Katie Austin’s 5-Move Low-Impact Cardio Workout Is Calling Your Name

The fitness instructor proves that raising your heart rate doesn’t have to be hard on your joints.

Katie Austin.Mireya Acierto/Getty Images

The idea of cardio usually brings to mind a few different forms of movement—running, biking or HIIT, for example—which can often be pretty hard on the joints. Some people avoid what they think of as cardio for this very reason: the wear and tear on their joints and bodies doesn’t feel worth the cardiovascular benefits of raising their heart rates.

But what if we told you that cardio doesn’t have to be so hard on your body? What if we told you that there are effective cardio routines that won’t wear on your joints? We’re talking about low-impact cardio routines, and, specifically, fitness instructor Katie Austin’s no-equipment-necessary five-move set.

The California-based digital fitness creator just released a set that promises exactly that on her Instagram account. The 30-year-old has built a platform around the premise of making fitness routines accessible to all, meaning they are able to be performed with minimal equipment in little space, and in the midst of your busy schedule.

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Her platform offers a wide variety of workouts to choose from, including strength sets, HIIT, Pilates and cardio. The latest five-move workout falls into the latter category. The moves are as follows:

1. Squat to cross punch
2. Side lunge to kick
3. Double pulse lunge to kick
4. Side step with pull downs
5. Side crunch twist

Austin recommended performing each for 35 seconds with 25 seconds of rest between. Repeat the whole set two to three times for the best results. And in her Feb. 21 Instagram post, she demonstrated each of the low-impact moves so you can understand how to perform them correctly.