Anyone else hate running?

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emeraldwoods4214
emeraldwoods4214 Posts: 177 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello, I’m coleen and I hate running. There... I said it... whew.
What are your favorite types of exercise that AREN’T running?
I’ve found walking to be the most convenient, but I also do love swimming. I think I may need to take lessons again though because I don’t feel very coordinated while doing laps 😂
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  • Terytha
    Terytha Posts: 2,097 Member
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    I will never be a runner. I have one flat foot, one foot so severely arched that the bone pokes out of my heel and leaves me lopsided, and knock knees. Running feels like a painful, miserable way to beg for hip problems.

    I don't mind walking but too much time on my feet hurts. I get most of my exercise through video games. I'm currently trying to beat the 500 Squat Challenge in one video game. I'm up to 130. My legs look amazing lol.

    I also enjoy swimming, dancing and martial arts.
  • emeraldwoods4214
    emeraldwoods4214 Posts: 177 Member
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    @Terytha
    What they have work out video games?? My kids hog the tv so much I feel so out of the loop!! Please give me details about the console you play on and the name of the game! 🤗
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,154 Member
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    Rowing (on water when I can, on machine when I must), spin classes, cycling outdoors are my preferences.

    I don't run, or even walk much, because of bad knees (torn meniscus, osteoarthritis) that tolerate impact and torque badly. Linear-movement activities (where the knee hinges in one dimension) with no impact are what work for me.

    Strength training is a great thing to do, too, but I'm not very good at taking my own advice in that regard: I'm very on and off with it, because it's not as fun to me as rowing.
  • Terytha
    Terytha Posts: 2,097 Member
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    emeraldwoods4214 wrote: »
    @Terytha
    What they have work out video games?? My kids hog the tv so much I feel so out of the loop!! Please give me details about the console you play on and the name of the game! 🤗

    I have a good computer that runs virtual reality and an Oculus Rift. Beat Saber is the game that has the squats and has been compared in intensity to tennis.

    There are also just straight up guided workouts and stuff. But I am motivated almost entirely by fun things, so if it feels like work I don't want to. Gyms are boring. =P
  • emeraldwoods4214
    emeraldwoods4214 Posts: 177 Member
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    @AnnPT77
    I have tried the rowing machine at the YMCA before... it’s very tiring! Huge calorie burner I’m sure. I’ve only seen real rowing in movies but I have been kayaking before. Thanks for sharing 😁 maybe I’ll get out to the river to go kayaking one of these days now that it’s hot here.
  • emeraldwoods4214
    emeraldwoods4214 Posts: 177 Member
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    @Terytha
    Wow that’s so cool! VR is next gen tech which I sadly don’t have right now... but I may need to look into it. I’m sure I would have to make a reservation on it so my kids don’t hog it all the time! Lol
    Yea the gym gets boring. I was going there 4 times a week for a few months and then just kinda... 😩 you know how it goes.
    Sometimes I feel like when I watch a guided workout video I’m not doing it correctly and then I just feel kinda silly 🙃
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
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    I'm not the biggest fan of running. I like it in the context of I love the fact that I can actually run now having not been able to for most of my life due to back and knee issues (not at the same time thankfully). For me, my being able to run is pretty amazing.

    That said, the activities that I enjoy more than running include rowing (see what Ann said above), swimming, cycling, (preferably outdoors but I will ride my bike on a trainer or rollers as well), and rock climbing though I haven't climbed in years.
  • Terytha
    Terytha Posts: 2,097 Member
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    Adding my voice behind kayaking. We had kayaks when I was little, I used to paddle around in it as often as I could get a ride to some water.

    @emeraldwoods4214 there are VR Arcades around these days, like $20 an hour. It's not a bad way to experience something new if you have one nearby.

    I have my own setup because I looooove gadgets and technology. Our house is 90% wires at this point. I can't have kids so I just decided to stay as one. ;P
  • autumnblade75
    autumnblade75 Posts: 1,660 Member
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    Terytha wrote: »
    Adding my voice behind kayaking. We had kayaks when I was little, I used to paddle around in it as often as I could get a ride to some water.

    @emeraldwoods4214 there are VR Arcades around these days, like $20 an hour. It's not a bad way to experience something new if you have one nearby.

    I have my own setup because I looooove gadgets and technology. Our house is 90% wires at this point. I can't have kids so I just decided to stay as one. ;P

    You and I must be some sort of twins, @Terytha . It's my husband's VR rig, though, and he's not interested in Beat Saber. It looks like my kind of game. I have sore shoulders from swinging an imaginary broadsword in Blade and Sorcery. We're looking into getting a KatWalk Mini so I can explore Skyrim on foot.

