Since the dawn of mankind, we have been known to walk on twos as we still do today. It is such a basic human nature to walk that it is almost never considered a workout or training.
Hi, my name is Crystal and I love to cycle. It is the only form of exercise that I indulge in just to keep myself active. I’m almost always on my bike going to work or anywhere I have to in my day. I find it so much easier and better than walking or taking the bus.
While with walking you need no special equipment, cycling demands you get joined into a gym or buy the bike yourself. Of course, I bought my own bike because I love to cycle but let’s look at how these two differ.
Walking vs Cycling Comparison Summary
Training Concern |
Managed By |
Stronger Leg Muscles |
Cycling |
VO2 Intake |
Cycling |
Building Abs |
Cycling |
Cardio Workout |
Cycling |
Strength Training |
Cycling |
Calories Burned |
Cycling at 500 calories |
Least risk and danger |
Walking |
Best for terminal Illness |
Walking |
Walking vs Cycling Muscle Worked
Glutes, hamstrings and quadriceps are the major muscles worked by walking and more by cycling.
While walking outside or on the treadmill, the impacted muscles are still the same but with now lesser intensity and slower results. A tiny muscle on your calf known as the soleus muscle is additionally activated while walking compared to when you are cycling.
Even while walking briskly, spontaneous movements such as sprints or tiny leaps or jumps over puddle or bridges, stretch out certain muscles that are otherwise untouched when cycling.
The ability to experience new terrain and walk on an incline also adds benefits to the hamstrings, quadriceps, and the biceps femoris muscles. The beautiful shape and tone that your thighs and gluteus muscles take up in a few weeks are allowing the work you put in.
Both cycling and walking require you to use your legs to get your body moving, raise the temperature, and increase the heart rate. While this is true, both these techniques work different muscles on your leg, calf, thigh, and core.
When cycling on a stationary upright bike, the forward peddling motion works out the muscles on the front of the thigh and leg. These are the four muscles included in the quadriceps and the tibialis anterior muscle that is located at the front of your shin.
Also, cycling while standing and at an inclined angle allows your hip and knee extensors to get a good work out. Gastrocnemius and biceps femoris muscles at the back of your legs are also exercised on either an upright or a recumbent bike.
Walking vs Cycling for Weight Loss
Cycling requires more movement which will heat up your body and will in turn burn fat and contribute to weight loss. Walking has no such temperature rising characteristics.
The effectiveness of weight loss will be very much dependent on the individual’s diet, consistency, duration, and intensity of the workout. Weight loss has everything to do with managing and minimizing the number of calories in your body.
Depending on the availability, there may be a choice between two stationary training bikes which are the upright bike or the recumbent bike. Cycling is a great option for anyone suffering from chronic back pain or to a newbie who may need some time to familiarize themselves with more complex and high-risk equipment like the treadmill.
The upright bike, as the name suggests, resembles the normal bike with handles in front of you and the foot pedals below your center of gravity. It allows you to slightly lean forward as you pedal and to pedal while standing to make your workout more versatile in intensity and targeted muscles.
Even with all the versatility that cycling provides, you will still only burn about 500 calories in an hour if you push hard enough.
Walking on the treadmill, on the other hand, has a higher impact training mechanism that requires you to put your back into it. Not only will this exercise help you improve your posture overall but the high impact it delivers to your body overall makes it the best option for weight loss.
To make this training effective for you, it is necessary to work out consistently for about 30 minutes on medium to high speeds on the treadmill. This will also depend on your overall weight and your diet of course.
You are not guaranteed to lose that many calories walking out our weight but you could alternate between running on the flat laid running belt and having it inclined to an angle for an uphill kind of run. Mixing up your workout makes it more fun, helps you burn more calories, and increases impact on the target spots.
Walking vs Cycling for Belly Fat
Cycling is the obvious winner here because of its impact and intensity. There is almost no impact felt on your belly after talking a walk.
To gain a flat or more tone midsection, you have to give your body an overall good workout and do this on a consistent basis. More than that, your diet is extremely crucial in reference to your belly fat. You become what you eat and eating a high protein, vegetable, fruits with limited carbs, and tons of liquids will get your body overall leaner and more energetic.
