10 Best Low-Impact Activities to Try at Any Age

Getting regular movement is one of the best health-boosting habits, and you don’t need to run, jump, or otherwise pound your body to score the benefits. With low-impact activities, you can up your fitness without excessively stressing your muscles or joints.

Low-impact activities—movements that don't place a lot of strain on your joints and muscles—are gentle on the body, says Jessica B. Schwartz, PT, DPT, CSCS, a physical therapist and spokesperson for the American Physical Therapy Association. 

While anyone can benefit from low-impact activities, Schwartz says they are a good option for folks who are recovering from injury or just starting to exercise, as well as those with joint pain or chronic pain—the latter of which afflicts more than 20 percent of American adults.

For older adults, low-impact movements can be beneficial, since they don’t put too much stress on joints that may already be painful, says Jasmine Marcus, PT, DPT, CSCS, a physical therapist in Ithaca, N.Y. Another plus: Low-impact activities place less force on the spine, reducing the risk of back pain, says Angelie Mascarinas, MD, a physiatrist at Hospital for Special Surgery Florida. 

As for which low-impact activities are best? It all boils down to personal preference. "I usually recommend whichever activity a person is most interested in and finds the most fun as that is what they will be most likely to stick with," says Marcus.

Gardening

Anyone who has tilled dirt or planted flowers knows that gardening can be a tough workout. "With gardening, you're doing a lot of lifting, you're bending down, you're digging, you're raking," says Dr. Mascarinas. Gardening also involves squatting, and combined, those movements work a ton of muscles in your body, including your core, back, shoulders, quads, and glutes—all without pummeling your joints, she adds. 

Time spent gardening can qualify as moderate-intensity exercise, says Dr. Mascarinas. If you’re lifting heavy plants, gravel, or soil, it counts as muscle strengthening, too, she adds. The latest Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend adults do 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity exercise (or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise) for substantial health benefits, as well as muscle strengthening activities at least two days a week. Gardening can tick both of those boxes. To boot, it’s linked with a slew of other health benefits:  According to a 2017 meta-analysis, gardening is positively associated with reduced stress, mood disturbance, and depression and anxiety symptoms, as well as increases in quality of life, sense of community, and cognitive functioning, among other perks.

If you don’t already, consider spending regular time in your garden, check out these experts tips to get started. Don’t have a yard of your own? Help a friend or neighbor with theirs, or volunteer at a local community garden. 

Walking

Lacing up for a walk is a great form of low-impact cardio and something folks of any age can do (so long as they are physically able to walk), says Dr. Mascarinas. Walking may seem simple, but the benefits are serious, including improved fitness and blood pressure control as well as lowered rates of depression and decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. Walking can count as moderate or even vigorous exercise, depending on the intensity. 

There are many easy ways to incorporate more walking into your day, like parking at the back of a parking lot, says Dr. Mascarinas, or getting off the train or bus one stop early, says Schwartz. For additional benefits, Schwartz recommends strolling on the beach (or other unstable surface, like grass) to challenge the foot muscles that help with balance. 

Though taking your walk outdoors provides the benefits of fresh air, sunlight, and exposure to nature, if weather conditions aren’t pleasant or safe, consider finding an indoor option; Schwartz suggests joining a local mall walking group. 

Wherever you stroll, keep in mind that changing the surface you walk on changes the level of impact, says Schwartz. Striding on softer surfaces like a track or grass is easier on the body than harder surfaces like concrete or gravel. 

Climbing Stairs

Tackling a flight (or two) of stairs is a great low-impact way to challenge your quads and glutes while also working on single-leg balance, says Dr. Mascarinas. Plus, stair climbing qualifies as vigorous activity, and regularly using the stairs is linked with a host of other health benefits, such as increased aerobic capacity, elevated fitness, boosted lipid profiles, and reduced risk of stroke and lung cancer.

Stair climbing doesn’t need to mean hitting the Stairmaster at the gym or attempting all 20 floors of your office building every day. Just try to incorporate small bursts of climbing where you can—perhaps opt for the stairs instead of the elevator when possible—and gradually increase your efforts over time. 

Biking

As long as you have the means for a bicycle and safe roadways, hopping on two wheels is a low-impact activity that’s "really great for balance and coordination," says Schwartz. Plus, there’s just something about cycling that can induce a child-like joy. When biking, "I’m like a happy Labrador," says Schwartz. Additional benefits of cycling include boosted cardio fitness, enhanced muscle strength, improved mobility, and reduced body fat. Biking can be moderate intensity or vigorous intensity, depending on how hard you pedal. 

