Our Ballantyne Podiatrist Shares the Best Low-Impact Fitness Activities for Your Feet & Ankles
If you are recovering from a foot or ankle injury, or living with a chronic condition such as rheumatoid arthritis, low-impact exercises can help you stay in shape and reach your fitness goals without pain. In today’s blog post, our Ballantyne foot doctor shares some of the best low-impact activities you can perform to avoid placing stress on your feet and ankles.
Yoga
With special classes designed to assist everything from pregnancy to injury recovery, yoga has a wide array of options to choose from, and is one of the most effective low-impact ways to improve strength and flexibility. Multiple studies have shown that yoga helps burn calories, lower blood pressure, reduce the resting heart rate, and even boost brain performance. Yoga has even been shown to reduce the secretion of cortisol, the primary stress hormone.
Swimming
Swimming is another excellent fitness activity that helps increase strength without placing stress on your joints. Water resistance can help you build muscle strength, burn calories, and gain cardio-respiratory benefits. When swimming, try alternating between different strokes such as the breaststroke, freestyle, and butterfly, in order to stretch and strengthen a wide range of muscles.
Barre Workouts
These ballet-inspired workouts have become very popular in recent years as a way to tone muscles, burn calories, and boost the metabolism. Standard barre workouts combine ballet-inspired moves like pliés and grand battements with elements of Pilates, dance, yoga and strength training, focusing on high repetitions of small-range movements. Barre fitness is great for beginners and has been shown to improve balance, core strength, flexibility, and endurance.
Power Walking
That’s right—walking! When done at a brisk, cardio pace, walking is a fun and effective low-impact exercise that can help lower blood pressure, burn calories, and decrease cholesterol levels. Studies have shown that walking at a brisk pace on a firm surface can burn up to 350 calories an hour, and you can increase that number by walking faster, increasing the incline, or adding resistance with a weighted vest.
Need a Podiatrist in Ballantyne? Give Us a Call!
The podiatrists at Ryan Foot & Ankle Clinic are here to support you in all your fitness goals. From advising you on the best running shoe for your foot type, to helping you avoid injuries like Achilles tendonitis and plantar fasciitis, we strive to be a health resource you can trust and depend on. To schedule an appointment with our Ballantyne foot doctors, click here.