So here is the deal I am getting pretty sick of running at the moment and all i own in th house is an exercise bike. I usally run about half an hour non stop. Would using an exercise strengthen my legs the way running does and would it improve my breating capacity and other things??
Quick reply please!! :bouncy:
Running VS Exercise bike
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Participant
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Member
It is reasonable that it could do similar things that a run would do, but it is not the same thing. It would certainly help your cardiovascular fitness, but you certainly wouldn't be burning the same amount of energy as running in the same time period. Also, bikes tend to shorten up the hip flexors and create a slight pull on the pelvis, so you would be well advised to keep that in check.
What is the purpose of your distance runs anyway? If you are a distance runner there is no replacing runs, but if you are doing it for a recovery type day you may be able to include it as more of a main conditioning component.
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Member
Well distance runs won't really develop "strength." They are not very taxing to the muscular system, so the muscles don't really have to adapt to contract harder. You'd be better off with a sound strength training program. As far as your breathing goes, aerobic fitness isn't really going to improve the way you breath during the majority of your events. The majority utilize one of the anaerobic energy systems, and one event is primarily aerobic–the 1500m.
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Participant
Like wsgeneral said, using the bike for recovery purposes really isn't a problem, as long as you balance it with running to keep the specificity of training.
As far as developing strength, he's right in that you should concentrate on the weight room for that. However, I do feel that you could get some amount of "strength" work done with the bike. Jacking up the resistance and doing a tempo type workout, such as 30sec on 30sec off, might give you a little benefit. I wouldn't use it as your primary means of training, but with the high resistance, you might be able to get a few things done.
All in all, as was said, nothing can replace the running side of your workouts. We all know it gets tedious, but it's got to be done. You might try changing up your running, instead of doing 30 mins at steady speed, do fartlek runs, or tempo, things like that. Variety will help eliminate that monotony in training and give you a much needed mental break.
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KeymasterTazni-
I thought you were a multi-eventer? If so, I wouldn't bother too much with 30 minutes of continuous anything. Focus your training on speed and power development and use more compatible / less detrimental means of enhancing work capacity and aerobic fitness.ELITETRACK Founder
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