If you’re a runner, then a bike could be one of your most valuable training tools. Cycling can improve your running performance, build muscle strength and aid recovery.
Improves your aerobic capacity
Cycling is a low-impact activity which means it requires less recovery time. If you use it as a cross-training sport, you can save your joints a lot of unnecessary stress. Thanks to a bicycle, you can add a lot more aerobic endurance training without ruining your legs.
It’s a great form of active recovery
Active recovery, such as moving your legs with an easy bike ride, can increase blood flow, flush out lactate, reduce muscle and joint stiffness, and help you get back on the trails sooner than if you were to just sit on the couch drinking beer.
Optimise fat burning
If one of the reasons you took up running was to decrease overall body fat, then cycling could be your new best friend. Although running burns more calories than cycling over the same time period, as you become a more efficient runner the fewer calories you’ll burn.
This is where cycling comes in. Fat burning occurs when the heart is working at around 65 to 75 per cent of its maximum heart rate, a zone that you can achieve in cycling training.
It builds strength
Running makes your muscles lean and efficient but it’s not the best tool for making you strong. If you plateau as a seasoned runner, strength is often what’s missing. Cycling makes it very easy to work on leg strength.
Finding new exhilarations
Cycling can provide new thrills for runners, offering new ways to see and experience the outdoors. Whether its mountain biking downhill, or climbing ridges to see amazing sea views.
