Treadmill or Elliptical: Which is the Best Choice for Fitness Enthusia

On days when you prefer not to exercise outside due to air pollution, time constraints, or the hassle of changing clothes, many fitness enthusiasts opt to work out at home. Among the most common indoor exercise equipment, treadmills and elliptical machines stand out in terms of size and convenience. But which one is right for you?

A woman exercising on a treadmill indoors

Advantages of Using a Treadmill

Dust-Free and Uninterrupted Real-World Mode Experience: With a treadmill, you can enjoy the real-world settings of parks, forests, lakesides, and mountains indoors, free from natural disturbances, bringing the joy of outdoor running indoors.

Two middle-aged women exercising on treadmills in a modern and well-lit gym.

Stable Speed and Long-Lasting Health: Treadmills allow you to customize speed, incline, and distance according to your goals. They come equipped with safety features like heart rate monitoring and safety ropes and can record various data such as your weight and body fat in real-time. Treadmills also provide precise calculations of running time and distance, offering more accuracy than outdoor running tracked by mobile apps. This precision helps runners follow their training plans more accurately.

Controlled Physical Impact: Running on a treadmill at home can mimic outdoor running while reducing the impact on your knees and arches. For older runners, treadmill exercise helps maintain bone density. According to a University of Missouri study, running may have a greater positive impact on bone strength than resistance training. Running on a motorized treadmill indoors allows for significant calorie burning with less strain on the knee joints.

A photograph of three women exercising on treadmills in a modern gym. The woman in the forefront wears a purple top and gray pants, operating the treadmill with focused attention.

Higher Calorie Burn: If your goal is to burn calories, a treadmill is your best choice. Research shows that a 150-pound person can burn 668.2 calories per hour running on a treadmill. The same person would burn about 340.9 calories per hour on an elliptical machine. Regularly exercising 3-4 times a week can greatly improve your endurance, strength, and muscle tone. Some treadmills offer multifunction modes that continue to provide anaerobic exercise after the aerobic session ends. If you want a more intelligent and comprehensive fat-burning workout, a treadmill is the way to go. Athletes training for competitions often prefer elliptical trainers or outdoor running to enhance their running skills, as these cannot be fully achieved on an elliptical.

Advantages of Using an Elliptical Machine

Reduced Joint Wear: Ellipticals offer low-impact exercise for fitness enthusiasts. Since your feet remain in contact with the pedals, this significantly reduces pressure on the knees and joints, minimizing lower body joint wear and tear.

Core Challenge: Using an elliptical involves pushing and pulling the handles, which engages the upper body and requires core stability to maintain movement coordination between the upper and lower body. Adjusting the incline and resistance settings can make your workout more efficient. Reverse pedaling effectively targets the hamstrings, while increasing the incline focuses on the glutes, essential for bodybuilders.

Easier Calorie Burn: Studies suggest that burning the same number of calories on an elliptical feels easier compared to a treadmill. This perceived ease is due to the higher perceived exertion rate on the elliptical.

While elliptical machines can't replace outdoor running or treadmill workouts, they are excellent supplementary exercises for runners, especially those who are injured or fatigued. Ellipticals offer a low-impact workout and can be adjusted according to your needs. This variety in exercise methods aids in physical recovery and helps maintain a balanced workout routine.

For runners needing rest, ellipticals serve as a means for active recovery and low-impact training. Using an elliptical allows you to continue cardiovascular exercise with minimal impact, making it an excellent tool for preventing injuries and adjusting your fitness regimen.

A woman exercising on a treadmill indoors,walking pad

Conclusion

In summary, both treadmills and ellipticals offer different workout benefits and have their own advantages and disadvantages. Fitness enthusiasts should choose between a treadmill and an elliptical based on their personal needs and desired training outcomes. I hope this information helps you make an informed decision and find the indoor exercise equipment that best suits your needs.