If you’re looking for an opportunity to drive up your training intensity without the high impact on your joints, this challenging (but accessible!) 10-day challenge could be a great option for you!
Who is this challenge for?
Consistently including some form of hopping, jumping, and leaping (plyometrics) in your workouts is critical to improving bone density, reactivity, balance and coordination, and building strong muscles; however, you don’t always need to jump to reap these benefits! Toggling between high and low impact routines (a form of periodization and injury prevention) allows for variety in training stimuli and can help reduce joint, ligament, and tendon pain for those dealing with acute injuries or recurring/chronic musculoskeletal inflammation. This challenge is also a great option for those who simply prefer low impact training or have training environments best suited for low impact workouts (apartment dwellers, travelers who need a quieter hotel workout, etc.).
What to expect?
Remember, although this challenge is low impact it is still a high volume of work compacted into a short amount of time. Over the course of 10 workouts, you’ll encounter strength training, mobility, cardio, HIIT, and Pilates:
-Strength: Strength training is one of the most efficient ways to intensely load the muscles, eliciting high force production without the impact of jumping. You also get to easily moderate the intensity of these workouts with your weight selections (the heavier, the more challenging) and your range of motion. Workout variables that affect the intensity of the workout include tempo, exercise variations, and the overall routine format and exercise sequencing.
-Mobility: Mobility work can be high intensity because the movement patterns and approaches to movement execution are different than those included in our typical workout sessions. Most of us don’t include enough mobility work in our training schedules. The blending of joint stability and muscle movement is challenging! Mobility work trains us to find our most secure joint positions that allow for the fullest range of motion for the muscles attached to these working joints (a test of flexibility from a stable base). This feat of movement exploration often puts us in positions of minor (temporary) discomfort, challenges us to slow down movement patterns instead of relying on momentum, and pushes us to focus on the mind-muscle connection instead of zoning out during an exercise (a similar focus you’ll find during Pilates and Yoga practices).
-Cardio & HIIT: Removing the jumping in workouts means we really have to focus on pacing, range of motion, and total body movement integration, all of which helps us become more comfortable and familiar with matching different levels of perceived exertion to the workout.
Challenge Roadmap:
Week #1:
-Day 1: Total Body Strength (Level 4 / 46 min)
-Day 2: HIIT (Level 3 / 27 min)
-Day 3: Mobility-Hips (Level 4 / 16 min)
-Day 4: Cardio + Pilates (Level 4 / 37 min)
-Day 5: Total Body Strength (Level 4 / 33 min)
Week #2:
-Day 6: Upper Body Strength (Level 3 / 40 min)
-Day 7: HIIT (Level 3 / 33 min)
-Day 8: Yoga + Mobility (Level 4 / 23 min)
-Day 9: HIIT (Level 4 / 25 min)
-Day 10: Lower Body Strength (Level 4 / 54 min)
Equipment:
A range of light to moderately heavy/heavy weights will be helpful to upping the intensity of this challenge. Bring along a mat as well for any floor exercises.
Closing Notes:
For whatever reason you decide to tackle this challenge, try to have some fun! If you choose to alternate it with your higher impact, high intensity rounds of training, remember that you still have to build in physical and mental recovery time — low impact doesn’t mean easy or that your body isn’t putting in hard work. And you can always moderate your intensity within a challenge, meaning that every day doesn’t have to be a “personal best” performance. Progress is incremental! As you repeat these challenges, you’ll find that you’re able to perform at higher levels for longer durations across more workouts during the 10-day timeframe.
Enjoy!