If you’ve ever run or biked, you’ve felt the effects in the major muscle groups of the legs and hips. Yet you use these muscles differently, as champion cyclist Lance Armstrong found when he ran the New York and Boston marathons. His consummate fitness on the two wheels in the Tour de France translated into a solid finish on the roads of Boston, but still hundreds of runners finished ahead of him. This helps to demonstrate how cyclists, despite tremendous cardiovascular fitness, use their muscles differently from runners.
Considerations
The leg muscles generate power for both bicycling and running, notes exercise sciences professor Thomas R. Baechle in “The Fitness Professional’s Guide to Strength Training Older Adults.” Cycling avoids the jarring impact of landing on the feet, legs and back that you experience when running. Still, both these activities place heavy demands on certain muscle groups.
Bicycling Biomechanics
Riding a bicycle primarily works the upper leg muscles and hips. The power stroke of cycling is produced by a contraction of the quadriceps muscles, which extends the knee, and a contraction of the hamstrings, which extends the hip. The glutes also help in hip extension. The calf muscles extend the ankle, and the shin muscles, or tibialis anterior, flex the ankles. The calf muscles become engaged every time you push the pedals, Baechle notes, while the shin muscles just pull up against the toe clips.
Upper Body Involvement
The muscles of the triceps, shoulders, upper and lower back, chest, forearms and neck extensors support you as you grasp the bicycle handlebars and pedal. The neck muscles especially may be the first to become fatigued on a long ride. Whole-body strength training that addresses the major muscle groups involved, including the neck flexors and extensors, can help you in cycling.
Running Biomechanics
Running primarily works the lower leg muscles, the Merck Manual Home Health Handbook notes, as you must land smoothly on your heels and rise on your toes. The gastrocnemius and soleus muscles of the calf come into play much more for running than cycling. Because the calf muscles are used for every stride, you may conclude that exercises such as calf raises may be important. Baechle advises though that the counterpart shin muscles need to be strengthened as well, with exercises such as weighted toe raises, to keep the lower leg’s strength in balance.
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