Low-Impact Workouts, Designed By Experts for Senior Cyclists

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Cycling is an excellent low-impact workout for seniors, but it’s not the only option for those who want to break a sweat without pummeling their joints. There are plenty of off-bike ways to get stronger and bolster endurance sans impact—you just have to understand what qualifies an exercise as low-impact (hint: it has nothing to do with its level of ease).

To get you started, we’ve designed two low-impact workouts you can do with minimal space and equipment. But before you jump in (or, rather, step forward in a controlled manner), we spoke with two fitness and training experts to break down the concept of “low impact” and provide guidance on when it’s most critical to stick with low-impact workouts. (Interestingly, they’re not always necessary or better, even for folks over 65.)

What “Low Impact” Really Means

A low-impact workout is designed to minimize stress placed upon the joints, muscles, and connective tissues. “Low impact means that, more or less, you are not leaving the ground or having impact placed back upon the body that is more than you can handle,” says Robert Linkul, C.S.C.S., owner of Training The Older Adult.

Low-impact exercise includes walking, cycling, yoga, swimming, and strength training at a steady, controlled tempo. Once you introduce jumping, sprinting, or throwing and catching a weighted item, like a medicine ball, you’ve entered high-impact territory.

However, low-impact is not synonymous with “low intensity” or “easy.” You can still test the limits of your strength and cardiorespiratory endurance with low-impact exercise. Anyone who’s steadily pedaled up a long incline, spent 30 swimming laps, or PR’d their deadlift knows that you don’t need to jump, hop, or bound to challenge yourself with a tough workout.

The Benefits of Low-Impact Workouts for Seniors

For those who are newly active or returning to exercise—especially older adults who are more prone to muscle and bone-density loss—an initial period of low-impact exercise helps build a foundation for activity that’s progressively more dynamic and higher impact. Linkul considers each client’s unique needs and circumstances, but he typically starts new athletes with two to three months of low-impact training to build that foundation.

Without this base, the risk of injury increases. “If you ‘weekend warrior’ it—if you’re 60 and you haven’t done anything [in a while]—and you go out and do sprints and jump rope, you’re going to end up with shin splints and bone spurs. You’re going to be on the shelf. That’s where the progression is really important,” Linkul says.

Low-impact exercise is also an excellent option for active recovery, which has been shown to help alleviate delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and aid recovery from exercise-induced muscle damage. A systematic review published by the Strength and Conditioning Journal considered 17 eligible studies and found that individuals who followed up strenuous workouts with activities like walking, yoga, and swimming experienced less inflammation and discomfort, as well as improved flexibility.

“We often use non-impact workouts when we’re bringing athletes back from an injury, or they have some kind of chronic pain, like their knee hurts, their hip hurts, or their glute is bothering them,” says USAT-certified coach Jennifer Harrison. Pivoting to less dynamic movement and non-weight-bearing activity removes some of the stress and pounding on the athlete’s joints while they heal, but they’re able to stay active and build cardiorespiratory fitness and strength.

Keep in mind, though, that most seniors, including those with osteopenia and osteoporosis (conditions indicating lower-than-normal bone density), should eventually progress to exercise that includes some impact, as the stimulus that impact provides the body can help active adults maintain and increase muscle mass and bone density as they age, Linkul says.

One study published by the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research found that postmenopausal women with low bone mass who participated in a high-intensity, high-impact resistance training programming showed “superior” improvement in bone density compared to the control group, which stuck to low-impact, low-intensity exercise.

The study authors noted that healthcare and fitness professionals are often overly cautious in recommending seniors only do low-impact exercise. Injuries are always possible (one study participant incurred a mild back sprain), but the rewards often outweigh the risks. That said, always listen to your doctor before starting a new exercise program.

Low-Impact Workout Options

In addition to cycling, low-impact exercise options include walking, gentle-to-moderate hiking, swimming, rowing, Pilates, and yoga. Strength training is also a low-impact activity, as long as you don’t incorporate dynamic or explosive movements like plyometrics.

Harrison also notes that indoor climbing, where you’re working against your own body weight while supported by a harness, is an excellent cross-training option for cyclists. “There’s no impact. [The workouts] are hard. It works different muscles than cycling because you’re doing a ton of upper body work,” she says.

Using Linkul and Harrison’s recommendations, we designed two low-impact workouts for senior cyclists: a strength-focused workout for building performance-boosting muscle and a cardio workout for days when you want to rev your heart rate out of the saddle.

