I want to know if a brisk hour long walk is an effective substitute for an active recovery spin of similar or shorter length. My intuition tells me that it should be. But maybe it doesn’t engage all of the cycling muscles well enough? I’m particularly interested to hear what the coaches think!
A hilly route would be a lot better than a flat one I guess?
Hey Roger,
Great question! Walking instead of an active recovery spin can be a great substitute especially if it means you can get out instead of doing a recovery ride on the trainer so psychological benefits are there!
Physiologically speaking, walking does use different muscle groups to cycling so you will still get the benefit of elevating HR and working muscles but depending on how the legs are feeling following a higher intensity workout, a spin down through the legs will do a much better job of flushing out the legs and allowing the body and muscles to recover.
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That sounds like:
Do both 
Which time permitting sounds fab as the sun is out here
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Thanks for your thoughts! That makes sense to me.
I like to walk off-road through bumpy or hilly terrain, which probably does a better job of working more muscle groups. But I also like to go out for an easy spin on my Brompton when the weather is nice, and do both if I have time.
I agree that a proper recovery spin is likely to be more beneficial when your legs are really feeling sore!
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I do a brisk walk with a stop at the café. Can’t do that on a Recovery Spin. Seems to work the muscles that HIIT doesn’t and it gives me the benefit of being outside. I don’t substitute for longer rides though.
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