Walking vs Bicycle Riding

Apriiilxx

Its a mix for me also!! I feel like I sweat a lot more when I jog/walk but I absolutely love biking! I wish we had more bike trails near me it would make things so much more interesting for me!!

Alzzak

I prefer biking. at a slow steady pace riding your fat burn will be far greater than the same amount of walking. On a typical 30 minute ride i will avg 400 calories. compared to maybe 150 walking for 30 minutes. i ride and hour every day and avg 1000 calories!

I wonder why.... I mean it seems like you are doing less work on a bike than on foot

TDGee

Thank you for all the great answers...I will buy myself a bike this weekend hopefully.

Great, But buy a good quality bike from your local bike shop, and NOT from Walmart/Target, etc... It may cost more, but the difference in quality and workmanship cannot be overestimated. Plus, most bike shops offer free tune ups and advice for as long as you own the bike. Get a good bike that fits you comfortably, or you won't ride.


That being said, I prefer riding my bike over walking. I average ~1000 calories burned an hour or so riding. Walking, even at a fast pace doesn't come close for me.
Have a great time riding your bike!

Cameo530

If you do get a bike be sure to get properly fitted so it doesn't cause more problems.

So, so true. If you're buying one brand new, do yourself a favor and buy from a good local bike shop, not a big-box store, if possible. The bike shop will probably be more expensive initially but a good shop will help you find the right bike in your price range for the type of riding you want to do. They'll properly fit you to the bike. They'll let you test ride (I, for one, am very particular about the geometry of my bikes and the only way to know how comfortable you feel while riding a particular style is to ride that style.). Some even offer regular spring tune-ups (free or discounted) for people who buy from them.

Also, when they fit you, keep in mind that on many bikes the handlebar height and/or angle can be adjusted, as well as the seat height. It took a lot of fiddling with my two primary bikes (I have 4 total and a husband who likes to tinker with them, fortunately) to get the handlebars adjusted to where the angle of my body, the pressure on my arms/wrists, etc were all comfortable, so if you don't know how to adjust them yourself, ask the shop to show you.

One last thing: when you feel like your seat height is perfect, get a tape measure and measure the distance from the middle of the crank set (the point where the pedal attaches to the bike) to the top of the seat. That way if the seat height gets disturbed, you know where to move it back to. My husband checks our seat-height this way before any big ride we do, because sometimes they do shift over time and having your seat either too high or too low can be really, really hard on your knees.

Tallblondechick

So much useful information for one simple question. This website is amazing. Thanks again to everyone.

ncthomas09

I prefer biking...I love it and find it loads of fun actually when I have people to go with (even climbing a giant hill being sweaty in the heat then feeling like I'm goin to vomit at the top of the hill), but my parents ride way longer and faster than I do and with my work schedule being M,T,TH,F and every other weekend it makes it hard for me to go with them and i've got no one else to go with so walking is easier for me.

klewlis

I like both!

Biking is great because you burn more calories, you get around faster, and you feel like a kid zipping around town! And I love mountain biking, which is a full-body workout and burns a ton of calories.

Do either, or both... have fun.