To incorporate more cycling into your life, consider pedaling to work or social events in lieu of driving or taking public transportation, so long you can navigate a safe path there. (Also, for your brain’s sake, be sure to wear a helmet—Schwartz recommends this resource from Virginia Tech that provides unbiased safety ratings for different products.) 

Alternatively, for a less risky form of biking, Dr. Mascarinas recommends pedaling on a recumbent stationary bike with a backrest. Compared to non-stationary biking, this style of pedaling "is a little bit easier on the knees and on the hip joints," she says, "and also prevents that slouching that some people may get if they're more in the upright bike." Plus, it’s easier for folks with balance issues to climb onto since the bike is more stable, she says. 

Tai Chi

A low-impact activity that originated in China, tai chi is gaining popularity in the West—and it really has a lot to offer. Tai chi is "great for connecting mind and body, improves your strength, flexibility, aerobic conditioning, and balance," says Schwartz, adding that it taps into the parasympathetic nervous system (your body’s calm state; the opposite of fight or flight).

A 2016 literature review concluded there is "excellent evidence" that tai chi can help prevent falls, improve cognition in older adults, and benefit folks with osteoarthritis, Parkinson's disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The review also found "good evidence" of its benefit for depression, dementia, and cardiac and stroke rehabilitation. 

Playing With Kids

Kids have seemingly boundless energy, and watching after them can require a combination of low-impact cardio, strength, and mobility work. When they’re younger, lifting them out of their crib is "definitely a good exercise," says Dr. Mascarinas. As they get older, you may find yourself squeezing into small places to play house or navigate a playground, which can test your mobility. Plus, constantly trying to keep up with an active child in general can provide a dose of cardio. 

If you don't have kids in your life, consider volunteering with a youth program or offering to babysit for friends or family. 

Cleaning the House

In case you need more incentive to spiff up your house: Cleaning can be a pretty awesome low-impact, moderate-intensity activity. "When you're vacuuming, mopping and sweeping, you're actually doing a lot of trunk rotation," says Dr. Mascarinas, which works your oblique muscles. Additionally, "you're working your biceps and your shoulder muscles as you're moving the vacuum and mop around."

Depending on how low you have to go to vacuum or mop under the couch or bed, you may also find yourself in a lunge-like position, which will work your glutes and quads, says Dr. Mascarinas. 

Get inspired with our 23 of our all-time best cleaning tips.

Doing Laundry

Laundry isn’t the most glamorous low-impact activity, but it is an effective way to both strengthen and stretch your muscles while getting moderate-intensity activity in. Think about it: There is bending involved when you do laundry—from picking clothes off the floor to pulling things in and out of the machines—which engages your core and quad muscles (so long as you’re bending your knees, which is proper form), says Dr. Mascarinas. Also, as you lean your torso forward, you stretch your hamstrings, "so there’s some mobility aspect to it," she adds. 

If doing laundry is something you currently outsource, consider taking it back on as a chore. Here are our best laundry tips to get you started. 

Dancing

In addition to just being plain fun, dancing can provide moderate-intensity, low-impact cardio while also challenging your balance, coordination, and flexibility. "A lot of the time you are standing on one foot to spin, so you're working on your core muscles [as well as your glutes and quads] for that balance," says Dr. Mascarinas. All that balance work means dancing can help reduce your risk of falling, she adds. 

What’s more, dance can help you stand up straighter and counteract the neck and shoulder tension many of us have from our hunched-forward postures, says Dr. Mascarinas. Dancing may also be good for your mental health. A 2017 study concluded partner dancing is associated with perceived improvements in mood, self-confidence, and cognitive and social functioning.  

Pickleball

Pickleball is more than a popular fad. The trendy racquet sport is played on a smaller court and is lower impact than singles or doubles tennis, says Schwartz. Pickleball challenges your reaction time and gets you moving in all planes of motion, Schwartz adds. "You're walking backwards, you're shuffling, you’re moving side to side."

A 2022 study found that both singles and doubles pickleball can qualify as moderate- to vigorous-intensity activities. To find a place nearby to play, search "pickleball near me," or use this tool from USA Pickleball.