Alternatives To Running: 12 Fun Cardio Ideas To Replace Running
Running is one of the most efficient forms of cardio or aerobic exercise because it’s a total-body, high-impact activity. Within just a few minutes of running or jogging, your heart rate will be significantly elevated to deliver oxygen to your muscles.
Running is the go-to form of cardio for many of us, but there are plenty of other alternatives to running to give the heart and lungs a great cardio workout.
Incorporating different types of cardio into your fitness routine can add the variety your mind needs to prevent boredom and keep workouts feeling motivating and engaging, and the variety your body needs to prevent overuse injuries, muscle imbalances, and fitness plateaus.
In this guide, we’ve compiled a list of exercise alternatives to running for injured runners or to supplement your training if you want to keep things feeling fresh and fun.
What are the best exercises for me?
For many of us, even when we understand how much regular exercise can improve our mental and physical health, the real challenge lies in developing an exercise routine that we can stick with.
It’s much easier to get up and get moving every day when you actually experience the results you’re looking for—whether that’s trimming your waistline, improving your sleep, mood, and energy, or easing symptoms of stress, anxiety, or depression.
No matter what you desire to get out of an exercise routine and regardless of your current fitness level, the key is to combine various types of physical activity.
The best exercise regimens should include a combination of three components: aerobic exercise, weightlifting, and stretches and balance drills. This will ensure you get the most out of your fitness routine as well as keep your exercises varied and engaging.
Of course, you can always sign up for personal training sessions at a gym, find workout plans online, or download a fitness app, but developing the right exercise plan doesn’t have to be that complicated or expensive.
How much exercise do I need?
The important thing to remember about exercise is that something is always better than nothing. By simply sitting less and moving more throughout your day, you can experience health benefits.
For substantial health benefits, though, government guidelines in the U.S., UK, and other countries recommend that you aim for:
A minimum of two and a half hours of physical activity that is of moderate intensity should be done each week. Divide 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, into 10-minute increments if that makes it simpler.
If you can push yourself to the limits of your fitness level, you will receive the same benefits as working out for at least 75 minutes per week at a higher intensity. That would entail jogging for a quarter of an hour instead of walking quickly for half an hour.
It is possible to mix moderate and strenuous physical activity, following the guideline that two minutes of moderate exercise is equal to one minute of hard effort.
Don’t Forget To:
Incorporate exercises that will build up muscle strength at least twice in the course of your weekly routine.
What Is Cardio?
Exercise that conditions the heart and lungs and keeps the heart rate high, known as aerobic or cardio exercise, is done while breathing oxygen.
Cardio or aerobic workouts are activities of stamina that involve your larger muscle groups moving in a consistent pattern throughout a period.
Exercises that increase your heart rate, such as running and biking, will cause you to pant, often making you feel like you need more air. Walking: an easy introduction to cardio exercise
Walking briskly for just 22 minutes a day will help you to reach your minimum weekly goal of 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity exercise—and in the process, lower your risk of heart disease and obesity.
Walking doesn’t require any special skills or training. Aside from a comfortable pair of shoes, you don’t need any specialized equipment, and it can be done almost anywhere. You just have to resolve to get up and go.
Look for creative ways to fit a brisk walk into your daily schedule
Ditch the car and walk to the supermarket if you can, park your car further away from the entrance to make you walk further, take a walk during your lunch hour, or walk while you’re talking on the phone.
Use a walk to clear your head
Use the time to take a break from the stressors of everyday life and give yourself some precious alone time. Fresh air and some time to think can work wonders for your mood.
Or make it a social event and walk with others
Invite friends, family members, or work colleagues to walk with you. Taking a walk can provide a great opportunity to catch up with an existing friend or strengthen the bond with a new one.
Enjoy time in nature
Walking in parks, on beaches, or along hiking trails or riverbanks can add to the mood boost you experience from exercising. Spending time in nature can release endorphins, the brain’s feel-good chemicals that improve mood and relieve stress.
Walk in a Covered Shopping Centre or on a treadmill
When the weather’s bad, you can walk briskly around a shopping centre while window shopping or use a treadmill in a gym or health club and catch up on your favourite TV show or podcast.
Walk a dog
If you don’t own a dog, you can volunteer to walk homeless dogs for an animal shelter or rescue group. You’ll not only be helping yourself but also be helping to socialize and exercise the dogs, making them more adaptable.
Getting started safely
Committing to a regular, balanced exercise schedule is one of the best things you can do to improve your physical and mental health. However, it’s important to do it safely. Nothing can derail your fitness goals quicker than a medical problem or avoidable injury.
Before beginning any fitness regimen, it is important to consult your physician, particularly if you already suffer from a health issue.
Warm-up. Start with some engaging stretches that move and stretch the muscles you will be working, such as leg kicks, walking lunges, or arm swings. Then do a slower, adapted version of the workout you are about to do. As an illustration, if you plan on jogging, begin by strolling as a warm-up. If you are weightlifting, start off with a few lower-weight repetitions.
