Cycling instead of running.

Do the exact thing you do for running. A medium pace for 1 km, sprint for 500 m. Repeat till you get about 4-5 sprints in. Less stress on your joints in cycling. I'd also suggest swimming.

 

Not quite as much as you aren't having to support and propel your bodyweight, but cycling is still great exercise.

 

Hey buddy. I commute to work, and I'm gonna be honest cycling can effect your knee's too, though it is obviously infinitely less stressful than running.

 

Yes, maybe leave the handweights until you have mastered your technique and balanance

Also skip for 3 minute rounds

 

Do you have designated bike paths in your area? If so, I'd suggest using them to get a consistent workout as opposed to riding on city streets and all the traffic. Where I live, I'm fortunate that our city is becoming more "bike friendly" and many bike paths are being constructed.

There is one on top of the levee of the Mississippi River that runs just under 24 miles of 10' wide blacktop. When I hit it, I try to keep my time just under 3 hours for an out and back ride of about 48 miles. That averages out to about 16 mph which isn't too bad considering I'm pushing 60, ride solo and have nobody to draft off of.

This type riding won't benefit you as much as sprint work to get your heart rate kicking in high gear, but it works for me and my bad knees and no desire to box at my age.

 

I live in a town of 25000 people. So we don't have bike pathways.

I actually am a big advocate for swimming as well.

 

After many years of distance running I've got ****ed-up achilles tendons so have had to transfer to mountain biking recently. I'm lucky that I live at the foot of a mountain range and can get out into the wilderness in 5 minutes. I feel that bike intervals/sprints/fartlek are actually superior to their running counterparts in terms of recovery etc (I did some brutal 500 metre uphill sprints a few hours ago and could do 'em again now, whereas the equivalent intensity running on the track and I couldn't dream of it) and I find it much easier to maintain/improve strength and mass with the cycling rather than the running.

 

Flat here in SE Louisiana too. I've heard friends say the lands so flat you can watch your dog run away for 2 days.

When I cycle, the only elevation workout I get is going up bridges over the many waterways our city has. The levee I ride the bike path on is flat but you are almost always guaranteed a headwind either going out or heading back in. Needless to say, I prefer it coming back as opposed to heading out.