All of us choose different ways of getting around Penn State’s huge campus. While our feet are the most common mode of transportation here, bikes and runners are absolutely everywhere too. So I really wanted to know, what’s the best form of exercise? While all provide great health benefits and a good way to get out there and get your heart pumping, in the end it comes down to what you truly enjoy, along with what you want to get out of your exercise.
When comparing running and walking through a study done in Berkley, California comparing 15,237 walkers and 32,215 runners over the course of up to six years, studies showed that runners had an easier time maintaining or losing wait in the long run (no pun intended). This was especially prevalent in the 55+ age group where although runners were not necessarily running quickly or expending much more energy than the walkers of this age group, they had noticeably slimmer waists and lower BMI. There is also evidence that running suppresses appetite, whereas walking does not have the same effect. However, both have excellent benefits such as help in the prevention of cataracts, high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease. In the end, if you want to use the same amount of energy while walking as you do running, it takes about one a half times the distance to do so.
Walking and running are weight-bearing exercises, whereas biking is not because the bike itself is holding you up and doing some of the work for you. While biking puts less pressure on joints, weight-bearing exercises typically burn more calories. This does depend heavily, though, on the intensity of your biking workout.
On running versus biking: To start, running burns more calories per minute than biking for the same reason that walking does. This changes, however, if you are biking at a very rigorous pace. Both biking and running have about an equivalent ability to suppress hunger. Injuries are clearly more common in running as it is harder on your joints and causes more muscle soreness.
The American College of Sports Medicine calculated that, “someone weighing 150 pounds who runs at a brisk seven minutes per mile will incinerate about 1,000 calories per hour. That same person pedaling at a steady 16 to 19 miles per hour will burn about 850 calories. Meanwhile, walking requires far fewer calories, only about 360 per hour at a 4-mile-per-hour pace.”
In the end it is personal preference and whatever you enjoy and will stick with is the exercise for you.
Sources:
Reynolds, Gretchen. “Ask Well: Is It Better to Bike or Run?” Well Ask Well Is It Better to Bike or Run Comments. N.p., 29 Aug. 2013. Web. 20 Sept. 2013.
Reynolds, Gretchen. “Is It Better to Walk or Run?” Well Is It Better to Walk or Run Comments. N.p., 29 May 2013. Web. 20 Sept. 2013.
Kucinski, Jessica. “Which Is Better Exercise: Walking or Biking?”LIVESTRONG.COM. N.p., 07 Feb. 2012. Web. 20 Sept. 2013.
While running does burn the most calories, it also has the highest chance of causing injury! I love to run but it’s so easy to get runner’s knee and shin splints (they’re both painful and extremely annoying – and I’ve had both more times than I can count).