I tried swapping running with cycling for a few months but honestly as somebody who spends a good portion of my time on my ass, often with suboptimal posture in front of a screen I hate the idea of exercising still sitting on my ass with bad posture.

The most important thing imo is to find a form of cardio you enjoy. It's not worth stressing over the differences between forms of cardio just find something you like and make it a part of your lifestyle.

Reagarding knee injuries, sure intense running with bad form is more likely to get you an overuse injury but those heal quickly, long term studies don't show increased knee/hip risk for runners.

Strength exercises are also very important for runners. Getting all the muscles arounf your hips, knees and ankles stronger significantly reduces the chance and severity of injuries and has a ton of other benefits.

>"Why not take up cycling?"

I was a cycling maniac for some time. It fucks one up (knees, back, elbows) anyways. After 10 years of that I cut it down to occasional pleasure rides. Luckily all my pains had stopped after a couple of years.

I don't like the risk factor. I was a serious cyclist for a decade or so, and went tens of thousands of kilometers over all kinds of terrain at all hours of the day. My take away eventually was that I'd get hit by a car eventually (again), and I don't know how severe it would be. I only cycle with friends leisurely now rather than as a frequent form of exercise.

I live in a city where it's challenging to reach safe riding territory in a reasonable time frame. If I was rural and had access to trail riding (gravel, mountain), I think I'd be all over that.

cycling looks like less whole body and more targeted exercise.