Cycling Vs Walking: Which Is Better?

Performing aerobic exercises is important in your day-to-day life. You can either walk or indulge in cycling activities.

These habits help maintain a healthy lifestyle and build a better metabolism. It also promotes better heart and digestive health. Do you want a comprehensive guide on cycling vs walking to know which one will be a better workout? Then keep reading this article till the end.

What Are the Differences Between Cycling and Walking?

There can be many differences between cycling and walking in respect of the muscles involved, duration up to which you will be comfortable performing it, etc. Also, there are other factors involved, like if you are overweight, you may feel more comfortable riding first until you lose weight and then start walking.

To better understand cycling or walking, which is better, let’s look at its difference in depth:

Parameters	Cycling	Walking
Calorie burning (applicable for a person weighing 68 kg)	Light intensity cycling – 240 calories	Slow walking – 154 calories
	Moderate intensity cycling – 285 calories	Moderate walking – 179 calories
	High-intensity cycling – 357 calories	Brisk walking – 250 calories
Fat burn	Biking is not a weight-bearing exercise because the machine does all the work when you are cycling. The fat burning metabolism is low compared to walking. So, the fat-burning process is also low.	Walking, on the other hand, involves all the working while bearing full body weight. Moreover, according to experts, weight-bearing exercises burn more fat than non-weight ones.
Muscle development	Cycling tends to work the muscles harder. Your gluteal activates when cycling while standing up. Quadriceps work when cycling down, while calf muscles work in the pushing phase of cycling.	Your gluteal activates when walking upstairs or uphill, while calf muscles get involved when you are in the push-off phase of walking.
Better strength	Strength building capacity of cycling and walking depends on the age group. If it involves younger adults, cycling provides better strength to the body than walking.	Talking about older sedentary individuals, walking allows them to gain more strength than cycling.
Chances of injury	A recent study showed that during cycling, people often experienced chronic lower back pain problems.	People in the same low back pain study showed a reduction in pain and disability when they switched to walking.
Weight loss	The weight loss process starts when the body burns more calories than it intakes. Moreover, since cycling burn more calories, it is better for weight loss.	Even though walking may not be an ideal choice for weight loss, you can still lose weight by eating less in a day.

Which Is Better Between Cycling and Walking?

The above table explaining different parameters of cycling versus walking must have given you an idea of which will be a better exercise for you. However, you may still wonder what is the correct way to choose between these exercises.

While both are low-impact aerobic exercises and excellent workouts, you can choose by trying both at least once. It will give you a definite answer of which one is more comfortable and enjoyable. For this purpose, you do not have to buy a bike. If you don’t have one you can either rent or borrow it instead.

However, for a comparison between the two, let’s look at some parameters:

Convenience: Cycling can be convenient as it can be your way of commuting while travelling to work. However, it cannot be your commute if the place is far and you need to turn towards other modes of transport.
Expense: Cycling can also be expensive as you may buy a high-quality bike to perform this exercise daily while you only need a good pair of shoes to walk.
Enjoyment: While biking may give you the fun of going outdoors, walking will give you the convenience of home, like when walking on a treadmill.

So, it depends on your definition of enjoyment, convenience and expense.

What Are the Benefits of Cycling?

Cycling is a healthy, low-impact aerobic exercise that is safe to perform by people of all ages ranging from adolescents to elderlies. Not to mention, it is cheap and does not provide any harm to the environment. You work on your lungs, blood vessels, and heart by cycling daily, making it function better.

This is why you perspire, breathe deeper and experience increased body temperature while cycling. As a result, you can reap the following benefits:

Decrease in stress level
Improvement in joint mobility
Strengthening of muscle and higher flexibility
Better cardiovascular health
Strengthening of bones
Reduction in depression and anxiety
Decrease in body fat levels

What Are the Benefits of Walking?

Undeniably, walking is one of the greatest and easiest ways to maintain your overall health. You do not need to buy any special equipment or get training to perform this exercise. Just 30 minutes of walking will be enough to strengthen your muscles and boost up your power. In other words, you do not have to indulge in vigorous physical activity or continue it for long hours to maintain your health.

In fact, a 2007 study of inactive women stated that even if an individual performs 75 minutes of low-level exercise a week, it can improve his/her fitness level to many folds compared to a non-exercising person. Moreover, since walking is a low-level exercise, anyone can perform it without the risk of hurting themselves. Some benefits associated with it include:

Increase in muscle strength
Reduction in the risk of experiencing heart stroke or other diseases
Improvement in balance
Better heart and lung health
Stronger bones
Reduction in body fat
Less risk of developing chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, cancer, blood pressure, etc.

Is it Safe to Indulge in Both Cycling and Walking?

While the wisest choice will be to perform either cycling or walking, it all depends on your discretion. It does not harm your body. However, keep a tab on your calorie intake. This means you can cycle or walk or do both simultaneously. Also, doing both adds variety to your routine and increases your chances of sticking with the program.

If picking one of the exercises, cycling can benefit people who have less time to exercise and enjoy a faster pace. While walking is for those who experience back pain. It can also be perfect for people with bone density issues, and who have limited funds to buy or rent a bike.

How Much Exercise Is Suitable for a Week?

As per research, individuals must aim to burn at least 8,400 kilojoules. This means 2000 calories a week by performing exercises. However, when you cycle for one hour, you can burn only 1,200 kilojoules, i.e., 300 calories/ hour. So, to achieve the quantum, you may have to cycle twice a day.

Now, if you are more of a walking person, according to the US DHS, WHO and other experts, an adult between the age of 18 to 64 is recommended to complete at least 150 minutes of this physical activity in a week to remain fit.

However, experts also say spreading aerobic exercises across the week is necessary for maximum benefit. So, to achieve the goal of 150 minutes, one must fix working out for at least 30 minutes a day for 5 days a week.

Also, consult a health expert or dietician if you face any issues. Lastly, while walking is preferred by most people since there is no equipment involved, many enjoy cycling. Also, it can be because one can do it any time of the day. So, make sure you try both activities before deciding.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Cycling or walking, which is a better exercise for preventing obesity?

While both processes help reduce BMI and body weight, cycling results better than walking. In fact, in a study, a participant who cycled to reach his/her workplace lost 5 kg more weight than those who used a car.

Which exercise can help maintain better mental health?

Walking can be good for mental health. According to a fitness expert, walking not only makes a person feel good at the time but also maintains the effect and even boosts the immune system. Also, it increases the production of white blood cells, thus helping fight diseases.