Stationary bike or treadmill

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Prady2012
Prady2012 Posts: 41 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I can bike on 12th gear at 60 to 80 speed and walk at 3 -3.5 mph on 6 to 12 elevations on treadmill

What is more efficient in terms of losing weight?
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Replies

  • Ed_Zilla
    Ed_Zilla Posts: 207 Member
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    I agree with @dewd2 but to answer your question another way, I suppose you could use a heart rate monitor to help see which workout burns the most cardio-calories.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    Generally speaking walking, especially at steeper inclines, will burn more calories per mile walked than cycling will but over a given amount of time you can cycle farther than you can walk (I'm not sure what the speed you mention actually refers to....RPM?)

    As the others have said the first thing is to sort out your diet (ther's an old saying that abs are made in the kitchen) and then pick which you are more likely to enjoy doing on a consistent basis over time.

    Something to consider, if you have one close by, is a membership at a gym like Planet Fitness. At $10 a month you'd have access to commercial quality machines which are quite expensive. Many of the lower cost treadmills & bikes are not great quality and don't tend to stand the test of time very well.
  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,445 Member
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    Ed_Zilla wrote: »
    I agree with @dewd2 but to answer your question another way, I suppose you could use a heart rate monitor to help see which workout burns the most cardio-calories.

    FWIW - I don't suggest using a HRM for anything other than training (and I don't even recommend that anymore). Heart rate has little to do with calorie burn. There are too many variables that can influence HR outside of exercise.
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
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    dewd2 wrote: »
    These myths just keep on giving this time of year...
    In addition, if we want to talk about people who are essentially elite athletes, I could list loads of elite cyclists and swimmers who eat 5000+ calories a day.
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
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    Walking on the treadmill and recumbent stationary bike are two of the biggest wastes of my time as far as burning calories go. Regular sit up bikes do better, running on the treadmill is better again, running incline sprints is even better.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
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    Dilvish wrote: »
    if your goal is truly weight loss then incorporate a healthy diet and add weight/resistance training. Muscle burns more calories so the more you have the more you burn,

    Look at Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Yes, he is massive and he eats 5000 calories a day because his muscles burn through those calories very quickly. Check out his "cheat" day, which he does once per week... https://youtube.com/watch?v=65iZ21omFEI

    Not only is this wrong, but imagine if it was right. Imagine having to eat 5,000 calories everyday. That's a lot of time and money.
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,232 Member
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    The one you enjoy doing is the one you’re likely to continue to do-which means that’s the one that will burn the most calories.

    The things you enjoy doing may not even be one of the two options you’ve listed.
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,232 Member
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    lyndajbowyer wrote: »
    Dietary control is key before you do anything in the gym. It also depends on what you want to do in the gym? For instance, a good 4mph 60 minute power walk session on an inclined treadmill set to around 75% to 80% of the maximum incline will give you around a 650-700kcal burn. This is the same as a 1hr spin class session. Alternatively if running is your thing, then a 10k 1hr run using HIIT will likely burn a similar amount. It all depends on where you are with your fitness and your ability to work at an efficient caloric burn level throughout the regime. First things first, sort the diet and then find something you enjoy - for the lifestyle changes to be sustainable you ought to be doing something that you actually like doing. Good luck!

    Doing something you enjoy is important and calories in vs out controls weight loss. Very true.

    Just want to mention those calorie burns are about double what I would burn for those activities (I would burn 650 running a 10k-probably 1/2 that if I did it as intervals). I don’t want OP to assume that her burns will be that high or that she did something wrong if they aren’t.

  • lyndajbowyer
    lyndajbowyer Posts: 22 Member
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    @Duck_Puddle of course all caloric burns are subjective in terms of your starting weight/versus height and BMR, but the figures given are a ballpark (they're what I burn, depending on whether I go all-out [the upper range] or take it a bit easier).