When working out to tone your stomach, of most importance is that you keep a straight back and a tight core. When cycling on an upright bicycle, you have the option of contracting your core while bent over resting on the handlebars.
Another way to target your core is to try cycling in an upright position and hands-free. This will have you focused and concentrating all your energy into your mid-riff muscles and joints. This is a bit difficult though and risky. Request help from your instructor.
Another way to improve the workout is to add the resistance or revolutions per minute on the bike and add an angle of elevation. Cycling at an inclined level adds a little challenge to the otherwise low impact exercise.
Running, on the other hand, gets your body jumping and all your being rattled. It is a holistic form of exercise that’s quite effective at converting your fat into energy and muscle. This repetitive and quick up and doing movements shake all excess fat in your body and this is why you feel pain in the impacted parts of your body.
Coupling this with a vegetable and fruit-rich diet will guarantee anyone a lovely and healthy toned body and skin. It takes a few months to get into your ideal shape but once you do, managing it will be easy because you’ll have created a lifestyle of working out.
Walking vs Cycling for Diabetics
Cycling helps pump blood better because it is a great cardio exercise and so it is effective for diabetic patients. However, there is nothing wrong with taking a walk.
It can be heartbreaking to see our friends, family, or even ourselves faced with a terminal illness. What is important to remember is that it is possible to live a healthy life for as long as we can. Diabetes sort of creeps up on people and you never know you have it until it is confirmed.
Most diabetes patients prefer cycling to walk as it offers some foot relief. This is important to diabetic patients because the disease cuts down their foot supply of oxygen making your feet prone to more illness and injuries.
When you cycle, you are promoting blood circulation in legs and toes which could help you regain a sense of feeling in your feet. This is why cycling is a great alternative for diabetic to use to exercise.
Regardless of age or level of fitness, anyone can get on the stationary bicycle and work up a sweat. Walking, on the other hand, is less like a workout and more like a necessary movement. Since it can be done at a very leisurely pace and it puts stress on the feet, it is not considered good for diabetics.
Walking vs Cycling for High Blood Pressure
Walking is better for individuals with high blood pressure because it gives them a restful time outdoors as compare to cycling which will strain their already weak system.
To keep yourself protected from weight or age-related illnesses like hypertension, you could build up a lifestyle of working out. If you could maintain a 3 to 5 days per week one-hour workout at the gym or just outside cycling, you should feel better physically and mentally.
In the event that all you can stand is a walk and the weather is lovely outside, take the more challenging route just so that you can challenge your muscles on different levels. Again, walks are even more low-impact than cycling.
Walks are scientifically proven as a great way to lower blood pressure. Probably the reason behind the phrase, “taking a walk to cool off steam” came from.
Walking vs Cycling Speed
Walking in an hour you should cover 3.1 miles, and on a bike, you could cover 12 miles.
Walking effectively could take up the High-Intensity Interval Training technique or HIIT. This technique will encourage bursts of energy charged into about 30 seconds of running and 10 seconds of relaxation. This is done in repetition and with great consistency. It will take a lot of energy from you but will also give you the strength to walk for longer without getting tired.
Doing this intense workout for 20 minutes daily will get your heart rate up to about 100 BPM and increase your aerobic capacity which is why you are able to work out without running out of breath. Of course, the most crucial piece of information to remember is to warm-up for at least 5 to 10 minutes to minimize injuries and muscle strains.
12 mph or 60RPM revolutions per minute are ideal speeds on a bike for a first-timer. If you are more experienced, and RPM around 70 would be great to work with. Remember to pace yourself on the bike by making sure you get a good warm-up to get your heart rate up and to loosen your joints and muscles.
Keep training to a quality, not quantity standard. Cycling for about 20 to 30 minutes for a beginner and up to 60 minutes for a more experienced individual at a medium to high-intensity level on the bike will get you sweating hard with a heart rate of about 133 BPM (beats per minute).
Walking vs Cycling Risk of Injury
There is no apparent risk to walking as compared to cycling in which you could fall off your bike.
