The best sports as an alternative to running

I have been running for many years and in particular athletics is a sport that I am passionate about and besides my hobby I can say that it is my job,

But not everything is running, in summer we can relax from its practice and for this it is important to do other alternative sports to running, sports that help you keep fit and are advisable to practice them during the summer or at the beginning of your season.

There are plenty of sports and activities very complementary to running, in times of recovery or rest I add other sports training to avoid the monotony of long distance runner, also help us to improve certain skills, work other muscle groups or do more aerobic exercise in a less harmful or alternative way.

My alternative sports to running

The two most recommended sports to complement running are, without any doubt, swimming and cycling. They are absolutely complementary.

Swimming will help you to work aerobically and improve your endurance, and to work muscles other than those we use when running. In addition, a gentle swimming session helps us to relax from the outside and strengthen various parts of the body, including the arms, which will get that strength that running does not give us, and the legs will get that muscle tone that we need when we start to run.

After a competition race many athletes go to the pool to "loosen up". It is usually called this way because moving the muscles makes the contractures and pains relax by unloading those muscle groups; One or two days of swimming a week will make you a better runner. You can even combine the two: run 20-30 minutes and swim another 20 minutes in the pool or on the beach,

Why do I like paddle tennis?

Other disciplines that I like a lot in summer, are among them trekking, cycling or paddle. Each of these sports makes us feel active, clears our minds from the stress of work and helps us to keep in shape by not taking that weight that we can accumulate with the summer break,

Paddle is a new sport, it is very similar to tennis, there are many people hooked to this sport, and it will give us a lot of strength in the arms and with the active movement from one side to another to pass the ball, makes us sweat as if we had done a marathon ... It is played on a rectangular court that can be cement, grass or carpet. The paddle paddles are smaller than those of tennis, and with holes in the central part, to give greater speed to the movements. Good sport and very advisable.

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All to walk

Walking is another sport although it is not believed, it is especially good because it is not expensive, it is safe, easy and also you can achieve almost the same benefits in physical condition that with running, swimming and cycling, if it is true that with other exercises we can achieve much more strength or power but with a good walk for a walk or in the mountains you will get a "good physical shape",

If we want to get the most out of this exercise, we should practice it 3 or 4 days a week, for a minimum period of 30 to 60 minutes with a fast arm movement as if we were going to run, with which we will get a higher speed than a conventional walking pace, without running. It will help you burn calories, release tension and reduce stress.

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Or pedaling

Cycling a few kilometers can also be a good alternative for those days or months of summer, not only will help us to strengthen our legs but also relax our joints, since we avoid the impact against the ground, and also mentally it will help us to make our training more enjoyable and dynamic.
Just like running and swimming, there are many people who combine cycling and running, they feel good because they do not overload the body and are usually less injured than those who only run on foot.

There are those who like the road bike to enjoy the asphalt and put many kilometers and those who use the mountain bike to put more kilometers but with more hardness and thus enjoy nature, and those who take advantage of the bike to find new routes to train on foot in winter, or measure "faithfully" their circuits.

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We could talk about many more alternative sports, but for me these are the ones that I value the most and that I usually practice and that I think help a lot to maintain fitness in times of rest.

Have vaya great day and let's give it all to the sport!