Gym vs Cycling

[tealtreak]

ROW!!!! it will kick your tail and uses the opposing muscle groups from cycling (:

[nscrbug]

I'm a gym rat...always have been, always will be. My riding days are Sat, Sun, & Mon. The rest of the week, I'm at the gym doing cardio and weights. At the gym, I use the Stairmaster, treadmill, 2 kinds of elliptical machines, and 2 kinds of stationary upright bikes. I also take a spin class 1x a week (I'd do more, but I don't care for any of the other instructors). And on Fridays, I swim laps at a local outdoor pool in the summer months (I loathe swimming in indoor pools!).

Linda

[Owlie]

I hate the gym. I get bored easily.

If I can't ride, I hit the trainer, but not so much in summer. I do some yoga and I should consider adding other stuff.

[maryellen]

stair mill (the one that's like a mini escalator that you have to keep up with)--either long and steady or intervals for a shorter time. ouch

[indysteel]

I run inside and out during from late fall to early spring. I also have a home spin bike. I have practiced yoga for about 6 years and do resistance and core work with a trainer twice each week. I love to ride, but I tend to think that it needs to be balanced out with other activities. There are a number of muscle groups that get underworked or not worked at all on the bike. Plus, it's not weight bearing. Cycling just doesn't check all the necessary boxes for me, nor does just cardio.

[Becky]

Cycling just doesn't check all the necessary boxes for me, nor does just cardio.

+1. For me, it's yoga once a week, swimming once a week, year-round, in addition to cycling. During the winter, I'll add a weights class and add more swimming or yoga as needed. I'd like to attempt running again, but I'm not sure where I'll fit it in.

[Artista]

I, too, participate in functional fitness classes twice a week in addition to my summer riding. I began taking fitness classes last January to help rehab weak muscles after breaking my ankle. I've been amazed at how the fitness classes have contributed to my riding. For instance, my mountain biking benefits from a strong core and upper body strength but riding does little to build these muscles. I'm riding better than ever after 7 months of fitness classes.

[Dogmama]

stair mill (the one that's like a mini escalator that you have to keep up with)--either long and steady or intervals for a shorter time. ouch

+1

I'm a bit of a gym rat also & regularly visit to lift weights. That way, when the weather is nasty, I'm not feeling out of my element in the gym.

[Crankin]

It continues to amaze me that there a number of people at the gym who think exercise is something you do at the gym and would never, ever go outside for any activity. I've worked at and belonged to probably 6-7 gyms in 2 states as an adult, and it's been the same at all of them. I've actually had some (all women) tell me don't like getting sweaty outside, or that something outside (like wind, dirt, bugs) is too "gross" for them. It's good they are exercising, but it's like people have forgotten what's real.

[Penny4]

It continues to amaze me that there a number of people at the gym who think exercise is something you do at the gym and would never, ever go outside for any activity. I've worked at and belonged to probably 6-7 gyms in 2 states as an adult, and it's been the same at all of them. I've actually had some (all women) tell me don't like getting sweaty outside, or that something outside (like wind, dirt, bugs) is too "gross" for them. It's good they are exercising, but it's like people have forgotten what's real.

This used to be me...that is, until I found cycling

[zoom-zoom]

It continues to amaze me that there a number of people at the gym who think exercise is something you do at the gym and would never, ever go outside for any activity. I've worked at and belonged to probably 6-7 gyms in 2 states as an adult, and it's been the same at all of them. I've actually had some (all women) tell me don't like getting sweaty outside, or that something outside (like wind, dirt, bugs) is too "gross" for them. It's good they are exercising, but it's like people have forgotten what's real.

I'm amazed by the people who run on treadmills year-round, regardless of weather. The only time I've run much on a TM was for 1 Winter when we had record snow and an ice storm that left most of my running routes unusable for weeks on end (since they don't plow/salt/sand some of the more rural roads much at all). Otherwise I wouldn't use the "dreadmill" if you paid me to do so.

[indysteel]

It continues to amaze me that there a number of people at the gym who think exercise is something you do at the gym and would never, ever go outside for any activity. I've worked at and belonged to probably 6-7 gyms in 2 states as an adult, and it's been the same at all of them. I've actually had some (all women) tell me don't like getting sweaty outside, or that something outside (like wind, dirt, bugs) is too "gross" for them. It's good they are exercising, but it's like people have forgotten what's real.

I thought about your comment a bit last night. For me--and I am only speaking for myself--I don't do outdoor activities just to exercise. The time I spend outdoors feeds other emotional and spiritual needs that go beyond mere fitness. I don't mind working out indoors and I think my yoga practice also serves other non-fitness needs, but I get a huge benefit from experiencing nature and being engaged in the natural world that I don't think I could ever get from a treadmill.