In comparing walking to cycling in terms of risk engagement, cycling looks more at risk than walking. While you can take a brisk walk to the park, your town center, market, friend’s house, or supply store, with nothing happening to you, cycling unless on a stationary bike, is not that safe.
Cycling outside will take you into the road onto oncoming traffic with the crazy drivers and frustrating traffic police. It is easier to get into rocky or slippery terrain that could have you thrown off your bike. That is why it is important to invest in the right cycling gear to keep you safe in any event.
A helmet, great sports shoes, elbow, and knee patches are a must-have.
FAQs
Does Cycling Count as Steps on Garmin?
No. steps are steps and miles are miles, the only thing your Garmin tracking watch will show you is how many steps you have done in a day and how many calories you have burned. There is yet no known technology to turn your cycles into steps to help with monitoring.
The only measure of scale usable on the Garmin display is the number of calories lost inactivity and of course the duration of the workout. Some jokers have been suggesting putting the watch around your thigh to help capture the revolutions but this is still an unconfirmed idea.
How Does Cycling Help You to Lose Weight?
With all the versatility that cycling provides, you can burn about 500 calories in an hour if you push hard enough.
Weight loss has everything to do with managing and minimizing the number of calories in your body. The effectiveness of weight loss will be very much dependent on the individual’s diet, consistency, duration, and intensity of the workout. Depending on the availability, there may be a choice between two stationary training bikes which are the upright bike or the recumbent bike.
As the name suggests, the upright bike resembles the normal bike with handles in front of you and the foot pedals below your center of gravity. It allows you to slightly lean forward as you pedal and to pedal while standing to make your workout more versatile in intensity and targeted muscles.
Do You Burn More Calories Walking and Cycling Outdoors vs Indoors?
Yes.The rush of adrenaline and other feel-good hormones improves your moods and encourages you to push harder.
Outdoors activity has an added benefit of psychological stress relief and this improves your energy and drives to workout. Being outdoors provides great distractions that could have you working out for longer than you normally would because of the heightened fun factor.
Spontaneous and versatile terrain as available outside is good for muscle control and strength as well. You get to work out more than the muscles you would have indoors.
Is Cycling Good for Abs?
Yes, because you are able to burn up to 600 calories every hour you cycle, it is ideal because your abs get in shape as your body does as well.
Cycling is perfect for abs. engaging your core muscles to push the pedals all the way out, round and up towards the start again and again in about 70 RPM, will get your abdominals definitely feeling the burn.
You may spice up your position on the bike by getting on your two feet and slightly leaning forward like a professional athlete. While doing so, crunching in your belly button up toward your spine will help contract the stomach lining increasingly sculpting out the fat.
Does Cycling Tone Inner Thighs?
Yes. Cycling works the quadriceps, hamstrings, and all muscles lining the inner and outer leg and thigh.
Cycling no doubt tones your thighs. If you are worried about some cellulite that has rapidly gained since your last-child, getting into a spinning class will get you back in shape in a few weeks.
Keeping with a good and healthy calorie short diet is what to aim for while we work out on that bike. Cycle for about an hour every 5 days a week on moderate to high intensity. Or better yet, use the HIIT technique that incorporates High Interval Intense Training to help you master cycling, expand your lung capacity, and reap the thigh-toning benefits you need.
How Far Should I Walk Every day to Lose Weight?
Walking for about 6 miles every day for about an hour will keep your blood pumping and this means that more oxygen gets delivered to the heart, lungs, kidney, and all-important organs. This extra dose of oxygen coming in these rapid pulses cleans out the toxins in the organs and helps convert fat into lean muscle.
Keeping your temperature high also helps to burn more fat as your body struggles to regulate the heat differences and your heavy breathing. Alternate walking with running or jogging mid-distance to add variety to movements possible.
Conclusion
Walking is a human need in terms of movement and transportation. Employing it as an exercise form is an option only for the seriously wounded or the quite elderly. In comparison to cycling, it fails to match up on any level other than on the safety and risk concern. If you like to get a fair workout and value for your money and also if you have no ache or pain, train for cycling because that is a learned skill.