If you picked 4 exercises what would they be?

[jobo]

I have introduced casual cycling and walking long distances to my exercise routine over the last five years and have experienced great benefits. I made no mention of road cycling or mountain biking. I use to be a runner many years ago and have no more desire to run and suffer the impact of sore joints.I do a lot of stretching as well before biking and martial arts. I know many people that use to run that have switched to biking and find it easier on the joints than running.

I've. No idea what casual cycling is? Or that it's even a thing, but cycling is all push and no pull,( that's why they are called push bikes) it's a bit better if you use clip on peddles, but you've still got a forward bend on your back and shoulders rounded forward and your head bent at a silly angle , it's much same as being slump over your desk for hours, if by casual you mnmean no great time effort or distanc e, then you may not notice it, but then you won't notice much benefit either,

 

[MetalBoar]

I wasn't aware of that - haven't really looked into biking much over the years. Can you point me to some info?

I haven't looked at the research (assuming there is any) but anecdotally road cyclists that come in to work out with me have some of the (functionally?) weakest low backs of any group I get. I've found that I have to start them off with extremely light work and supervise them very closely to avoid injury. I use an extremely safe protocol and I have never had this sort of issue with any other group. I assume it is related to the very exaggerated, forward leaning posture required by many road bikes, but that's a guess. I've also been shocked by the number of avid cyclists of all types that come in with relatively weak legs, especially considering the number of hills in the Seattle area.

I'm not against cycling and used to bike everywhere when I was living in a place that wasn't wet, hilly, and filled with the worlds most oblivious drivers. Still, based on what I've seen and experienced, I don't think cycling is a particularly good or efficient way to build strength even in the legs. If I were to start riding again I'd definitely do some research and choose a bike that put me in a more natural upright position.

 

[vince1]

I've. No idea what casual cycling is? Or that it's even a thing, but cycling is all push and no pull,( that's why they are called push bikes) it's a bit better if you use clip on peddles, but you've still got a forward bend on your back and shoulders rounded forward and your head bent at a silly angle , it's much same as being slump over your desk for hours, if by casual you mnmean no great time effort or distanc e, then you may not notice it, but then you won't notice much benefit either,

Go to the Netherlands where my family immigrated from and see a population of 17 million people who own an estimated 22.5 million bicycles. You will see a variety of bicycle designs for every age group, purpose and has a proven overall health benefits. My grandparents from both sides of the family biked well into their late 80's early 90's and had rock hard strong legs. Most of my old uncles and aunts still bike on a daily bases and have very few health concerns if any. They are all lean , eat a high fat diet with lots of vegetables and some fruit. Most of the dutch use an upright bike design not slumped over but some young and old dutch racers do, but are still some of the healthiest people.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

I know many people that use to run that have switched to biking and find it easier on the joints than running.

You can change running into fast walking too. I agree that to maintain your knee joint is very important.

I still train jumping kick. I don't jump high any more. I jump forward instead. This way when I land from my jumping kick, I won't get too much shocking on my knee joints. It's the same comparison between running and fast walking.

Old Chinese saying said,

- "Knowing how to train is easy. Knowing how to maintain is hard."
- "When you are young, you learn how to fight against others. When you get old, you learn how to fight against yourself."

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I haven't looked at the research (assuming there is any) but anecdotally road cyclists that come in to work out with me have some of the (functionally?) weakest low backs of any group I get. I've found that I have to start them off with extremely light work and supervise them very closely to avoid injury. I use an extremely safe protocol and I have never had this sort of issue with any other group. I assume it is related to the very exaggerated, forward leaning posture required by many road bikes, but that's a guess. I've also been shocked by the number of avid cyclists of all types that come in with relatively weak legs, especially considering the number of hills in the Seattle area.

I'm not against cycling and used to bike everywhere when I was living in a place that wasn't wet, hilly, and filled with the worlds most oblivious drivers. Still, based on what I've seen and experienced, I don't think cycling is a particularly good or efficient way to build strength even in the legs. If I were to start riding again I'd definitely do some research and choose a bike that put me in a more natural upright position.

