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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.