Which is more effective? I don't like running, I think it has to do with standing up. If I was cycling, I could probably stay on it much longer. I get tired/bored after running a mile and it takes me 20 min. Does indoor (stationary) cycling vs. outdoors make any difference? If I'm cycling stationary then I can watch t.v. at the same time and stay on for more time. If I'm running a mile a day, how much would I need to cycle to make that equivalent to running a mile?

You like cycling better then running because its a hell of a lot easier.

Running is by far a more demanding unless of course you place your bike in top gear and peddle as fast as you can for as long as you can. Then it likely would be equivalent to running.

Oh btw, running though does place a great amount of strain on the knees and biking does not. HOWEVER biking can affect a mans sperm count and his ability to get an erection.

I strained my left hamstring 2 months ago from running, and it's still not completly healed. Saw a doctor last week gave me some prescription Ibuprofen and some exercises to do which helps. Doctor said it's ok for me to exercise I just strained my hamstring, but everytime I run it gets sore, there's nothing wrong with my right leg it feels fine. Prior to do this I hadn't ran since high school which has been almost 10 years and started running 2 miles a day and stopped for a couple months to have my leg heal. I think it's since I have bad form, I probably put more weight on my left leg, either land on it or lift off more than my right leg.

I was thinking of getting a stationary bike and I could sit infront of the television and cycle for an hour, should I try to stick with running or try cycling?

You can get just as good of a workout cycling as running. If your on a stationary bike, just crank up the resistance, and keep the rpm's up. If your cycling outside, try to keep your speed between 15-20 mph.

As far as "sleepy pee-pee", if you get a fairly firm seat with the cutout, you should be fine. They keep the pressure on the sit bones, and off of the soft tissue. The worst seat you can get are the cushy gel seats.

I think that cycling is more demanding on certain muscles and can affect your ability to run. I could be wrong though.

I read I think on about.com that running/jogging uses 700 calories an hour, while cyclying is 300 an hour. Assumed however, is that you're doing easy, flat cyclying.

Doing a quick search, here is a very good calculator:
calories burned during exercise calculator


But yes, I'm very much like you. I hate running...because it's boring and painful :P
I love MTB (mountain biking), and I ride pretty hard, which takes a lot out of me and I feel burns a lot of calories. And is a HELL of a lot more fun than running. And that's why I really love MTB - it's really fun, and don't tell me going up huge hills isn't hard :P

I find that with MTB, my legs always get tired before anything internally does, and when I run, my heart/other stuff always starts to hurt before my legs do (excessively). So it's a lot more demanding on your cardiovascular system, I think there's no debate there.

As for equating the two regarding burning calories and such, I think it entirely depends on how hard you cycle - ie. what's your average speed on a 1 hour ride?
I recommend you get one of these computers which I have on my bike. It tells you a lot of important statistics for a "trip", such as total time, average speed, max speed, and some other stuff I forget/never use.

If you say have a trail you always follow, see what you best average speed and time is on it. Then try to improve it every time and let that be your cardio workout.

The one that you find more fun is going to be the most effective cause you will stay with it. I prefer cycling.

wanted to bump this thread up as i wondered the same question myself - wondered what everyone thought?

You said it best.




I’ve got a mountain bike (and would want a street bike) but don’t bother to ride it. At 280lbs or even when I was light at 260 I’d always pop the chain off the dang thing every time I hit a hill, as soon as I stood up on the peddles, to really dig in with some force.

Yeah yeah, I’m working on the weight issue, (really doubt I’ll get under 240) but does anyone know of a good bike with a beefier gearing system.

Level Betty made by Gary Fischer can handle the tork

maybe a new chain and gears is all you neede though.

What is the quality of your bike? Is it bike shop quality or Wal-Mart quality? Have you had the chain checked or replaced and the derailleurs adjusted? If the chain is not aligned properly and you stand on the pedals with your 260#, chains have a tendency to fall off.

It's diamondback, I’ll take to a shop and see what they think. Could be just a loose chain and new gears is all.

Thanks

It depends on on the resistance used when cycling - if resistance is low you could cycle for 30 mins and have had a better work out in 5 mins running.

Are you looking for a cardio workout or working on toning legs?

I LOVE cycle classes, i burn about 500 cals per 45 min class which is great, and the time always flies, i'm never looking at the clock.
I haven't been running in a while because I had knee problems, but i would like to get back into it and do some fun runs. It's hard around my area though, if I do the back streets it is REALLY hilly, and I don't like to run on the highway (the flat option), because last time i did that I got something in my eye and had to go to the eye hospital to get it taken out