Will general cardio exercise allow you to be able to run distances?

Question

My boyfriend and I are planning on running a 5K in August. I have been training for a couple of months now and am finally able to get to the 3 mile mark somewhat easily. My boyfriend, however, thinks that all he has to do is heavy cardio i.e. biking, stairs, elliptical and by strengthening his cardiovascular system he should be able to run a 5k no problem come August.

I disagree, I've been in decent shape and to me running is a whole different ballgame, not only physically but mentally. Can anybody back me up on this?

Answer 1

I don't know your boyfriends weight and how hard he does the other cardio.......but I'd agree with him.  It is only true with a few runners,  he still needs to do some miles running maybe only 5-10 Mi. a week.  B/c it gets your heart rate up more than anything else will.  I did very little running before my first 5K, but I was in awesome cardiovascular shape.  Played basketball 5-6 days a week (lot of running involved) and then did a lot of what you said he does.  It does carry over big time.......just depends on how much time he puts in on cardio.  Let me know how it goes, I'm curious who will be right?

Answer 2

He may be able to do it, but like you say, if your training for running you become a better runner.He may suffer some injuries due to not training properly.  When you run, you are using certain muscles, a certain way and becomes conditioned to running...so if you just do what he did, your muscles are conditioned doing other things, using some of the muscles that runners use (but not all ), therefore, this is where injuries can occur.   Cardio, stairs, biking,etc., is good as cross training for running.  You would be the better runner because your trained and conditioned to do 5K.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

Your boyfriend may have a point in that cardiovascular conditioning will allow him to run longer than someone without cardiovascular fitness, however, the problem is sport specific muscular conditioning.

His lungs and heart may be able to transport oxygen and blood, but unless he is doing leg work so that he can run, he is going to have fatigued legs even though the rest of his body feels fine.

If he does enough biking, elliptical, and stairs he may well be able to run a 5K as long as he is not racing.

Answer 4

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I agree that the best way to train for running is to run!

Per personal experience, I've found that it is possible to transition easily from biking to running.  A year and half ago, all I could do easily was Spin.  After a few months of that, I finished a 1/2 marathon.

Granted, I know and knew something about running, and could race on memories alone.  But good bicycling, elliptical, stairs, and Spin workouts provide you with all the cardiovascular endurance and most of the muscular development you need to cover a 5k, and easily.

REgards,

Phil

Answer 5

Well there is no straight answer to that one.  The best activity for training for a run is running.  With that being said, certainly biking and other activities will help strengthen his cardio and muscular system.  But I would recommend running a minimum of 3 days per week for him.

If his conditioning is good, he more then likely does not have to run more then 30-minutes 3x per week.  On the other days he can bike, use the elliptical or swim.  What ever he enjoys.  This will get him across the finish no problems.

Running makes use of the Ham String muscles, while biking use the quads.  So you can see right away that there is an issue.  That is not to say he could not finish 5Km with his present cardio regime.  However, recovery may be an issue, as his Hamstring’s will not be used to that type of exercise.

Find a schedule on the net for 5K training, either at http://www.coolrunning.com or http://www.runnersworld.com.  They have plenty of 5K schedules from the couch potato to the already fit.

Harry