Eliptical vs. Treadmill

Hi, I belong to the YMCA and asked a trainer which is better he told that the work is the same when concerning yourself woth cardio. But the big difference is that if a person has a bad back , knees or some other joint issue the elliptical is much more forgiving. I have had a back surgery and two neck surgerys so I use the elliptical and have for threes years with no regrets, hope this helps.

I would also like to know. My husband has hip and knee issues and I have Fibromyalgia, so we need something that we can both use!

I like the elliptical more so then the treadmill. I have a treadmill at home and stopped using it immediately after using it constantly for 3yrs straight. I did lose a tremendous amount of weight by using it one hr daily after I had two kids back to back.

I have had both. I like the elliptical for couple of reasons. The arms and the legs are working on the elliptical and it is smoother than a treadmill. I also like that I can move my elliptical around easily if I want to use it in another room. This is not the case for all ellipticals but mine is lightweight.

Hi, I belong to the YMCA and asked a trainer which is better he told that the work is the same when concerning yourself woth cardio. But the big difference is that if a person has a bad back , knees or some other joint issue the elliptical is much more forgiving. I have had a back surgery and two neck surgerys so I use the elliptical and have for threes years with no regrets, hope this helps.

Sort of yes and no. Calories burnt is a lot more complicated than plugging some numbers and going at it. I work a lot harder and subsequently burn more calories on a treadmill than an equivalent program on a elliptical, no matter what the computer says. IF joint problems are a major concern then I would recommend walking on a treadmill and building up to a trot or jog; an elliptical is only going to work around the problem not correct it. Further ellipticals force your body to move on the planes and angles of the machine, this can force a lot of people into unnatural movements that cause more issues.

That being said I personally use both. I prefer to run outside, but living in NE Ohio makes it hard at this time of the year. Treadmills, at least to me, make me "fitter" where as I will throw some elliptical work in just to "burn calories" on days when I am sore from lifting or lack the motivation to do anything else.

Agree! I live in Ohio and it's cold!! I bought an ellliptical a month ago so that on days I can't make it to the gym or run outside I still can burn up some calories. I work harder on the treadmill but don't always feel like working that hard and an elliptical is much easier on your body and still a good workout.

I am actually also considering a treadmill - as I can't run outside as often in the winter. So for the winter months, I can go running inside, and on the nice days, I can go outside. But after falling and slipping several times (twisting ankles and all) in the winter months, I'd rather just be safer.

I prefer the Elliptical over the Treadmill. When it comes right down to it, your man focus on any cardio equipment should be Heartrate training zone. The faster you can get your heartrate into a higher zone (say an Aerobic zone which would be 70-80% of your maximum heartrate, the more calories you will burn) I have Osteoarthritis (stage 3) in both knee's, torn meniscus in both knee's and a torn ACL in my left knee. 29 months ago at 560 lbs. I could barely walk from room to room . As I lost weight (in Aquatic therapy) I worked my way out of the pool and onto the treadmill but the constant pounding on my joints was overwhelming so on the advice of my therapist, she got me to try the Elliptical and from the first time on it I could tell it was ALOT easier on my knee's. I don't know why some people think it is a boring piece of equipment . I never do the same workout on the elliptical. With the crossramp (incline/decline) and resistance you can change each workout up. I do get on the treadmill once a week but since I am unable to run (can only walk) I can never get my heartrate out of zone 1 and because of that am not burning near the calories. So for me hands down its the elliptical.......

I bought a dual trainer off of HSN. It's a elliptical and a exercise bike in one. I don't have a lot of space and this has a small footprint, so I thought this would be perfect for me.

I won't get it until tomorrow, so I'll have to let you know if I like it or not. But the price was right and sometimes the treadmill hurts my knees.

Anita