Which Cardio Machine is Best for You?

So, in our time at the gym these past 15 days (holy moly!), we’ve had the opportunity to do quite a bit of strength training, the guy on 8 minute abs in our new best friend, and also enjoy a bit of cardio as well.

In my quest to make my cardio decision each day (when I’m not lovin’ on the jump rope), I’ve been walkin’ my talk on the treadmill.

Now, I know treadmills are pretty old school and often times just not as exciting as the new hot elliptical, but last year, when I was working out with a friend who is also a certified trainer, he hold me that an hour on the elliptical is never worth the time and energy- instead I should spend my time rockin’ an incline on the treadmill (Incline 10, speed 4) in order to truly get the workout I’m looking for.

His reasoning was, that for every step on the treadmill, you create your own energy- the treadmill makes it so you have to be exerting energy over and over again in order to keep pace and not fall off. However, on the elliptical, it allows you to “go with the flow” and you can often use the energy created by the machine and the momentum to go around and around, rather than needing to create your own. (Makes sense)

While this made sense to me, I sometimes feel like I burn more calories on the elliptical for the same amount of time. In all of this working out, I realized I needed to do more research for I could be making the most informed decision possible.

What I found seems as though it's really up to who you are, what type of workout you are looking for an what your intentions are in your workout.

Here’s the skinny (pardon the pun) on how you should make the decision on which machine is better for you:

The treadmill:

- Treadmills provide a better training experience if you are a runner/jogger or trying to be

- Treadmills offer an “on the ground” experience similar to that of running outdoors or actually competing in a race (if you are training)

- Because of the “on the ground” experience, treadmills offer a higher impact workout, which strengthens your bones and lower body

- The motor of the treadmill can force you out of your comfort zone, forcing you to work without any momentum

The Elliptical:

- The Elliptical offers you an “impact-free” workout, since you do not actually touch the ground

- “Impact-free” workouts are helpful if you need a gentler workout for joint problems or if you experience pain in your bones while you workout.

- If you have an Elliptical with both handlebars that move as well as foot petals, you are able to get an upper and lower body workout simultaneously

- You can petal both forward and backward on the Elliptical, adding important variety and different ways to strengthen and utilize your muscles

- The Elliptical allows you to workout your upper and lower body at the same time and studies suggest that exercising many muscle groups at once can increases your fat burning efficiency.

In terms of calories burned, both machines seem to actually be quite similar in what you are able to accomplish (running on a treadmill = approximately 783 calories/hour; high excretion on an Elliptical trainer = 774 calories/hour), however, the real difference between the two is the amount of exertion you put into your workout. For instance, if you are at the gym and only “going through the motions” on the Elliptical or using its momentum, you are likely to only burn as many calories as an informal walk on the Treadmill.

So, in choosing between the machines, I realize that I have to ask myself four questions:

1) Which machine will motivate me to push myself to the highest levels of exertion?

2) Am I looking for a high or low impact workout?

3) Am I looking to strengthen and workout both my upper and lower body simultaneously or just focus on my lower body?

4) Am I training for a walk or race where I need to be able to simulate the experience as much as possible in order to be on my best game for the big day?

For me, this puts me on the treadmill more of the time, as I find that I actually exert myself more on that particular machine and we are training for a few races coming up- but it also allows me to think about jumping on the Elliptical once or twice a week to get the full cardio in as well and work the forwards and backwards function of the petals (sort of love that!).

Happy Cardio!!