Page 3 - Is cycling the most physically demanding sport ?

04-03.-2004, 03:07 AM	#31
Budarz Registered User Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 25	Reading through previous replies on this thread, the thing that strikes me immediately is that the question was not phrased in a specific enough manner. If "physically demanding" is to imply that the participant is undergoing irreversible brain damage and senseless pain, then I'll stand by boxing or some other violent sport as the answer. My guess, however, regarding the intent of the questioner is that "physically demanding" was meant to imply something like energetically taxing. How exhaused does it make you feel, and quite literally, how much power must the human body produce to perform the activity? If this is the question, it's simple to answer... find out in which sport the participant puts out the most power (Watts). I know off the top of my head that rowers and track kiloists put out very similar numbers in terms of Watts produced. A previous post by Psychorower claimed that rowing is much more painful than cycling in his experience. I don't doubt that. I do wonder if he's ever tried the cycling equivalent of child birth - the 1km time trial on the track. Lastly, since the human body can't sustain those high power levels for long, the duration of the activity is important to consider. Is it tougher to ride 5 hours at 250W or 10seconds at 1800W? The energy expenditure in Joules is calculated by taking power x time. Clearly the long ride takes more energy, but since the metablolic sources of energy are different in the two cases, one can easily recover from a relaxed 5 hour ride just by eating, whereas one must replenish not only sugars, but creatine phosphate, adrenaline and recover from nervous system fatigue from a 100% short-term sprint. According to research, this will actually take longer. Much more to be said, but other things to do. CHeers.

24-03.-2004, 03:24 AM

#32

Carrera

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Re: Is cycling the most physically demanding sport ?

Boxing can be pretty demanding. You only have to watch some of the Ali vs Frazier fights to get some idea. I recall the time Smoking Joe failed to get out of his seat for the 15th and Ali collapsed as soon as he heard he had won the bout.

Quote:

Originally posted by limerickman
Have been reading some stuff about rowing (Steve Redgraves
Biography : 1984,1988,1992,1996 and 2000 Olympic Gold Medallist Rower) and about hard he trained to reach the top of his sport.
This got me to thinking : you read of cyclists doing 30k kilometres
of training BEFORE the season commences :
Is cycling the most physically demanding sport there is ?
If you consider some other sport to be more physically demanding, perhaps you could tell us why this is so ?

24-03.-2004, 04:08 AM	#33
shokhead12 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 105	Moto X hands down. __________________ When men were men and sheep were scared

24-03.-2004, 05:59 AM

#34

tomdavis80

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Quote:

Originally posted by shokhead12
Moto X hands down.

I'm sorry, but I don't see how motocross can be as physically demanding as boxing, cycling, or even rowing can be? Sure, it's a tough sport with its own demands on the human body but is it so hard that when you go all out, you are liable to collapse on a couch in a short-term coma? I doubt it, the hard part is controlling the motorbike. If you want to differ and argue about it, be my guest but if you can't make a good argument about why motocross is that demanding, don't tell me or anyone in these cycling forums that it's the most demanding sport.

Thomas Davis

25-03.-2004, 02:23 PM

#35

velomanct

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Quote:

Originally posted by tomdavis80
I'm sorry, but I don't see how motocross can be as physically demanding as boxing, cycling, or even rowing can be? Sure, it's a tough sport with its own demands on the human body but is it so hard that when you go all out, you are liable to collapse on a couch in a short-term coma? I doubt it, the hard part is controlling the motorbike. If you want to differ and argue about it, be my guest but if you can't make a good argument about why motocross is that demanding, don't tell me or anyone in these cycling forums that it's the most demanding sport.

Thomas Davis

i dont think motorcross is the most physically demanding sport, but it is probally up there, above most sports.

what could be more physically demanding than a 5hr hilly road race where you are on the rivet the entire time? (imagine a cat 3 in pro/1/2/3 race, where the guy is just barely strong enough to turn himself inside-out to stay in the pack)
talk about being wasted.

i suppose a new runner running a marathon would hurt a real lot.

i would also nominate the 24 hr mtn bike racers who do it SOLO.
that has got to be insanely hard (assumming you push yourself)

29-03.-2004, 03:36 AM

#36

Michuel

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Quote:

Originally posted by Budarz
I know off the top of my head that rowers and track kiloists put out very similar numbers in terms of Watts produced. A previous post by Psychorower claimed that rowing is much more painful than cycling in his experience. I don't doubt that.

Just got back from finish of Boat Race at boathouse at Chiswick Bridge (about 18mins). Mixed message, in the minor race preceding a number of rowers appeared to collapse in seats at finish, with others just gasping for breath. But in main event Cambridge crew packed with Olympic medallists looked comfortable, smiling. Oxford didn;t look so distressed tho I didn't see them close-up.

29-03.-2004, 07:47 AM	#37
SRA Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Orem, Utah Posts: 26	For long term endurance, I believe it ranks in the top five. __________________ The best things in Life are analog.

29-03.-2004, 12:43 PM	#38
lancesutton Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 1	Speaking of personal experience: 3 years of cross-country, mile and 2 mile in high school. 3 years of rowing in college (Go Vikings!). 15 years of cycling, including some amateur racing. Without a doubt, rowing is the most physically painful thing I have ever done for fun. Which is why I cycle now .

