The roadies I ride with keep telling me that running is bad for cycling. Is this true and if so, why?
Tell them thats why they are fat because they don’t run, remember most(I said most, not all) races in triathlons are won on the run. If running was easy everybody would do it, thats why more people cycle because it is the easy way out instead of putting in the 50-70 mile weeks to be a good runner.
Of course running is bad for cycling. In fact, cycling is bad for cycling. The only thing that’ll help you get fast is cookies. Just ask the pro’s. And you know what they say about vegetables? Worthless. =)
“most(I said most, not all) races in triathlons are won on the run”
I’ve heard this before from experienced triathletes. Can you explain why? I’m a strong runner, new cyclist, new swimmer, doing my first tri tomorrow.
Thanks.
A lot of people say that running is bad for cycling and visa versa because they overload opposing muscle groups. I dont really agree. I didnt run all winter because of PF issues, I just logged mega bike miles. I started running in April and ran a marathon in early june. I think that the X-training is beneficial
Hey I noticed your email, URAPoser@loser.com. Could you be mlaver? You can’t be talking to yourself are you?
lol.
Speaking for myself, in the short term any of the sports I find to be bad for the others. For example, when I trained for a marathon, my swimming–even though I was swimming the same amount–really slowed down, and my riding did too. Riding I was doing less, so that could be confounding it.
I think the negative effects come from two things:
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To the extent that you build muscles running that are no help cycling, when you get on the bike that’s just extra meat to lift up and down. But I don’t think that’s very significant, compared to…
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You can only do so much intense training. Let’s compare these two guys–Ron Roadie rides four times a week, and that’s it. Tom Triathlete rides four times a week, but also runs three times a week. Ron Roadie will have much fresher legs and can afford to hit it hard two or three of those rides. Tom Triathlete’s legs are still recovering from running while he’s asking them to ride; he can only afford one or maybe two hard rides. So Ron Roadie gets better on the bike with the same amount of training.
When I was doing marathon training, my rides and swims were basically just recovery sessions from my runs. But that reminded me what got me into tri in the first place–running injuries started cropping up! The rest of the story for me is that over the long term, as in the 3 years I’ve been doing tri training, I’ve become a better runner, which was the only of the three sports I ever did before. My thought is that if you want to get good at one thing fast, you have to just focus on it. But for most of us duffers, the slow and steady cross-training approach keeps us less injured and more able to develop in everything over the years.
Haha, funny.
Triathlete37 is not an alias of mine.
Tell them thats why they are fat because they don’t run, remember most(I said most, not all) races in triathlons are won on the run. If running was easy everybody would do it, thats why more people cycle because it is the easy way out instead of putting in the 50-70 mile weeks to be a good runner.
Err… The roadies I ride with are anything but fat. We’ve got 1 (maybe 2) olympic medalist, loads of cat1/2 guys, a woman that won a stage in the Womans TDF, and many other riders or note.
I understand and agree with your point regarding the value of the run in triathlon. However, I have noticed that since I’ve started running again, I have a harder time hanging on the wheels. But I suspect this is simply due to the increased training load and that I would suffer
the same effect if I increased my bike miles an equivilent amount.
Of course, it does little good to talk about this without being really specific. For example, a long run of 2.5 hours done on Sunday would be more likely to impact cycling performance on Tuesday. This makes me think maybe I should go ask pubmed…
Get Powercranks. They claim to improve cycling stroke and running. Its not a lie
I have found that the best way to train with them is to have a bike dedicated for them, and then a fixed crank bike. I dont have this set up unfotunately, but its the way to go.
Of course running is bad for cycling. In fact, cycling is bad for cycling. The only thing that’ll help you get fast is cookies. Just ask the pro’s. And you know what they say about vegetables? Worthless. =)
What kind of cookies? And how many per hour?
Thanks for the link, even though I don’t agree with Dr. Ferrari, my bad I suppose.
I also found this article very interesting, in more ways than one.
“most(I said most, not all) races in triathlons are won on the run”
I’ve heard this before from experienced triathletes. Can you explain why? I’m a strong runner, new cyclist, new swimmer, doing my first tri tomorrow.
Thanks.
For non-drafting races, triathlons are won by the lowest overall combination of swim, bike, run & transition times. Time spent with all of these matter. If you swim fast enough to maintain near front position, maintain on the bike, then yes, the race is won on the run. Sometimes it’s a toughness factor, who wants it most, as the run is at the end and hurts most.
Well if you have limited training time and your primary goal is cycling performance, then a simple analysis where the primary way to increase performance in a sport is to train that sport, that is definitely one way running is bad for cycling. 
You are not going to see any elite cyclists run during their cycling seasons - barring cyclocrossers. However, as you are posting in a triathlon forum, I assume you want to excel at both sports and must train both sports so why are you worried about this?
The roadies I ride with keep telling me that running is bad for cycling. Is this true and if so, why?
To generalize, if you’re spending a fixed amount of available time/effort/recovery units on something non-specific to cycling, as compared to spending it all on cycling, then more cycling is better for cycling fitness. My unfounded theory is that cycling performance suffers less from run emphasis than run performance from cycling emphasis. I think it’s because I’ve seen so many strong runners perform so well on the bike so quickly, but rarely the other way around.
Many roadies don’t enjoy running. It’s possible that saying “running is bad for cycling” is justification for not doing something they don’t enjoy. I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Just do what you enjoy.
Thanks for the link, even though I don’t agree with Dr. Ferrari, my bad I suppose.
I also found this article very interesting, in more ways than one.
http://www.53x12.com/do/show?page=article&id=54
What did you get from that article, outside of Lance being a freak of sorts?
It seemed to be telling me that I shouldn’t necessarily try to take long deliberate breaths, as hyperventilation may in fact be mroe efficient.
Cycling is bad for running. It’s true.
Obviously running is bad for cycling and cycling is bad for running. Here is how I see it:
Look at great runners: scrawny legs.
Look at great cyclists: monster legs.
Clearly these are opposites and so they must in some way fight each other…
Go ahead and laugh but running is a cachectic sport = lose muscle mass. Try cycling or swimming well with a low muscle mass. Its also why altitude training helps runners yet not cyclists/swimmers.
Dave
Obviously running is bad for cycling and cycling is bad for running. Here is how I see it:
Look at great runners: scrawny legs.
Look at great cyclists: monster legs.
Your above generalizations have quite a few exceptions. Not all cyclists have monster legs. I’m thinking specifically of Steven Rooks and Eric Breukink back in the day, or Bobby Julich, Tyler Hamilton, all the Spanish and Columbian climbers and dare I say it, Richard Virenque. They all had “chicken legs” and managed to win a few races. I certainly never saw any increase in my legs during the years I was putting in a lot of bike miles and not running.
From a running standpoint Rob de Castella comes to mind. He was at least 170 pounds and still a 2:08 marathoner. However, most of the African runners totally fit the skinny leg profile.
I think that running probably helps cycling much more than cycling helps running because of the greater range of motion involved in running. Cycling is such a limited range of motion that it specificially stresses the quads. Running is a better all-around leg workout using quads, hamstrings and calves.
It is easier to run during winters in places with bad weather, so I have often maintained pretty good run mileage over that season with some simply indoor spinning on the bike. Once spring comes and my bike miles pick up, my “don’t think about it, go all day running pace” makes a noticeable plunge. Once I adapt to the extra volume it starts to improve.
Chad