Can you get really fit without running?

[thisonehasalittlecar]

I'm a yo-yo exerciser, looking to get back into some sort of regime now the kids are back at school. I've tried lots of different things over the years but never really been super-fit. Everyone I know who is very fit is a runner but I hate running-- am tall and fat with big boobs and find it massively uncomfortable on my joints etc. Anyone on here consider themselves pretty fit without running?

Runningupthathill are you me by any chance - running nut, broken foot and the embarrassment of 34H boobs.................

Londonmummy .... I'm several hundred miles from you, but maybe we're clones, with one clone in the north and one in the South?!

I love swimming, but find it difficult to access pool time. I favour lane sessions so I can go up and down the pool with minimum obstruction.
I go to a circuits class which covers a mix of cardio and strength. I started it because of its time slot. It took a while to love, but it gets results.
From a fitness perspective, the difficulty with many aerobic classes is that they tend to run at one pace and fitness gains stagnate, hence yo-yoing.
It is running that's won for me because it's immediate from home so time efficient, as cheap as you want it to be and has measurable goals. They can be applied to cycling.

I don't run. None of the personal trainers at the gym I go to run, they barely do cardio. It's all about the weights.

I do 20-30 mins of cardio on a cross trainer and then a weights programme.

I enjoy cardio, but I almost never go running. Ultimately it isn't even close to the most effective way to lose weight or build muscle.

Most of my exercise consists of weight lifting and Beachbody workouts. Depending on the program you can do everything at home with little to no equipment, and they push you but if you stick with it you see results. I'm a huge fan of the P90 series, but I recently started using their on demand service so I can switch it up from day to day: www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/on-demand-workout-videos.do

pikachu how many times a week?

Though sil has just ordered me a sports bra she swears by so maybe I won't write off the running yet.

If you've been running without a sports bra I'm not surprised you hate it! It's the most important piece of kit along with trainers. There's no way I could run without one.
Also if you have an ipod or such like get a play list set up and head out with your favourite tunes...makes all the difference and means I can't hear myself huffing and puffing along.

I go to the gym minimum of 4 x a week, aim for 5 x a week.

When I'm doing cardio I try and do HIT, so 30 secs as fast as I can and then a minute at a faster pace.

I'm still overweight but I am losing weight and im definetly getting fitter.

I do have sports bras, they've just never been adequate. SIL assures me this one really straps them down though.

I enjoy going to bootcamp classes. They have got me fitter than anything before in my life and Ive been running for 4 years.

The differences Ive found is that running lost me weight(it falls off me), but bootcamp has lost me a further dress size.

I started off 2016 a size 16. I got back into running more (I got onto the great north run so needed to train) and lost a stone and also down to a 14. Then I found a bootcamp class that I really enjoyed. I stayed the same weight, but am now a 12 and have lots of compliments regarding how much better I look now etc.

So yes you can get really fit by not running, but it is all in finding something you do enjoy.

Good sports bras really do the job these days - my 34F boobs do stay in place when I run - although I do wear 2, an unwired shock absorber underneath a wired freya. I'm going to try out a Panache though as they get really good reviews. Without industrial strength strapping in place I know I'd hate running too....

Karate kept me fit before DC stopped me going. And you get a huge sense of achievement as you go up the grades.

Plus it helps with self defense so you feel a lot more confident in yourself and your body.

I've just started again after a 6 year gap and it's bloody fantastic, I love it!

Lots and lots of walking.

And Mutu! (Google it!)

A good sports bra is essential. Londonmummy, definitely try the Panache. It saw me round a half marathon at 2 months postpartum with HH cup breastfeeding boobs, so if it can do that it can do anything!

I have a chronic ankle issue so cannot run, do front crawl foot movement or anything that involves impact on my ankle. I've lost weight and gained a lot of fitness through a combination of HIIT on the cross trainer, swimming (breast stroke only) and weights.

I go to the gym 4 times a week - one day doing LISS cardio for 30-45 mins and 3 weight sessions - 5-10 min cardio warmup plus a 40-50 min weights programme.

Ask any tour de France rider if they think they are fit after cycling 3000km each summer

I was my fittest when I used to skip. I did it for years and loved it. I have ran too but it is not as good as skipping. Skipping builds more muscle and strength in your core and upper body than running and is less hard on joints. I am going back to it very soon after a few years off due to young children.
You might want to look into kettlebell swings too

As others have said there are different types of fitness. What are you looking for?

I'm a hockey player, train once a week, play once a week. Despite not being as young as I once was or as child-free I think I still qualify as mad fit; the kind of fitness when you can sprint your heart out for however long then recover in no time at all to do it all over again - and again - and again. Not sure how quick I'd run round the block at a fairly static pace though, but that's not much use in my game.

Obviously some people have a natural level of fitness they've maintained all their lives, but I think it's perfectly possible to be pretty damn fit doing something you enjoy a couple of times a week. Badminton, football, hockey, squash. You do have to give it your all though, no mincing about just because no-one's looking or taking it easy 'cos it's "just for fun", you get out what you put in so you've got to push yourself.