Benefits of Cycling vs Running

What better way to appreciate your body than keeping it fit and getting in on some of that healthy eating.

It’s classic for people to disagree on what’s a better exercise but you need to know that both of them are really beneficial. They both have their pros and cons and doing too much of it, believe it or not will have a negative effect on you and your body.

Depending on what your end goal is, treating your body right also comes with choosing what’s best for you. Sites like Thrill Appeal,, give you exposure to outdoor activities and action sports. This type of information come in handy every time as you get to understand more about an activity thus knowing what your body will be gaining from it. With that being said here are some things you might want to put into consideration before choosing either of the two.

1. Cardio Health

Did you know it is recommended for one to do 150 minutes of exercise per week in order to reduce health risks? Well now you know. In this case, both cycling and running are extra beneficial as both contribute towards the end goal. Here’s what doing cardio will help you with:

  • It strengthens your heart. This way it doesn’t have to work as hard when pumping blood.
  • Makes you sleep better.
  • The risk of a heart attack or other related diseases reduce.
  • Your lung capacity increases.
  • Help in weight loss by burning fat and calories and use a great tool like to help calculate.

2. Muscle Building

As we all know, both activities provide your body with a full workout, especially the lower part. However, it is important to know that they both focus on different types of muscle groups.

For example, cycling helps with hamstrings and building your quads. It also helps in increasing your core strength and works on your calves.

Just the same way, running helps with these large muscles only that this time it depends on getting more power from your glutes and inner thighs as it requires some sort of leg balance.

3. Muscle Toning

When it comes to muscle toning, running is preferable as it burns more calories and also works on your body. Running everyday not only makes you stay fit but also helps you in building muscle thus maintaining a good body fat composition. Rather than running fast for shorter distances, you should try running a bit slower for a longer distance as this enhances getting that toned look. You might also need to change your diet and overall eating patterns in order to get a more noticeable result.

4. Burning Calories

Calorie burning depends on the amount of time and intensity you put regardless of the exercise you’re doing. Generally, running burns more calories than cycling as it uses more muscles. However, if you’re looking for something that can be done for longer hours and is much gentler on the body, then cycling is the way to go. You can burn more calories during cycling by going uphill as opposed to cycling on a flat surface. Factors like age, gender and weight also determine your baseline for calorie burning. It is advisable to talk to your doctor concerning the same, in order to reach your optimum goal.

5. Losing weight

Last but not least, weight loss is sometimes the only reason why you get into exercising, regardless of what exercise it is. To lose weight you need to find a balance between calories where it’s neither too much nor too little. Exercising should also act as a complimentary to eating a healthy diet and doing other habits that help in the same.

With this in mind, choosing the best exercise that pushes you to your limit is very important as it largely enhances the kind of results you’ll get. As much as running burns more calories, it is also good to find something that’s gentler on your body, in this case being cycling. It helps you in that it allows you to exercise longer thus burning more calories in general. Fun fact, studies have shown that both running and cycling has led to a reduced appetite in young men. This is awesome for the people who are trying to drop or control some eating habits.

Part of finding what’s right for your body comes with understanding your body too. With this you are able to optimize your body’s strength and also work on your weaknesses. Setting a goal also helps you stay focused. So regardless of why you’re exercising, get to really understand your body first and watch yourself getting amazing results.