from stationary to elliptical

JVClubs

riding the stationary bike for 24 miles every gym visit (6 times a week) in august only trimmed me down about 12 lbs (i was hoping to go down 15+).

as of sept 1st. im at 365 at 6'5' (my ideal weight is 275, maybe even 260)

the elliptical is tricky, im having a hard time balancing on it to be honest, but i notice i am more worn out using it then even the bike, infact ten mins on the elliptical was hell compared to riding 5 miles on the bike (which takes me about 15 mins) x__X

for now im on the elliptical for 30 minutes and the bike 35 minutes, i lift as well. (ill be bumping up the elliptical time a minute every visit)

I'm wondering do you guys think ill burn weight faster on the elliptical, maybe theres a better machine?
my legs look pretty good, its the rest of my body that needs a ton of improvement.

any suggestions are good.

FYI: i try to eat around 1700-1800 calories a day, and i work a desk job, so not alot of movement for me outside the gym im afraid =/

kgeyser

You'll burn weight by being in a calorie deficit.

The reason the elliptical is tougher is because you are using more of your body. On the bike, you are sitting and pedaling. On the elliptical, you are moving your legs, but you are also engaging your core to keep your balance and incorporating pushing/pulling arm movements which work your chest and back. It will get easier in time.

Between the two machines, you work more of your body on the elliptical. But weight loss does come down to a calorie deficit, so whichever machine allows you burn more calories will be the most helpful in reaching that goal.

lemonlionheart

Do the machines have a heart rate sensor? I find that it's easier to get a higher heart rate on the elliptical. If you're just interested in burning calories, use whatever gets your heart rate up and that you can sustain for a period of time. I actually figured out a crafty way to get a more accurate calorie burn without buying an activity tracker - I used the shapesense calculator to figure out roughly how many calories I burn at my height/weight at 130bpm, 140bpm etc and entered that number as custom exercise on MFP. More accurate than just adding 'elliptical trainer' and 'stationary bike' on MFP, which is notorious for overestimating exercise calories. Plus this way motivates me to work harder

If you are looking to strengthen parts of your body, heavy weightlifting is the way to go!

liznotyet

Any exercise that you practice regularly, your body will adapt to and get more efficient at it. The more efficient you are the less calories you burn. If you get too relaxed on the elliptical you might want to add a third or fourth cardio option. Low impact aerobics can be just as challenging as the elliptical and don't always require a dancer's coordination. Leslie Sansone's walking DVDs may be a good choice if you don't want to Zumba. Keep up the great work!

JVClubs

dancing to zumba looks fun but my coordination kinda sucks, i was hoping to go down to atleast 325 before i had switch up, ugh....but ill try to stay positive