Cycling to maintain running fitness - sorry!

pkumohideeile

Hey all,

I'm a runner (an orienteer to be exact) and i've just got a little shin injury which should be gone in a few weeks. I need to do alternative training. I road bike once a week so that's what i'll train on.

Does anybody have an idea, an exercise, or cycling technique to work the calves out on the bike? I was riding up hills today and they were 'off the hook' so to speak in comparision to the quads. I was thinking of a lift-flick-claw technique so that the claw works the calves but that's not an action like running so it might not be for me.

I was doing some hill intervals today on the bike and my 45minute session did not feel like the normal 45minute session when running. I know the ratio of cycling to running is not 1:1 (although possibly when doing on steep hills?) but would any recommened how much i might extend my 45minute hill cycling session next time to equal a 45minute hill running session?

Sorry if you hate a runner in the forum.. I have to say i like running but love cycling.

Raam

Cycling will be good for your aerobic system. I find that when I go running, which isn't very often, I can go for a lot longer than I expect.

One thing: when cycling on the hill, be wary about pushing a big gear. You risk knee injuries.

Lumen

You can't run on a bike*; your calves are basically just stabilising your lower leg. You can pull up during low cadence sprints, but I'm not sure it's really comparable to running.

As with running, try to have a purpose for each session - e.g. LSD, tempo. Try to avoid developing a fresh overuse injury.

It takes me much longer to warm up on a bike (30 mins at least) than when running (10 mins ish). Not sure why.

Bike distance = run distance x 6, possibly.

Just use the time to enjoy the cycling and explore new places. Doing hill repeats is a bit of a wasted opportunity, IMO.

* ok you can, thanks Blorg

Greyspoke

I guess I should try and answer this as though I mostly cycle now (due mainly to recurring calf problems), I have competed at orienteering for over 30 years!
In that time, I always felt that cycling, particularly hill climbing, was a great supplementary exercise for the type of running that orienteering requires. Given that running in rough terrain and running uphill requires a higher knee lift than normal running on the flat then the quads are obviously used more and hence cycling is great training. Even better and working the calves a lot harder is climbing out of the saddle - the motion of the legs while doing this is close to an uphill running action.
Minute for minute at a similar intensity, running will always feel harder than cycling because, I suppose, of the direct connection (read pounding) with the ground but it is certainly possible to work equally hard on a bike in terms of energy usage and power output. As a suggestion, find a reasonably steep hill that takes maybe 5 minutes to climb and then ride it in an increasingly higher gear - climbing out of the saddle and really driving the cranks down hard with the quads and calves. It's a great way of building strength and endurance and you will quickly find how hard you can work on a bike!

IM0

OP wrote:

Does anybody have an idea, an exercise, or cycling technique to work the calves out on the bike?

this sounds like what you're after

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67i6d9Hxjgg

Enduro

Just to back up Greyspoke. I'm a very active and experienced hill runner and ultra runner (and once fluked winning the leinster orienteering league, thanks to a diseased sheep). I always strongly recommend to runners to combine cycling into their exercise routine. If you've ever seen bikers (mountain bikers for definite) try their first hill race it becomes obvious that cycling is hugely benificial to ascending running. Mixing cycling and running together results in more symmetric muscle development, and as a result greatly reduces the chances of picking up an injury, in my experience

thebouldwhacker

Apparently cycling works similar leg muscles that are utilised when running up hill, handy for orienteering:D

pkumohideeile

Cool, thanks all, there's a lot of good info there for me.


What would a pro cyclist be doing on a 6 hour training ride? Would they warm up for 1 hour, do 3 hours of intervals, then cool down for 1 hour? I know they need longer rides compared with runners training but i'm just wondering what they do on their sessions. How long is a tempo ride for? How long do you warm up and cool down for? I agree with Lumen, it takes me much longer to warm up on a bike than on a run.


I found out i've a Flexor Hallucis Longus strain. So i'm biking for a week, maybe two. I'm supposed to be doing a hill phase which has hill workouts three times a week, leg speed intervals 2-3 times a week, and a long run. I can do pretty close to that on a bike i think. And the leg speed intervals could potentially be done faster than on a run. I hear haile gebrselassie has done his speed work on a bike at one stage.

Lumen

pkumohideeile wrote: »

How long is a tempo ride for? How long do you warm up and cool down for?

In theory tempo can pace be sustained for 1-4 hours, depending on how trained you are. I couldn't manage anything like 4 hours though - I find 20 minutes on a trainer hard enough, although outdoors I can sustain over an hour of continuous tempo if I'm in the right frame of mind.

In my opinion, it's all about managing recovery. Consistency and moderation are key - there's no point in hammering yourself if it takes you days to recover for the next hard effort.

Long hills are handy for tempo - there's a clearly defined beginning and end, and you feel like you're achieving something specific.

This suggests:

As with all phases and cycles of your training, start off gradually – incorporate a few zone/level 3 tempo intervals into your mid week 90 minute trainer ride. Start conservatively with two or three 6 - 8 minute tempo intervals and work your way up. It is totally feasible to be able to work your way up to twenty or thirty minute tempo intervals.

Beware terminology. "Interval" and "base" are terms which mean different things to different people. For some people, base training means LSD at all-day easy pace. For others, it means any training which doesn't involve supra-threshold efforts. Likewise, an "interval" is just a defined effort - you can do "intervals" in any of zones 3-7.

edit: more on levels here.

Coggan wrote:

Level 3: Tempo
Power: 76-90% of 40k TT average power
Heart rate: 84-94% of 40k TT average heart rate
Perceived exertion: 3-4
Description: Typical intensity of fartlek workout, ‘spirited’ group ride, or briskly moving paceline. More frequent/greater sensation of leg effort/fatigue than at level 2. Requires concentration to maintain alone, especially at upper end of range, to prevent effort from falling back to level 2. Breathing deeper and more rhythmic than level 2, such that any conversation must be somewhat or very halting, but not as difficult as at level 4. Recovery from level 3 training sessions more difficult than after level 2 workouts, but consecutive days of level 3 training still possible if duration isn't excessive.

bealfeirste5

thebouldwhacker wrote: »

Apparently cycling works similar leg muscles that are utilised when running up hill, handy for orienteering:D

Very true! Did 30 mins on the cycling machine at the gym the other day.. my idea of exercise!