    If anything, those needing specific advice would be best placed to enrol and work with a PT who can see to their needs 1-to-1 and drive them to working out with efficacy and also having balanced nutrition along the way.
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
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    lyndajbowyer wrote: »
    Dietary control is key before you do anything in the gym. It also depends on what you want to do in the gym? For instance, a good 4mph 60 minute power walk session on an inclined treadmill set to around 75% to 80% of the maximum incline will give you around a 650-700kcal burn. This is the same as a 1hr spin class session. Alternatively if running is your thing, then a 10k 1hr run using HIIT will likely burn a similar amount. It all depends on where you are with your fitness and your ability to work at an efficient caloric burn level throughout the regime. First things first, sort the diet and then find something you enjoy - for the lifestyle changes to be sustainable you ought to be doing something that you actually like doing. Good luck!

    Assuming one is physiologically capable of working out (whatever that might mean for them), why do you think that going to the gym has to happen after "sorting the diet"?
  • lyndajbowyer
    lyndajbowyer Posts: 22 Member
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    Because, @aokoye it matters not what you do in the gym - if your diet is not on point then whatever you do for a workout isn't gonna have much impact if there's no nutritional framework. Healthy weightloss is optimal when the focus is around 80% dietary, and 20% exercise. Not my thoughts - those of my PT who has, so far, gotten me to lose 70lbs in six months - and still losing.
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
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    lyndajbowyer wrote: »
    Because, @aokoye it matters not what you do in the gym - if your diet is not on point then whatever you do for a workout isn't gonna have much impact if there's no nutritional framework. Healthy weightloss is optimal when the focus is around 80% dietary, and 20% exercise. Not my thoughts - those of my PT who has, so far, gotten me to lose 70lbs in six months - and still losing.

    So you're saying that doing activities that are cardiovascularly intensive will have little to no physiological impact if someone isn't eating xyz nutrients? That makes no sense. If you had said, "you won't lose much weight if your diet isn't in order" then that'd be one thing, but that's not what you've said. Weight loss and fitness are two different things. Weight loss is about calories in:calories out. Fitness is about exercising in various ways in order to improve or maintain various abilities.

    I'm sure your personal trainer (I'm assuming that's what you mean by PT) wouldn't be terribly pleased with my cookie habit (typically one chocolate chip cookie and one canelé most week days). That said it fits into my calories and I'm still losing weight and getting stronger (both in terms of muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness).

    Never mind that your rate of weight loss (almost 3 pounds a week) isn't actually safe for a lot of people.
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,232 Member
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    lyndajbowyer wrote: »
    @Duck_Puddle of course all caloric burns are subjective in terms of your starting weight/versus height and BMR, but the figures given are a ballpark (they're what I burn, depending on whether I go all-out [the upper range] or take it a bit easier).

    If anything, those needing specific advice would be best placed to enrol and work with a PT who can see to their needs 1-to-1 and drive them to working out with efficacy and also having balanced nutrition along the way.

    Idk. I have a coach because I have very specific fitness goals and he helps me achieve them. Not everyone has those financial resources and thankfully, it’s not really necessary (I lost 75 pounds and trained for many races successfully before I started working wirh my coach).

    Weight loss is about calories eaten vs calories burned. One needs to know how many calories they are eating and how many they are burning. Part of that comes from having reasonable estimates for how many calories are burned during a workout.

    You phrased your response with “will give you around 650-700 burn”. While that may be true for YOU, it’s exceedingly high for many others. I was only pointing out that the numbers you gave are not numbers that everyone can (or should) expect.







  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
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    lyndajbowyer wrote: »
    Because, @aokoye it matters not what you do in the gym - if your diet is not on point then whatever you do for a workout isn't gonna have much impact if there's no nutritional framework. Healthy weightloss is optimal when the focus is around 80% dietary, and 20% exercise. Not my thoughts - those of my PT who has, so far, gotten me to lose 70lbs in six months - and still losing.

    I spent the last week eating things like pizza and candy. And cross country skiing a lot. I've been struggling with anxiety for a little while, and the combination of exercise and time outdoors helped a great deal with my anxiety, a lot more than the pills the doctor gives me. Exercise is great for your health no matter how you eat, those are separate things.

    It's like saying you shouldn't attend to your diet until you get a fuel efficient car and solar panels.
  • amorfati601070
    amorfati601070 Posts: 2,873 Member
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    If you can measure your cycling in watts thats the best way to know how much energy your using. Both can be as intense as you want it to be.

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