Elliptical vs Treadmill

I've been going pretty hard on the elliptical for the past few weeks, and have seen almost no results (I thought it was because I had started strength training around the same time...gaining muscle)....so I started to look around the net for answers. I found an article saying that an elliptical is useless on fat loss because your body just ends up using the momentum, rather than working hard to get you sweating and your heart rate up.

http://workoutmanuals.com/are-elliptical-mach ines-good-for-fat-lo

Has anyone else heard this? I've been reluctant to start on the treadmill because my knee tends to act up. Thoughts? Has anyone moved from one to the other and seen better results?

Thank you!

I bought a heart rate monitor and it says that in half an hour on the elliptical I burn about 290 calories, while 30 minutes on the treadmill i burn over 400.  Your heart rate is probably going to be higher on the treadmill because it is high impact and you have to work harder to move on it than the elliptical.

Some people really like the elliptical.  I can't run every day because it starts to hurt my knees and ankles so I use the elliptical on my days I list weights and run on days without weights. 

I went to a personal trainer once and they ONLY had treadmills.  She said she would rather I walk very fast at a high incline than use an elliptical. 

I think it depends on your body.  I think you can lose just as much weight on the elliptical, but you might just have to work harder.  my heart rate monitor says my calories are lower than the machine says.  I'm 195 lbs and 5'4. 

What are your stats and how long are you on the elliptical?

(And strength training burns a lot of calories too , by the way!)  My heart rate monitor says I burn about 300 calories in just my strength trainning sessions!

I'm 5'2" and about 146. I've been floating around 146-147 since early March (I was 160 in January). I average about 40 mins on the elliptical, but on the days where I have nothing else to do, I'll go for an hour.

I think I'm going to try the treadmill tomorrow. I've always stayed away from it because I work out early in the morning and it's so noisy...I don't want to wake everyone up! They just might have to suffer for a little bit lol

Running on the treadmil can play havoc with your knees. Try walking for a lower impact.

I tend to walk at about 5 - 5.5 km/h which is quite a slow walking pace but really increase the incline.  I find that is quite a vigorous workout if you do it for a reasonable amount of time.  The longer I stay on, the higher my heart rate goes.

I have a similar problem with hurting knees on the treadmill and heard similar stories about ellipticals so I asked the trainer what would be a good alternative and he said stair master.  I dont find that hurts my knees at all.

For me the elliptical gives me a great workout.  I like being able to go fowards and bckwards and using the arms or not and being able to increase the resistance and speed to increase my workout

I can't do the treadmill for more than 20 minutes without excrutiating pain shin splints and bad feet absolutely can no do inclines or pay for that for weeks. 

I'll stay on the elliptical and as far as the workout It depends on what you are putting into it.  If you are just letting momentum work it then yea its worthless but if you use it right you can get a great workout with no stress on the joints.

Just did an hour on the treadmill (did 3 miles)...I think I like it better than the elliptical. I walked for most of it, but managed a run for 15 mins. I have sweat stains on my shirt!! That never happens when I use the elliptical lol Maybe I wasn't using it right, or putting enough effort into the machine.

Thanks for all your feedback!

Original Post by zhodes:

I have sweat stains on my shirt!! That never happens when I use the elliptical lol

Yeah, sweating is a pretty good sign that you're working hard. Regardless of what exercise you're doing if you're not sweating 15 or 20 minutes in, then you should up your intensity.

I found that most treadmills hurt my knees also. And I just don't like the movement with an elliptical machine. With a good stair-master machine adjusted to the 9 or 10 level I can burn 700 cals in 45 minutes. It's rather odd that I am almost always the only person using this equipment at my gym.

I think that the people who have said that it is all about the intensity level you set on the elliptical that matters are correct.  I tend to do multiple types of cardio and not just one.  A typical cardio workout for me is 30 minutes on the stationary bike, 1 hour on the elliptical cross trainer, then a 2 mile walk (at 4 mph or faster), which takes about 13-14 minutes.  And doing that, I have shed up to 4 pounds of sweat in one workout.

I have a lot of trouble with my knees from being a gymnast for years (actually most of my joints are about gone). I have 3 kids and very little time to work out and I have found that for me treadmill is the only way to go. I use a knee brace that helps hold my knee cap in place it has worked wonders to reduce my pain. They make all kinds of braces to correct different types of joint discomfort They're inexpensive and may help more than you think. But like I said I had the same issues as you with treadmill vs elliptical and for me I've lost about 6 lbs my first 2 weeks and the running and walking has gotten easier with the knee brace.

Ellipitical machines are easier on the joints and a great alternative for those of us who are very heavy as continual use of a treadmill can be hard on the knees.

Treadmills tend to burn more calories than elliptical machines, but elliptical machines are far from useless.  Like any piece of gym equipment it depends what you do with it. 

Maybe you need to increase the level on the elliptical machine and do intervals pushing your heart rate upto to the 85% range.  You'll soon start to see results.

I have tried both and I honestly think that it's more of a personal preference because I really really do not like the elliptical...it hurts my knees...which is what everyone else says about the treadmill, lol. I personally have noticed that when I'm on the elliptical it takes me about 20 minutes just to burn 50 calories, but when I'm the treadmill I can burn 50 calories in only about 5 minutes.

