broke bike = no fun or excersize!

grommet

i never used to be to botherd about the fitness side of mtbing but lately i have been realising that its making me a lot fitter and muscular than my friends that dont ride, so now my bike has broke i havnt been excersizing atall! so are there any other subsitutes for excerse apart from running as that normaly hurts a fair bit and with me being 16 people frown up on me when i drive to the gym....

dunker

i do pushups, crunches and squats on days that i can't ride.

i do as many pushups as i can, 5 second rest then i do 5 more, repeat a few times.
about 5 minutes of crunches. borring but keeps the beer belly away.
lastly about 30-50 squats without any weights.

Iain W

To maintain what you get from cycling you need to do sustained aerobic exercise. Running is the next best thing I'm afraid. Or go to the gym and do plenty of cardiovascular stuff: treadmills, exercise bikes, cross-trainers. Add in some resistance work on weights, plus a few sit-ups/crunches and your should be fine. Best of all is join aerobics classes. Yes you will most likely be in the minority as a bloke, and yes, chances are you will look like a total tw@ the first few times (it's a fact that guys have lousy co-ordination at this type of thing), but you get a fantastic workout whilst being surrounded by loads of lithe and toned sweaty women in Lycra. 8)

ride_whenever

The best complimentary exercise for cycling is running because it uses different muscle groups so you stay more symmetrical, and it can help ward off ilolobal(SP) band syndrome however if you cannot stand it swimming is good for general fitness. But if you want to be silly you can do what i do which is rowing. Almost all the same muscles so you'll probably do quite well at it, and you get many more sweaty women, most of whom don't mind stripping off afterwards!