What is best when biking?

Hoodie16
Hoodie16 Posts: 13 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have been biking indoors because the weather has been pretty blah where I am at. Typically I have been biking an average of 17mph (which MFP says is very fast) for 5 miles. However, I also thought maybe I should bike for 30 minutes at a slower pace.

Which is better - bike at a higher intensity for 5 miles, or bike at a slower intensity for 30 minutes?

Thanks for the tips in advance :)

Replies

  • briabner
    briabner Posts: 427 Member
    I would add intensity like bump up your levels to not just level one. Or maybe do a mountain course so you get some high intensity as well as low intensity.
  • JenMc14
    JenMc14 Posts: 2,389 Member
    Which do you like better? If the higher intensity isn't totally killing you/wearing you out, why not stick with that? Less time, and you're probably burning a similar number of calories.
  • Hoodie16
    Hoodie16 Posts: 13 Member
    I have done both on a resistance of 6 (goes up to 9) if that is what you mean by levels Briabner.

    Jen - Weird I know but I never actually compared the calories burned between the two. So, I just did and even when I bike for 30 minutes my average speed is about 16mph (instead of 17mph when biking for 5 miles) so I'm still biking fast. 16mph isn't really a lower intensity haha.

    So, I guess maybe I should stick with biking for 30 minutes since my intensity is still high because I'll burn more calories.
  • Cyclink
    Cyclink Posts: 517 Member
    It depends on your goals.

    I usually encourage people to train for time, not miles (since miles vary a lot with speed and don't correlate very well with a stationary bike) and then work in some form of intervals inside that time.

    It might be lots of short intervals (15 to 30 seconds), several medium intervals (1 to 2 minutes), or just a handful of long intervals (5 to 15 minutes). Obviously the short intervals are at a dramatically higher intensity than the 15-minute ones. Each interval works a different energy system in your body and gets you different results.

Categories