Which is better for elderly fitness, running or cycling?

In fact, for the elderly fitness crowd, there is no absolute good or bad distinction between these two sports. The best choice is the one that adapts to their physical conditions, exercise habits and scenarios.

There are two completely opposite examples around me. The 71-year-old Uncle Li in the community has been jogging for 12 years, running 4 kilometers around the plastic track by the river every day. His physical examination bone density is better than that of many middle-aged people in their 40s and 50s. Last year, he participated in the local mini horse for the elderly and won an award.； Uncle Zhao, a 63-year-old man from the same unit, had been following the trend for three months. The pain on the inside of his knee was so bad that he couldn't even buy groceries. He went to the hospital to find out that the meniscus was worn. He switched to a home spinning bike and rode it for more than half a year. Now he rides it five times a week for 40 minutes. Not only does his knee no longer hurt, but his previously high triglycerides have returned to normal.

From a sports physiology perspective, the pressure on the joints of the lower limbs when running is about 3 to 4 times the body weight, while when riding, the force is exerted in a sitting position, and the pressure on the joints is only about 1/7 of the body weight. This is also the core reason why many people assume that cycling is more suitable for the elderly, but this conclusion is not absolutely true. Many elderly people think that cycling is good for their joints, so they choose it with their eyes closed. In fact, outdoor cycling has a much higher risk of falling than running when encountering uneven roads and emergency maneuvers. Last year, I saw an elderly person fall and fracture his body when riding a shared bicycle and fell on a pebble. If the grip posture is wrong and the seat height is not adjusted appropriately, it is easy to suffer from wrist pain and lateral knee pain, which is not worth the gain.

And running is not like what is said on the Internet, "you can't touch your knees if you hurt your knees." You only need to choose professional running shoes with enough cushioning, run on a flat plastic track or asphalt road, slow down your strides, and place your feet directly below the body. The impact on the joints is actually completely within the tolerance of most healthy elderly people. You can also be exposed to outdoor sunlight, which is more conducive to the synthesis of vitamin D than cycling indoors. It also has additional benefits in preventing osteoporosis. Many elderly runners who have persisted for many years have better joint health than those who have been sedentary for a long time.

If you are really confused about which one to choose, you might as well try each one two or three times first: If you are of normal weight, have no old knee or ankle injuries, like to go out, and want to join in the fun with an old friend, you can start with the intermittent exercise of "walk for two minutes and run for one minute" and slowly adapt to running.； If you are overweight, have suffered from synovitis or meniscus injury in your knees before, or if you don’t like to go out and like to move while watching TV, then cycling is definitely a safer choice.

I have come across many elderly people who always focus on "which one burns fat faster and which one is more effective" when choosing exercise. In fact, for us elderly people to exercise, the first priority is not to get injured and to be able to persist. Even if you ride a bike for 20 minutes a day, or combine running and walking for half an hour, if you can persist for a year, the effect will be much better than lying down for three months after an injury due to random training.