Does walking give any cycling fitness benefit ?

[Biker Joe]

As far as I'm aware, walking and cycling use different muscle groups to a larger or lesser extent.
Walking uses the muscles of the foot,calf,thigh,knee,hips and buttocks. So it's beneficial for the muscles of the lower body.
The main muscles used in cycling are the quadriceps and hamstrings of the upper leg and the calf muscles.
The muscles of the upper body come more into play in cycling than in walking.

So walking and cycling are mutually beneficial.

That's my take on the subject. However, I'm not an expert.

 

[black'n'yellow]

I suppose it depends what you are trying to achieve. If you want to get better at cycling, then ride a bike. If your aim is to be an awesome walker, then carry on walking....

 

[Crackle]

I suppose it depends what you are trying to achieve. If you want to get better at cycling, then ride a bike. If your aim is to be an awesome walker, then carry on walking....

Beats me as Banjo is quite capable of cycling a hundred hilly miles. I know I've watched him disappear up the hils in front of me.

Actually Banj, if you tie your legs together and don't move until April, I might be able to keep up next time.

 

[fossyant]

Yes, I prefer thinner shoes when cycling, for comfort. Sorry, got strange feet

If it suits you fine, but its really not recommended for cycling as flexible shoes put adverse pressure on the arch of the foot as you pedal with the ball of your foot.

As for walking vs cycling, if you are only cycling 2.5 miles to work, walking that distance will be much better as you will be exercising for much longer. D you add to your cycle commute, or just do the 2.5 miles

 

[Banjo]

Work long shifts usually just do the shortest route. Dont plan on doing a massive amount of walking just maybe a couple of hours/week.Will see how it goes, may get fed up with it or may end up selling the bikes.... Not.

 

[jefmcg]

For good bone health, you need to do some load-bearing exercise, so it would be a good idea to do regular walking. It might not make you capable of cycling much further or faster, but it would still be good for you.

This ^^^

And it will help your cycling when you are older: not having a broken hip or femur that won't heal is pretty important if you want to keep cycling.

 

[Mo1959]

Got a dog so not much choice I enjoy walking though and it is important for bone strength, especially for a menopausal woman. Lol

 

[Nebulous]

I used to walk a lot, really striding out and getting a good pace going. Then I started cycling and walked much less. Now walking is picking up again a bit - walking to work because of the icy conditions and we've also just got a dog for the first time ever.

The funny thing is my gait has changed quite a bit, which I put down to cycling. I take shorter steps but more of them. I also get some problems with my joints, particularly with walking boots. My wife would like to blame the bike, but its actually much better if I'm cycling a lot of miles!

 

[albion]

Hill walking is more arduous than granny gear cycling so well worth doing if your body can take it.
I found flat walking quite useless for cardiology problems unless it was vigorous.

Again that can be too impacting compared to cycling.
My ankle and hip problems took at least 12 months of non walking to subside.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

The more I cycle the more rubbish I seem to get at walking. And because this is anecdotal guessed evidence I win the Internet.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

Same thing happens with drinking and walking.

 

[Andy_R]

The more I cycle the more rubbish I seem to get at walking. And because this is anecdotal guessed evidence I win the Internet.

Same thing happens with drinking and walking.

hmmm.........I've got it! Based on AC's conclusions a)cycling makes you rubbish at walking, b)drinking makes you rubbish at walking, then drinking and cycling must make you a better walker.
+=

 

[Andrew_Culture]

hmmm.........I've got it! Based on AC's conclusions a)cycling makes you rubbish at walking, b)drinking makes you rubbish at walking, then drinking and cycling must make you a better walker.
+=

Damn, now you've won the Internet!

 

[Andy_R]

Damn, now you've won the Internet!

'sall right, you keep it. Won't fit on my mantlepiece.

 

[ColinJ]

Damn, now you've won the Internet!

'sall right, you keep it. Won't fit on my mantlepiece.

I read a book about the history of Google and was amazed that the founders' plan from the start was pretty much to download a copy of the Internet (or as much of it as they could find) and search that locally because it would be much more efficient!

The academic who examined the proposal queried how much computing power it would require and they came up with a figure of 'x' thousand servers. (I can't remember how many 'x' was, but it was a significant number!) They kept the cost down by buying the parts in bulk and getting teams of volunteers to assemble them.

Surprise, surprise - it actually worked!