of these low-impact exercises under one roof. A membership gives you access to cardio machines, free weights, benches, group fitness classes, and pools at select locations. Some locations also have the Recovery Studio for post-workout support.
No matter where you’re starting or your current fitness level, Factory Store Online welcomes anyone into our gyms. Beyond clean, state-of-the-art facilities, members can count on kind staff, friendly service, and a community feel.
Join today or start with a seven-day free trial.
