Eliptical Vs Treadmill
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I prefer the elipctical. It is supposed to mimic the movments made when cross country skiing.
Which is a big sport in norway and I must say I like staying inside watching iron fist while exercising instead of slogging trough snow on skis that have sticky snow on them.
Running is hard on joints etc etc1 -
I despise them both. If I have to pick one for a warm-up to weightlifting, I take the elliptical. (too much potential for abnormally altering my gait to match the fixed speed and irritating my knee on the treadmill).0
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stanmann571 wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »TenaciousGymKitten wrote: »Just prefernce. Elliptical is more a female thing (if I may be so bold). I hate the treadmill for the same reasons the guys above hate the elliptical. LOL
Not sure the evidence supports this position.
I'm a guy and prefer the elliptical because I can get greater intensity with lower stress on my joints.
It may feel like less, less impact yes, but as an unnatural motion it may put more stress on hips and knees and could lead to RSI (repetitive strain injury)
Depends on the machine and stride length.
Life fitness long stride trainer is the same motion as running for me.
It's specifically designed that way.0 -
stanmann571 wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »TenaciousGymKitten wrote: »Just prefernce. Elliptical is more a female thing (if I may be so bold). I hate the treadmill for the same reasons the guys above hate the elliptical. LOL
Not sure the evidence supports this position.
I'm a guy and prefer the elliptical because I can get greater intensity with lower stress on my joints.
It may feel like less, less impact yes, but as an unnatural motion it may put more stress on hips and knees and could lead to RSI (repetitive strain injury)
Depends on the machine and stride length.
Life fitness long stride trainer is the same motion as running for me.
It's specifically designed that way.
It's one of the reasons I have a PF membership... so that in the winter when the trail is iced over I can go run..
I can and have run on a treadmill, but I prefer the lifefitness pro longstride...1 -
Elliptical is a xc skiing motion... as long as you engage in some flexibility work in your workout... stress or repetitive injuries can be avoided... I personally toss a towel over the read out and let my body dictate the pace... Treadmill is a high impact machine... and the heavier you are the higher the impact and the potential for knee, hip etc. Injuries. Treadmill also engages more muscle groups which makes it significantly more demanding... the summary...
If you are now or have trained as a jogger, runner... the treadmill is great... especially if you are already significantly fit... if you are just starting out... have a significant amount of weight to lose... the elliptical will keep you in the game until your joints and soft tissue are capable of the sustained high impact of running... unless you use it for fast walking3 -
I like the elliptical because I seem to work harder and also there is no impact to my knees.1
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They're both mind numbing but I definitely prefer the treadmill over the elliptical.
But I'm like cwolfman13, I run and bike and the treadmill is a better match for those two.
I really do hate the elliptical...
If you are bored, take your phone and earbuds and watch something entertaining. The time flies by when I'm watching video game Let's Plays or listening to creepypastas. (amateur narrated horror stories)0 -
Dreadmills would generally have more space to hang clothes from, therefore probably have some utility. It's a very expensive way to store them though.3
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I started out on the elliptical and then tried couch to 5k on the treadmill for awhile. I wound up having hip and knee pain on my right side after a few weeks so after taking a few days off I switched back to the elliptical primarily for my cardio. I do one with where I can change the incline along with the resistance and I do intervals like that. I think doing the high incline/high resistance has translated pretty well to how I can handle going up hill on hikes. It feels a lot like doing stairs with less impact too.2
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I ellipticated (yes, it's a word) for years until I did C25K last year and started training for a sprint triathlon. That switched me to the treadmill and bike trainer on bad weather days.
I've liked the change, but if I had a running injury of any kind I'd go back to the elliptical in a heartbeat. You can get a fantastic workout if you push yourself. I picked a target cadence (140-150 steps per minute) and picked a playlist to match.
Not all ellipticals are the same. I'm a fan of Precor, which is what my gym has. I also like the Precor Adaptive Motion Trainer (AMT), which I like to call the "moon-walker." Very low impact and a great workout.
