Why is my stamina so good on elliptical but not treadmill?

sarah5893
sarah5893 Posts: 106 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
For some reason I can go for an hour on the elliptical, working between levels 9 - 11 burning around 550 calories yet for some reason the treadmill really tires me out.

My fitness has improved so much over the last six months yet on the treadmill i'll be tired after 15 minutes.

Also, I timed myself and it takes me 6.30 to run/jog a Km which i'm lead to believe is quite slow :(

Yet I would consider my level of fitness to be above a lot of people my age. (That being said, a lot of people my age don't work out full stop)

But yes, anyone know why I find the elliptical easier?

Replies

  • crazybookworm
    crazybookworm Posts: 779 Member
    The Elliptical is known to be low impact. It gets your heart rate up but is not hard on your muscle or joints. You are doing more of a stride motion. While on the Treadmill there are more muscles working(core, quads, glutes, calves, legs, etc)

    That's just my opinion :)
  • mynamesjaime
    mynamesjaime Posts: 2
    The thing with the ellipticals is once you start going on it, its momentum will keep moving even if you stop, so in a way it kind of helps you to run. A treadmill on the other hand is only you moving, without any momentum that keeps your feet moving, so its much more intensive. Ellipticals are still good exercise though. It doesn't compare to actual running though,
  • janellereese
    janellereese Posts: 10 Member
    My guess is that you're using different muscles. I'm just the opposite. I can run for 4+ hours, but 30 minutes on the bike or elliptical is TOUGH for me. It may be a little bit mental, too. You just haven't conditioned yourself physically or mentally for that specific exercise.
  • Catlady87
    Catlady87 Posts: 302 Member
    Ellipticals use different muscles to the treadmill and is lower impact. It also relies more on momentum than a treadmill.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    Probably something to do with impact. I'm the same. I can go faster and longer on the elliptical, but I also have much more stamina running and walking outside than on a treadmill.

    I hate the treadmill.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    However, the first time I got on an elliptical, I couldn't last five minutes!
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
    I've wondered about this in the past, too.

    My theory is that this has to do in part with the elliptical being a self-paced exercise. You control the speed of the elliptical (same as with stationary bikes), whereas the treadmill dictates how fast you have to move. You have no choice but to keep up with it, whereas on an elliptical, you slow down when you're tired (unless you are watching your pace very closely, which I suspect many people do not).
  • Jers43
    Jers43 Posts: 100
    The elliptical is great for pure cardio. A warm up to higher impact exercise or a great way to recover from harder work. Keeps the heart in it when the body is not willing. One reason so many prefer it is because it is easier.
  • sarah5893
    sarah5893 Posts: 106 Member
    If the elliptical is lower impact and thus easier, how does it burn so many calories? For me it's calories equal too if not more than the treadmill
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    If the elliptical is lower impact and thus easier, how does it burn so many calories? For me it's calories equal too if not more than the treadmill
    Low impact doesn't mean less of a workout. Swimming is no-impact, but you can burn serious calories.

    You're essentially running on the elliptical.
  • Mrsallypants
    Mrsallypants Posts: 887 Member
    Different type of stimulation that you're not adapted to, some forms of cardio do not cross over well to to other forms.

    That is why it's good to change up the type of cardio you do to prevent adaption.
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
    If the elliptical is lower impact and thus easier, how does it burn so many calories? For me it's calories equal too if not more than the treadmill

    Well, I looked into it just now. There aren't very many good studies that I could find. One looked at differences in cardiovascular fitness between groups assigned to ellipticals, treadmills, and stair climbers. All groups improved after 12 weeks but were not different from each other; however, the groups were sufficiently small (7 people in each) that one shouldn't read too much into the lack of significance.

