5 ms·

Biking, swimming, and rowing are all better on the joints than the impact from running. >P.S. Instead of getting your friends to downvote, how about suggesting

by hueving 10y ago

Biking, swimming, and rowing are all better on the joints than the impact from running. >P.S. Instead of getting your friends to downvote, how about suggesting an actually-healthy alternative? Don't complain about downvotes, it makes for boring conversation.

monkmartinez 10y ago
I had 2 herniated discs (L4-L5, L5-S1) in 2014 due to swinging an axe over my head for an extended period of time on a large structure fire. I say that to say this; running is way better for my back than cycling. My left leg, mostly my foot, still haven't completely recovered from the nerve impingement, but I am running 30 to 40 miles a week with no problems (lots of trail running too, check my Strava :) ) I can't cycle like I used to on any "normal" bicycles. This position, bent at 90 degrees or more, that one is required to sit while cycling is actually pretty terrible for the lower back. Also, being male and being part of a large male dominated industry - firefighting, I see lots of male cancers. That is, testicular and prostate cancers. My department is participating in a massive testicular and prostate study; We are being asked to change our chonies often and wash hands before going to the bathroom as the scrotum is a sponge for anything it touches... smashing that region when cycling for extended periods of time seems like a bad idea (and it hurts).
- discreteevent 10y ago
  Cycling can be bad for your back but it depends upon your position on the bike. I had problems with my lower back but I cycle regularly on a road bike and I haven't had any issues for a long time. One thing is that the lower handlebars on a road bike takes weight off the lower back and onto the shoulders and arms. It also makes you build up your core which is one of the main causes of back pain. Too low or too stretched out is not good. But if your position is right theres no problem.
- VA3FXP 10y ago
  I beg you to consider recumbent bikes. I am an avid cyclist. I ride daily to work. (less so now that the roads are icy) I have had back surgery (L4/L5 is now fused). I went on a bike tour where I rode for 13+hrs a day for a month. At the end of the day the only thing sore was my muscles. I weigh almost 300lbs. A recumbent bike is a complete life changing, world altering, paradigm shifting, bundle of awesome. I beg you to look into it, or send me a PM if you have any questions.
  - throwanem 10y ago
    On topic: What's a recumbent bike like to ride on the street? I live in Baltimore, and while I've ridden a conventional bike successfully in daytime traffic, it's not something with which I can imagine ever being really comfortable. A recumbent bike, having the rider much lower to the ground, seems like it'd be even scarier - how have you found it? Or do you ride on roads where it's not a problem? Platform note: Hacker News doesn't support PMs, so you'll want to include in your profile an email address, or some other means of contact outside HN itself, in order to make out-of-band conversations possible. Welcome! We're glad to have you.
    - VA3FXP 10y ago
      My bike is 'average' height. Lower then some, higher then some. (There is incredible diversity in recumbent designs.) I am "eyeball-level" with most cars/sedans. I am lower then most mini-vans. As a general rule-of-thumb 75% of vehicles give me more room then they do when I ride a traditional bike. I would say that the majority of cars give me "half the lane" (which would mean that they pull over far enough that their right-side tires are in the left-side wheel track). BUT, I still get atleast 1 vehicle a day that drives too close. In some parts of town this is more likely to happen then others, it also depends on road/traffic/other conditions too. When I am areas or during times-of-the-day where it is not as safe for me, I 'Take the Lane' and don't let cars try to drive beside me. In my city I can either take road (12km route) or dedicated bike paths for most of the trip (20km route). I always prefer the bike paths.
