Treadmill VS Elliptical

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2

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  • Archerychickge
    Archerychickge Posts: 606 Member
    edited December 2014
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    Capt_Apollo wrote: »
    i find that an elliptical is great if you have joint issues or are recovering from an injury or something like that.

    as far as it being a full body workout, it's not. not any more than running on a treadmill.

    and yes, you can go to Dicks and try one. thats why they're assembled, right?

    I was just thinking it would be more complete since my arms would be moving vs clutching the heart monitor pads on my treadmill in a death grip.... lol

    I am REAALLLLLYYYY self conscious about working out in public... Probly why I hate gyms so much.
  • Archerychickge
    Archerychickge Posts: 606 Member
    edited December 2014
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Archerychickge wrote: »
    AshleyNicoleHorn wrote: »
    I prefer the elliptical myself. I feel it really gets me a good workout and gets my heart rate up there and I normally burn 600-850 calories in a hour on the elliptical, Most I have got on Treadmill is 500 I think but I also don't use a treadmill alot! But I def love the elliptical!

    I typically burn about the same as you on my treadmill. I am impressed that you can burn that much more on the elliptical. I'm just curious if that is normal or just your personal results?

    Be very careful here....

    see my previous post.

    Gotcha...

    Honestly, I really appreciate the input folks! I think I'm going to buy the elliptical and try it. I think I can still get the $ back out of it if I hate it, which I doubt I will. Now to find a place to put it...
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    Archerychickge wrote: »
    Capt_Apollo wrote: »
    i find that an elliptical is great if you have joint issues or are recovering from an injury or something like that.

    as far as it being a full body workout, it's not. not any more than running on a treadmill.

    and yes, you can go to Dicks and try one. thats why they're assembled, right?

    I was just thinking it would be more complete since my arms would be moving vs clutching the heart monitor pads on my treadmill in a death grip.... lol

    I am REAALLLLLYYYY self conscious about working out in public... Probly why I hate gyms so much.


    you should try running without clutching the heartrate monitor pads. buy yourself a heartrate monitor.
  • Archerychickge
    Archerychickge Posts: 606 Member
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    I don't really clutch them... I'm trying to get my kids to get me a Fitbit for Christmas... if they do I'll definitely be using it.
  • Adc7225
    Adc7225 Posts: 1,318 Member
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    I love the elliptical, I personally don't care for the results I get from running on the treadmill (I just don't care for the runners body on me). Plus, I can walk anywhere but I cannot get the same workout per say as on the elliptical. If you are comfortable on the treadmill and seeing results I would not chance changing without really knowing what you are getting into.
    The elliptical can give you some challenges to your workout that you may not get from the treadmill, I have used it a great deal with the forward and backward options (backwards is supposed to help your lover abdomen - not sure but I can see parts I wasn't sure I would every see again :D ) I still use it several times a week doing a few HIIT workouts - but I am not a huge fan of the treadmill, basically because I hate running.
  • sheepotato
    sheepotato Posts: 600 Member
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    Archerychickge wrote: »
    I don't really clutch them... I'm trying to get my kids to get me a Fitbit for Christmas... if they do I'll definitely be using it.

    You may want to go for a Polarft4 instead, it's half as much and better suited to what you want to do with it.
  • 20yearsyounger
    20yearsyounger Posts: 1,643 Member
    edited December 2014
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    I really don't use the arm piece on the elliptical at all. I either hold it or go no hands (for the abs). Even without the upper body portion I still get a better burn than walking on a treadmill. Your friend is giving you a good deal. Even if you don't like it, you can still sell it to someone else (especially with New Years around the corner)
  • Archerychickge
    Archerychickge Posts: 606 Member
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    sheepotato wrote: »
    Archerychickge wrote: »
    I don't really clutch them... I'm trying to get my kids to get me a Fitbit for Christmas... if they do I'll definitely be using it.

    You may want to go for a Polarft4 instead, it's half as much and better suited to what you want to do with it.

