To Run or To Bike? ~That is the Question~

My running routine has continued for almost a full year now, where I run at least 2 miles a day in about 20 minutes or so.

Run AND Bike Found this on google images CADS.com

But recently I got a little lazy and started biking on a stationary machine at the club together with reading a book. Now that begs the question “Do I get less out of biking when it seems not as long and tiring when I’m reading a book?” Something more comfortable cannot be as healthy as more tiring running, right?… right?

Burning Calories
When I run outside or when I stare at a magazine on a treadmill, it is so much easier to run when I’m distracted and not looking at the timer counting second by second. But I realized that reading while doing stationary biking is much easier than bobbing up and down running on a treadmill. So I did a little digging around and found this activity calorie calculator based on time duration and weight.

Running AND Biking
It looks like if I run at about a 10 minute a mile pace, I’m burning about 220 calories in 20 minutes. If I’m doing stationary biking at 200 watts for 20 minutes, I burn 230 calories. Hmmmmm. So I guess if I keep my pace on the bike machine and not wander when I read my book then slow down my pace subconsciously, I can actually burn more calories than running. Nice.

So I guess it’s not necessarily a question of running OR biking, but a preference of which one where you can run AND bike. (Of course, I keep seeing comments that biking is better on the knees).