sosborn 10y ago
> Biking, swimming, and rowing are all better on the joints than the impact from running. I was a competitive swimmer for a large portion of life. My back hated me for it. Running has been nothing but good to me.
- dmpk2k 10y ago
  Competitive sportsmen of any stripe tend to have various injuries. Unless you're a competitive runner too, the two cannot be compared.
JohnTHaller 10y ago
Rowing should only be done with a very good coach. Source: Girlfriend has two bulging discs in her back due to a bad coach of her freshman year rowing team.
- tempestn 10y ago
  I second this. I rowed semi-competitively for years in my teens and early twenties, and thought I had good form. I didn't learn until after herniating a disc that it's important to do most of the drive through the heels rather than the ball of the foot. Most people learn not to overreach at the catch, which is part of it, but you also have to focus on not just getting the heels down, but actually driving through them. (Much like squats, another thing I didn't learn to do properly (with weight on the heels) until after that injury.) Of course there's a bunch else to it - keeping the back straight and strong, etc. - this was just the thing that happened to be missing from my training, so might be for others as well.
- douche 10y ago
  Doesn't surprise me. I had some friends in college, men and women, that rowed, and universally they were put through hellish, body-destroying workout regimens that the football team would have looked cross-eyed at. It still seems weird to me that rowing is a competitive sport. Rowing is something you do with a six-pack of beer in the cooler and a tacklebox and reel by your side, rather than as an end in itself. But I have decidedly plebeian tastes.
notacoward 10y ago
Good thing that's not all I wrote, then. Kudos for ignoring most of the rest to focus on that. As for the other part of your comment, when I mentioned swimming etc. in the context of overall benefit, not harm to joints. I've yet to see evidence that cycling is easier on the joints, and I've seen plenty that it's slightly below running in terms of aerobic benefit. Sure, an elite cyclist probably has a higher VO2max than I do, but if we compare apples to apples then we'd have to compare to an elite marathon runner and I don't think that comparison would look so good.
- hueving 10y ago
  VO2max has nothing to do with joints. Your post is all over the place.
  - notacoward 10y ago
    No, my post is not all over the place. You're just not very good at reading. Effect on joints was the OP's point 1. Effect on fitness was point 3. Must I address those points in separate replies, even though they were made in one? That's absurd. Also, they're not completely unrelated and I've even drawn the lines between them. Talk of running's negatives should be balanced by consideration of its positives. Even if running is harmful to the joints, and already cited evidence suggests otherwise, that might still be outweighed by the aerobic benefits. More people die of heart attacks than of sore knees. I don't think it's unreasonable to counter unremittingly negative commentary with some mention of positives. Next time, try reading what others write, instead of cherry-picking one piece out of context to address in support of your biases.
    - hueving 10y ago
      >You're just not very good at reading. Now this is what this site is about. Unless you are intentionally trolling, I recommend you remove personal attacks from your discourse if you want to engage in any kind of intelligent conversation.
      - 10y ago
throwanem 10y ago
> Don't complain about downvotes, it makes for boring conversation. And more downvotes.

