running vs. cycling?

Question

Running is my cardio exercise of choice. But now that I am stuck with a knee injury I want to do cycling instead (I have ellipticals and steppers). But strangely, I hit a wall very very soon on a stationary bike.

It seems like most of the work is done by the lower part of the quad muscle and lactic acid failure occurs within 5 minutes even at a moderate resistance. Any thought why it is so and how I can improve my cycling performance?

I do possess decent cardio ability - I can run 5K under 23 min on the treadmill

Answer 1

I would bet anything that its your posture while riding.

Try raising your seat up. With 1 petal fully down, and your leg fully extended, your heal should be pointed down. Level your foot parallel to the ground and there should be a slight bend in your knee.

I see people riding like its a low rider or a chopper all the time. It puts all the work in your quad and is a very tiring way to ride. You can also get a lighter frame, and specifically get a road bike with skinny tires if you dont have one.

I can ride for hours on a 20 pound road bike. I get tired really fast on a 40 pound mountain bike.

good luck

Answer 2

Cycling uses muscles in a different way and also uses different muscles. Don’t be discouraged if you seem to hit the way, cycling is a different animal than running! Make sure your bike is adjusted correctly!

The think with cycling is you don’t necessary have to have a lot of resistance on the bike to make it hard, same thing goes for the steppers.

Try sitting in on a few spin classes and see what happens!