As I’ve mentioned before, I used to be a runner. Actually, I was never fast enough to be called a runner — I think 10-minute miles are more in the realm of jogging.
Anyway, I gave it up a couple of years ago because my knees just couldn’t take the pounding anymore. That’s when I started biking.
Biking’s been great for me, fitness-wise. I’ve got better endurance, a lower resting heart rate, and my waist size is down two inches.
But biking has some disadvantages, too. It’s not a weight-bearing exercise, so although my thighs and calves look like those on a 20-something, my upper body looks like it belongs on a 58-year-old. Which I am.
But I stick with biking as my only real exercise. Lots of folks I know mix it up — they run, or swim, or lift weights, or do something in addition to biking.
I don’t.
None of those other activities excite me much. Weight lifting is a turn-off, swimming bores me (not that I’m much good at it anyway), and although I enjoy golf, come on, there’s no way that qualifies as exercise. By the way, I walk the entire 18 holes and carry my bag, too.
Do you supplement your biking with other forms of exercise? What do you do? Do you do more than one other activity? What’s the mix of biking vs. that other stuff?