Elliptical or treadmill?

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  • TvShowQueen
    TvShowQueen Posts: 2
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    Cybex Arc trainer!!:wink:

    I use this at my gym among other things - out of curiosity what do we log this as, i cant seem to find it I been logging it as Elliptical Trainer as well..
  • amycal
    amycal Posts: 646 Member
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    http://www.charlespoliquin.com/Blog/tabid/130/EntryId/780/Tip-218-Run-for-the-Best-Testosterone-to-Cortisol-Ratio-Avoid-the-Elliptical-and-Bike.aspx

    I used to do the elliptical a lot and set it on the interval option,. after reading this I go on the treadmill and manuall up the speed to do running intervals of a minute interspersed with fast walking
  • sammys1girly
    sammys1girly Posts: 1,045 Member
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    Cybex Arc trainer!!:wink:

    I use this at my gym among other things - out of curiosity what do we log this as, i cant seem to find it I been logging it as Elliptical Trainer as well..

    I just added it to my exercise log as Arc Trainer and put in close to the number of calories that the machine says I burn. I am sure to put in my weight to make it more correct.
  • Saruman_w
    Saruman_w Posts: 1,531 Member
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    It's mostly just preferences. I did elliptical for a long time, but now I'm starting more running/treadmill stuff. Doing this to switch up my routine just a bit and running helps my legs.
  • misskerouac
    misskerouac Posts: 2,242 Member
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    i THOUGHT i was burning more calories on the elliptical until i got a HRM

    the reader on the elliptical was overestimating my calories burned
    and the reader on the treadmill was underestimating my calories burned

    I do 30 min of elliptical (bad knees so this works better for me) then I jump on the treadmill for 15min to break it up.
  • str0nger
    str0nger Posts: 36 Member
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    I've been working out pretty frequently for the past few months and have finally built up the endurance to run a few miles on the treadmill (I'd always hated running but find myself loving it these days!) I noticed that the elliptical burns more calories though...can this possibly be right?? I definitely feel like I'm working much harder when I run but obviously I'd like to burn as many calories as possible. Any advice on where to focus my workouts?

    I believe in ellipticals more than treadmils just because you have to do the work, not the treadmil.
    I've seen quite often people running on treadmils finding it harder to actually go out and run in the real world.
  • LuciLawless
    LuciLawless Posts: 16 Member
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    Running is actually very bad for you. yes you sweat a lot and it get's your heart racing but it's very bad for you joints, bones and brain. it jolts everything around and hurts you more so the eliptical is better.
  • JethroXP
    JethroXP Posts: 49 Member
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    I lost 75 pounds in six months by exclusively walking on a treadmill. Having said that, I only "discovered" the Elliptical once I had already reached my goal weight and I absolutely love it, I wish I had used it from day one. I likely would have hit my goal weight even sooner because of the exact thing you mentioned, you can burn more calories in less time on an elliptical vs. a treadmill.

    I walked, instead of ran, on the treadmill because of an old knee injury. The elliptical allows me to go so much faster and harder than I can on a treadmill because there is zero impact. Toward the tail-end of my weight loss I was doing 4MPH and 5% incline for 75 minutes on a treadmill, resulting in 5 miles walked and about 730 calories burned. Now on an elliptical I can spend 65 minutes and get about 6.5 miles done and close to 900 calories burned, and I'm done 10 minutes sooner.

    So yeah, I'm a total convert, I can't see getting back on a treadmill again, unless all the ellipticals are broken :-)
  • Roadie2000
    Roadie2000 Posts: 1,801 Member
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    Running is actually very bad for you. yes you sweat a lot and it get's your heart racing but it's very bad for you joints, bones and brain. it jolts everything around and hurts you more so the eliptical is better.

    This is not true. There have been plenty of studies that have been done that have found no link to joint problem later in life associated to running. If anything, the studies found that people that did physical activity seemed to have more joint problems later in life.

    Yes, running with bad form or running too often can be bad for you. The elliptical is lower impact and will have less risk of injury.

    But running is not bad for you, doing nothing is bad for you.
  • havingitall
    havingitall Posts: 3,728 Member
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    My trainer told me you were better walking / running outside than on a treadmill, because you need to propel your body forward when you are walking outside. The treadmill does it for you.

    If you find the elliptical easy, up the resistance and go faster. It does burn more calories than the treadmill.

    But...switch it up. The upright exercise bike is good ( recumbant not as much) rowing gives your arm a workout too and the crosstrainer is always fun too.

    I like to compete with myself on the cardio equipment. I like to set goals to reach certain distance by certain times and to push it harder for 45 second to 1 minute intervals and then back off for a bit....then back at it again.

    The main thing is, you are moving your body
  • Roadie2000
    Roadie2000 Posts: 1,801 Member
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    My trainer told me you were better walking / running outside than on a treadmill, because you need to propel your body forward when you are walking outside. The treadmill does it for you.

    It's not necessarily better, just different. Running on a treadmill is easier, but you can also go faster. If your heart rate is the same, you will burn about the same amount of calories.

    But the difference in terrain in running outside should work your muscles a little bit better (in theory at least). But I can generally run a lot farther on a treadmill, so I don't necessarily think one is better than the other, just different.
  • BuildABetterMe
    BuildABetterMe Posts: 39
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    My trainer told me you were better walking / running outside than on a treadmill, because you need to propel your body forward when you are walking outside. The treadmill does it for you.

    I would challenge your trainer to stand stationary on a treadmill while I up the speed. Shouldn't be a problem since the treadmill propels their body forward, right? :)

    Even on a treadmill, your body has to work to push itself forward at a pace equal to the surface that's moving beneath it. If you don't push forward enough, you get flung off the back. Push too much and you run into the console.

    Just celebrate the win of getting off your butt and getting moving, no matter HOW you do it!
  • Kel3369
    Kel3369 Posts: 83 Member
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    "Dreadmill" lol Good one.. I'll have to remember that one. :)

    I actually love going to the gym and getting on the treadmill at an incline of 8 or higher and that seems to really wear me out.

    There are several different brands of ellipticals at the gym and each one says something different which drives me up the wall. One machine says at 30 minutes you burn over 550 calories and have over 4 miles.. another one at 30 minutes says a mile and a half with 160 calories burned. I have been using the lowest numbers to be safe but I would love to know what is accurate.

    I try to do 30 of elliptical and 30 of treadmill and 30 of walking with weights and 30 of a class each time I go and that seems to be doing well for me so far. :)
  • havingitall
    havingitall Posts: 3,728 Member
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    My trainer told me you were better walking / running outside than on a treadmill, because you need to propel your body forward when you are walking outside. The treadmill does it for you.

    I would challenge your trainer to stand stationary on a treadmill while I up the speed. Shouldn't be a problem since the treadmill propels their body forward, right? :)

    Even on a treadmill, your body has to work to push itself forward at a pace equal to the surface that's moving beneath it. If you don't push forward enough, you get flung off the back. Push too much and you run into the console.

    Just celebrate the win of getting off your butt and getting moving, no matter HOW you do it!

    I would challenge you to stand still outside and see how far you move:smile: I do agree that whatever you do is better than being a couch potato

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