Treadmill VS Elliptical

[Amisha 2]

I used to have a treadmill, but I've also got plantar fasciitis in my left foot and the impact of the treadmill made working out painful. My guy bought me an elliptical for Christmas a year ago and I love it. The impact is greatly reduced, without sacrificing effectiveness.

I consulted with my trainer before switching to the elliptical and he told me it was a good choice because you get an excellent cardio workout and the opportunity to vary your workout. It's true that you can change the incline and speed of the treadmill, but you can do the same with the elliptical. In addition, you can choose the forward motion OR a reverse motion on the elliptical, which gives you two totally different workouts. I can REALLY feel it when I go backwards for a bit. In different muscles. This is a valuable plus to me. It's hard to walk backwards on a treadmill.

However, my mom has tried my elliptical and she says it kills her knees and hips and makes it really hard for her to stay on it very long. What this says to me is that every BODY is different and what works for some, might not work for others. So I would definitely recommend "borrowing" one first before sinking the money. Try it at a gym if you can. I know gyms can be inconvenient and expensive, which is why many of us have equipment in our own homes, but many gyms will let you try it out for a few sessions before joining. Or, if you have a friend who has one, ask if they mind if you give it a couple tries before committing. It should be more than once though, cause problems might not become evident until you've done it a couple times.

Like a few other posters here, I had to start slowly on mine. It was such an intense workout it killed me. I thought the baby Jesus was sitting on my chest, ready to take me Home. I was able to stay on maybe five minutes before giving up. I can report though that I stayed with it and added a few minutes at a time and eventually I was able to work up to a full 30 minutes with hardly breaking a sweat, but it took me a while.

I supplement this with bike riding with my boys, walking with my guy, bands and weights and an exercise ball, which makes doing sit ups a breeze.

If you Google the topic, there's a wealth of information out there: Google results for treadmill vs. elliptical. It might just convolute the issue and confuse you more, but you might also find something there that will help you decide.

Hope that helps and remember, it's not what you do it on, it's that you do it at all. That's more important than the type of machine you buy. Good luck! Let us know what you decide and how it turns out for you!

[jjsmiles 3]

I use both at the gym. I have worked up to 45 minutes and 4 miles on the eliptical - I challenge myself by doing about 18 of those minutes backwards and now have worked up to doing about 16 minutes not holding on to anything (great for my balance). Let me tell you I have worked up an incredible "glow" by the time I am finished.

For those of you that find the eliptical painful, if your gym has different types, try them. My gym has peddle ones and slider ones. I thought the sliders looked too hard (the incline on the slide seems really high), but once I tried it I was hooked. I don't feel any aches in my knees, hips or feet. My body shape and size likes those ones much better!!! The slider brand that my gym has is Precor.

I get bored with the treadmill, and I find I can't work up a sweat as easily, but I think the impact is good for my joints, so I keep plugging away at it. I do have to hang on when I am on the treadmill (at least one hand and depending on the speed and incline mostly two handed) as I am afraid of falling off (have seen and heard someone do it at the gym and it terrified me!!)

I have been working up my speed and incline and in the last week have been trying to work up to a jog. Yesterday at the 3 mile mark I sped up to 4.3 and did 10 intervals of 30 seconds jogging and 1 minute of walking. I sure worked up a "glow" doing that!!!

If you would have asked me if I would be jogging 6 months ago, I would have fell down laughing (which would have been a problem, as I would have needed help getting up again :smile2:).

[greythope 0]

I prefer the elliptical. You can get a super workout with v. little impact on your joints. I did myself no favors running on the treadmill the last time I was working on getting thin. I would run through the pain and made my back and hip main more chronic.

With the right music the elliptical feels like dancing to me.

I would agree $189 is way too cheap. You're better off getting on that more sturdy. We paid around $800 for ours at costco.

[health4life 0]

I love the elliptical. It's easy on the joints and I get NO shin splints.

[Minxz 0]

I love the elliptical as well. You can target different areas during your work out and its quieter at least it seems so to me. I always feel like the whole world shakes when I'm on a treadmill lol

[Melolo 0]

Well, I like to commit on the $189.00 epllitical equipment. Sounds like the same machine I was looking to buy from Walmart. Was it the Gazelle Powerplus by Tony Little? I brought the Gazelle Edge for $89.00 and I tell you what it had me sweating. My arms and legs were feeling the burn it's sturdy enough to hold my large frame. My 12 yr old son is enjoying the work out it gives him so I'm very happy:thumbup: Its very easy on the joints and was easy to assemble:tt2: So I know they say you get what you pay for but sometimes you can happen upon a diamond in the ruff. To each it's own. Peace.