    I did find something more relevant, though--and it shouldn't come as a surprise. A 2006 study looked at the actual energy expenditures vs. manufacturer's estimates (the number you see on the machine at the gym). And basically, you cannot trust the number--people vary far too much, even when you control for body size.

    http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02701367.2006.10599385#.Ub4Y7us1Eb8

    "We measured the effects of stride rate, resistance, and combined arm-leg use on energy expenditure during elliptical trainer exercise and assessed the accuracy of the manufacturer's energy expenditure calculations. Twenty-six men and women (M age = 29 years, SD = 8; M body weight = 73.0 kg, SD = 15.2) participated. Twenty-two participants performed two tests, one without the arm poles (leg-only) and the other with arm poles (combined arm-leg). The other 4 participants performed one test without the arm poles. Both tests consisted of six 5-min stages (two stride rates, 110 and 134 strides.min-1, and three resistance settings: 2, 5, and 8). Steady-state oxygen uptake (VO2), minute ventilation (VE), heart rate (HR) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were measured. Repeated measures analysis of variance determined higher (p < .001) VO2, VE, and RPE, but not HR, during combined arm-leg versus leg-only exercise at any given intensity. Increases in stride rate and resistance increased VO2, VE, RPE, and HR with the greatest effect on VE and HR from Levels 5 to 8. The manufacturer's calculated energy expenditure was overestimated during both tests. Although the oxygen cost for elliptical trainer exercise was calculated to be approximately 0.1 ml.kg-1 per stride and 0.7 ml.kg-1.min-1 per resistance level, VO2 varied widely among individuals, possibly due to differences in experience using the elliptical trainer, gender, and body composition. The elliptical trainer offers (a) a variety of intensities appropriate for most individuals and (b) both arm and leg exercise. Due to the wide variability in VO2, predicting the metabolic cost during elliptical trainer exercise for an individual is not appropriate."
  • KenosFeoh
    KenosFeoh Posts: 1,837 Member
    My stamina on the elliptical is better even than walking outside. That's why it's a good idea to mix things up. Don't make it too easy on yourself!
  • rmkramer003
    rmkramer003 Posts: 115 Member
    It's a different type of motion. When I was 20 I walked a 5 mph pace for 4 miles every day. When I started basic training, I couldn't run two miles. But my body caught up with the different type of exercise after a couple of weeks and I could run forever. Your body adapts to the exercise and makes it easier to do if you do it all the time. Give yourself some time and get used to the treadmill or running outside. Your body will catch up.
  • judtod
    judtod Posts: 85
    I am the same as you, walking and the elliptical work better for me than the treadmill. I hate the treadmill.
  • judtod
    judtod Posts: 85
    Bumblebums has a great point:

    My theory is that this has to do in part with the elliptical being a self-paced exercise. You control the speed of the elliptical (same as with stationary bikes), whereas the treadmill dictates how fast you have to move. You have no choice but to keep up with it, whereas on an elliptical, you slow down when you're tired (unless you are watching your pace very closely, which I suspect many people do not).

    I have wondered why I dislike the treadmill so much and I think this is it.
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
    Running is harder. It's like asking why can I lift more on a machine that with free weights. You have to use FAR more muscles (for stability). You aren't being supported by equipment.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    you're also having to support less of your body weight on a elliptical as you do on a treadmill.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    Comparing durations of exercise doesn't have much meaning unless you are comparing equal intensities.

    There are several possible reasons why someone could work longer on an elliptical compared to a treadmill:

    1. You are not working as hard on an elliptical. It's going to be hard to compare actual workloads because there is no common unit of measurement between treadmills and ellipticals. And the elliptical can adjust the workload from almost nothing to beyond human capacity. Running, OTOH, is a higher-intensity activity, even at slower speeds.

    2. Specificity of training: if one works out on an elliptical all the time and only does a treadmill intermittently, then one will naturally be able to work for a longer duration.

    3. Impact: Running, even on a treadmill, is a higher-impact activity that working on an elliptical. It also goes back to specficity. If one has not built up the endurance to the increased impact, then , even at similar intensities, duration will likely be longer on the elliptical. In this scenario, the decreased duration would be due to increased leg fatigue. If the decreased duration is due to issues other than leg fatigue, then it is most likely you are working at two different intensities.

    The idea that "an elliptical is easier because it has momentum" is one of those cliches that sounds good, but is not true. If you stop pedaling an elliptical, the machine will stop--it's not like it keeps coasting like riding a bike downhill. Like spin bikes, ellipticals have heavy flywheels in order to have a smooth pedaling motion (and stand up to heavy commercial use). But the work is done by pedaling against resistance. And the resistance settings can be changed to whatever level necessary to push the user at the appropriate intensity.

Categories