Did I write TOMORROW...........?
Calorie Burn Bicycles Vs. Walking
- Thread starter Soft Cars
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I read that all the time, but doesn't it just wear out the joints faster? Won't you need a knee replacement or two at 60?
It worse when walking, I have less knee and hip discomfort. Your knees do less work pedaling especially with thin wheels. I usually pedal on a little downhill and coast.
Owen Lucas
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Well the other kind of bed activity, burns 3-4 calories a minute.
So lets say you go 10 minutes and burn 35 calories, that's the equivalent of 6 or 7 french fries (6 cal per fry).
The best way to lose weight and burn calories, is not to consume them at all IMHO. Calorie deficient = weight loss.
Exercise is still super important though, 20 minutes a a day, to the level of losing your breath slightly and sweating, can help stave off many diseases including muscle wasting (sarcopenia) and dementia.
I think joint health is pretty complex equation, doing too little will wreck them, doing to much can wreck them, so I think doing reasonable amounts of all types of exercise is probably your best bet.
Stretching, some strength training, some running, some cycling, is good. But cycling or running extra miles while you have knee inflammation and pain is bad idea.
I took a couple years off of really doing much exercise before kids and wasn't a good thing, I was more sore and achy then, than I am now.
AZjeff
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Or you can really jack up your knees with poor bike fit and having the cleats on your clipless shoes wrong.
It's a common observation that a modern efficient road/race bike doesn't make the ride easier, just faster. This means the rider works just as hard as before, but goes faster cuz the bike is more efficient. Consider that the same calories per hour, yet you cover more ground during that hour. This is how I interpret your comment "a good distance" - not necessarily more time but more miles, though of course the longer you ride, the stronger you get.
Indeed. If by MTB you mean technical trails or single track, the climbs are much steeper, you can't go slow like you can on a road bike because you need a certain minimum speed to get over the rough/loose terrain. And far less efficient than road cycling, both up the hills and down. MTB riding overall is much more punchy like sprint interval training. And more fun, I think.
For example, a reasonably hilly road ride has about 1000 feet of climb per 10 miles. A typical MTB ride has twice that. My typical rides on Tiger Mountain out here in WA state has 3000' of climb in 15 miles. Much more climbing, and that climbing is not only steeper but also rough terrain requiring a higher power output. That 15 mile MTB ride feels like a 60 mile road ride in terms of effort.
I love cycling and hate running, but also find that running gives the most / best workout in the least amount of time. Especially if you include steep hills, stairs or trails in your running. So I run at least once per week for that reason and to work different muscles than cycling nearly every day.
Agreed. The benefits of exercise in terms of physical health are substantial. However, the benefits of exercise go beyond physical and include mental health. Reduction of anxiety and stress, and afterward a healthy relaxation and better sleep. Also I find normal moderate exercise curbs appetite even as it burns calories. Strenuous/vigorous/extended exercise does the opposite, but by this I mean levels that few people use, for example training for Iron Man or similar ultra endurance events.
Our bodies were meant to be used, not to sit idle. When used they get healthy & strong, when idle they decay.
When I and my friends were kids and riding bikes every day in the '80s we were all in pretty good shape, even the ones who didn't do any sports per se. Most of us were also skateboarding and we went swimming. We had a kid who was considered fat back then in our group but by today's standard, he'd just be considered pudgy. The baseline has changed. General bike riding and swimming are probably the best all-around low-impact activities that anyone in any age group should be able to do.
I’d disagree on the last statement that running vs cycling burns more calories. The intensity chart below is incorrect for many cyclists one persons intensity is another person’s warmup ride.
Depends how fast you bike I guess. My heart rate is through the roof when I bike, going as fast as I can sustain (and faster uphill). Not going to get that while walking, I'd need to be running.
I rode 1000 miles this summer (we had poor weather most of the time, so averaged 1 week of riding per month). My legs got bigger, harder and lumpier, and my gut got smaller. But I only lost 3 pounds. Resting heart rate dropped below 50 though. After every period of bad weather and forced rest, I could drive faster and longer.
The benefit of riding over running is that you can coast a bit if you over cook it, until you're ready to go hard again.
I was comparing casual bicycling on a neighborhood street versus walking on the same exact street.
Obviously mountain biking is going to burn more calories I would think. Thanks for your post.
You are not using the exact same muscles in the exact same range of motion, ideally you would do a bit of both. If you get your heart rate up both will be good aerobic exercise and I would argue that's were the health benefits are.
at least you can't put more calories in your mouth then, so there could be truth in that....
I've heard that too, not sure if it's universally true though. When running regularly, the body seems to know that fat is excessive weight it has to carry and it reduces the amount automatically. Maybe that mechanism isn't triggered when biking.
