Treadmills vs. Elliptical Trainers

I love the tr. but the ell. is awesome! You can always go out and walk.

I don't own either, but I go to the gym and I don't find that the elliptical burns more calories for me. I set my treadmil on a 10 incline and walk at 4 mph and burn more calories than I do on the elliptical for the same amount of time. Maybe I am not putting the elliptical on the right settings... IDK, but I like the treadmill more.

Well I'm in the minority here but my votes goes to the treadmill. No one walks or runs with their knees not touching. It's actually been known to cause stress fractures. I found I had more joint issues on the elliptical, so treadmill is the way to go for me.

I have both and always go back to the treadmill since it seems to work more muslces overall. BUT like others have said you can always run outside if you want.

My problem with the elliptical is two part:
First - I don't trust the calorie burn rates on the machines I never feel as exhausted after an elliptical workout as I do on the treadmill (plus i feel like i'm only working my giant thighs!)
Second - the elliptical really limits my stride, i have long legs and the elliptical puts your legs in a set oval course of movement so if anythign make sure you really try out the elliptical first becasue they all have different heights and lengths of stride and one that is too short sucks.

theres my two cents.

i dont own either but i go to the gym daily and id pick the treadmill. i NEVER go on the eliptical. the treadmill burns much more calories on an incline. i do like the arc trainer and precor at the gym but i think they are more costly than eliptical. good luck!

Roads? Where we're going, we don't need road....

Actually, if you ditch the treadmill, you can get outside and run and see the birds and stuff. Don't foget the tinfoil hat, though. They are watching us....

This. Elliptical is nice, but run outside, in my experience, people who run outside run longer, harder, and better.

I did a google search recently on treadmill vs elliptical. One site said the treadmill actually burned more calories because of the running/incline options compared to the elliptical. Plus it said because of the low impact once you actually get the elliptical moving it requires less of your own force to keep it going compared to the treadmill thus the treadmill would burn more. I would suggest doing a similiar search to get some info. That said whatever you enjoy most is what you'll use so go with that. I've always hated the elliptical but recently have used it at the gym and it's grown on me especially since my knees are bad.

I don't use either frquently because I am an outdoor type. I don't mind running in the rain or cold, but don't like the two together so I do a fair amount if indoor cardio in the winter. I far prefer the treadmill; I just hate ellipticals and feel totaly uncoordinated on them. On a treadmill I can zone out and the miles just fly by. So I burn far more calories on a treadmill simply because I like it more and will spend much more time on it. That said, I still prefer exercising outdoors to either and just do plyo or cardio dvd's when have to stay in.

An Elliptical is better on your knees however a treadmill is usually more accurately calibrated. It will tell you the true amount of calories burned as opposed to an elliptical. Just make sure when you walk/jog you aren't holding onto the handles