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He guys, This question is particularly applicable to Sharla and Scrap really.
I was wondering, would a 12 mile cycle, three times a week be an adequate substitute for three running roadwork sessions?
How long should it take me to cycle this distance, and as I'm not accustomed to this type of workout, how likely am I to cramp?
Try and see if the Sports Centre do any Spinning sessions, they are terriffic for Cardio without impact.
Working in gyms I've hated all of the classes I've seen that most gyms generally offer though... spinning is a good, honest work out.
Will take you through different Aerobic and Anaerobic levels too... Most gyms don't require you to be a member to take part in their classes.
Yeah Scrap is right spin classes are a better option. Cycling on a road or path it can be difficult to keep your heart rate up because you'll find you need to stop and start a lot for lights and obstacles etc.
If you're busy the time required to upkeep a bicycle in really good order can be annoying too.
The thing with cycling is that 12 miles is not really that far unless you can do it very fast and that depends on traffic etc.
I don't think you are as likely to cramp up cycling as you are running but I would warn against carrying anything on your back and watch your posture. Also You get large quads from cycling which is fine but you'll need to remember your hamstrings in you weights or resistance workouts to make sure you balance them and stretch.
I'm thinking spin classes would be better for you for climate reasons too - cycling in the rain is not the funnest thing in the world! :)
i doubt it will do much for you in the ring....maybe good for weight/fat loss and some general toning, but as for anaerobic training i'd try the spin classes or sprints on the bike, just don't do it every day or your muscles will tear down and not recover properly
A little cycling might strengthen your legs a bit, but I don't know if it'd help out in boxing much.
I forgot to mention that you have a third option.
You can set up a bike you own on one of these trainers and then do your own spin classes in your home whenever you want to.
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...rla/cycmag.jpg
If you buy them new they are kinda expensive so I'd go for a second hand one especially if you have somewhere sound proof to train in the mornings since the older ones can be quite noisy.
You should be able to design your own sprint routines based on time or distance on your speedo then. I think DVDs are available too if you wanna set it up in front of the TV. You might want to buy a pair of cycling pants if you are going to be doing cycling sprints since they'll be a bit more comfortable / safe.
I guess if you had a set up like this you could easily decide to cycle outside when you wanted an easy workout and the weather was good. :)
I sometimes run for transport and make it into training by including intervals etc but it's not so easy to do that effectively on a bicycle since you need to abide by the road rules and watch pretty carefully to make sure you don't get hit by cars - especially if drivers in your area are not likely to be used to cyclists. If that was what you were thinking though I understand how tempting it is - time can be so difficult to manage when you're juggling a full training load with other responsibilities! If you can go off road all the way to where you're going without much interruption you might still get something out of it.
Thanks guys, I'm actually thinking of cycling for transport more than anything....
Have to have a bag on my back too.
At least put a rack on the back of your bike for your bag rather than carry it on your back.
It doesn't have to cost much or be anything elaborate - you can go for a very basic bag rack as long as it holds the weight you need it to carry but don't put anything on your back.
You might want to make sure you wear some pretty bright clothing and have plenty of lights on your bike too. You'll be shocked by how easily motorists can just not see you.
The thing about the rain is that if you're transport cycling you are probably going to have to stop and start a lot. That's when you get cold. It's worse than running which allows you to bounce up and down on the spot or run up and down the street whie you wait for the lights to change.
Don't forget to put a tube repair kit somewhere on your bike - you probably know about that but it's an easy detail to forget so I thought I'd tell you anyway. It's not fun walking your bike home too far or running late because you get a flat.
spinning will help your wind, but slightly different muscle groups are getting used.
I have a spinning bike.. fantastic investment if you can afford one.
LoL Ok Ok Ok.....
Thanks for the enthusiasm.
You see I want to cycle to a weight training session in the mornings.
How long would it take to cycle 20 miles lets say?
If I'm going to be honest I HATE TRANSPORT CYCLING!
It's not so bad in groups in places where cyclists ride often and drivers are used to them or in places like Japan where everyone cycles.
