Best Bang for my Buck: Elliptical or HIIT

I have time to do either and I have a lot weight to lose. Do you feel that an hour on one is better than the other? I know that I am guessing on the calories burned in the classes, but I really don't know how accurate the machine is. I cannot not afford to buy a fancy heart rate monitor, so I would like to know what you all think.

Replies

  • 20 minutes of HIIT is going to far more for fat loss than an hour of elliptical.
  • The key is to get to your target heart rate, whatever that might be. If you can maintain that for an hour then by all means stay on the elliptical. More time spend in the fat loss beats per minute the better results you will see
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
    If you can spare an hour do the elliptical. HIIT is only for 15-20 minutes tops, and although it burns fat and improves cardiovascular health tremendously, I think it is better for people already at or close to goal weight. If you have a lot to lose an hour a day on the elliptical is a great start.
  • bjfrezell
    bjfrezell Posts: 241
    I'm not close to my goal weight but I find that HIIT works just as well for me as eliptical or treadmill intervals. One is just shorter in duration than the other. I use a heart rate monitor for both. My heart rate stays up for a while even after I'm done with HIIT, which is not true when I'm using a machine. I do both but on different days because I get bored easily.