    I don't want some big clunky looking watch thing on my arm. I like the fitbit because I can clip it to my bra strap. Plus with my Dick's employee discount I've getting a better price than retail. Plus I have a $10 off coupon to burn.
  • Archerychickge
    Archerychickge Posts: 606 Member
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    I was thinking the same thing.
  • Archerychickge
    Archerychickge Posts: 606 Member
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    20yearsyounger wrote: »
    Your friend is giving you a good deal. Even if you don't like it, you can still sell it to someone else (especially with New Years around the corner)

    I was thinking the same thing....
  • CodeMonkey78
    CodeMonkey78 Posts: 320 Member
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    $75? Buy it and do both. They are both great workouts. A couple of notes though:

    - On Calorie burn: you Caloric burn is dependent on the effort you put in. If you do sprints on a treadmill, you'll burn more than easy-going on an elliptical. Conversely, if you go at a hard effort on the elliptical but only walk on a treadmill, you'll burn more on the elliptical. It is all based on effort.
    - Calories burned on the treadmill is also dependent on incline. The higher the incline, the more effort you have to use, and the more Calories you burn.
    - I also have arthritis (Psoriatic, Osteo, DDD, and AS) AND am a long distance runner. The elliptical is easier on your joints than running is. But, the elliptical helped me strengthen my legs, hips, glutes, and all muscles around my knees to enable me to run again.
    - Doing the same exercise every day isn't really advisable. You need to mix it up a bit.

    That's why I say do both.. By doing elliptical training and walking on the treadmill, you may *try* jogging some time later and learn to love running.

    HTH and good luck :smile:.
  • Archerychickge
    Archerychickge Posts: 606 Member
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    Hahahaha... learn to love running. That's funny. I'd rather not have two black eyes if you know what I mean. It's no SECRET that VICTORIA has nothing for me.... LOL B)

    Thanks for the info though. I'm pretty much convinced that I need to jump on the deal on the elliptical. I'm pretty sure I can get my $ back out of it.
  • CodeMonkey78
    CodeMonkey78 Posts: 320 Member
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    Archerychickge wrote: »
    Hahahaha... learn to love running. That's funny. I'd rather not have two black eyes if you know what I mean. It's no SECRET that VICTORIA has nothing for me.... LOL B)

    Thanks for the info though. I'm pretty much convinced that I need to jump on the deal on the elliptical. I'm pretty sure I can get my $ back out of it.

    I'm sure you can get your money back out of it if you don't like it.. But after you get used to the motion and the workout, I don't think you'll want to get rid of it :wink: .

    You may surprise yourself if you tried running -- it is quite therapeutic. But, sprints and speed work are AWESOME Calorie burns.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    Archerychickge wrote: »
    Hahahaha... learn to love running. That's funny. I'd rather not have two black eyes if you know what I mean. It's no SECRET that VICTORIA has nothing for me.... LOL B)

    Thanks for the info though. I'm pretty much convinced that I need to jump on the deal on the elliptical. I'm pretty sure I can get my $ back out of it.


    i know more than a few large breasted woman that run. get proper fitting bras.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    An elliptical will not burn any more calories than a treadmill. Calorie burn is based on intensity, not activity. If you can burn X amount of calories on an elliptical, you can burn the same amount on a treadmill. If not, you're doing one of them wrong.

    There are other reasons why one might prefer one over the other, but calorie burn should not be the main reason for the decision.
  • blossomingbutterfly
    blossomingbutterfly Posts: 743 Member
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    I personally have an elliptical at home and I wouldn't trade it for the world. It's wonderful, great burn, easy on the knees, works up a sweat, and it's a more full body workout. At least, this is my personal preference.
  • lyttlewon
    lyttlewon Posts: 1,118 Member
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    Why are you clutching the treadmill? When I run I pump my arms. I own a treadmill because I need it functionally as a runner when I can't be outside. The one time I used an elliptical my gait was weird and I hated the feeling. If I had a choice for a second piece of equipment I'd get a stationary bike!

    P.S. I can't shop at Victoria's Secret and I have no black eyes. ;)
  • sistrsprkl
    sistrsprkl Posts: 1,013 Member
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    I've done a lot of time on both and feel like I can get a much better work out on a treadmill. I do incline and speed work. Elipticals get very boring very fast.
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    edited December 2014
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    I prefer the treadmill. Running is more "real" to me than ellipticals. Also, I don't buy it that you would burn more calories on the elliptical than the treadmill or get a better full body workout in any way.
  • PieSaver
    PieSaver Posts: 19
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    You definitely don't need both. The only benefit to owning both is to keep yourself from getting bored on one or the other.

    There is no advantage to one or the other as far as fat burn. It's about how much effort you put in, not which machine you put the effort into.

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