On rare occasions, I do the Stairmaster Stepmill. (Should have done it for a week prior to my recent hike-- perfect prep for that.)1 -
stanmann571 wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »TenaciousGymKitten wrote: »Just prefernce. Elliptical is more a female thing (if I may be so bold). I hate the treadmill for the same reasons the guys above hate the elliptical. LOL
Not sure the evidence supports this position.
I'm a guy and prefer the elliptical because I can get greater intensity with lower stress on my joints.
It may feel like less, less impact yes, but as an unnatural motion it may put more stress on hips and knees and could lead to RSI (repetitive strain injury)
Depends on the machine and stride length.
Life fitness long stride trainer is the same motion as running for me.
It's specifically designed that way.
But everyone has different stride length, so may if it works for him would probably be off for 50%+ of the population0 -
I do the elliptical. I also do HIIT training so I save my knees for that instead. Otherwise, I would be jacked up. If you want to increase your intensity (and you are already at a moderate level of fitness) I would recommend a weight vest. I don't cart mine to the gym but if I'm doing a short 15 or 20 minute HIIT or a steady 30 minute cardio, I wear it.1
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I own a treadmill, but I used an elliptical at a gym to rehab a sore knee after extended running on asphalt. Both have their place and can be very helpful if weather is awful and you can't run outdoors (treadmill) or you want low impact to protect/rehab joints (elliptical). Many runners crosstrain using elliptical or rowing machines.1
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stanmann571 wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »TenaciousGymKitten wrote: »Just prefernce. Elliptical is more a female thing (if I may be so bold). I hate the treadmill for the same reasons the guys above hate the elliptical. LOL
Not sure the evidence supports this position.
I'm a guy and prefer the elliptical because I can get greater intensity with lower stress on my joints.
It may feel like less, less impact yes, but as an unnatural motion it may put more stress on hips and knees and could lead to RSI (repetitive strain injury)
Depends on the machine and stride length.
Life fitness long stride trainer is the same motion as running for me.
It's specifically designed that way.
But everyone has different stride length, so may if it works for him would probably be off for 50%+ of the population
It's specifically designed to match a running gait. They use running as the basic biomechanical model. Like any other piece of equipment for the general public, it cannot be designed to custom fit every individual. Like other pieces of Life Fitness equipment, it is designed to fit 85% of the population.
Life Fitness designed an adjustable stride elliptical, but after testing the prototype, they decided not to produce it. One reason was the cost, the other was that they found that most people self-selected the same stride length.
I only mentioned it in the first place because the poster mentioned that he found that the LF cross trainer he used felt like "the same motion as running". I was pointing out, for his or anyone else's interest, that the comfortable feeling was not an accident or a coincidence.
A common mistake people make is to make general statements about elliptical cross trainers as if they are all the same. There is no machine in a gym with more variation in movement design than elliptical cross trainers.
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I use both. I'm doing c25k on the treadmill and if I'm having a low step day, I'll hop on the elliptical to get my steps quickly. I prefer the treadmill though.1
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When I run in the gym I use a treadmill precisely for the impact. I have osteopenia and need to do weight-bearing exercise; pounding away on the treadmill works for me.1
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Both can give you a good workout, and with the right types of machines both are fairly versatile as well.
As for translating to other real world activities such as running and biking, I find that the elliptical translated well on both. Altering ramp angles (and thus stride length) and resistance on our machine works different muscle groups, and using the right settings will work the areas you want improvement in. I do find that on the elliptical that there are a few muscles used in running that the elliptical really won't help on much if at all, but then again you can't really force that "bounce" that you have in a real run.
One advantage I find with machines is the controlled environment and lack of distractions. Anything within the limits of the machine is available all the time, instantly. I've never had a headwind, sudden rainstorm, turning driver that doesn't watch for bikes, or an angry dog when I'm working out on the machine.0 -
stanmann571 wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »TenaciousGymKitten wrote: »Just prefernce. Elliptical is more a female thing (if I may be so bold). I hate the treadmill for the same reasons the guys above hate the elliptical. LOL
Not sure the evidence supports this position.
I'm a guy and prefer the elliptical because I can get greater intensity with lower stress on my joints.
