jogging vs cycling

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mbeasley75
mbeasley75 Posts: 3
in Fitness and Exercise
I started the C25K program and was LOVING it! However, I aggrevated an old knee injury and am now slowly, painfully limping around. I think just out of spite the other day, I hopped on my bike and clicked off two miles. While I was riding, my knee didn't hurt! So, I guess my question is, can I get the same quality of burn on the bike that I was getting from jogging?

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  • MaryW1962
    MaryW1962 Posts: 23
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    I burn more calories in spin class than if I run on the treadmill. I would think, unless your just riding on a flat road the whole time, that you would burn even more on a real bike. :smile:
  • stephiehampshire
    stephiehampshire Posts: 160
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    I run and cycle using a heart rate belt so my calorie burn is quite a good estimate,

    Im 5"4 and weigh 145lbs

    Running 1 mile at a 6mph pace (10 min mile) I burn approx 100 calories
    Cycling 1 mile at a 13mph pace (about 4.5 mins per mile) I burn approx 60-80 calories per mile

    Going up hill does increase both,

    So you do get more burn from running however cycling is pretty close, I cycle to work every day because I dont have the time to run as often as I would like to and I have a old hip injury which makes running painful!
  • TinaDay1114
    TinaDay1114 Posts: 1,328 Member
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    I agree w/MaryW1962 -- I've burned more in spin classes than on a treadmill. We have a guy in my class in his 50's who had a knee replacement and does spin every week, so it is good for bum knees. I'd give the knee a rest, and find a really tough spin teacher! :} You don't want to ruin you knees for good!
  • LaughingStraightToDaBank
    LaughingStraightToDaBank Posts: 126
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    Riding a bike is great for toning up your whole body. It burns quite a lot of calories and it's more fun in my opinion! Besides, any kind of exercise is better than none. Good luck!
  • aharmeson
    aharmeson Posts: 55
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    You can push yourself on a bike just like you can push yourself running. My goal is to push as hard as i can for as long as i can on a road bike. I average about 20mph on my road bike. Not sure how many calories im burning cause i do not have a HRM but I will say this my knees dont hurt near as bad and i can push myself a lot harder on a bike than i can running. I do feel you work more muscles while runnning though. I could be wrong but this works for me.
  • andyp10
    andyp10 Posts: 11
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    Cycle is much easier on the knees!
  • stephiehampshire
    stephiehampshire Posts: 160
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    You can push yourself on a bike just like you can push yourself running. My goal is to push as hard as i can for as long as i can on a road bike. I average about 20mph on my road bike. Not sure how many calories im burning cause i do not have a HRM but I will say this my knees dont hurt near as bad and i can push myself a lot harder on a bike than i can running. I do feel you work more muscles while runnning though. I could be wrong but this works for me.

    20mph! I struggle to get to 15! in my defence I do have all my work gear strapped to the front and rear of my bike and its hilly ......

    I dont thnk you can compare spinning and cycling in terms of calorie burn, spinning is really intense cycling is more gentle depending on how hard you push yourself. I couldnt cope with a spinning class due to my hip and knee (was run over a year ago) but I can cope with normal road cycling,
  • anzura
    anzura Posts: 171
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    I do both. I burn the same amt of calories in 2 hours of cycling as 1 hour of running. Cycling is more strength training and less cardio for me. When I'm running, my hr is up the entire time. When I'm on my bike, I push hard, but there's always downhills and slowdowns that lower the heart rate way down. It only really gets up into the running hr zone when I'm climbing a hill.

    Spinning is wayyyy different than going outdoors and riding your bike. I don't put the two in the same category.

    And running is not bad for the knees! :grumble: (where's the eye roll smiley?) Cycling can be really bad on the knees if your bike and seat aren't fitted properly. Just sayin'
  • alligatorsmile
    alligatorsmile Posts: 15
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    It depends on how you ride, but i started to buy and ride a bike b/c i have some minor knee problems too that just got aggravated even walking 2+ miles. now i have been riding for almost 3 months and i have not had ANY of the old knee problems i used to have when i worked out at a gym and also walked or did the elliptical. also i think my partner and i are going to try some HIIT on the bikes soon - http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2005/jun/07/lifeandhealth.medicineandhealth you can sprint on a bicycle also if you can find some long stretches of road.

    I find it a lot easier to push myself harder on a bike than walking or jogging (which makes me want to die especially in Texas summer heat).

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