New Health Digest Survey Reveals People's Least Favorite Way To Exercise

Let's be honest: For most people, running is just plain hard. At the same time, it's one of the most efficient ways to exercise without any equipment, and with minimal time needed to get results. That might explain why it's topped the charts for people's least favorite way to exercise.

Health Digest recently conducted a survey of 527 Americans about their exercise and dieting habits and found that a whopping 38.3 percent of respondents think running is the worst way to get a workout. In second place, perhaps surprisingly, was yoga, which 14.6 percent of the people surveyed seem to love to hate. Yoga was closely followed by weights (13.66 percent) and cardio (12.9 percent). 10.6 percent of responders must dislike the feeling of chlorine on their skin, as they ranked swimming in last place. The most likable form of exercise seems to be biking, which was only hated by 5.7 percent of responders.

Why is running the most disliked? Perhaps it's actually due to the fact that running is such a popular form of exercise — note that the survey takers didn't say that they don't run — they simply said it's their least favorite method of exercise.

While running might not be the most fun exercise, it's still the second-most popular way to exercise in the US, right behind walking, according to data collected by FitBit (via the LA Times). Yoga also made it into the top five activities, along with weights. So while these exercise options may not be universally loved, they seem to be universally accepted as the best way to get results.

Running isn't the easiest exercise, but it is efficient. "Running is the best workout because it's the most basic human form of exercise, using your own body, weight, and two legs to propel yourself forward," ultra runner and run coach Sarah Evans told Men's Journal. It can be done anytime during the day, no gym hours required, and your dog is welcome to join you. You can run with friends or you can run solo — the options are nearly unlimited (via Men's Journal). Unlike exercising haphazardly at the gym, jumping between random weight machines, or spinning aimlessly on the stationary bike, a run is always going to torch calories — even a slow jog is hard work for most people.