how often do you switch cardio equipment?

missikay1970

at our gym, we have bikes, elliptical machines, stair masters and treadmills. a trainer told me when i first started there that i need to switch from one to the other, every few weeks or so. so far, i've done about 3 weeks on each, then start again going back to the beginning. (ex: bike 3 weeks, treadmill 3 weeks, etc.) just curious about what others do in that area. thanks!

taso42

as often or un-often as you like.

Marig0ld

I do ten minute increments on each machine (treadmill, elliptical, and bike). Less burnout that way.

CakeFit21

I buy new running shoes every 350 miles, give or take 25.

killagb

I do ten minute increments on each machine (treadmill, elliptical, and bike). Less burnout that way.

Doing it that way would decrease your overall intensity though? In otherwords, you do 10 minutes on one machine...by the time you get started on another your heart rate has gone down quite a bit, rather than a constant higher heart rate. Don't get me wrong, it's still good exercise but I would find it more beneficial to switch machines over different days rather than within the same workout. Just my opinion though.

ak_in_ak

i have though about this but I dislike everything but the treadmill and I can only do the stairmaster for 10 minutes

Marig0ld

I do ten minute increments on each machine (treadmill, elliptical, and bike). Less burnout that way.

Doing it that way would decrease your overall intensity though? In otherwords, you do 10 minutes on one machine...by the time you get started on another your heart rate has gone down quite a bit, rather than a constant higher heart rate. Don't get me wrong, it's still good exercise but I would find it more beneficial to switch machines over different days rather than within the same workout. Just my opinion though.

I get what you're saying. But for me, if I get bored I would most likely stop going to the gym altogether (although I'm slowing learning to embrace the gym rat lifestyle).

missikay1970

I do ten minute increments on each machine (treadmill, elliptical, and bike). Less burnout that way.

Doing it that way would decrease your overall intensity though? In otherwords, you do 10 minutes on one machine...by the time you get started on another your heart rate has gone down quite a bit, rather than a constant higher heart rate. Don't get me wrong, it's still good exercise but I would find it more beneficial to switch machines over different days rather than within the same workout. Just my opinion though.

yes, this is what the trainer told me, too. best to stay with one per session, to keep h.rate up.

missikay1970

I do ten minute increments on each machine (treadmill, elliptical, and bike). Less burnout that way.

Doing it that way would decrease your overall intensity though? In otherwords, you do 10 minutes on one machine...by the time you get started on another your heart rate has gone down quite a bit, rather than a constant higher heart rate. Don't get me wrong, it's still good exercise but I would find it more beneficial to switch machines over different days rather than within the same workout. Just my opinion though.

I get what you're saying. But for me, if I get bored I would most likely stop going to the gym altogether (although I'm slowing learning to embrace the gym rat lifestyle).

so funny - i just thought to myself today, "i'm becoming the gym rat i never liked." LOL

killagb

I do ten minute increments on each machine (treadmill, elliptical, and bike). Less burnout that way.

Doing it that way would decrease your overall intensity though? In otherwords, you do 10 minutes on one machine...by the time you get started on another your heart rate has gone down quite a bit, rather than a constant higher heart rate. Don't get me wrong, it's still good exercise but I would find it more beneficial to switch machines over different days rather than within the same workout. Just my opinion though.

I get what you're saying. But for me, if I get bored I would most likely stop going to the gym altogether (although I'm slowing learning to embrace the gym rat lifestyle).

I hear you, sometimes we have to do whatever to keep up the motivation. I personally just do running....and have been slacking off a little this week since I had family visiting. Back on it tonight! :drinker:

ansonrinesmith

I use the treadmill 3 times a week, on the off days I hit weights and either an elliptical or bike. Cross-training FTW

IronmanPanda

I find swimming, cycling and running is enough for me. Between swimming 5x a week, running 6x a week and cycling 3-4x a week, I really don't have time to fit any other cardio in.

Tree72

I generally switch things up on different days, and so seldom use the same cardio equipment more than twice a week. On Mondays and Wednesdays I work with a trainer which is either weights or some type of plyometrics or circuit training. Tuesdays I usually do the elliptical, Thursdays the treadmill. Then on Fridays I'll either do both the stairmaster and rowing machines (I still have a hard time doing more than 20 minutes on either of those, so I often do both the same day.) or I'll do another day of elliptical. Oh, and sometimes I'll do the recumbent bike, but I really don't like it. :grumble:

And on weeks where I use the same equipment more than once, I'll generally do a slightly different workout each time. So if I do intervals of running on the treadmill one day and want to do the treadmill again that week, I'll do something like a steady walk with a high incline. Variety is good. :happy:

killagb

I find swimming, cycling and running is enough for me. Between swimming 5x a week, running 6x a week and cycling 3-4x a week, I really don't have time to fit any other cardio in.

