Elliptical training?

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elis_mama
elis_mama Posts: 308 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So, I'm mostly a treadmill and stationary bike girl. SOME workout videos. But, I'm really thinking of getting an elliptical to kinda shake up my workouts. Do you think it would be worth it? And, if you use one do you like it. I'm assuming that the calorie burn would be more than a treadmill 30 minute workout. Correct?

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  • divinemissm
    divinemissm Posts: 1 Member
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    I love the elliptical. It burns roughly twice the calories in the same amount of time as the treadmill, and it's lower impact, too. I definitely recommend it!
  • LisaH1231
    LisaH1231 Posts: 18 Member
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    I work out on the elipitical about 4 days a week. It works for me because I do not like treadmills (I am afraid of them actually) and unless you are at full run you will not burn as much on a treadmill.
  • elis_mama
    elis_mama Posts: 308 Member
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    I work out on the elipitical about 4 days a week. It works for me because I do not like treadmills (I am afraid of them actually) and unless you are at full run you will not burn as much on a treadmill.

    LOL! And, lemme tell ya....I am NOT ready to do a full run on a treadmill!!
  • swilk627
    swilk627 Posts: 245 Member
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    I actually burn more calories on the treadmill (I do intervals). I have an elliptical and use it. It's good for basic, easy cardio.
  • Kanzaki3
    Kanzaki3 Posts: 656 Member
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    I like using the elliptical more than the treadmill. It's easier on the knees and the chances of tripping is greatly reduced.
  • 65jmh
    65jmh Posts: 9
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    Just got an elliptical and I love it. It is nice and smooth and easy on the joints and I find that I can work up a sweat and not have any of the aches and pains on my hips, knees, or ankles like I did when I used a treadmill.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    i burn way more calories on the treadmill than i do the elliptical. i find the elliptical to be very easy and the only way to make it harder is to increase the resistance. that would be fine BUT i also lift heavy weights and too much resistance on elliptical screws up my recovery.
  • anfmusicgrl
    anfmusicgrl Posts: 63 Member
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    I love the elliptical..but, I love the arc trainer even more. It's very similar when looking at it, but to me I feel like I exert more energy, but somehow the motion of it is more natural.

    It's really easy to mix up the workout on it. The incline has a large range, so it works different parts, and it MAJORLY works my butt if I have the incline set high. Also, the resistance has a large range.

    I still get more ankle soreness and pains from the elliptical than I do the arc trainer. It's always good to work on different machines though. Variety is nice, works muscles differently, etc. I burn more on the arc trainer, but I still do the treadmill because with it I can use my core for balance, and also keep my bones strong since I am actually bearing my weight on it.


    And, about your concerns with weight training.. (everyone will have different ideas about this and techniques) this is how I handle it, and it works really well for me: If I'm doing weight training for my lower body, I keep the resistance lower so it does not compromise my recovery or performance for my weight training. Those days I focus more on switching up the incline for my intervals. If I'm doing an upper body day, I use the resistance on the machine with incline to switch up my intervals.
  • laurajplus4
    laurajplus4 Posts: 25 Member
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    I have both, and enjoy them both. I use the elliptical when I feel like I need a break (though it's not truly a break ;). I use the treadmill for running so my burn is pretty much the same. If you have the space, And you don't think it will get unused, I say go for it.

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