Which Is Better Exercise: Walking or Biking?

All forms of exercise reap health benefits for the body. The best exercises are the ones you enjoy doing and therefore will do more often.

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends getting 150 to 300 minutes a week of moderately intense cardio exercise. That means biking or walking at least 30 minutes a day or so.

Both biking and walking have tremendous benefits. Choose the activity that you enjoy the most and that is the best exercise for you. Please consult your doctor before beginning any diet or fitness program.

Walking vs. Cycling

There are several differences between biking and walking. They use different muscles, and some people may be more comfortable doing one exercise over the other. If you’re overweight, biking may suit you at first until you lose enough weight to walk comfortably and longer distances.

Whichever form of exercise you choose, practice safety. Wear a helmet when biking, and don’t listen to your music too loudly when walking or biking outdoors. You should be able to hear oncoming traffic and other hazards.

Weight-Bearing vs. Non-Weight-Bearing Exercise

Walking is a weight-bearing exercise; biking is not. This means that when biking, the bicycle is the machine moving and doing some of the work for you. When you walk, your body is the only thing working. Generally, weight-bearing exercises burn more calories per session than non-weight-bearing activities.

That said, you can burn more calories by increasing the intensity of your non-weight-bearing workout. For example, according to Harvard Health Publishing, a 155-pound person who walks at 3.5 miles per hour (mph) will burn 133 calories in 30 minutes. Compare that with a person of the same weight, who can burn 288 calories by biking at a brisker pace of 12 mph for the same amount of time.

Walking is also a great option for those looking to burn calories or lose weight, according to Mayo Clinic. You can throw in some high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts to increase your calorie-burning potential. However, keep in mind that weight-bearing exercise puts more stress on your joints. If you are looking for a lower-impact form of exercise due to knee, hip, or other joint problems, biking may be the better form of exercise for you.

Increase the Intensity

Your preferences when it comes to the intensity level of your workout may also determine if biking or walking is the better exercise for you. When you are exercising outside, you have more intensity options when biking than when walking.

For instance, a leisurely 30-minute bike ride burns 288 calories. By increasing your average speed from 12 mph to 16 mph, you can instead burn 432 calories, according to Harvard Health Publishing.

Because you can only marginally increase speed when you are walking, you typically increase the intensity by adding hills or other terrain challenges. However, the calorie burn is nearly the same whether you are walking 4 mph (175 calories) or hiking cross-country (216 calories).

Indoors or Out

Another factor when deciding which is a better form of exercise is whether you are biking or walking indoors or outdoors. In general, exercise equipment helps you burn more calories indoors if you are walking versus biking.

Walkers who use a treadmill can usually increase the speed and the incline of the machine. By raising the incline of a treadmill to 12 percent and setting the pace at 3 mph, you can burn twice the calories in half an hour as before, according to Cleveland Clinic.

When stationary biking, you tend to burn significantly fewer calories. As an example, increasing your stationary bike workout from moderate to vigorous only burns an additional 26 calories, according to Harvard Health Publishing.