Cool down. Following a workout, a few minutes should be taken to give your heart rate a chance to come back to its usual rate. Taking a leisurely stroll or running lightly after going for a run, or doing some gentle stretching after doing some strength training are examples of ways to conclude your exercise routine.
Drink plenty of water. Your body functions better when it is sufficiently hydrated. Not properly hydrating when engaging in physical activity, particularly in sweltering weather, can be hazardous.
Listen to your body. If you are not comfortable or are experiencing any kind of discomfort while working out, halt the activity immediately. Don’t try to power through the pain. That’s a surefire recipe for injury.
12 Cardio Alternatives To Running
When you want to bust out of your usual running routine and try cross-training, here are some alternatives to running for your cardio exercise:
#1: Walking
Walking is a basic type of aerobics, yet it may be challenging to attain a strong cardiovascular exercise through walking, particularly depending on one’s fitness level. Even at its most extreme, walking seldom comes close to the cardio strength of running.
To increase the cardiovascular demands and the number of calories you burn when you walk, walk at an incline, vigorously pump your arms, and keep a brisk pace.
Wearing a weighted vest, carrying hand weights, and walking backwards are also effective means of boosting the metabolic and cardiovascular demands of walking.
If you’re not walking on a treadmill where you can check your heart rate on the handrails, consider wearing a fitness watch or heart rate monitor for your walks to ensure you’re pushing yourself hard enough to get a decent cardio workout.
#2: Cycling
Biking can come in different varieties, like mountain biking and road biking outdoors, and spinning and riding stationary bikes indoors. No matter how hard you work, biking is an excellent low-impact cardio exercise that you can use instead of jogging.
This exercise boosts your heart, lungs, and lower body muscles, and you can continuously modify your program, level of resistance, and rate to maintain your physical fitness.
#3: Swimming
Swimming can be as difficult as it is restorative. For the best cardio workout, be sure to push the pace with your laps while maintaining good form. Try intervals if your endurance in the water isn’t what it is on land.
#4: Aqua Jogging
Deepwater running, or aqua jogging, is an excellent option for runners who have been injured and are looking for a low-impact form of cross-training. You can simulate the movement of running more accurately than with most other types of aerobic exercise without causing the strain and force of actually running.
You can wear a flotation belt or go without—just be sure to keep your torso upright, core engaged, and keep those legs moving. The resistance of the water adds an extra level of difficulty.
#5: Elliptical Machine
Elliptical machines are among the most popular pieces of cardio exercise equipment because they offer many of the fitness benefits of running while minimizing the impact on your joints.
You can adjust the resistance and incline to vary your workouts and challenge your body as your fitness improves. Be sure to use the elliptical machines with movable arms to ensure you’re getting your heart rate up into the aerobic zone and getting a total-body workout.
#6: Stair Climbing
You can hop on a stair climber exercise machine at your gym or head to a local stadium or skyscraper to hoof it up real stairs. Either way, stair climbing is a challenging form of cardio.
You’ll also strengthen your glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves, and core, which can translate to faster sprinting and better hill climbing as a runner.
#7: Rowing
Though most of us don’t have easy access to a boathouse on a lake or river, you can get an excellent cardio workout on a rowing machine or erg. Rowing is said to use 86% of the muscles in your body, so it’s as good of a total-body strengthening workout as it is an aerobic or cardio one.
#8: Boxing and Kickboxing
Shadow Boxing or punching and kicking a heavy bag is a fantastic cardio workout. You can also add in push-ups, jumping rope, squats, and lunges in between rounds.
#9: Hiking
Hiking is essentially just walking in a wilderness setting, yet it is often even more conducive to cardio workouts because of the inherent challenges of the terrain. Wearing a pack can increase the intensity along with the number of calories you’ll burn on your hike.
#10: Cross-Country Skiing
Runners who live in a climate with cold, snowy winters can make Mother Nature’s playground their workout space with aerobic snow sports like cross-country skiing.
Also referred to as Nordic skiing, cross-country skiing is a low-impact, total-body workout since you also rely heavily on your upper body to propel you forward with your ski poles.
#11: Snowshoeing
Another great cardio idea to replace running when your usual roads or running trails have been transformed into a white wonderland of snow is snowshoeing.
Trudging through the snow on snowshoes is a fun way to quickly elevate your heart rate and have you wondering why you ever thought it was too cold to exercise outside.
Using poles will help with your balance and walking pace while simultaneously increasing the intensity of the workout by recruiting upper body muscles.
#12: Circuit Training and Calisthenics
Exercises like jumping jacks, burpees, mountain climbers, high knees, bodyweight squats, and push-ups are excellent ways to increase your heart rate and get your blood pumping for a solid cardio workout.
Completing callisthenics in a circuit fashion—one to the next with minimal rest—is the best way to keep your heart rate elevated throughout the workout. Just remember that form should take precedence over speed.