Here though to get from A to B it's risky. I've been hit THREE TIMES. Or technically hit twice and doored once.
Each time the car drivers were really sorry and took full responsibility for it but what bothers me is that these people were nice. If nice people can hit you by accident when you do nothing wrong then assholes or people hitting you when you make a mistake are a LOT worse!
Once I waited for all the traffic to go across a busy one way road and went to cycle across to get to the footpath on the other side. A woman decided she'd missed her turn and went and reversed the wrong way down a one way street and hit me!
Another time i was going straight ahead through some traffic lights. A car turning left into that road didn't see me - she was focused on the car behind me and decided she had time to get in ahead of it and drove straight into the side of my bike. I saw her coming and yelled stop 3 times but she said afterwards she heard something and just didn't wake up to it. I was thrown in front of oncoming traffic in the next lane but luckily they saw it all unfolding and stopped without hitting me.
Another time a taxi driver in a rush to get something while he waited for a client swung his door open at the last second without looking as I was cycling past. I'd left about a metre gap between me and the parked cars be he still caught the front of my bike by about 2 cm. I was flung over the handle bars - again into the next lane. Luckily the oncoming traffic was stopped at some lights up ahead and I was pounced on by 3 nurses that happened to be in the area at the time. Plus he gave me a lift to work with my mangled bike afterwards.
Transport cycling something you do when you're transitioning between other forms of transport but it's not worth it for exercise. 12 miles of transport cycling is not going to make someone as fit as you any fitter. It'll benefit a sedentiary person who just needs to move but not an athlete! Especially as someone with a young family who needs you I don't think it's worth the risk.
At least don't cycle at night or in overcast conditions! PLEASE!
Anyway cyclists might average about 25 to 30 km an hour over a longish distance but a lot depends on the type of bike you have and how much it all weighs. A good cyclist will be cycling at 40 km an hour and faster but that's not easy to obtain on normal roads with traffic lights and especially on a mountain bike as opposed to a road bike.
The best idea if you're fixed on this is to cycle the distance and judge for yourself. Go by your own benchmarks rather than what is acceptable in a cyclists world because so much depends on your equipment and the road it's hard to predict.
I'm just debating in my head whether to do this or not. There's a world class weights gym available to me in the mornings, but there are no buses and bringing a car to town is a liability as parking is so expensive, I'm really undecided, but if it's more than an hours cycle it's not worth it.
Cleats are a good investment to attach your feet to the pedals if you decide to go for it. Once you get used to them you'd be able to give your hamstrings some work too.
Long time no see MD! I have been wondering where you went! I have cleats for my road bike but not my mountain bike.
I like them but don't really like having to carry shoes everywhere then.
Can you maybe leave stuff in a locker there if you decide to do this hitmandonny?
I'm actually just investigating that now Sharla
Hey Hitmandonny. If you haven't cycled much before it will take a bit of time to get used to it but lets say you start off being able to cycle at 30 kph average. Thats 1 k every 2 mins so it would take you about 1 - 1hr 10 mins to cycle that distance. That kind of pace is fine for someone starting on a bike. If you are on a mountain bike that's the sort of pace you might expect at first. If you have a road bike it might be a bit quicker. After a while you will get quicker and should get in under the hour. My experience was that I used to run a lot and got into mountain bike riding after a bit of a bmx racing stint when I was young. I rode to University and training as well as running and got into running straight off the bike which is great for the legs. My running times came down quite a bit too. One thing I found good about biking to things was the increase in leg strength. This should help with punch power but if weight is an issue this would have to be weighed up because muscle can weigh a bit. I used to think my legs were strong untill i took up bike riding. I reckon you should be able to get under that 1 hour soon enough.
Thanks Biker nice one mate!
Since I winged in this thread about how many times I've been hit by cars whilst cycling I thought it only appropriate to announce this here:
I have FINALLY got my licence!!!!:):):)
I'm pretty relieved because all the lessons I had to pay for since I didn't have anyone to give me regular lessons were getting expensive and we have to have 50 hours logged here. I spend well over $2000 on driving lessons in the end but at least it's FINALLY done!
