8 Cardio Alternatives to Running When You're Injured

Running is nearly synonymous with cardio, for good reason. It’s inexpensive and easily accessible, and we learn it in childhood. But it’s not the only way to get a great cardio workout, and if you are tired of running or in recovery from a running injury, you may want to consider these cardio alternatives to running.

Table of Contents

What is a Cardio Workout?

A cardiovascular workout uses the oxygen you breathe to increase metabolism and support higher energy demands during exercise. Exercising at a low-to-moderate intensity for an extended time converts carbohydrates into energy and is a cardio workout, unlike higher-intensity activities like sprinting or strength training.

How Much Cardio Should You Do?

Experts recommend up to 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic activity. To determine your target heart rate during a cardio workout, use this formula:

Subtract your age from 220 to determine your maximum heart rate
Determine your resting heart rate by taking your pulse when you first wake and are relaxed and comfortable.
Subtract your resting heart rate from your maximum heart rate to determine your heart rate reserve (HRR)
Take your HRR, multiply it by 0.5, and add it to your resting heart rate. This is your target heart rate for moderate exercise.
Take your HRR, multiply it by 0.7, and add it to your resting heart rate. This is your target heart rate for vigorous exercise.

(You can skip all this math and use the heart rate calculator here).

Any activity that elevates your heart rate into the target zone and keeps it there for at least 10 continuous minutes counts as a cardio workout.

Great Cardio Alternatives to Running

1. Cycling

Bicycling burns as many calories as running and even more if you use increased-intensity intervals. It trains and strengthens your lower body muscles, including your calves, hips, and glutes, and can even help strengthen your core. It’s also a great workout during recovery from many common running injuries because it is a lower-impact cardio workout than running and is gentle on your back, hips, and ankles. Bicycling is a widespread component of endurance events, so a cycling workout may also be part of your standard training regimen.

Like running, bicycling can be done indoors or outdoors all year long. You should bike for 30-60 minutes per session, 3-5 times a week, for all the heart-healthy benefits.

Here is a great reference for some cycling workouts for runners.

2. Walking

Walking is an often underrated fitness activity with a surprising range of health benefits. Walking is a great cardio workout for injury recovery, provided that you monitor your heart rate and maintain the intensity in your target range. It burns fat, tones the lower body, and builds endurance with less impact than running.

Walking can help you maintain your health while recovering from an injury, and you can get great cardio benefits from just 30 minutes of brisk walking 5 days a week.

To ensure your walk is a cardio booster, check out this link for fantastic walking workouts for all levels.

3. Swimming

Swimming is an excellent cardio workout when recovering from injury when you are bored with running, or simply to maintain fitness during hot weather.

It’s a zero-impact, full-body workout that is better for the heart than other forms of exercise. Because your body is horizontal in the pool, the heart doesn’t have to fight gravity to circulate blood throughout your body, giving you higher oxygen levels at the same intensity.

If you keep the intensity high, swimming burns about the same calories as swimming while using all your major muscle groups and protecting joints from impacts. It’s also a great way to stay cool in warm temperatures that may add stress to a cardio routine.

Swimming for fitness should be done for at least 20 minutes, 3-5 times a week.

Check this link for some excellent cardio swimming workouts.

4. Elliptical Training

An elliptical machine is another great cardio alternative to running. An elliptical provides the same cardio intensity and blood oxygen volume as running but with less impact to the joints and reduced recovery time.

Using the handles on an elliptical also allows you to engage your upper body for more muscle toning in the upper body than running, and it can be reversed for a deeper workout in your calves and hamstrings. Ellipticals not only allow you to recover from injury or strain without sacrificing endurance, but they can also break up the monotony of endurance running.

For the best workout, vary the intensity of your time on the elliptical, stay in your target heart rate, and avoid relaxing and leaning on the handles. Elliptical workouts should be done for 30 minutes 3 times a week.

Here are some tremendous elliptical training workouts for runners.

5. Jumping Rope

A jump rope workout is a fantastic way to incorporate high-intensity intervals that reduce the monotony of running and increase your cardiovascular fitness but it is not usually a good choice for injury recovery. It’s a high-impact workout, and you may need to look for softer surfaces for a jump rope session.

