Road Bike Vs Mountain Bike: The Differences In Exercise

Road biking as well as mountain biking is a great way to exercise outdoors. Both types of cycling get your heart rate going and the dopamine makes you feel great afterwards. But diving deeper into the workout you are getting from road cycling and mountain biking; what are the differences in exercise?

Road biking is mainly a cardio (aerobic) exercise and is best for building endurance and lower body muscle strength. Mountain biking is also an anaerobic exercise, and focuses less on endurance but includes the upper body muscles for increasing your overall strength.

Maybe you want to get into cycling to loose weight. Or maybe you want to work on your appearance and build muscle with cycling. In this article, we’ll explain exactly which sport you should go for to get the results you’re after!

Choosing Cycling As A Sport

Cycling as a sport is a great way of working out on your own terms. It doesn’t matter what discipline you choose, it will definitely make you burn calories and improve your overall fitness and health. You can even combine it with everyday activities such as commuting and running errands. It is a great way to explore new places in the fresh air!

But as with every sport, there are also downsides to cycling. A good mountain bike or road bike isn’t cheap and will require maintenance. This also goes for the equipment that you’ll need, such as a helmet, shoes and clothing. Basic technical knowledge is definitely required in case of a breakdown. Then there’s also the risk of getting into an accident whilst being far from home.

The downsides do not outweigh the benefits if you ask me. Being out in the elements and trying out new routes or trails, will definitely motivate you to keep going. Cycling is more than just training your leg muscles. In the next section, we’ll look at what body parts you are using during mountain biking and road cycling. We’ll also take a look at what you are gaining in in the long run.

The Benefits Of Exercising On A Mountain Bike

Mountain biking is mainly an aerobic (cardio) exercise which will increase your endurance. The short power bursts during a ride make it also an anaerobic workout. You use your upper body muscles as well as your lower body muscles. Mountain biking will help you burn fat and strengthen your muscles.

Mountain biking consists of riding over rough terrain with a lot of climbs and descents over a short distance. The body position on a mountain bike is a quite upright position which provides freedom in movement; this is necessary for keeping balance. Therefore it is not only your lower body muscles that the rider uses, but also the upper body muscles.

A mountain biker uses the lower body muscles mainly for pedal strokes during climbing and sprinting; he uses the upper body muscles for stability during descents, braking, jumping and overcoming obstacles. These muscles also play a huge roll in absorbing the shocks from riding over a rough surface. The more extreme variants of mountain biking like enduro and downhill, require more upper body strength than cross-country and trail.

The muscles that a mountain biker uses most, are:

Lower body:

• Quadriceps (front of your thigh)
• Hamstrings (back of the thigh)
• Calf muscles (the back of your lower leg)
• Glutes (back of the hip, also: buttocks)

Upper body:

• Abdominal muscles (core muscles)
• Biceps (front of the upper arm)
• Triceps (back of the upper arm)
• Shoulder, chest and back muscles

(An)aerobic Fitness

Mountain biking is fundamentally an aerobic (cardio) exercise; you are using your body’s large muscle groups in a rhythmic and repetitive way for a longer period of time. It increases your heart rate and your body uses more oxygen.

When riding over a rough surface, you have to put in a lot of short power bursts to move your bike over obstacles. These short peaks are a form of anaerobic fitness. During this, your body does not use oxygen like it does with an aerobic workout. The benefits of aerobic combined with anaerobic fitness, is that it will help you burn calories more easily and it is good for strengthening your muscles and bones.

The Benefits Of Exercising On A Road Bike

Road biking is mainly a cardio (aerobic) exercise. It increases your heart rate which helps you build endurance in the long run. The muscles that are used most are the lower body muscles like the quadriceps, hamstrings and calves. It is a great exercise for burning calories and building leg muscle strength.

Road biking is all about cycling fast and far on a smooth paved surface. A road bike is lightweight, has a fast gearing and the frame’s geometry is designed for an aerodynamic body position. The rider spends most of the time in the same position and therefore mostly uses the lower body muscles. The upper body muscles are mainly used for stability and when the rider is pedaling out of the saddle during a sprint.

A road cyclist uses his leg muscles in a constant and repetitive way. There are peaks in power during sprinting and climbing, but they are less explosive as with mountain biking and for a longer period of time. Road cycling is therefore mainly an aerobic exercise. It builds tremendous leg muscle strength and burns fat and calories.

The lower body muscles that a road cyclist uses, are:

• Quadriceps (front of your thigh)
• Hamstrings (back of the thigh)
• Calf muscles (the back of your lower leg)
• Glutes (back of the hip, also: buttocks)

Cycling For Muscle Building

Cycling is not a good exercise for building muscle mass as it is mainly an aerobic exercise. Therefore it is a great sport for building endurance and muscle strength. Increasing muscle mass is done by anaerobic exercising like weight lifting, which requires big and fast power bursts.

As we’ve seen, mountain biking does have some anaerobic elements which can help you in building muscle mass. Examples of anaerobic exercises during mountain biking are: lifting a wheel over an obstacle, jumping and sprinting. But if you really want to tone your leg, arm or abdominal muscles for example, you should focus on these muscles by training them with weights.

Cycling For Weight Loss

Cycling is a great exercise for losing weight through burning fat and calories. It gets your heart rate up for a longer period of time which makes it a cardio (aerobic) workout. You’ll burn about 600 calories per hour. It will also strengthen mainly your leg muscles and will increase your endurance.

Road Bike Vs Mountain Bike: The Differences In Exercise

The main difference between road biking mountain biking in exercise, are the muscles that you are using and the way that you are using them. Road cycling is done on a paved surface which makes up for smooth and steady pedal strokes. Except from getting out of the saddle during sprints, the body position on a road bike is constant and aerodynamic for an efficient power delivery. Because of this nature, it’s mainly an aerobic (cardio) exercise which focuses on the lower body leg muscles and will increase endurance and leg strength in the long run.

On a mountain bike however, the upper body muscles are much more involved. Mountain biking is done on a rough surface with lots of climbs, descents and (natural) obstacles. This requires freedom in body position for balance. The power delivery is much more explosive than with road biking, which not only makes it an aerobic exercise, but also anaerobic. Therefore it will not only increase your endurance and lower and upper body muscle strength, but it will also increase muscle mass.

Conclusion

Mountain biking as well as road cycling is a great exercise for burning fat and calories and to increase leg muscle strength. If your goal is to gain muscle mass, then cycling is not the right sport for you. You should then focus on specific muscle groups and train them with weights.

Don’t forget that the the sport that you most enjoy, will give you the best workout!

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