Treadmill or Elliptical, which benefits best to the body?

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  • arussell134
    arussell134 Posts: 463 Member
    Well, as a runner - I do love my treadmill! However, when I was sidelined last year with a knee injury, my P/T told me that the elliptical would do very well to help keep up my endurance, without the impact. So I did find myself some days opting for the elliptical. I will say, with any cardio machine, you get what you put into it. Putting the treadmill at 0.0 incline and a speed of 2.0 is probably not going to give you a great cardio burn. You can also make the elliptical an easy walk in the park or an intense workout.
  • coalz
    coalz Posts: 308 Member
    Running in general is really hard on the body. Elliptical will eliminate the shock impact factor on your bones& joints & encourages upper body work out. I try to walk outside a lot but will also walk on treadmills. Had a trainer once tell me the best machine is actually the stairmaster. I normally force myself to do at least 5 minutes on the death machine lol!
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    coalz wrote: »
    Running in general is really hard on the body.

    Not really any harder on the body than anything else, if one is doing it properly. It's easy to run badly though, hence people injuring themselves through too much, too soon, or not complimenting running with something else like cycling or strength training.

    Material point is, don't just do one thing...
  • texasf1ght
    texasf1ght Posts: 70 Member
    Don't forget that you can do more than just running on a treadmill. You can walk on a steep incline, side shuffle, etc.
  • JackieMonstra
    JackieMonstra Posts: 11 Member
    Yes, I always make it fun and try to kill calories lol
  • JackieMonstra
    JackieMonstra Posts: 11 Member
    Thank you, this was very helpful to me. I Will change my cardio up and do more training. I'll take advantage and run across the street to the park and run some laps.
  • magnusblikstad
    magnusblikstad Posts: 3 Member
    Elliptical if something is aching. Otherwise treadmill and only if outside is out of the question. Cardio is cardio unless you're looking for some specific training. Example would be training for a Spartan. Then you'd need the treadmill up high on a slope if you have no hills near you.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    the one that will benefit the body the best is...

    the one you enjoy doing and will use consistently

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