I wonder if the ease of shifting, and the use of very low gears (rather than pushing harder) is why many cyclists don't gain leg strength. I know when I was a kid, my 1-speed, really heavy bicycle (with shocks, heavy steel frame, etc.) probably contributed to building my legs up.

 

[jobo]

I wonder if the ease of shifting, and the use of very low gears (rather than pushing harder) is why many cyclists don't gain leg strength. I know when I was a kid, my 1-speed, really heavy bicycle (with shocks, heavy steel frame, etc.) probably contributed to building my legs up.

yes definitely, the correct cycling technique is to wiz the peddles d round at 2 revolution per secon, and use the gears to keep minimum resistance, so your never putting any physical effort in, beside spinning the legs, hobby cyclists tend to spin at one rev a second, but the same technique applies, of using the gears to keep actual effort low, they just can't go as fast as the other group, bad techniques of being in a high gear and forcing the peddles down with all you weight, does work the quads, but not much else

cycling is mechanically assisted walking, you can always go further and faster for less effort on a bike, that not to say you can put effort in

 

[escuelafraternidad]

A combination of 5?
- Push ups
- Pull ups
- Crunches
- Rowing
- Squat

All days, except by rowing changing exercises one or twice a month.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

yes definitely, the correct cycling technique is to wiz the peddles d round at 2 revolution per secon, and use the gears to keep minimum resistance, so your never putting any physical effort in, beside spinning the legs, hobby cyclists tend to spin at one rev a second, but the same technique applies, of using the gears to keep actual effort low, they just can't go as fast as the other group, bad techniques of being in a high gear and forcing the peddles down with all you weight, does work the quads, but not much else

cycling is mechanically assisted walking, you can always go further and faster for less effort on a bike, that not to say you can put effort in

I'm thinking through the mechanics (don't have a bike handy to try to feel them) and it seems pushing hard would also work the calves, since the ball of the foot (rather than the middle or heel) is on the pedal. I also wonder if the glutes are getting much work if you're standing to push hard - maybe a little.

But, yeah, I wouldn't think there'd be much benefit for most of the rest, at all.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

A combination of 5?
- Push ups
- Pull ups
- Crunches
- Rowing
- Squat

All days, except by rowing changing exercises one or twice a month.

Hey, the image in your signature is HUGE. You might want to consider either cropping it down or scaling it, so it doesn't dominate every post you make.

 

[jobo]

Go to the Netherlands where my family immigrated from and see a population of 17 million people who own an estimated 22.5 million bicycles. You will see a variety of bicycle designs for every age group, purpose and has a proven overall health benefits. My grandparents from both sides of the family biked well into their late 80's early 90's and had rock hard strong legs. Most of my old uncles and aunts still bike on a daily bases and have very few health concerns if any. They are all lean , eat a high fat diet with lots of vegetables and some fruit. Most of the dutch use an upright bike design not slumped over but some young and old dutch racers do, but are still some of the healthiest people.[/Qsvince

 

[jobo]

Go to the Netherlands where my family immigrated from and see a population of 17 million people who own an estimated 22.5 million bicycles. You will see a variety of bicycle designs for every age group, purpose and has a proven overall health benefits. My grandparents from both sides of the family biked well into their late 80's early 90's and had rock hard strong legs. Most of my old uncles and aunts still bike on a daily bases and have very few health concerns if any. They are all lean , eat a high fat diet with lots of vegetables and some fruit. Most of the dutch use an upright bike design not slumped over but some young and old dutch racers do, but are still some of the healthiest people.

vince I'm not sure why you are disliking posts that are factual, unless you don't like the facts, but then you need to take it up with the fact fairy