Low-Impact Strength Workout for Seniors

How to use this list: Perform 10-12 reps of each exercise in order, resting for 1 minute between moves. Complete 3-4 rounds.

To do this workout, you will need at least one set of dumbbells. (If you have multiple sets, use the heavier weights for the deadlift and squat.)

Deadlift

1. Start standing with dumbbells at sides, feet hip-width apart.

2. Keeping eyes forward and back flat, hinge at the hips by sending butt straight back, and lower the weights toward the floor as you rotate palms to face you. Allow knees to bend slightly. Keep the weight close to shins and lower until torso is almost parallel to the floor.

3. Contract glutes and drive feet into ground to stand back up.

4. Repeat.

Squat

1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes turned slightly out. Hold dumbbells at shoulders in racked position with elbows bent.

2. Send hips down and back and bend knees to squat down. Aim for hips below knees.

3. Press through feet and straighten legs to stand up.

4. Repeat.

Floor Press

1. Lie faceup on the floor, knees bent, and feet planted. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing away from body, weights over chest with arms straight.

2. With control, bend elbows and lower weights toward the chest.

3. Pause, then extend elbows to press weights up.

4. Repeat.

Single-Arm Supported Row

1. Holding a dumbbell in left hand, stand to the left of a bench (or other stable, knee-high surface) and place right knee and right palm on bench so that you’re in a supported, bent-over position.

2. Maintaining a flat back and neutral neck, allow dumbbell to hang straight down, palm facing in.

3. Engage core and draw shoulders down and back. This is the starting position.

4. Pull dumbbell back and up to hip, keeping elbow close to body.

5. Straighten arm to return to starting position.

6. Repeat.

Overhead Press

1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, racked at shoulders with elbows bent, palms facing in.

2. Keeping core engaged and pelvis neutral, press weights directly up and overhead.

3. Pause, then lower weights back to shoulders with control.

4. Repeat.

Split Squat

1. Stand with feet staggered, left leg in front and right leg behind, right heel off the ground. Hold dumbbells in a racked position at shoulders, or allow the arms to hang down straight.

2. Lower into a lunge position, both knees bending 90 degrees. (Adjust feet if too wide or narrow.)

3. Drive through feet to stand back up.

4. Repeat.

Low-Impact Cardio Workout for Seniors

How to use this list: Do the following exercises in order for 1 minute each, resting for up to 30 seconds between movements. Complete the circuit 3-4 times.

You don’t need any equipment, but an exercise mat is helpful.

Standing Cross-Body Knee Drive

1. Stand with feet wider than hip-width apart, toes slightly turned to left so body is on a diagonal.

2. Lift arms to shoulder height and bend elbows to stack one palm over the other. This is the starting position.

3. Keeping chest lifted and core engaged, drive the right knee across body toward chest as you bring hands down toward knee.

4. Immediately return to the starting position and begin the next rep.

5. Repeat for 30 seconds.

6. Then switch sides.

Alternating Lateral Lunge

1. Stand with feet together.

2. Take a big step to the left with the left foot, keeping the right leg straight.

3. Bend left knee and send hips back, keeping weight in heel.

4. Drive through the left foot to stand back up and step the feet together.

5. Repeat on the right side.

6. Continue alternating for 1 minute.

Bear Crawl

1. Start on hands and knees, shoulders over wrists and knees under hips.

2. Keeping back flat and neck neutral, use core to lift knees off the ground a few inches.

3. Step left hand and right foot forward.

4. Step right hand and left foot forward.

5. Reverse movement to crawl backward two steps.

6. Continue alternating crawling forward and backward for 1 minute.

Squat to Calf Raise

1. Stand with feet hip-width apart, toes slightly turned out.

2. Keeping back flat and chest up, send hips back and bend knees to lower into a squat.

3. As you return to standing, lift heels to come up onto balls of feet.

4. Lower heels and immediately go into the next squat.

5. Repeat for 1 minute.

Inchworm to Plank With Push-Up

1. Stand with feet hip-width apart. Fold forward at waist and place palms on floor. (If necessary, bend knees slightly.)

2. Walk hands out to a plank position. Maintaining a flat back and engaged core, make sure elbows and shoulders are aligned with wrists.

3. Bend elbows and lower chest toward ground for a push-up, then extend elbows to return to plank.

4. Walk hands back to feet and stand up.

5. Repeat for 1 minute.

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