Jumping rope at the right intensity provides as much metabolic boost as jogging at 6-7 miles per hour, and it’s a portable, lightweight piece of equipment you can take anywhere. Jumping rope strengthens the muscles in your calves, hamstrings, and glutes, the muscles a runner needs for endurance.

Jumping rope can be done slowly, at a lower intensity, for a great warmup, or used as a cardio blast interval when cross-training. Because it is high impact and high intensity, jumping rope is best done for short periods, just 10-20 minutes.

Here are some fantastic jump rope cardio workouts for all levels.

6. Rowing

Rowing is an incredibly efficient, full-body workout that provides a cardio blast without any impact on the lower body. It’s a fantastic workout when recovering from feet or Achilles tendon injuries, building strength, speed, and functional flexibility. Rowing is an excellent cross-training tool for runners because it helps improve posture and stability in the upper body and midline, improve form and endurance when running, and prevent common running injuries.

Rowing can be done in a gym, or if you live near water, you may be able to find a local rowing team, which provides more enjoyment, support, and motivation for maintaining your endurance fitness.

It is vital that you not start a rowing workout without instruction, because form is critical. High-intensity cardio rowing is done in intervals, either for a time in 3-minute intervals or for distances of 4-10K.

Here are some great rowing workouts for beginners.

7. Stair Climbing

Stair climbing combines cardio and strength training, making you feel like Rocky. It’s a fantastic way for runners to gain more power in their legs, building quads and glute muscles, and is more effective at strength training than running uphill. Stair climbing improves your maximum blood oxygen levels more effectively than running, which pays off in all your endurance activities.

It also helps to break up the monotony of endurance running but may not be a good choice for injury recovery; running has less impact on the feet and ankles but can be more taxing on the knees. It’s a strenuous workout that isn’t a good choice for beginners.

As a rule, using real-world staircases is a more effective cardio and strength workout than using a stair-climbing machine in a gym, and pounding up a flight of steps and then walking back down and doing it over again naturally creates high-intensity intervals in your training regimen.

Find a staircase that takes 20-30 seconds to run up for maximum cardio and strength benefits. After warming up, run up the stairs and walk back down, for 20-30 minutes.

Here are some great stair-climbing workouts for cardio and endurance, whether using a stair climber or training at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

8. Dance

If you thought the only way to get a great cardio workout was to hit the road or the gym, it’s worth a reminder that you can also build fitness, heart health, and endurance on the dance floor. Whether you want a dance-inspired workout like Zumba or want to hit the club with friends, dancing not only elevates your heart rate and improves your fitness, but it’s also shown to have mind and mood benefits. Dancing is fun, providing a social connection, enjoyment, and self-expression that improves mood and fights depression. Dance classes like salsa or tango lessons also have cognitive benefits as well; the concentration and memory required to master a new skill help to prevent cognitive decline and keep your brain young.

Dance is also an incredibly versatile workout, with something for everyone’s taste — you can visit a gym for cardio dance inspired by everything from tango to ballet, sign up for dance lessons in your community, and learn anything from the foxtrot to hip-hop to tap dancing, or hit the club and just shake it all night.

However you choose to do it, dancing is a form of cross-training that engages the whole body, trains different muscle groups, improves heart health, burns calories, and is a fantastic way to destroy workout monotony. It’s friendly for all fitness and ability levels, all ages, and any taste in music.

However you choose to dance, monitor your heart rate to ensure that you are in your target zone for cardio health, and engage in aerobic exercise for 30 minutes at a time, 3 times a week.

Check this link for an overview of the many body-boosting benefits of various dance styles.

Conclusion

Occasionally, breaking up your running regimen with other cardio alternatives can improve your running performance. If your heart remains in the target range, you still get all the cardio you need. Still, you can engage different muscle groups and strengthen and tone the rest of the body, prevent stress and injury from repetition, keep your mind engaged and bust boredom by altering your workout, and even improve your form, posture, and running speed.

Whether you are in recovery from an injury, looking for a way to keep your endurance training interesting, or seeking to improve your overall fitness, endurance, and performance, try some of these cardio alternatives to running. Your whole body will benefit.

Learn more tips to improve your running:

8 Cardio Alternatives to Running When You’re Injured