Best cardio on elliptical or treadmill?

jswigart

I exercise 2 times daily for 30 minutes each. In the morning I use an elliptical, in evening use treadmill.
Most sources will tell you that the treadmill is a little better.
When I use the machines, I am able to raise my heart rate higher on the elliptical than on the treadmill. Isn't that contradictory to the norm?
I'm using the same hr monitor on both.
I can't run on treadmill due to bad arthritis in knees.

hunterharrison31

Truly the best cardio is anytime your feet are hitting the ground. The elliptical is good for burning calories. Honestly, running or walking is best for over all cardio. 20-60minutes is heart healthy. 60-90 minutes of cardio is where you get into the fat loss stage. But walking a mile versus running a mile for an hour burns the same amount of calories. So even if you can't run, walking is burning just as much calories. Hope this gives you a little bit of insight

brianpperkins

douglash31 wrote: »

Truly the best cardio is anytime your feet are hitting the ground. The elliptical is good for burning calories. Honestly, running or walking is best for over all cardio. 20-60minutes is heart healthy. 60-90 minutes of cardio is where you get into the fat loss stage. But walking a mile versus running a mile for an hour burns the same amount of calories. So even if you can't run, walking is burning just as much calories. Hope this gives you a little bit of insight

Walking does not burn as many calories as running per unit of distance or period of time.

Cherimoose

jswigart wrote: »

When I use the machines, I am able to raise my heart rate higher on the elliptical than on the treadmill. Isn't that contradictory to the norm?

It depends how ones uses the machines.. sort of like a car and fuel consumption. If you want a higher HR on the treadmill, try a higher incline or/and walk faster.

brianpperkins

jswigart wrote: »

I exercise 2 times daily for 30 minutes each. In the morning I use an elliptical, in evening use treadmill.
Most sources will tell you that the treadmill is a little better.
When I use the machines, I am able to raise my heart rate higher on the elliptical than on the treadmill. Isn't that contradictory to the norm?
I'm using the same hr monitor on both.
I can't run on treadmill due to bad arthritis in knees.

Better for what?

Heart rate as a measuring tool between different activities is a nearly meaningless metric. HR in a vacuum is meaningless as well. It is a lagging indicator that changes in response to the body's need for blood to working muscles ... it is not the driving factor.

Caloric burn is dependent on the physical work done and varies from activity to activity. The biomechanics of running produce roughly twice the net caloric burn per mile as those of walking ... both on flat terrain. With walking and running there are fairly straight forward calculations based on the averages. Ellipticals get tricky ... each make and model generates a different amount of resistance. Figuring out what you're truly burning on them requires some trial and error on the calorie out side of equations.

louubelle16

They both have pros and cons, most of which have already been mentioned above so I won't go into it. Personally, I think that whatever works for you is the best. If there were one magic fix, the other things wouldn't exist and everyone would do the same thing, right?

For me, I prefer running than the eliptical, but when I'm injured or trying to increase cardio without increasing the pressure running puts on my injury-prone muscles, swapping a run for an eliptical session is great.

So, if your way is working and you feel great afterwards, stick with it!

sijomial

Due to your arthritis would assume the one that causes the least pain would be the best - maybe if you could run you would hit the same HR? Maybe if you increased the incline on the treadmill you would hit the same numbers?

Not sure why it matters or is it just curiosity?

jswigart

Thanks for all the input.