29-03.-2004, 02:09 PM	#39
EoinC Registered User Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Deepest, Darkest West Central Africa Posts: 1,464	I actually found being a professional Gladiator quite demanding. Looking back at it, there was the physical aspect - some of that armour is quite heavy and the new lightweight titanium weaponry had not come in when I was fighting, back in the early days of the Empire - but the real killer was the stress. I mean, a job is a job, but, competing at the professional level, some days I just didn't want to get up and go to work. The crowds were always really nice, and that helps a lot, but, at the end of the season, you're just dead on your feet. You know, some of those lions can run bloody fast and you've no sooner chased one down than another one goes off the front. Back when I was an amateur, we all wanted to go to Europe, but, I'll tell you straight, the European Gladiator scene wasn't all sunshine and lollipops. In fact it was all a bit of a circus. Eoin (I-want-a-freewheel) C

30-03.-2004, 01:48 AM

#40

Carrera

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I can't resist butting in here.

I have a website that includes several features on Roman gladiators with lots of genuine pics (taken from mosaics). It tells you how gladiators actually trained and has been researched over quite a few months.

Here is the link. If you try and retype it, be careful as a zero is used for 0catch.

http://www.romancoins.0catch.com/

Click on "features" and you'll find lots of info on Roman gladiators. Sadly, they had no road-bikes.

Quote:

Originally posted by EoinC
I actually found being a professional Gladiator quite demanding. Looking back at it, there was the physical aspect - some of that armour is quite heavy and the new lightweight titanium weaponry had not come in when I was fighting, back in the early days of the Empire - but the real killer was the stress. I mean, a job is a job, but, competing at the professional level, some days I just didn't want to get up and go to work.
The crowds were always really nice, and that helps a lot, but, at the end of the season, you're just dead on your feet. You know, some of those lions can run bloody fast and you've no sooner chased one down than another one goes off the front.
Back when I was an amateur, we all wanted to go to Europe, but, I'll tell you straight, the European Gladiator scene wasn't all sunshine and lollipops. In fact it was all a bit of a circus.

Eoin (I-want-a-freewheel) C

30-03.-2004, 01:48 AM

#41

Carrera

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Quote:

30-03.-2004, 01:48 AM

#42

Carrera

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Quote:

30-03.-2004, 01:50 AM	#43
Carrera Registered User Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Staffordshire Posts: 4,816	Sorry about the repitition of that last post. I'm finding the intenet is running very slow and the first clicks showed no signs of responding.

31-03.-2004, 08:23 AM	#44
menglish6 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 79	I'd have to say that rowing is definately the most demanding thing i've ever done (Althought I heard someone say high altitude cross country skiing was the most demanding). But, I think that this is due to the fact that I've attained much higher levels of success in it than anything else I've done (someone's previous statements about intensity reminds me of a summer that I trained particularly hard on the indoor rower, towards the end of the summer just the sound of one made me feel like throwing up). The involvement of so many muscle groups makes me at least lean towards rowing or cross country skiing. Of course everyone is going to feel the activity that they reached a high level of success in is the hardest. Not simply out of vanity though. If you have really gotten good at some form of an endurance sport then that is most likely the venue by which you learned to test and push your personal physical limits. What would be most interesting would be to compare the various properties of physical demand vs. time for different sports, maybe calories per minute, or watts per minute or the like. The problem is the nature of the events in terms of the intensity vs. endurance trade off are so varied.

31-03.-2004, 09:17 AM	#45
rcrane Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 1	Re: Is cycling the most physically demanding sport ? Maybe I can offer some insight here. I'm 56. I've been fortunate enough to enjoy a number of sports during my life and have competed at a reasonable level at many. In my teens and early twenties I was a rower and sculler. I've won 2 Henley events, many senior eights events and was British Youth sculling and double sculling champion. My personal and crew successes then (bear in mind we're talking mid-sixties) were due to a very inspired guy called Derek Drury who was way ahead of his time. He employed interval, circuit and endurance training at a time when this was really unheard of in any sport. Even as a school boy from the age of 15 I trained for 10 months of the year for up to 20 hours a week. As a result we won every school event we took part in as 16 and 17 year olds and competed successfully against the top UK senior scullers and crews. After leaving school I competed successfully at senior level for 2 or 3 more years. I have a Concept 2 ergo and still train regularly on this and can break 7 minutes reasonably comfortably for 2000m. Helped undoubtedly by a good base level of fitness and strength I also competed at cross country and athletics as a sprinter and long jumper. My early training became a regimen for life - a sort of mind set. I admit to getting bored and needing to find new challenges every so often and as a result am always prepared to put everything I have into any sport I get bitten by. My wife and friends think I'm obsessive but I just have to strive to do the best I can, but fortunately my wife is pretty obsessive in this direction too. So in my time I've been a golfer - started this at age 8 because I lived next to a golf course. Got down to 1 handicap. Am a competent skier - still compete in occasional amateur downhill events like the Inferno. Have been a first team standard squash player and have played County vets tennis for Sussex. Also had a three year flirtation with windsurfing. Then about four years ago - inspired by Lance - I went back to cycling which was something I hadn't done since I was a kid. I now do around 150 to 250 miles a week, ride events like the Etape and the CTC Challenge rides and compete in TTs. 2 years ago I bought a house in the Pyrenees so that I could ride up and ski down the famous Cols. Despite the fact that I am completely the wrong build for cycling due to all the sports I have done which require upper body mass, my fitness is still improving. Currently my VO2 max is around 52 (which about the average for a Premier Division footballer - what do those guys get paid for!) resting heart rate 42-ish, weight 90kg and best 10m time of 23-59. I managed to finish the Pau-Bayonne Etape last year in about twice the time it took Tyler Hamilton with a broken collarbone and would say categorically, in my humble opinion, that there is no more demanding sporting event than a 3 week tour like the TDF, Giro or Vuelta. Who cares if a third of them need several puffs of Subutamol to get by. It doesn't detract from my admiration one jot. Ah, the ramblings of senile old men! Happy riding! RBC.

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