Low Impact Weight Loss Workout Plan
Joint-friendly circuits three times a week: full-body moves and light cardio to lift your heart rate without pounding your knees.
Routines
Day 1 — Low-Impact Circuit A
Perform these 6 moves as a circuit. Rest ~45s between strength moves and ~30s after cardio moves. Complete 2–3 rounds.
Day 2 — Low-Impact Intervals
Alternate strength and light cardio. Keep a steady rhythm. Rest 30–45s as needed. Complete 2–3 rounds.
Day 3 — Core & Cardio (Low Impact)
Core-focused circuit with easy cardio finishers. Rest ~45s between strength moves and ~30s after cardio moves. Complete 2–3 rounds.
About this plan
Three sessions a week that pair bodyweight strength with gentle cardio, three sets of everything, and nothing that jumps.
Day one runs sit squats, knee push-ups, glute bridges, bird dogs, marching at forty and punches. Day two moves to split squats, forearm wall slides, supermans, standing side crunches, marching at fifty and calf raises. Day three returns to sit squats, knee push-ups, bridge marches, dead bugs and punching at fifty.
The balance is unusual for a weight loss plan: this is closer to a strength circuit with cardio between sets than to a cardio session. That is deliberate. In a calorie deficit the body will take some of what it needs from muscle unless you give it a reason not to, and resistance training is that reason. Cardio alone in a deficit tends to produce a smaller version of the same shape.
Everything keeps a foot on the floor. Sit squats, split squats, marching, punching — none of it involves landing, which makes it appropriate for heavier bodies, older joints and upstairs flats alike.
The forearm wall slide on day two is the postural exercise of the set. Back to the wall, forearms against it, slide them overhead while keeping contact. It is much harder than it sounds and it targets the mid-back muscles that go quiet from sitting.
Supermans on the same day cover the lower back and glutes from a position that asks nothing of the knees.
Three sets with short rests makes this about thirty minutes. Progress by adding reps rather than speed — speed is what turns low impact into impact.
Train this plan in the app
LoadMuscle carries all 3 routines with a demo for every exercise, and logs your sets as you go, so next session you can see what to beat. Free on iPhone and Android.
Want something built around your own schedule and equipment instead? Try the free workout planner.
