Elliptical vs. Running?

clairenicole84
clairenicole84 Posts: 19 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Does anyone know which exercise burns more calories? Elliptical or running? The elliptical machine says I burn more doing 30 minutes of that as opposed to 30 minutes on the treadmill. Is this accurate?

Replies

  • Samstan101
    Samstan101 Posts: 699 Member
    Its difficult to say as it would depend on exertion levels. 30mins on the elliptical today I burned 319cals (from my HRM) with an av heart rate of 131. 30mins on the treadmill doing an interval session last week I burned 385cals but with an av heart rate of 146. Do what you enjoy most or fits your training plan.
  • ks4e
    ks4e Posts: 374 Member
    Machines usually overestimate. Invest in a HRM.
  • Eric_DeCastro
    Eric_DeCastro Posts: 767 Member
    Machines usually overestimate. Invest in a HRM.

    i agree

    and I guess it's how hard you worked out. I used elliptical machines, I even own one. but I have never used it. I love running outside. =) that's just me though.
  • parkscs
    parkscs Posts: 1,639 Member
    I find I can keep my heart rate elevated more easily and for longer on an elliptical than on a treadmill, as I tend to get shin splints before terribly long on a treadmill (neither fun nor productive, as I can't keep my HR elevated when my legs are cramping up). If you don't have that problem though, I'd go with whichever you prefer.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    Does anyone know which exercise burns more calories? Elliptical or running? The elliptical machine says I burn more doing 30 minutes of that as opposed to 30 minutes on the treadmill. Is this accurate?

    If you're exercising purely to burn calories then the elliptical is probably the more appropriate for you as it's not load bearing and it activates the arms as well as the legs. Calorie expenditure is largely down to the volume of muscle mass that you're moving, so the elliptical works more of them. The non load bearing element also helps as you're unlikely to end up with an overtraining injury as a result of running too frequently.

    Might just bore you mindless though :)
  • clairenicole84
    clairenicole84 Posts: 19 Member
    Thanks for all of your input. It really helps. :)
  • Phildog47
    Phildog47 Posts: 255 Member
    Nothing wrong with doing a little bit of running and the elliptical. Change it up
  • cananties
    cananties Posts: 11
    I usually do elliptical for 20 minutes and then treadmill for the same amount of time.
    I know friend that did only elliptical and lost a lot of weight.
    I feel more tired after running tho than after elliptical training.
    Do both, and see how u feel. Both will bring good effects on your body
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    stop chasing calories and do the activity that you enjoy most
  • wolfsbayne
    wolfsbayne Posts: 3,116 Member
    Nothing wrong with doing a little bit of running and the elliptical. Change it up

    this is what I do. I hate the elliptical, but I can keep my heart rate up on it. I want to be a runner, though, so I run a little too.
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    Not scientific but I "feel" like running outside burns more than the elliptical or treadmill. I get hills and move my arms and enjoy the scenery. Next purchase for me is going to be a heart rate monitor. I just need to decide which one.
  • mhotch
    mhotch Posts: 901 Member
    I do both. According to my HRM, I burn more running on the treadmill. My highest burn is running outside, {if the snow ever melts!!}

    But I like to do both to keep boredom at bay.
  • cazattack2
    cazattack2 Posts: 37 Member
    For me, when doing HIIT on elliptical or running (I use my hrm to do 1min at max in range hr then walk or use the elliptical slowly for two min. ) I will usually burn more calories running, but it's probably because I'm an inexperienced runner.
  • Rocbola
    Rocbola Posts: 1,998 Member
    Not scientific but I "feel" like running outside burns more than the elliptical or treadmill. I get hills and move my arms and enjoy the scenery. Next purchase for me is going to be a heart rate monitor. I just need to decide which one.
    I agree. I really feel like i am doing more outside, than on the treadmill, and more on the treadmill than on the eliptical, but that's just how it feels to me. I imagine with an eliptical, you are actually doing more, but feels like less because you can get your arms involved, and not use the same muscles groups every minute.
  • nyla2120
    nyla2120 Posts: 370 Member
    I find I can keep my heart rate elevated more easily and for longer on an elliptical than on a treadmill, as I tend to get shin splints before terribly long on a treadmill (neither fun nor productive, as I can't keep my HR elevated when my legs are cramping up). If you don't have that problem though, I'd go with whichever you prefer.

    I have the same exact issue. So I personally prefer the Crossramp because I can keep up the intensity. But like he says if you don't have any issues with the intensity, then do whichever you like best.
  • ATT949
    ATT949 Posts: 1,245 Member
    Does anyone know which exercise burns more calories? Elliptical or running? The elliptical machine says I burn more doing 30 minutes of that as opposed to 30 minutes on the treadmill. Is this accurate?

    You can burn lots of calories either way but running will burn more because running requires that you jump from one foot to the other whereas the ellip supports your weight.

    When I was losing weight, I used the elliptical for the first seven months and the elliptical said I was burning up to about 450 calories. Based on everything I've read and about 18 months of using very accurate heart rate monitors and data analysis software I would guess that the values coming out of the elliptical were off by about 25% for me.

    Bottom line-you can care up a lot of calories on both of them but running can burn them up faster.

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