Up until about two months ago I ran regularly. I was averaging 3–4 miles 3–4x/week for a while, then bumped it up to about 30 miles per week for a couple months, including 10 mile long runs on the weekend.
Then I got injured and haven’t been able to run regularly since. So in the past month or so I’ve started doing some strength training circuits with a friend of mine, and I try to make it to a yoga class every Sunday. I am pretty inconsistent and probably only make it to the gym 3x/week owing to schoolwork and social functions. I’d like to start going every day again and adding in more cardio. And I really, really hope I can start running again soon.
I guess the primary benefit is feeling mentally better when I do it, but the physical side effects are welcome, too. I never lost much weight from running but I’m definitely gaining weight from not, which is depressing. I just felt better in every way when I was getting a good 40–60 minutes/day in.