    I only hate running while I'm doing it. Not even every time - but it feels SO good when I stop.

    Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but kayaking only seems to do anything for my upper half. Not that I don't need some upper body exercise - and I can put the kayak in the river down the street and paddle to the library, so that's cool. The river is slow enough that it's no trouble to paddle back upstream when I'm done.

    But the video gaming fitness: Even the Xbox 360 with a Kinect had options - I really enjoyed Your Shape: Fitness Evolved, especially the kickboxing classes. And there are legions of people out there doing Dance Dance Revolution for fitness and fun.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    I always loved running after a ball during sports, I always loved sprinting, but I always hated distance running (that for me meant anything over 400 meters!).

    Having comprehensively mangled my knees over the years (with more than a little help...) my knees also really hate running. The last running challenge I set myself (I like a challenge) showed me that my damaged knees can only now tolerate about 2 miles a WEEK!

    But I love cycling (outdoors) and have discovered that my previously poor endurance was simply down to not training that aspect of my fitness enough. It also provides me with physial and mental challenges from short sprints, to hill climbs to 100+ mile events. It also gives me a great sense of wellbeing from being in beautiful countryside.

    Just coming up to 2,000 miles cycled so far this year. It's transformed my fitness.
  • kellie7850
    kellie7850 Posts: 50 Member
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    Yep me. Have a real mental block over running. It’s like my body is screaming what are you doing lol. Anyway my favourite exercises are walking, swimming, horse riding, cycling and if in gym the elliptical machine. I enjoy Zumba as well.
    I tried circuits class and struggled - some of it I enjoyed but burpees not so much lol
  • brittanystebbins95
    brittanystebbins95 Posts: 567 Member
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    I used to hate running. Absolutely despised it. I was that kid that would fake sick to go home from gym class if we had to run the mile. Seriously.
    I started out small, with intervals, and worked my way up to long distance. After a few weeks of it sucking, I started to look forward to it. Now I can run 4-5 miles without much of a problem. I actually CRAVE running now.

    But, if that doesn't sound like anything you will ever enjoy, you could try biking, rollerblading, swimming, hiking, or perhaps the elliptical? When I hated running I would jump on the elliptical or a stationary bike for an hour with a book or my cellphone and watch buzzfeed videos. It would make me forget I was on there and the time passed easily.
  • shaf238
    shaf238 Posts: 4,021 Member
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    It's a dreadful thing to say but I hate most forms of cardio. Team sports (football) is great fun though.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
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    i do run but i also do aerial yoga.
    dance is good
    hula hooping
    spinning poi
    rock climbing
  • emmies_123
    emmies_123 Posts: 513 Member
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    Terytha wrote: »
    emeraldwoods4214 wrote: »
    @Terytha
    What they have work out video games?? My kids hog the tv so much I feel so out of the loop!! Please give me details about the console you play on and the name of the game! 🤗

    I have a good computer that runs virtual reality and an Oculus Rift. Beat Saber is the game that has the squats and has been compared in intensity to tennis.

    There are also just straight up guided workouts and stuff. But I am motivated almost entirely by fun things, so if it feels like work I don't want to. Gyms are boring. =P

    Beat Saber is definitely a great workout, although I haven't found the exercise challenges?
    There are other exercise games too that are more mixture of fun and standard class style.

    Wii has: Wii Fit/Wii Fit Plus, Zumba Fitness, Just Dance series(has a workout playlist mode), and others I haven't personally tested.

    Of those I would recommend Zuumba IF dancing workouts are your thing. Would recommend Wii Fit plus if you want body strength training or light cardio.
  • Terytha
    Terytha Posts: 2,097 Member
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    @emmies_123 The workout stuff in Beat Saber is from the unofficial modding community. The base game doesn't come with much since it's still early access.

    I played the heck out of DDR in my teens, back when we competed in tournaments.
  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,070 Member
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    Terytha wrote: »
    @emmies_123 The workout stuff in Beat Saber is from the unofficial modding community. The base game doesn't come with much since it's still early access.

    I played the heck out of DDR in my teens, back when we competed in tournaments.

    Beat Saber is my jam! It's my primary form of cardio, with swimming in second. OP, I did have to take a few swim lessons to re-learn how to breathe properly and proper stroke form. It was well worth it however because I HATE running.

    I can't recommend Beat Saber enough because it is so much fun you can keep working out longer. I always have sweat dripping off of me. But just don't try it after upper body day because you will feel like your arms are about to fall off.

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