Whats better for your fitness: Running or Biking?

PB Forum :: Fitness, Training and Health
Whats better for your fitness: Running or Biking?
Author Message
flag swan3609
O+
Posted: Aug 28, 2008 at 21:05 Quote
I am a competive XC runner and I can honestly say that I no matter what I was doig on my bike, I would never get as much of a workout as if I was running. Running is soo much more intense then biking is, and I when I am running I can push myself to a pain treshhold that I have never gotten to on my xc bike. And respratory(sp?) wise, I feel much more drained after a run than I do after a xc bike race.
And if you are a good runner, you will have a great base for faster DH and xc times over the people that arnt runners.
flag jason222bike
Posted: Aug 29, 2008 at 11:10 Quote
swan3609 wrote:
I am a competive XC runner and I can honestly say that I no matter what I was doig on my bike, I would never get as much of a workout as if I was running. Running is soo much more intense then biking is, and I when I am running I can push myself to a pain treshhold that I have never gotten to on my xc bike. And respratory(sp?) wise, I feel much more drained after a run than I do after a xc bike race.
And if you are a good runner, you will have a great base for faster DH and xc times over the people that arnt runners.
+1
flag benoit-bmx
Posted: Aug 29, 2008 at 11:13 Quote
i run , and i also ride XC, but i find running burns me out and is a great work out, they are both great work outs though and running helps me ride bmx park for longer runs
flag FlyingFish
Posted: Aug 29, 2008 at 11:19 Quote
swan3609 wrote:
I am a competive XC runner and I can honestly say that I no matter what I was doig on my bike, I would never get as much of a workout as if I was running. Running is soo much more intense then biking is, and I when I am running I can push myself to a pain treshhold that I have never gotten to on my xc bike. And respratory(sp?) wise, I feel much more drained after a run than I do after a xc bike race.
And if you are a good runner, you will have a great base for faster DH and xc times over the people that arnt runners.

ya i feel the same way
flag chiringuito
Posted: Apr 21, 2020 at 3:21 Quote
pbuser102331 wrote:
ocashard wrote:
smoking, smiling and riding....

+1 and running is such an effort,and feels weird when you have been on the bike a while.

Running and biking are different
Running is far harder.
Next time you run take a heart rate monitor, now try and keep that same heartrate on a bike ! You will have to go really hard. Trouble is when you bike, you don't really go that hard.
http://runningcoachonline.co.uk
flag Stinkyriderjon
Posted: Jul 21, 2020 at 19:11 Quote
15 years in the army, running everyday and now my feet are messed up, my knees, hips, and lower back. But biking doesnt hurt anything, its low impact. Obviously coasting would be cheating if your doing it to work out. I bike 20 miles early in the morning 3 times a week for working, no coasting just balls to the wall as fast as you can make it, try to beat previous times. Then i mountain bike for pleasure. I would not recommend running long distance if you do decide to run, instead go for short sprints like doing 30/60s or 60/120s thats balls out sprint as hard as you can for 30 seconds then walk for 60 seconds and repeat for a set period of time you should feel like throwing up after each sprint and calm down during the walk, work your way up to 60/120s. Do this no more than twice a week and bike the rest. 2 cents from a veteran.
flag GrassWhistler
Posted: Jul 22, 2020 at 8:43 Quote
I recently joined PB because I'm getting into riding again after years away from it, saw this 12 year old post brought back to life and thought I'd comment for my first post Smile

The answer to which is better for you, running or riding is they are both good for improving fitness. If your goal is to burn calories or increase your aerobic capacity (base) then running is the answer. More muscle groups in the upper body and core are engaged while running vs biking.

This is why there is a different VO2max for running vs cycling, and why cycling VO2 numbers are always a little lower.

I'm a competitive trail runner and run all distances from 5k to 100 miles. I also have a degree in Kinesiology and working on my MS Kinesiology. Trail running is a great way to push limits and get strong. Riding is a lot more fun though Smile

 


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