Try not to slack off so much. :laugh: For real, you're a machine. :drinker:

MacMadame

You don't HAVE to switch. And, if you do switch, depending on how hard you are working out and what the machine is, you may not even be getting any benefit from it.

The reason people tell you to switch it up is that if you use the same machine all the time you are working the same muscles in the same way. Eventually your body gets really good at doing whatever it is you are doing and so it doesn't take as much energy to do it and you plateau in your fitness. If you want to get better at that machine or you want to burn as many calories as you can, you have two choices:

1) Do the machine for the same amount of time but up your intensity
2) Do the machine for longer at the same intensity

Obviously, you can also do both. (But doing both risks burn out and injury so be careful if you do that.)

If you change machines, you may be working a different set of muscles or the same muscles in the different way. In this case, you may be working harder than you were on the old machine. But you might not. It depends on how out-of-shape those muscles are and how hard that particular machine works you. For example, walking for 10 min on a treadmill should burn more calories than "walking" at that same intensity on an elliptical because an elliptical is lower-impact. Also the elliptical and the treadmill use very similar muscles in a very similar way. So switching between them doesn't really do that much.

Bikes, OTOH, use similar muscles to the treadmill and elliptical (all 3 use the legs) but use an overlapping set so they are going to work some that those other machines don't (but also not work some those other machines do). They also use some of them differently. This is why Lance Armstrong came in over 300th in a marathon during a time he was winning the Tour de France -- he had bike-specific fitness and the cardio translated over but he didn't have run specific fitness necessary to win a marathon. But biking is low impact. So, again, you may burn more calories by switching to the stationary bike, but you might not.

For me, I used to burn the most swimming until I improved my stroke. Now I burn the most running. No matter how hard I work on the bike, it's hard for me to burn as much per hour as I do while running. But I'm not doing those things just to burn calories. I have fitness goals that dictate when I do each thing and for how many times a week.

The only reasons to switch machines from time to time are:
-To keep from getting bored
-To improve overall fitness by working different muscle groups

But this idea that you need to "shock" your muscles or "confuse" them by changing exercises every X weeks is another myth just like the Fat Burning Zone myth. There is nothing magic about switching machines that automatically makes you burn more calories.

missikay1970

You don't HAVE to switch. And, if you do switch, depending on how hard you are working out and what the machine is, you may not even be getting any benefit from it.

The reason people tell you to switch it up is that if you use the same machine all the time you are working the same muscles in the same way. Eventually your body gets really good at doing whatever it is you are doing and so it doesn't take as much energy to do it and you plateau in your fitness. If you want to get better at that machine or you want to burn as many calories as you can, you have two choices:

1) Do the machine for the same amount of time but up your intensity
2) Do the machine for longer at the same intensity

Obviously, you can also do both. (But doing both risks burn out and injury so be careful if you do that.)

If you change machines, you may be working a different set of muscles or the same muscles in the different way. In this case, you may be working harder than you were on the old machine. But you might not. It depends on how out-of-shape those muscles are and how hard that particular machine works you. For example, walking for 10 min on a treadmill should burn more calories than "walking" at that same intensity on an elliptical because an elliptical is lower-impact. Also the elliptical and the treadmill use very similar muscles in a very similar way. So switching between them doesn't really do that much.

Bikes, OTOH, use similar muscles to the treadmill and elliptical (all 3 use the legs) but use an overlapping set so they are going to work some that those other machines don't (but also not work some those other machines do). They also use some of them differently. This is why Lance Armstrong came in over 300th in a marathon during a time he was winning the Tour de France -- he had bike-specific fitness and the cardio translated over but he didn't have run specific fitness necessary to win a marathon. But biking is low impact. So, again, you may burn more calories by switching to the stationary bike, but you might not.

For me, I used to burn the most swimming until I improved my stroke. Now I burn the most running. No matter how hard I work on the bike, it's hard for me to burn as much per hour as I do while running. But I'm not doing those things just to burn calories. I have fitness goals that dictate when I do each thing and for how many times a week.

The only reasons to switch machines from time to time are:
-To keep from getting bored
-To improve overall fitness by working different muscle groups

But this idea that you need to "shock" your muscles or "confuse" them by changing exercises every X weeks is another myth just like the Fat Burning Zone myth. There is nothing magic about switching machines that automatically makes you burn more calories.

WOW thank you for being so thorough. i really appreciate the input.