Ah, the age-old question – running or cycling? Namely, all cardio is good cardio. If you want to build muscle, you should do cardio in order to increase your workload. If you want to live longer, cardio strengthens your heart. Want to lose weight? Various forms of cardio are great for just that. Are you an athlete? No matter what sport you play, you will most likely need a lot of endurance. Still, what type to choose?
Running and cycling both have their own benefits, their advantages, and disadvantages. These elements, however, strictly rely on your own preferences, your own wishes and wants. In the article below we will assess the exact benefits, the advantages, and disadvantages, one has over the other.
Joints, back issues, and pain
The core difference between cycling and running is how you use your muscles, and the force your muscles are acting against. Namely, with proper running gait, you push one foot in front of the other. Your feet carry the entire weight of your body with each passing step. You are also standing upright, keeping your posture, performing a kind of balancing act throughout your entire body. When you ride a bicycle, you are sitting down, and the force you are driving against is basically the pedals (and your weight on the bicycle itself).
Now, this is relevant because running is a high impact activity. With every step, your feet and your knees get pressure, they bear the weight of your body. Furthermore, since you have to stay upright, your upper body is getting something of a workout. This also, however, leads to pressure and stress accumulating in your lower back. When you’re on a bicycle, you do feel some pressure, but you are mostly pushing forward, pedaling away. Sure, your backside might get sore, but you’ll get used to that soon enough.
Fun and equipment
There is basically nothing stopping you from exiting your home and just going out for a run. All you need is a solid pair of shoes, and even those aren’t as vital as people think (for beginners). For a bicycle, you will need to actually buy one. Either visit a local shop, check out the Bikes online company, or maybe even build your own.
Now, they have something similar that can be seen as “equipment”. Namely, the road. The quality of your asphalt in your town can really help your riding. A good road, or maybe a clay track can also do wonders for your running.
These two also differ in just the type of fun you can have. Namely, you are going much faster on a bicycle, you can check out more of your town or the local area, your scenery changes more often. It’s also more comfortable than running. Of course, some might like going slower, taking the entire environment in.
This is of course highly subjective. However, you can also have greater options with cycling. It’s an effective way to travel around town. You can actually incorporate getting some chores done through cycling. With enough practice and training, you can even travel across the world with your bicycle. And unless you’re Forest Gump or an ultra-marathon runner, you can’t really do that on foot.
The better workout
In order to figure out which one gives you a better workout, you need to figure out what “better” actually means. Namely, does better mean easier, or perhaps more intense? Does it revolve around how much you sweat, how many muscle groups you activate, or is more about safety and minimizing damage?
If we are going with intensity, then running is better. Giving 100% during a run and during a bicycle ride are two different things. You use more muscles when you run, its more strenuous, and your workout will be more strenuous on an hourly basis. However, running messes up your joints and back more. Running is better since you can also give 100% in a safer capacity. Know that running at tops speeds won’t really harm you or get you in trouble, but on a bicycle, you can get into a crash, fall, and hurt yourself severely.
Furthermore, you will build more muscle when you run, since here your legs are used equally, and even your upper body gets fatigues somewhat. With cycling, the brunt of the workout is found in your hamstrings and quads.
Losing weight
In order to lose weight, you need to burn off more calories than you actually ingest. So, let’s say you need 2500 calories per day in order to maintain your weight. Lowering this number, ingesting 2100 calories per day means you will lose weight. However, you can also simply burn off these 400 calories, instead of simply eating less. So, even though you are stuck on 2500 calories of food, you are burning 2900 now through exercise and lifestyle changes.
In this specific instance, running is the better option, due to the greater muscular activation. Your muscles need fuel to work, and if you are using several muscle groups at the same time, you need to fuel multiple machines. Through cycling, you only use fuel to power up your hamstrings and quads, but with running, you need lots of fuel for your glutes, your calves, your hamstrings, your quads, and even your upper body a little.
Conclusion
And there you have it folks, the differences between cycling and running. While these are both excellent forms of cardio that will greatly help strengthen your heart, improve your lung capacity, and help you lose weight, they still differ in certain ways. Cycling is much easier on your joints, its low impact, and it will put less pressure on your back. However, running helps you burn more calories, and is a much more time-efficient, and intense workout. It can put a lot of stress on your knees and ankles, but it also gives you a somewhat more balanced workout. And of course, the fun factor is very subjective, varying from person to person.
Lena Hemsworth is a lifestyle blogger, foodie, and lover of a good book. She’s an everlasting enthusiast who believes that there is nothing better than starting your day with a hot cup of coffee.
