What he said…
nm
If you use less muscles paddling…
… than you do cycling - you might want to re-evaluate your stroke!
Cycling = lower body. Kayaking + whole body!!! Torso IS large muscle groups + legs + shoulders/arms (in order of engagement - and what should feel most worked after a good paddle).
Sweat
– Last Updated: Apr-13-05 7:11 PM EST –
The sweat lost from the body might not be equal, even if the calories burned were, is that right? Makes sense. The wind blowing across you on a bike at 20 mph should make you sweat less, even if your effort is the same as paddling.
That is what I do…
…and then the third day I am building a small house.
cheers,
JackL
sorry but cycling uses more muscle mass
The highest VO2 values come from cross country skiing followed by running and cycling. Sports like swimming have lower V02 max values. And yet in swimming you are using both upper body and lower body. Canoeing/kayaking won’t be much different. Yes if you use the correct paddling technique, you will use your legs some, but it is only a small range of motion. The glutes are the largest muscles in the body, and you use them a lot more in cycling than paddling. You may not be rotating in cycling but your midsection is definitely working in trying to stabilize the body. If you haven’t ridden much and go try to ride a lot of hills, you most likely will wind up with a sore lower back.
more
Your caloric expenditure is equal to five Kcals per liter of oxygen consumed. The higher the VO2 (volume of oxygen consumed) required for an exercise, the more calories being burned. Unless you are very highly trained for paddling and completely untrained for cycling, you will more than likely have a higher VO2 max during cycling.
Obviously…
– Last Updated: Apr-13-05 11:33 PM EST –
... you've never seen Barton race!
Even a slug like me, who paddles more than cycles - can burn very similar calories and maintain similar heart rates doing either.
When's the last time you paddled for more than 3 hours at greater than 5mph average speed? If you're going to compare to road cycling - compare at similar output levels over time. If you don't have similar output levels - your opinion is biased by slow short paddles and long hard rides. In that case - your experience only applies to you.
if you knew me
Actually i’ve raced canoes for 5 years. I race against Greg Barton’s brother and sister (Bruce and Connie - not as good as them) on a near weekly basis once the season gets into full swing. So yes I have a good idea what their paddling styles look like. And I raced bikes for 9 years. If you want to compare Lance’s VO2 max on the bike to Greg Barton’s VO2 max in a kayak, I will guarantee that Lance’s VO2 max will be higher than Greg’s. I’m not saying canoeing/kayaking aren’t good aerobic sports (i compete in canoe racing), I’m just being realistic. I have my masters degree in exercise physiology. If you want proof of this get the book Endurance in Sport by IOC. In a study by Neumann (1988), typical values of maximal oxygen uptake in road cycling are 70-75 (60-65 in women. Typical values in canoeing are 60-68 (50-55) in women).
According to fitday.com
1 hour of biking at the speed you mentioned would be 694 calories
1 hour of paddling would be 378 at the speed you mentioned.
You just have to do more paddling, which isn’t so bad.
Lou
caloric burn
You will burn more calories with which ever exercise you maintain a constant training heart rate with longer. Fat burning requires a minimum of at least 45 minutes of continuous training HR. Training HR is roughly defined as 65 to 75% of your max HR. Max HR is calculated by subtracting your age from 220. This is only a rough way to do it without going somewhere that has computer setup for testing.
My experience is
like blackswamp’s–when I run, I cruise at a heart rate of 160 and sprint to 180 or 190. When I paddle, even after 10 years of kayaking, I cruise at 130 and sprint at 150. My resting heart rate is 40.
So, in other words, it’s hard to develop enough aerobic muscle in the kayaking muscles, which are of less volume than a rower’s, bicyclist’s, or XC skier’s muscles, to make use of your maximum cardiovascular output.
But I’m not totally sure that this would remain true at elite levels. Certainly elite kayak sprinters have enormous torso and arm muscles. Heart rate graphs from races show Greg Barton and others in the 160 and over range while racing, similar to the rates for bicyclists, suggesting that they’re burning similar amounts of calories.
Sanjay
It’s going to be OK!
Obviously, some people are having a hard time with the fact that biking is a more aerobic activity. Let’s stay real here folks…you all represent a segement of the American population that are far more healthy and adhere more closely to the Surgeon General’s guidelines for physical activity. I personally think we’re splitting hairs here. Kayaking provides wonderful aerobic benefits just like many other modes of activity. Stick to what works for you and do it often.
Rec paddling
No way are they measuring fast rouring or race pace paddling. Apples and orages. Canned info like that is useless.
Everyone’s different. I’m no kayak racer but I know few who like to tour at my average pace for 3+ hours. In the races I’ve done I burned 900 per hour for over 2 hours. At least 600 per hour normal touring. Maybe a little higher cycling - but certainly not double.
Computer?
Many of us just wear ours!
Caloric Burn
I have read recently that the fat burning heart rate (65% or so of max) is not optimal for burning fat. I understand that if you simply work up to the fastest heart rate you can maintain while still being able to talk in complete sentences, you will burn more calories. The trick is to stay in aerobic mode. Calories in, Calories out. The more you burn, the more fat you lose.
Myth Debunked
I also read that the relatively slow bike ride, called a ‘fat burner’ was a myth. One level of intensity was no better than another for burning fat.
I’m no expert but I’m with you, JackL. An hour and a half hard effort on the bike leaves me about as fatigued as an hour and a half hard paddling. If they ain’t equal, they’re pretty close.
If you are using mostly the
upper body extremities you really need some quality instruction. Power comes fron the torso at least. I confess I do not get that much power fron my legs but I am working on it.
it’s only natural …
that the body is going to burn more calories and have more of an aerobic capacity for things like running compared to paddling. The human body was designed for walking. Unlike most animals out there we spend our days walking around on our legs. So naturally our legs are designed for those kind of efforts. On the other hand we don’t necessarily use our arms for long periods of time each day (unless we are paddling). Cycling is a legs based movement. We’ve been using our legs since we learned to walk as children to get around. The body has learned from an early age to make sure the muscles in our legs are capable of carrying us around for long periods of time.
Depends
on what your heart doctor says
It’s not OK at all!
Splitting hairs is what we do best here on pnet when we’re not out paddling. We will discuss this topic until we have figured out, down to the 100th decimal point, how many MORE calories paddling burns than cycling. If we can’t figure it out, we will discuss it until someone makes fun of us in another post.