by hueving 10y ago

monkmartinez 10y ago

I had 2 herniated discs (L4-L5, L5-S1) in 2014 due to swinging an axe over my head for an extended period of time on a large structure fire. I say that to say this; running is way better for my back than cycling. My left leg, mostly my foot, still haven't completely recovered from the nerve impingement, but I am running 30 to 40 miles a week with no problems (lots of trail running too, check my Strava :) ) I can't cycle like I used to on any "normal" bicycles. This position, bent at 90 degrees or more, that one is required to sit while cycling is actually pretty terrible for the lower back. Also, being male and being part of a large male dominated industry - firefighting, I see lots of male cancers. That is, testicular and prostate cancers. My department is participating in a massive testicular and prostate study; We are being asked to change our chonies often and wash hands before going to the bathroom as the scrotum is a sponge for anything it touches... smashing that region when cycling for extended periods of time seems like a bad idea (and it hurts).

discreteevent 10y ago
Cycling can be bad for your back but it depends upon your position on the bike. I had problems with my lower back but I cycle regularly on a road bike and I haven't had any issues for a long time. One thing is that the lower handlebars on a road bike takes weight off the lower back and onto the shoulders and arms. It also makes you build up your core which is one of the main causes of back pain. Too low or too stretched out is not good. But if your position is right theres no problem.
VA3FXP 10y ago
I beg you to consider recumbent bikes. I am an avid cyclist. I ride daily to work. (less so now that the roads are icy) I have had back surgery (L4/L5 is now fused). I went on a bike tour where I rode for 13+hrs a day for a month. At the end of the day the only thing sore was my muscles. I weigh almost 300lbs. A recumbent bike is a complete life changing, world altering, paradigm shifting, bundle of awesome. I beg you to look into it, or send me a PM if you have any questions.
- throwanem 10y ago
  On topic: What's a recumbent bike like to ride on the street? I live in Baltimore, and while I've ridden a conventional bike successfully in daytime traffic, it's not something with which I can imagine ever being really comfortable. A recumbent bike, having the rider much lower to the ground, seems like it'd be even scarier - how have you found it? Or do you ride on roads where it's not a problem? Platform note: Hacker News doesn't support PMs, so you'll want to include in your profile an email address, or some other means of contact outside HN itself, in order to make out-of-band conversations possible. Welcome! We're glad to have you.
  - VA3FXP 10y ago
    My bike is 'average' height. Lower then some, higher then some. (There is incredible diversity in recumbent designs.) I am "eyeball-level" with most cars/sedans. I am lower then most mini-vans. As a general rule-of-thumb 75% of vehicles give me more room then they do when I ride a traditional bike. I would say that the majority of cars give me "half the lane" (which would mean that they pull over far enough that their right-side tires are in the left-side wheel track). BUT, I still get atleast 1 vehicle a day that drives too close. In some parts of town this is more likely to happen then others, it also depends on road/traffic/other conditions too. When I am areas or during times-of-the-day where it is not as safe for me, I 'Take the Lane' and don't let cars try to drive beside me. In my city I can either take road (12km route) or dedicated bike paths for most of the trip (20km route). I always prefer the bike paths.

sosborn 10y ago

> Biking, swimming, and rowing are all better on the joints than the impact from running. I was a competitive swimmer for a large portion of life. My back hated me for it. Running has been nothing but good to me.

dmpk2k 10y ago
Competitive sportsmen of any stripe tend to have various injuries. Unless you're a competitive runner too, the two cannot be compared.

JohnTHaller 10y ago

Rowing should only be done with a very good coach. Source: Girlfriend has two bulging discs in her back due to a bad coach of her freshman year rowing team.

tempestn 10y ago
I second this. I rowed semi-competitively for years in my teens and early twenties, and thought I had good form. I didn't learn until after herniating a disc that it's important to do most of the drive through the heels rather than the ball of the foot. Most people learn not to overreach at the catch, which is part of it, but you also have to focus on not just getting the heels down, but actually driving through them. (Much like squats, another thing I didn't learn to do properly (with weight on the heels) until after that injury.) Of course there's a bunch else to it - keeping the back straight and strong, etc. - this was just the thing that happened to be missing from my training, so might be for others as well.
douche 10y ago
Doesn't surprise me. I had some friends in college, men and women, that rowed, and universally they were put through hellish, body-destroying workout regimens that the football team would have looked cross-eyed at. It still seems weird to me that rowing is a competitive sport. Rowing is something you do with a six-pack of beer in the cooler and a tacklebox and reel by your side, rather than as an end in itself. But I have decidedly plebeian tastes.

notacoward 10y ago

Good thing that's not all I wrote, then. Kudos for ignoring most of the rest to focus on that. As for the other part of your comment, when I mentioned swimming etc. in the context of overall benefit, not harm to joints. I've yet to see evidence that cycling is easier on the joints, and I've seen plenty that it's slightly below running in terms of aerobic benefit. Sure, an elite cyclist probably has a higher VO2max than I do, but if we compare apples to apples then we'd have to compare to an elite marathon runner and I don't think that comparison would look so good.

hueving 10y ago
VO2max has nothing to do with joints. Your post is all over the place.
- notacoward 10y ago
  No, my post is not all over the place. You're just not very good at reading. Effect on joints was the OP's point 1. Effect on fitness was point 3. Must I address those points in separate replies, even though they were made in one? That's absurd. Also, they're not completely unrelated and I've even drawn the lines between them. Talk of running's negatives should be balanced by consideration of its positives. Even if running is harmful to the joints, and already cited evidence suggests otherwise, that might still be outweighed by the aerobic benefits. More people die of heart attacks than of sore knees. I don't think it's unreasonable to counter unremittingly negative commentary with some mention of positives. Next time, try reading what others write, instead of cherry-picking one piece out of context to address in support of your biases.
  - hueving 10y ago
    >You're just not very good at reading. Now this is what this site is about. Unless you are intentionally trolling, I recommend you remove personal attacks from your discourse if you want to engage in any kind of intelligent conversation.
    - 10y ago

throwanem 10y ago

> Don't complain about downvotes, it makes for boring conversation. And more downvotes.