One of the fringe benefits of living car-free is that you end up exercising more, as a matter of course, as you bike to work or sprint to the bus stop as you see the last, late bus coming around the bend. But say you wanted to up your game, burning the most calories possible while getting around. What mode should you choose? Should you bike? Walk? Run?
If the New York Times is to be believed, you probably should just be running everywhere:
According to broad calculations from the American College of Sports Medicine, someone weighing 150 pounds who runs at a brisk seven minutes per mile will incinerate about 1,000 calories per hour. That same person pedaling at a steady 16 to 19 miles per hour will burn about 850 calories. Meanwhile, walking requires far fewer calories, only about 360 per hour at a 4-mile-per-hour pace.
But, as Noah Davis reported a while back for Outside, running everywhere isn’t really feasible:
There are definite advantages, but huge disadvantages, too. Mostly, they involve showing up everywhere dripping with sweat.
Biking will probably get you there faster, too. Also, the New York Times says, it’s better for your knees.
