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| *Vultures Knob>>>Road Bike |
How does Biking (road biking) stack up with other forms of cardio? |
I have been considering doing biking. Road bike I was wondering if this is a good fat burning tool? Or would regular cardio (running) be better. I anticipate that I could ride for about an hour at a time at a decent heart rate. I just don't know how biking compares to running and other forms of cardio. I ran diligently for over ten years as part of my multi-sport goals, but I was concentrating on running mostly because my bike was not operative. I've been using heart rate monitors for over ten years as well! I find that in my cycling I am able to elevate my heart rate to a greater degree and more consistently. Running was fun and challenging, but cycling is something I can totally immerse myself. My feeling of level of training I find that I am more fit and with less body fat percentage. The feeling of freedom that I gained while out on trails I find regularly out on the roadways. Over the last couple of years I lost 50 lbs on the bike and reduced my bad cholesterol by 60 points. Totally doable and fun also. Of course the cholesterol my wife helped me lower it by going on a low carb diet. You know what, I huff and puff much more on the bike than I did while running. I had a great time doing ultras and marathons while running, but I believe I've accomplished much more on the bike. well I cycle, not run so to me running seems harder, but i think it is really what effort you put into the activity. Cycling doesn't pound your body as much as running, but you are still just using the legs. cross country skiing could be the best as you use arms and legs so more of the body is involved so it does work you harder as a whole. hope this helps Road biking pluses are that it's a fairly low impact way to get your heartrate up. You will get as much out of it as you are willing to put in. I prefer riding with a challenging group so I won't be tempted to slack and the higher speeds make it much more fun (to me). Minuses are that once you start riding seriously, one hour doesn't seem like much. There's the risk of crashing and it can cost you like a drug habit if you get really hooked. Running can be a nice quick workout, it's relatively cheap and you can do it almost anywhere. On the downside it can really beat up your body. I started cycling because of my sore right knee. I could not run any more. Sometimes I envy people I see running but not enough to get cut on. Other times I look at the agony on their face as I whizz past and feel bad for them. Other cardio like spin, steppers or elliptical trainers are fine if you want something indoors with less risk. Then of course there's swimming which is excellent but doesn't tax your joints. There's another discipline called crossfit that combines strength and cardio that's a little different that might be worth looking in to also. The best option would probably be to do both. Bike when you have the time, run when you have less time. This will keep up your cardio fitness and the running impact will help strengthen your bones who gives a **** anyway |
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