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bike riding.
hey, i had surgery on my knee & it didn't work out, so i need to really strengthen my knee. i have been running, but it gets so boring, and i really do hate it so i want to ride my bike. also, losing a few pounds would be nice too. here's my questions
1: how long/how many miles should i bike to get a good workout?
2: does riding your bike help to lose fat on your arms & stomach? since it's cardio, it should help your whole body, right?
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Well one thing I am a little unclear on from what you wrote, is how bad your knee actually is. You appear to be able to run, which is relatively hard on the knee, so I assume its in decent shape at least.
1 One of the advantages with biking is that it places less stress on the knee joint. I would start with half an hour to one hour at a pace that you can handle steadily and fairly comfortably. Cant say for sure how long that is, but I would guess about 5- 8 miles.
2 All weight loss is general. Weight loss in specific areas of the body is a complete and utter myth. Cardio is one of the most effective things you can do for weight loss since it burns a lot of calories. Eventually the fat will come off your arms and stomach, thats the best any human can do. Other types of exercise (e.g. area specific things) are primarily done to build muscle.
Good luck with your knee.
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Ride about 2 to 4 miles or for about an hour at a time to start with, and see how tired you are afterwards. Note that you should stop if you're too tired even if you haven't finished the distance or time that you originally planned.
If you can ride your bike as a method of transportation rather than riding around just for the sake of it, it will be a better workout because you can't slack off because you have to get to your destination.
(For example, riding to school, although if you live in the Northern Hemisphere then you probably still have a at least a month of holidays.)
If you decide to do this, make sure you know the way to your destination and that there is somewhere you can leave the bike when you get there, and don't forget the lock and chain.
Cycling will definitely help you lose fat, but there's no way of telling where you'll start losing the fat first without trying, because this varies from person to person. Your legs will definitely become more toned though. It actually uses quite a lot of strength from your arms when you steer too.
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