Gain: Toned body and other significant health benefits without damaging your joints

Cost: average price of an elliptical machine about 500$ and spending about 30 minutes every day on low-impact workouts

It’s proven it’s worth it

We all know that physical activity and doing sports is healthy.  The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released its new Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, calling for adults between the ages of 18 and 64 to exercise moderately. The positive effects of physical exercises are numerous:

• It’s good for the heart and blood vessels
• Builds strong bones
• Wards off diabetes
• Less cancer
• Enhances cognition in humans
• Stimulates the production of the “happy hormones”

And of course it brings about feeling attractive which makes for a high self-esteem. This contributes for improvement of our social skills and better performance at work and in our personal relationships.

What should we be aware of?

On the other hand, certain workouts and exercises can impact our joints badly and cause serious traumas and injuries. While having toned muscles and a good figure is something visible, the negative effects can’t be noticed until pain appears. And it’s typical of humans to ignore things which aren’t in their focus and regret it later. That’s why maybe you’ve heard some people say “I got an injury/trauma/disease” when it’s actually something they have caused to their bodies due to carelessness or lack of information. If you want to have a more mature approach to exercising, you will find the following article very useful.

How can we keep our physical fitness without the negative side-effects?

It turns out it’s all about getting the balance between regular, health-enhancing exercise and maintaining pain-free joints.

According to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) participating in a high-impact activity, such as running, more than one hour per day at least three times a week appears associated with more degenerated cartilage and potentially a higher risk for development of osteoarthritis. Moderate to strenuous exercise in women who did any amount of strength training was associated with higher water content and more degenerated collagen architecture in the knee.

In addition, the findings showed that frequent knee-bending activities, such as climbing up at least 10 flights of stairs a day, lifting objects weighing more than 25 pounds, or squatting, kneeling or deep knee bending for at least 30 minutes per day, were associated with higher water content and cartilage abnormalities.

Taking that information into consideration, we should avoid exercising too much, too soon, at too high a speed or for too long a distance/time – these are all major causes of soreness, joint pain and injury.  According to Dr. Link, a participant at the 96^th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of Radiological Society of North America, Inc: “Lower-impact sports, such as walking, swimming or using an elliptical trainer are likely more beneficial than high-impact sports, such as running or tennis.”

Which activities should we stay away from?

So if you want to burn fat and enjoy all the positive effects of doing sports without jarring joints, you should avoid excessive jumping, running (especially on hard surfaces), sports including sudden twists of knee joints like tennis.

If you are a big fan of tennis, try to take appropriate rests during and after the tennis match, or your weekly tennis playing routine because this can reduce long-term damage to the knee caused by repetitive strain.

Another example of potentially dangerous physical activity is the relatively new dancing style -  hip hop heels which is gaining popularity among young girls. The inconvenient shoes used in these classes increase the likelihood for injuries and joints damage.

Since knee-bending activities are another culprit for knee pain, restrain yourself from doing them or at least reduce the number of squats and lunges in your workout.

Which sports and activities are good then?

Opt for brisk walking, cycling, swimming or water aerobics, since the water eliminates impact and helps soothe joints. At home you can do yoga, Pilates and stretching and you can take advantage of the elliptical machines.

With the elliptical machines, there is no impact on the ground, which is good for the knees and at the same time they provide you with a whole body workout unlike treadmills which focus only on the lower part of the body. What is even more interesting, according to recent studies, is that the lack of impact on the joints allows the user to burn roughly the same amount of calories as treadmills with the impression of putting less effort.

And this is one of the most important things – not to do the workout as a tedious duty, requiring too much effort from you, but to turn your physical activity into a pleasurable, healthy hobby with both short-term and long-term benefits for your body and mind.

Related articles:

Speed Up Metabolism

“Fit or Fat. See through the lies in the Media”

“The best workout – Aerobic and anaerobic training”

“Weight loss or body fat loss”

“Another way to fitness”

“The fastest way to  six-pack abs”

***

You can find elliptical machines on Amazon:

Schwinn 430 Elliptical Trainer

Horizon Fitness EX-59 Elliptical Trainer

Spirit Esprit EL-355 20-Inch Stride Elliptical

Lifecore LC-985VG Elliptical Trainer