elliptical vs treadmill

I think when it comes to exercise, different things work better than others depending on the person. Personally, the elliptical didn't help me lose much weight. When I switched over to treadmill, running outside, or using a machine called the Arc Trainer, I started seeing more significant results.

It is cardio, you can adjust the levels of resistance, add time, etc, and if it works for you- then great!

I am fairly certain that the treadmill or running outside is a better option in terms of bone health, because on the elliptical, while you are lifting your legs to propel the machine, you aren't lifting your feet, and the machine is absorbing all the shock.

i lost weight on the elliptical, but i used pretty high resistance and pushed myself to go as long as i could (longest time was 40 minutes). however i have lost weight faster running on the treadmill. do what is comfortable for you, the important part is that you're exercising!

I have an elliptical at home as well and it works wonders for me in terms of my knees since I essentially weigh twice what I should, so therefore having less shock to my knees is a good thing. However, since my friend and I have started going to the gym it's just been sitting at my house collecting dust and I've been using the treadmill at the gym to work on the C25K program and I've lost 24 pounds this year alone.

I think it's a matter of preference. If you will use the treadmill more, then that's the way to go, if you'll use the Elliptical more, then that's for you.
I personally HATE running, but I can workout on the elliptical for ages.

Cardio is cardio.

But if you really want to shift the weight, then you need to start doing interval training, and if you want it to shift it even faster then High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is the way to go.

And both are possible on the elliptical and the treadmill, it's all about heart rate and effort.

Start off with just interval training.
5 mins warmup
1 minute at vigorous effort (70 - 80% max heart rate/effort) and 2 minutes recovery (not stopping, just slowing down a little to recover your heart rate back to about 60%)
5 mins cooldown
Do this for 30+ minutes.

Then work your way to HIIT:
5 mins warmup
20 seconds max effort (try hit 100%) and 10 moderate effort (60% - 70%)
5 mins cooldown
If you can do more than 20 mins of this, you're doing it wrong...

i use the elliptical most days, built up to 30 minutes & on a high resistance, would do more if i had time. There is less impact on the joints than running. I think that treadmill running would have more impact on weight reduction, but with a little more pain.......good luck with experimenting

Oh, I forgot to add- the ability to go in reverse (i.e. run backwards!) on the elliptical really adds a new and interesting dimension to the machine, and shifts emphasis to a different set of muscles while still working that cardio!

All in all, treadmill and elliptical are both good machines, treadmill aimed more at a pure runner -counting pacing, great for training distances etc, and the elliptical is engineered to involve more of the muscles of the body in a workout/cardio setting.

Remember, the Treadmill dictates the pace to you - with the Elliptical you dictate the pace to it, thus a little more willpower is necessary. Setting Elliptical resistance too low or not challenging yourself can result in a lack of results If you aren't interval training, pick a pace (speed/steps per min) and try to stay near that pace for the duration of the workout as the resistance varies with the program. You'll find it very tempting to sloooow down as you get tired or the resistance increases (sometimes in Mountain setting it's impossible to keep the same pace), those times you can use upper body to 'help' a little more to give a nice boost And good music with a good beat in the headphones is a great way to keep the pace up as well!

Good luck!

HIIT is short for High Intensity Interval Training, it's an advanced technique that should be saved for athletes and people who already have been training for a long long time. That said, Interval training in general can be done by anyone and can add some spice of difference to a cardio routine.

Basically, the premise is that the body adapts to a set pace over time (think of the idea of a 'second wind'). Thus, a 45min cardio session at one set pace will burn calories while you're actively moving, but varying the pace of your workout for the duration of the workout (speeding up for a set time, then slowing down for a set time) will keep the body guessing and thus unable to adapt itself. This can increase metabolism for a time even after the actual workout is over (increased metabolism = more calories burned).

There are many different types of interval training out there, anything with varied pace counts- but HIIT is specific to the idea that not only are you training varied Fast/Slow (or Fast/Medium) paces, but the Fast pace is done with High Intensity, i.e. an all-out sprint. This can spike the heart-rate very high and can be hard on the body, it's definitely more of an advanced technique. As with Interval Training, there is no 'one' set way to do it. The sprint/jog or even sprint/walk session times vary based on the specific program. They can be done on elliptical machine, outside on a track or a field, running hills, spinning, a rowing machine, swimming, pretty much anywhere you can vary flat-out sprint and then a recovery pace. Generally HIIT is only performed for 12-20 minutes per day (and if you're doing it right you feel like you are about to throw up when it's over), but the increased metabolism is supposed to burn more for up to 24-48 hours post-workout.

HIIT is not for everyone, but regular interval training is much safer and can be a fun change of pace for anyone.

I think it's really up to the person (:

I was exactly the same way when I first started on the elliptical - I could only do five minutes, maximum ten! But theeen, I chose to work out in our home gym, rather than at my crummy downstairs-apartment gym. Being in front of the TV whilst on the elliptical made the biggest difference - I can now watch an entire movie whilst on the elliptical. Same machine, actually doing higher resistance, and for an hour and a half (: I think it's more a mental thing, I just needed some kind of distraction to keep me from getting bored or feeling the growing aches in my muscles.

Think most things have been said in regards to the elliptical vs treadmill argument. Personally, I'm a fan of both and look to use both in the same workout. The treadmill gets my heart going, and I love the way it shapes the inside of my thighs.

everyone will have a different opinion on this, personally I like the ARC trainer because it seems harder than the elliptical.
On the other hand I would prefer the elliptical over running on a treadmill any day. That's mainly because I have a knee injury that makes it impossible to run for a long time without messing up the knee and being in serious pain for a long time. So for my body, the elliptical, biking, and arc trainer is a way better work-out when it comes to cardio.

I go to the gym and use both, switch it up...

I had a hard time with the elliptical at first too. I literally did it for 2 minutes and had to get off. I just did it for 60 minutes the other day. You will adjust as you get fitter. I like that it has 3 levels of incline and 10 levels of resistance, so I can adjust as I get more used to it. I tried running outside last summer, but I really hate running! Plus my knees hurt sometimes so I would rather do the elliptical for that reason. It depends what you like. I lost 22lbs in 10 weeks, then another 10lbs over the next 4 months using the elliptical. I was within 8lbs of my goal weight. So it worked fine for me, along with diet. Good luck!

I use both TM, elipticals, go to group exercise classes and to be honest, the only thing that has help me lose any weight was by cleaning up my diet. Eating clean and portion control combined with the exercise is what did it for me. 80% of weightloss is diet, 10% Exercise and 10% Motivation!

Good for you for increasing your endurance on the eliptical and I think, for you, the low impact cardio is perfect. I hope the knees feel better after losing some weight and you can maybe move on to a weight bearing exercise. Increasing the resistace on the elliptical will also help build some muscle in your legs. The large muscles in your legs and glutes are big calorie burners!

I love using the eliptical. That, weight training, and eating in moderation has helped me move toward my goal:)