Then again, I also have a friend who says she can burn about 700 calories on the elliptical alone within an hour. So, honestly, in my own opinion I think you'd be better off burning calories on the treadmill, but it also depends on the level/heart rate you're aiming for as well.

But, to answer your question, I have seen better results on the treadmill. Others may disagree, but that's just my two cents.

I am not sure if this is just in my head, but I feel like using the elliptical without the arms, but pumping my arms a little as if I were walking fast gives me some kind of core workout because it is a bit hard to balance.

Hi, I have both a treadmill and elliptical, and enjoy using lthem both and have seen results. With the elliptical my personal trainer said she doesn't mind if I use it as long as it is higher that a 7 , so i warm up and then put it on random with 7 being the lowest, after an hour i am dripping wet. i have the Precor with the arms . As for the treadmill my knees also hurt at times so i usually walk at 4mph with increasing the incline every minute till it hits 12 then start to decrease, usually a 45 minute workout and again am dripping wet. Good Luck

In order for you to gain results from the elliptical - you must put it on a higher resistance setting than about 5. But every machine is different so it's really hard to say. The machines I go on typically have a MAX of 20 resistance and I average roughly 10 to 11 resistance for 2 hours. Today was a great example - I was dripping with sweat by the end but it felt food and my legs were burning... 

I do mix it up though, for instance tomorrow I'll do the treadmill &/or stair climber for 2 hours... because your body need to keep guessing at what it's going to do next! With that said... Do the cardio exercise you feel good doing. There is no wrong way - just as long as you get your heart rate up for about 30 minutes a day, you should be good! 

Actually, that is not true.  Ever take a SPIN or Group Ride class? Peoplw, in general, sweat like crazy in that class. I know I do! But, often burn less calories than doing other cardio.  People sweat more in stagnant air!! Moving around, whether it be in a Step class, running outside or even inside, etc. generates more 'wind' than sitting on a stationary bike.  So, no, in general, do not base your sweat on caloric fat burn! Another note. some people tend to just sweat more than others!

For me personally, even at a high resistence, I do not see results from an elliptical.  I started using the elliptical because I find it to be easier than running on a treadmill but after 6 months and no results, I switched back.  I don't have issues with my knees or shins so the treadmill is my cardio machine of choice.  On non-running days, I walk at an incline as fast as I can.  Running has put me in the best shape I've ever been in.

Original Post by fitnessgirll:

Actually, that is not true.  Ever take a SPIN or Group Ride class? Peoplw, in general, sweat like crazy in that class. I know I do! But, often burn less calories than doing other cardio.  People sweat more in stagnant air!! Moving around, whether it be in a Step class, running outside or even inside, etc. generates more 'wind' than sitting on a stationary bike.  So, no, in general, do not base your sweat on caloric fat burn! Another note. some people tend to just sweat more than others!

Yea sweating is not a "measure" of a good workout- I take meds that make me sweat - I'm menopausal - so sweating while sleeping is not unusual either.  Wouldn't it be great for us old ladies if sweating did make us lose more than just water weight LOL!!!

Years of running in my late teens and early 20's made my knees and feet very sensative to impact exercise.  For me, the elliptical has been the answer.  I have one machine in my home gym and use the one at the Y whenever I go (about 4 times a week).  I use a chest strap monitor and increase resistance and speed until I have a good target heart rate going.  As far as I know, it doesn't really matter whether you are jogging, walking or using an elliptical if you have the heart rate in the right place.  I have heard many people say the treadmill is better, but when I ask them it always comes back to "it feels harder", but for me, that is one more reason to use the elliptical, same results, with less pain.

I am also a fan of the elliptical - screwed up knees from field hockey. You have to put some work into it if you want to see results - on the elliptical, the treadmill, the stationary bike, ANYTHING. On an elliptical I typically burn close to 650 calories in about 45 minutes, which includes about 10 total minutes of slow warm up and cool down. I try to aim for 6 or 7 resistance, and I change the incline every 5 minutes from a slight incline (10) to a steep incline (15) to keep my muscles guessing. The thing that amazes me about people on the elliptical - and this goes for everyone, including many perfectly healthy college students I see daily in my university gym - is how blase they are about their workout. If you want to see results, you need to be pumping those legs as hard as you can - I'm aiming for at least a 170 step rate and often go over 200.  You can't be on your cellphone, you can't be reading a magazine, you can't be chit chatting with the lady next to you. If you're not focusing hard on your form and your breathing, you're not working hard enough. I am always amazed by friends' complaints of the elliptical's inefficiency, and then I see that they're working it like a walk in the park at a 2 resistance level.

Bottom line, if you like the elliptical, stay on the elliptical. But work it. The elliptical is not any less efficient than the treadmill. If you're letting the elliptical build up momentum for you, that's your fault, not the machine's. I find that if I'm working hard enough, the momentum on the elliptical works AGAINST me - I'm already pushing my legs down when the weight on the pedals is still moving up. Perhaps the only reason why a treadmill might be better for some people is that it's not self-directed. The treadmill will keep turning at a constant speed whether you want it to or not. If you need that to keep you going, then do it. Otherwise, just pick up the resistance and the pace on your elliptical and you will be just fine.