Elliptical Trainer Mile Time?

PatchFan

Hey, everyone. I started my weight-loss journey a few weeks ago, and I'm really happy with the results so far. I find that I'm not starving myself and I've been doing pretty well with my running. To make a long story short, I'm an 18-year-old (almost 19) male, I'm 5'7", I weigh 190lbs, and I have about 40-50lbs to lose. So far, I've lost about 5lbs, and I'm feeling pretty confident about everything.

I have some really bad leg problems and as such, I cannot run outside. Actually, the only way I can possibly run without getting severe pains in my legs is by using an elliptical trainer. I saw a physical therapist twice weekly for a couple months, and he admitted that he had no clue why what he was doing for me wasn't helping. Now, I'm at the point where I need to see a doctor. Now, here's my question:

How does the time it takes to run a mile on an elliptical trainer compare to the time it takes to run a mile outside? When I first began running a few weeks ago, I was able to run my first mile in just over 8 minutes. Now, I can run a mile in about 5:40. I could be wrong, but for someone as out of shape as I am, that doesn't sound quite right. Am I wrong to think that if I were actually running outside, my time would be much slower?

Morgaath

8 minute mile is 7.5mph
5:40 is a bit over 10mph.
And yes, odds are that running outside would slow you down. Does that thing have any resistance settings?

PatchFan

And yes, odds are that running outside would slow you down. Does that thing have any resistance settings?

It allows for resistance, but I don't use any. I'd imagine that running outside would give me slower times, but I guess I'm wondering how MUCH slower it would be.

Morgaath

Only one way to truly find out.
If you want a good comparison hit a local school's track. Nice, flat, and you know exactly how far you have traveled.

PatchFan

I'd like to, but as I've stated, I cannot run outside or on a treadmill for more than a very short distance without suffering intense pain in my legs.

230137isntmyweight

It's sort of comparing apples to oranges. Yes you are training your heart and lungs but not your joints. So even though you can crank out a mile or two on the elliptical it doesn't actually translate to an outdoor time. I tried googling a calculator but the one I used to move got moved to a military only site. The Navy allows it for their fit test for people who are injured so they have a calculator but like I said it's no longer public access.

Morgaath

So then, keep doing what you are doing, and comparing that time with your earlier times.
Or maybe ask a friend to do a comparison of what they can do on the machine vs off the machine. That will at least give you a vague idea of if there is a difference.

mell6355

I can run with a pretty high resistance on the eliptical for over 45 minutes, but I can only run up a short hill outside before panting and slowing down.
I can do a 5K in 35 minutes and I think I would need to run about 3 times as long on the eliptical to get the same physical results.

I am no expert I am just giving you my 2 cents. I am in decent shape but still have about 20 lbs to lose and I have lost 40 pounds in the last 9 months. I just started running so I don't have the best form or the best shoes, I finish right in the middle of all of the races. Running outside in the cold or heat, up or down slight hills, watching for hazards and everything else just makes running outside a completely different exercise. I don't think you can really compare the two. Just log what you do inside on the eliptical and leave it at that. Once you get better and can run outside you will log that as that too. Excersize is excersize and congrats on getting what you can done!

Good luck and keep up the hard work!