The roads here are now just a little more dangerous - although they offer cheaper insurance for women in Australia because we're proven on average to be safer drivers! :p
I definitely think female drivers are safer than men, definitely.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sharla
Yes I think the more testosterone you have the more risks you take. I totally agree hitmandonny.
You forgot to congratulate me though!:mad::p:)
I did forget indeed! Sorry I'm a bit down so I missed that part really.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sharla
But Congratualations, it's a great achievement.
Are you going to drive immediatly or are you still going to cycle?
Over here insurance is incredibly expensive for first time drivers!
Bit down Donny? Sorry to hear that!
I'm overloaded with uni work at the moment and haven't been able to train much this week so it's it's just having too much to juggle I can relate!
Thanks for the congrats even if I did have to wrestle it out of you! :)
I have to go back to my uni work now but I hope things pick up for you soon!
I'm not buying a car until I've finished my PhD and am earning some real money. In the meantime I might be able to take university vehicles sometimes though! ;D
Seriously Sharla, I actually feel rude, responding like I did at first.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sharla
You always are the first to congratulate me on anything and even if I wasn't thrilled for you an instantaneous congratualations would only have been polite.
But honestly, I am delighted for you, it's a big achievement and you deserve a ton of credit for it. You're a good friend to me on here and always a source of inspiration and advice so I am as I really really happy for you.
I'm sorry I wasn't more enthused, I guess I didn't realise low a mood I'm in. Sorry about that Sharla.
Congrats on the license! Got to love the sense of freedom you get from just a small card with your name and photo on it.
But a side note depends who is in control of the car, I hate having to pay excess just because i am a male, never had an accident yet, It's the bloody wankers driving round in their V8 commodores which piss me off tailgating me because my hilux doesn't have the acceleration of their fuel wasters. Geez sorry for the rant, I hope your enjoying uni, you on a midsemester study break now sharla?
I have a pretty messed up knee joint cartilage. I can't ride bicycle for more than half hour.
Thanks Salty :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Salty
Yeah the generalization is a bit unfair for safer male drivers isn't it! I do actually have a female friend who has a brand new hotted up Subaru WRX and she drives like a man - but to be fair on her she's only had small accidents when crawling in car parks etc.
phD students don't get mid-semester breaks - or any breaks really. We are meant to have 4 weeks off per year but I've found I've used that for stuff like chiro appointments because I have a weak back and it can't really take all of the bending over (to study plants only) involved in my field work.
Don't worry about it Donny. I have those moods myself sometimes too so i wouldn't take it personally. It's a big deal to me to get my licence because I had to pay for almost all of my driving time so it's been financially difficult at times. I can totally understand how for most people who learnt when living at home with parents who would teach them it's not a big deal at all. I know I've just got something I should have achieved a long time ago but just wanted to boast because it's become a big deal for me. I'm actually patting myself on the back enough for everyone really! :)
I too am considering a cycling switch for the cardio. I run now 3-4 times a week off days from boxing roughly 5 miles. The problem I am having is my knees getting sore. Didn't think I had the proper shoes so I got a v good pair of trainers for it, but I still get quite sore.
Can't really afford a machine for running I don't think and my gym doesn't have one. SO considering trading in the BMX for a bike better suited for training.
Any one else find they have probs. with their knees? I get the knee pains immediately after running and kinda worry about damaging them.
Yeah knees are dodgy when running on road.Quote:
Originally Posted by thecontender13
If I were you I'd drop to 3-4 miles and invest in some good shoes
Or head to your local park (soft grass) and do some tabata intervals (my favourite) for a change of pace 5 miles that many times a week is going to do damage on your joints if your running on the road and not the grass.
Or try some burpee intervals, they will increase your conditioning just as well as a 5 mile job will, 4x 2 min rounds of as many burpees as possible with 30 seconds of shadow boxing as your rest. Mixing it up is what you continuously have to do to get the most out of workouts, not only for your muscles but for your mind.