Non-Impact Cardio for Belly & Back Fat

If you're eager to burn off your back and belly fat but you have joint pain and can't sustain even low-impact cardio exercises, your workout options are limited. It's not impossible, however, to burn the calories necessary to reduce the amount of fat on your body. By adding non-impact exercises to your workout regimen, you won't have to worry about experiencing pain.

  1. Water Exercises

    • Exercising in water is an ideal way to burn calories to help you achieve a slimmer body without causing pain to your joints. The water acts as a cushion around you and allows you to enjoy pain-free exercise. Swimming is an ideal non-impact workout and strokes burn calories at various rates, according to Harvard Medical School. A 185-pound person will burn 355 calories during a 30-minute backstroke swim and 488 calories swimming the front crawl for 30 minutes. Upper-body water aerobics have no impact, but avoid lower-body movements, as their low impact might be too much for you.

    Machine Exercises

    • Many exercise machines can help you burn calories without creating an impact to your joints. While a treadmill offers a low-impact workout, machines such as the stationary bike, elliptical trainer and stair climber have no impact because your feet remain in the designated pedals and don't contact the ground. A 185-pound person will burn 466 calories during a vigorous 30-minute stationary bike workout, 400 calories while using the elliptical trainer for 30 minutes and 266 calories using the stair climber for half an hour.

    Spot Reduction

    • Although water- and machine-based exercises can help you burn back and belly fat, don't expect to only lose fat in these areas. No exercise can target fat on any specific part of your body. This concept is called spot reduction and is a prevalent myth in the weight-loss community. Prolonged exercise can lead to overall fat loss, however, and through dedication to your workout regimen, you'll notice your belly fat, back fat and other fatty areas decreasing in size.

    Creating Your Workout

    • Focusing exclusively on one type of exercise works for some people, but by varying your workouts, you're less likely to experience workout boredom. Fill your workout regimen with as many non-impact cardio exercises as possible. For example, swim on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and use exercise machines on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. You can even adjust your workout within a given exercise. For swimming, try a combination of long endurance swims at a moderate pace and short bursts of vigorous swimming.