CYCLING SAFER FOR FEET THAN RUNNING

According to podiatrist Robert Weiss, DPM, "Many are taking to the roads and cycling during COVID-19 for exercise. When cycling is part of your training program, you must build up your training sessions gradually by starting with a 30-minute period and then increasing a few minutes each day. A training period of 45 minutes is good with a proper warm-up and cool down period. The cyclist must take care not to overdo it and to constantly check their pulse rate. The objective is to hold it above 120 beats per minute but under 150. You will find that you have a certain pulse rate at which you'll level off."

 

Dr. Robert Weiss

 

"When you increase your leg speed in cycling through the technique of 'spinning", or pedaling rapidly in low gear, this in turn reduces the forces that your muscles and joints must transmit to the pedals, which will reduce the wear, tear, and fatigue on your body. Cycling also helps to increase flexibility in the hip and knee joints by stretching the connective tissue while the impact of running tends to tighten the connective tissue around the joints. When you think about the jarring impact of the feet upon the pavement when running, a force of about 375 pounds repeated approximately 1,700 times per mile, cycling makes a lot of sense," says Dr. Weiss.

 

Source: ctpost.com [5/22/20]

Courtesy of Barry Block, editor of PM News