. I cycle myself, because I enjoy it and it's an efficient way of getting places, that efficient as the most miles per pound of effort, but in the certain knowledge that its not doing a great deal for my fitness and also has a detrimental effect on overall fitness unless I also exercise to adjust the out if balance issues

. I started again when I got a very fit dog that wanted 15 mile walks and I couldn't walk that far, so I got a bike as I could travel 15 miles whilst only expanding the same energy as a three miles walk, mostly because the bike carried all my then considerable weight and the gears gave me a mechanical advantage. but that's exactly what bikes are designed to do and why they are not a particular fitness boon

if your going hard enough for long enough they work your heart and lungs, but that's not most cyclists, certainly not casual cyclists, who bubble along whilst not actually sweating buckets. and would certainly expend a loot more effort if they walked the same distance or just the same if they walked a 5 th of it

. I'm not sure what Holland has to do with it.! the Dutch are not a particularly health nation despite or maybe because of all the bikes, though admittedly if you get a Dutch bike made t of old girders with no or limited gears changes, that would indeed be hard work, up hill,if the Dutch actually had any hills to climb up, which is why I suppose they invented such rubbish bikes in the first place and why tthey're not popular in most other places

 

[jobo]

I'm thinking through the mechanics (don't have a bike handy to try to feel them) and it seems pushing hard would also work the calves, since the ball of the foot (rather than the middle or heel) is on the pedal. I also wonder if the glutes are getting much work if you're standing to push hard - maybe a little.

But, yeah, I wouldn't think there'd be much benefit for most of the rest, at all.

year a bit of calves if your using your toes, which people general don't if their stanmping the peddles, but I wouldn't think much if any glute, as the glutes move your leg backwards and sideways, which is why they are so hard to train, its really a very big set of muscles that has evolved as something for you to sit on, rather than because of the work they commonly do

 

[pdg]

I won't quote everything, but rather generalise...

Cycling.

There are a few problems with people not getting the benefit they should from it - the primary ones being bike setup and technique.

The majority of people I see on bikes just don't have them set up correctly - the saddle is almost invariably too low and the reach is all wrong (stem length and height if the frame is suitable, or just wrong sized frame).

And technique - ball of foot should be over pedal axle, in all situations, no exceptions. Yet (again, the majority) stomp with their heels.

Too much weight being carried by the arms and butt - the (researched) optimum cadence (pedaling rpm) is 90-100. For racing... That's not about spinning with minimum load though, that's supposed to be maintained with your feet carrying the majority of your weight and lifting your upper body, with the help of your lower back...

Using cycling as a way to get fit is very often counterintuitive - it's very easy to hide behind numbers.

Someone may boast about doing X amount of miles, but push them to near maximum effort and they'll be done after 500 yards.

That's because you can coast - running is kind of better for honesty because if you stop trying you stop. On a bike you can stop trying after 5 seconds and keep moving.

When I go out with my son it's a gentle meander for me - we can do 10 miles and I barely feel like I've started. But it's about getting out with him, spending time together and having fun while he gets some exercise too.

Out by myself, I might do the same 10 miles in less than a third of the time, sweating buckets and getting a more real workout.

The latter is how you need to approach it if it's a get/stay fit goal, but most casual (or even 'avid') cyclists only ever do the former.

 

[pdg]

I will quote this one:

I wonder if the ease of shifting, and the use of very low gears (rather than pushing harder) is why many cyclists don't gain leg strength. I know when I was a kid, my 1-speed, really heavy bicycle (with shocks, heavy steel frame, etc.) probably contributed to building my legs up.

It goes both ways...

It probably contributed to your legs, because it was a case of put in the effort or walk. A lot (especially adults) would choose to walk.

Modern tech (light bikes with climbing gears) has allowed people to make a different choice - to cruise up the hill easier than walking.

To get the same benefit you need to set and apply the mindset "it doesn't get easier, you just get faster".

Use the gears and weight advantage to clean the hill in less time for the same effort. Then shift gears and put the same amount of effort into going back down instead of freewheeling it.