Working out regularly is so good for your long-term health, weight loss and mental well-being. But high-impact exercise, like HIIT workouts or bootcamp training, can actually have a negative impact on your body, and take a toll on your joints. If you suffer from past joint injuries or regular joint discomfort, a better option is LIIT: low-impact, interval training. You get the best of both worlds—a challenging workout that’s kind to your body and your joints. LIIT strikes the perfect balance between the high-intensity training of HIIT and the lower impact of pilates. LIIT provides a balanced, total-body workout that’s still super challenging. You’ll get stronger with every class and improve your health while minimizing the stress on your joints.

If you’re not sure whether LIIT is the right workout for you, check out these benefits of low impact exercise:

Low-impact exercise is the way to go if you’re interested in increasing your strength and endurance. Unlike high impact workouts like HIIT, LIIT does not overexert your body, and you can work at your own pace and level of intensity. If you’re consistent in your workout routine, you can increase your muscle density, tone your body and improve stability and endurance with LIIT. It’s a more challenging, total-body workout than pilates, for example, because it combines strength, cardio and flexibility into one 360-degree workout.

It’s also important to note that low-impact training has a positive effect on joint mobility and elasticity. These benefits will help improve your performance in weight training exercises and make your stronger for everyday tasks in everyday life. It’s called functional fitness--practical and productive movements that benefit you outside of the gym. In addition, LIIT workouts will lengthen and stretch your muscles, allowing your body to work efficiently. However, if you want to build muscle mass, you’ll need to increase your resistance training.

There’s risk of injury in all forms of exercise. However, low-impact workout routines minimize the dangers, especially for people with underlying injuries. In general, high-impact exercise is more high-risk because the muscles are forced to contract rapidly. This increases the risk of muscle tearing and strain. The slow and controlled movements of LIIT workouts alleviate that excess strain. It also helps to strengthen all the critical muscles, providing a strong support system for the body.If your body has been feeling the effects of physical stress of high-impact activities like constant running, playing sports or highly intense dancing, you shouldn’t give up on working out and sink into your couch. Instead, consider taking up LIIT. This alternative will give you an opportunity to transform your body and get stronger in every way, without wearing down your body. Whether you’re tired of pounding the pavement or are suffering from joint discomfort, LIIT keeps your body moving while preventing injuries.

Low-impact exercise is a smart choice if you’re looking to lose weight, especially if you don’t workout on a regular basis. This type of exercise is effective because it can be performed for longer periods of time, unlike high-impact alternatives like HIIT workouts or tabata. Therefore, there’s greater potential to burn more calories. But one key benefit of LIIT is its efficiency. Because it’s a super challenging workout, you can burn more calories in less time. LIIT digs deeper into the body to burn major calories. LIIT will access your fat stores for energy, rather than just using the easily accessible glycogen (aka, carbs).

When exercising, you should watch out for joint hypermobility and extensions. In other words, stay in control of your range of motion to protect your joints. Keep your eyes on your knees and ensure that they’re aligned, for example. It’s also crucial to work out your glutes. Strengthening these muscles will help minimize pelvic instabilities and improve your body tone. Additionally, you should watch out for muscle spasms which might occur when you first start your workout. Luckily, at FORM50 fitness, the entire focus is on perfecting your form. And that’s what makes every class so effective.Beginning a new workout routine can be daunting, especially if you have joint problems. However, LIIT workouts will maximize your efforts in every session. At FORM50 you’ll get hands-on guidance from your coach. Their help will be everything, especially when you’re first starting out. If you’re not sure about something, ask your coach. They’ll be happy to answer your questions. Ready to try LIIT?