Hello,

I love riding my recumbent and do it as often as I can these days, mostly by commuting to work several days out of the work week. I also tend to use a car for other errands quite often. The net effect is that I'm not walking very much, or as much as I should.

Basically what I'm noticing is that I need to integrate more walking into my daily routine specifically because the laid back position of the recumbent doesn't provide a "load bearing" workout, whereas walking does. In that sense, an upright bike would probably be closer form of exercise to walking. Anyway, even though I seem to have decent muscle tone in the middle of riding season, I worry that I may be losing some bone density by not walking very much. Also how strongly the muscle is attached to the bone is probably also affected, IE what can cause conditions similar to shin splints, I suppose stress fractures could be another risk down the road, that is related.

I noticed this particularly after going on a short (1hour) but rather steep hike one day recently. I experienced a certain type of pain in the quads that I hadn't before. Anyway, I was just curious to know if other people notice this effect on the body and if people have realized a particular need to emphasize a regular walking routine to balance out the lack of load bearing exercise that extensive recumbent riding can lead to.

I think walking and hiking are some of the best forms of exercise, whereas running can be too high impact for many people. Anyway, I'm just interested to hear some thoughts on this topic from people with some experience of it. Any suggestions on how many miles a week might be a good target, or strategies to integrate walking into a daily routine?

thanks!

I take it that the rest of your dayly acitivities does not involve walking??

Running is a very healthy weight-bearing exercise if you wear shock-absorbing running shoes and replace them with new ones every 200 miles. When running, your heel absorbs twice your weight when you land on it. When you replace your running shoes, you can use your old ones for hiking/walking/working until the soles come off.

Some medical literature suggests that large amounts of cycling does decrease bone density. However, the literature suggests this is due to calcium loss, perhaps resulting from lots of sweating, rather than lack of load-bearing.

See related thread here (http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-275957.html).

I have arthritis in my feet and it hurts for me to walk any distance and running is out of the question, but I can cycle forever. I can also, oddly enough, in-line skate. Have you considered that?

Weight training was one activity listed in the article about bone density loss due to exclusively cycling for exercise.

I think all exercise will help with each other. I can tell you first hand as an avid backpacker, rock climber, kayaker, and cyclist they all help each other out. Leg strength, endurance, and your cardiovascular as well as circulatory systems will be greatly improved when combined.

Cycling, even of the upright variety, is not weight bearing. I walk about 2 miles per day at work, sometimes more. That's not a lot, but it adds up. This time of year, I also lift weights.

Don't limit your physical workout to one routine. I practice a martial art that involves a lot of leg workout including lunges and leg impacts (no, it's not karate or tae kwon do) and I find that my cycling and the martial art are mutually beneficial.

Is it savate?