Memes

Different people find different physical activities beneficial. Some people love team sports, personally I'm not a fan of competitive activities or of games where I feel my physical abilities could let others down. Some people love running, many find that while they don't love it, they love the physical and mental effects of it; both of which are hard to deny, there's a reason every competitive sports team makes its players run as part of practice.

Personally I'm a cyclist, because it's like running, but without the parts that make me not want to run and with added benefits like equipment to mess with and upgrade and the ability to use it to run errands. I also enjoy hiking for exercise because it's just a long exhausting walk in a beautiful place that I can spend chatting with my wife.

For some people it's basketball or soccer/football. I have a friend who's really into gridiron flag football (she actually used to be a runner when she was younger). Sports are great for people who don't derive meditative effects from solo cardio, but don't discount those effects.

Some bike rides are me just listening to a podcast or audiobook, but personally I struggle to process my emotions if I'm not taking a walk or a bike ride, and so regularly doing these things is invaluable for my mental health. Runners are often the same way, the act of running can make it difficult to hold on to a thought or to avoid it, which makes it a shortcut to meditation as you just kinda have to observe your thoughts and let them go.