Edited September 23, 2008 by Melolo

[excarolinagirl 0]

I bought an elliptical b/c I have heel spurs so I can't use the treadmill (too much weight bearing on my feet). I would advise buying a good sturdy elliptical b/c the lighter-weight ones will squeak and not hold up well (literally). Be sure and test drive the model in a store whether you buy it new or used. Also check out online consumer review reports. Good luck.

[Lowbmier 0]

I too was an elliptical fan, but I recently bought a bodybugg to track how many calories I was burning on each machine. According to the bodybugg, the calories I was burning on the treadmill were more than what I was burning on the elliptical. 5.7 cals per minute on the treadmill vs. 3.4 cals per minute on the elliptical. I found that amazing seeing as it seemed I was working harder on the elliptical. Now I do about 15 mins on the elliptical at hardest level for muscle building and 45 mins on the treadmill.

[Jachut 487]

It's hard to walk backwards on a treadmill.

Lol, I run backwards on my treadmill and do side skipping too, during my circuit training. I do it to help develop muscles that tend to be not developed by the amount of running I do - things like glutes which if weak, can lead to running injuries.

My kids think I am INSANE! They laugh at me, but I keep going. I can run backwards up an incline of 8 at 4 mph now, quite a feat!

[KarenK 0]

I use both at the gym. I use the treadmill for 30 minutes, do strength training (one day upper body, one day lower body), and then do 15-20 minutes on the elliptical. I really like the ellipticals at the gym, but they're also the first ones I felt fit me right.

I had a cheap elliptical at home, and it was noisy and not terribly smooth and the treads were set so far back I had a hard time reaching with the handles (can you guess I'm short?). I've also had a cheap treadmill, a cheap exercise bike, and a cheap little stair stepper at home. None of them were worth the money I spent.

If you're going to go with any home exercise equipment, I'd go with something quality if you can.

[raiseup 0]

i am a big fan of an elliptical for some reason...idk why...the treadmill is kinda boring and hurts my knees

[Lady Lap Band 71]

I really do like them both but I tend to go for the elliptical because I burn more calories on it in the same amount of time that I would use the treadmill. I don't kill myself exercising but I spend one hour each on the machines and do 4 miles and 400 calories on the elliptical and 2.5 miles and 250 calories on the treadmill.

[ta0726 0]

I enjoy the Elliptical because I feel like I am moving more. Also, I like to go 10-15 minutes backwards then 10-15 minutes forward and I keep switching until I complete 30 minutes. It changes it up and it helps the areas that only going forward can't get to.

[confused 4]

I own both machines, I like both of them but I prefer the running on the treadmill and that is only because when I'm on the elliptical for an hour I have 2 toe's that go numb. It doesn't happen when I'm on the treadmill for an hour so that's why I choose the treadmill.

[karen_karen 0]

ok i been reading these post and i have to reply to what i think is best eliptical is a great machine but i do have to say the treadmill will burn more calories and if you think that is wrong im sorry you are wrong.... running is the best form of cardio you can do because it burns more calories and your not holding onto anything. you are going to build your core and also your legs and if you knees and calves are hurting you really need to stretch before you get on the treadmill to run and also get the right type of shoes. i found that when i first started i did the eliptical and i also have a bodybugg the calories burn on the machines are always off. so on my body bugg i found that i was losing about 8 to 9 calories a minute at a rate of 170 strides per minute which i did for about 30 to 45 minutes a day. then when i felt good i started the treadmill and started running with my bodybugg i saw that i was burning around 14 calories a minute which is alot more then the eliptical and the weight was coming off faster in about two months i was running about 40 minutes non stop at the rate of 5.9 mph which is pretty slow compared to most people but i was running. the eliptical is great for people that have knee problems but the way you work on one is the key as in dont hold on and move your arms to improve your stability and your balance and you will be working you core muscles to keep up. i like both but if you are looking to burn more calories i know that the treadmill running will be the way to go. there are programs out there where you can burn calories faster as in intervals which is the best way no matter what machine you use so your body does not get use to the machines and you will work that much harder. also another thing that will set it apart is the incline the more of an incline the more calories you burn but the main thing i can say for people is they hold onto something you are not burning as much calories holding on to a treadmill or an eliptical because your not using your full body.i see so many people on the treadmill at the gym walking as fast as they can holding on with a crazy incline of 10 plus and it shows them burning 1000 calories for doing that for 45 minutes to an hour. which i dont believe because of them holding on and if you get a bodybugg you will understand what i am talking about i have tried it all ways to see the results and i am really frustrated to see that people believe they will lose more on a eliptical then a treadmill. only way that is the case if you walk on the treadmill and not run.