Your job can feel a lot like a hamster wheel. Every morning, you start your day, work furiously to complete your workload, only to do it all over again the next day. Seldom are there signs that you’re making any progress. It’s the same thing over and over. As you push through never-ending tasks and wait for promotions that never come, it almost feels as if you’re running in place.
It’s funny to think about what so many of us do when we finish our working day. We go to the gym and hop on a treadmill to burn our calories for the day. Yes, after eight hours of spiritually running in place, we physically run in place. Forget what that impact is doing to your knees—there’s no surgery to fix what that’ll do to your soul.
It’s time to give up on running in place. Try these cardio alternatives to running on a treadmill instead. Your knees and spirit will thank you.
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Keep Running—Just Not in Place
Do you still love running too much to give it up altogether? Switch to a cross-country course of your own design, a neighborhood circuit, or even an indoor track for the colder days and nights ahead. Whether you run on grass or a rubberized track, you’re enjoying lesser impact than you would on the hard surface of a treadmill. You’ll also enjoy the changes in scenery—what you lose in being able to watch TV as you work out, you’ll make up for in much-needed fresh air.
Lap Swimming
If you live in a city that can sustain a robust park district, chances are you have access to a swimming pool. For a nominal annual fee, you can avail yourself of a daily lap swim to burn those calories and work every muscle group in the body. The twin physical and mental benefits of swimming are particularly apparent in our hyperconnected world. To say nothing of how much lower the impact is on your joints, think about what it means to have an hour where you are finally away from your smartphone. Swimming doesn’t let you multitask—and that’s just fine.
Electric Bicycling
Have you wanted to devote yourself to riding a bike for exercise but found it too daunting to start? An e-bike may give you the kick in the seat—or pedals, as the case may be—that you need. Riding an e-bike is a terrific cardio alternative to running on a treadmill, thanks to the way it enables you to take on steep hills and long routes. Don’t have an e-bike? Don’t fret. You can soup up an existing bicycle with a motor kit and start conquering the roads and trails.
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