It's great cardio. There can be flexibility issues if you do a LOT of biking so make sure you keep an eye on your stretching routine. Better than running? That depends how you run and how you bike! I try to do both
Yeh i`ve grown up all my life on 2 wheels from motocross to road bikes so I think staying on two wheels will be best, i`ll try to keep my running going aswell. Cheers
Taken from http://www.stadion.com/question_stretching.html Question: I do not know how to combine your flexibility exercises with my other physical activities. In a typical day in which I do everything, I would run 3-6 miles before going to work, ride bicycle (30 min.) to work, ride bicycle (30 min.) to a two-hour hapkido class (a Korean style of hand-to-hand combat with many kicks), ride bicycle (15 min.) home. On weekends I do more cycling but this in one session. My flexibility is pitiful. Can you suggest a way of inserting the right type of stretches into my daily routine? Answer: In your case doing all the stretches I recommend (dynamic in the morning, and at the beginning of your workout, static at the end of the workout) will not help if you keep riding your bike so much. Please see pages 23–24 in the book Stretching Scientifically for the reason why cycling reduces flexibility. Also running 3-6 miles every morning may keep your legs tired and less responsive to stretching. Thomas Kurz The book basically tells you that biking is horrible for your flexibility because your muscle does not exercise in a full range of motion and thus becomes accustomed to being short and tensed. By cycling you will be conditioning and possibly shortening your leg muscles.
Better how? I always find running on the road does a lot of damage to my knees, whereas biking is less stressful on them.
Errr, that sounds like rubbish to me, I've been a competitive cyclist since I was 12 and my flexibility is fine.
My father in law was a competitive track cyclist and couldn't lock out his knees due to the imbalance cycling had caused.
I'm not a track cyclist (my one trip to a velodrome ended in concussion) so I cant comment on that. I have never heard of a mountain biker complain about flexibility problems (and we're a whiny bunch). The lack of lateral knee movement has caused me serious problems in the past, but this was mainly due to poor pedal choice rather than the motion itself.
It is actually a recognised factor though, that cycling can reduce your flexibility. The more you use a short range of motion like in cycling, the worse it gets. It takes a lot, but it does have an effect. A good stretching and strength training program will counter-act this pretty effectively though.
I am not worried about my flexibility as I`d rather have alot of fun on my bike than be able to kick someone in the head. But I shall keep it in mind
Actually this is true, thats why all warm-up and cool-down sessions should have stretching envolved. Mountain biking does have a better cardio effect than running, but dont tell season runner's that. Running can also lead to damage from your ankles to your lower back, and in some cases even further. Cycling is what we call low-impact. I personally, only envolve running 2 days a week, and even then its short sprints, or H.I.I.T.
Being a qualified cycling coach I can tell you that cycling can cause shortening of the hamstrings, but like all things physical this effect will be greater or lesser on some people more than others. As long as you do a stretching program along with the riding you will be fine. How good the cardio workout is will depend on the type of Mountain biking you do. Cross-country will give you a good workout, whereas Down Hill will not have the same effect. I don’t really know if road will give a better result; it could be easier to program the intensity of training though. In the end do what you enjoy. The cardio training will be great, but you should still do some load bearing exercise to keep good skeletal density, although you are probably doing enough with your martial arts.