It may feel like less, less impact yes, but as an unnatural motion it may put more stress on hips and knees and could lead to RSI (repetitive strain injury)
Depends on the machine and stride length.
Life fitness long stride trainer is the same motion as running for me.
It's specifically designed that way.
But everyone has different stride length, so may if it works for him would probably be off for 50%+ of the population
It's specifically designed to match a running gait. They use running as the basic biomechanical model. Like any other piece of equipment for the general public, it cannot be designed to custom fit every individual. Like other pieces of Life Fitness equipment, it is designed to fit 85% of the population.
Life Fitness designed an adjustable stride elliptical, but after testing the prototype, they decided not to produce it. One reason was the cost, the other was that they found that most people self-selected the same stride length.
I only mentioned it in the first place because the poster mentioned that he found that the LF cross trainer he used felt like "the same motion as running". I was pointing out, for his or anyone else's interest, that the comfortable feeling was not an accident or a coincidence.
A common mistake people make is to make general statements about elliptical cross trainers as if they are all the same. There is no machine in a gym with more variation in movement design than elliptical cross trainers.
Many ellipticals do not adjust (all 3 at my gym don't) as such those won't be good for nearly 85 % of the population due to large variations in height, leg length etc., fitness level, style of running, not to mention when running at different speeds the stride length of the same person changes, that doesn't happen on many ellipticals and you have to adjust to the machine, not the other way around, and that can lead to injury.0 -
robertw486 wrote: »Both can give you a good workout, and with the right types of machines both are fairly versatile as well.
As for translating to other real world activities such as running and biking, I find that the elliptical translated well on both. Altering ramp angles (and thus stride length) and resistance on our machine works different muscle groups, and using the right settings will work the areas you want improvement in. I do find that on the elliptical that there are a few muscles used in running that the elliptical really won't help on much if at all, but then again you can't really force that "bounce" that you have in a real run.
One advantage I find with machines is the controlled environment and lack of distractions. Anything within the limits of the machine is available all the time, instantly. I've never had a headwind, sudden rainstorm, turning driver that doesn't watch for bikes, or an angry dog when I'm working out on the machine.
You don't get the ankle flexion on an elliptical like you do with walking or running, thus could create imbalances, unless you also run and use the elliptical for cross training, recovery, active rest day.0 -
stanmann571 wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »TenaciousGymKitten wrote: »Just prefernce. Elliptical is more a female thing (if I may be so bold). I hate the treadmill for the same reasons the guys above hate the elliptical. LOL
Not sure the evidence supports this position.
I'm a guy and prefer the elliptical because I can get greater intensity with lower stress on my joints.
It may feel like less, less impact yes, but as an unnatural motion it may put more stress on hips and knees and could lead to RSI (repetitive strain injury)
Depends on the machine and stride length.
Life fitness long stride trainer is the same motion as running for me.
It's specifically designed that way.
But everyone has different stride length, so may if it works for him would probably be off for 50%+ of the population
It's specifically designed to match a running gait. They use running as the basic biomechanical model. Like any other piece of equipment for the general public, it cannot be designed to custom fit every individual. Like other pieces of Life Fitness equipment, it is designed to fit 85% of the population.
Life Fitness designed an adjustable stride elliptical, but after testing the prototype, they decided not to produce it. One reason was the cost, the other was that they found that most people self-selected the same stride length.
I only mentioned it in the first place because the poster mentioned that he found that the LF cross trainer he used felt like "the same motion as running". I was pointing out, for his or anyone else's interest, that the comfortable feeling was not an accident or a coincidence.
A common mistake people make is to make general statements about elliptical cross trainers as if they are all the same. There is no machine in a gym with more variation in movement design than elliptical cross trainers.
Many ellipticals do not adjust (all 3 at my gym don't) as such those won't be good for nearly 85 % of the population due to large variations in height, leg length etc., fitness level, style of running, not to mention when running at different speeds the stride length of the same person changes, that doesn't happen on many ellipticals and you have to adjust to the machine, not the other way around, and that can lead to injury.
A common mistake people make is to make general statements about elliptical cross trainers as if they are all the same.
The other common mistake is when they make general statements about ellipticals with no understanding of how they are designed.1
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