Elliptical Vs. Treadmill

The world has become fitness crazy, hence there are a number of exercise machines, that are introduced in the market. Among one such introduction is the elliptical machines. Is your new year resolution is to get fit this year, hence you are planning to buy either a treadmill or elliptical? Then you most certainly would want to get into the elliptical vs. treadmill debate to choose the best for your needs.

An Elliptical Or a Treadmill? Why?

When it comes to treadmill vs. elliptical machines comparison, it is very difficult to say, which one of the two is the best. The main reason being, each one has a different purpose, when it comes to buying any one of these machines. We will do the elliptical treadmills comparison based on certain points.

When it comes to the first point in the comparison, people always want to know whether one should use an elliptical or a treadmills for weight loss. I would take this as the number of calories burnt by each one of them. The number of calories burnt depends on the stride of the elliptical and the belt length of the treadmill. The smaller the length of the stride, lesser will be the number of calories burnt, as the body will move less. The same is the case, when it comes to a treadmill as well. If the length of the belt of the treadmill is small, you will not be able to take longer strides with it, which will indirectly mean that you will burn less calories. There are a number of tests, which were carried out about the number of calories burnt. Some tests tilt in favor of the treadmills and the other in favor of ellipticals. It therefore means, it will depend on your choice, what is that you would want to use and what are you more comfortable with. Cardio done on both a treadmill as well as an elliptical will also give more or less the same results, as the higher the intensity of the workout, higher will be the number of calories burnt. On a treadmill, you can choose to walk on an incline with a higher speed or walk without incline at a moderate speed. Similarly, you can use a higher intensity program, when you are using the elliptical or use a lower intensity program as well.

After the number of calories comes the impact, these machines will have on the joints. If you have joint problem, especially knee problems, then you may want to choose an elliptical as opposed to a treadmill. The joint impact, when you run on the treadmill is much more than an elliptical workout. However, these days there also some treadmill models available, which come with orthopedic belts, that help in cushioning the impact on the joints.

Let's now see the space requirements in treadmill vs. elliptical trainer debate. Both elliptical as well as the treadmill occupy a decent amount of floor space. The treadmill may score over an elliptical in the space area, as most of the treadmill manufacturers do manufacture folding models of treadmills. These can be folded up, to save the floor space, when the treadmill is not in use. On the other hand, the elliptical machines will occupy the space all the time.

Now is the time to compare costs of elliptical and treadmills. If you are walking on a tight budget, you will want to choose an elliptical as compared to cheap treadmills, as elliptical is more cheap as compared to treadmill. However, make sure you do not buy either a low cost treadmill or elliptical, as they will, in the long run, turn out to be more costlier as compared to the slightly costlier ones.

Treadmills create a lot of noise as compared to an elliptical. The noise of the treadmill stems from the motor and from the person running on it, whereas an elliptical is quieter, as with the elliptical the person is not hitting the deck. Noise is where the elliptical scores over a treadmill hands down.

To conclude the debate between an elliptical and a treadmill, I am of the opinion, that an elliptical scores over a comparable treadmill in the costs department. As far as the workouts done both the machines go, the calories spent are more or less the same, but an elliptical is easier on the knees. It do not rake up maintenance as often as compared to a treadmill. However, I would like to specify, that I am not an enemy of the treadmills. I do use both the treadmill as well as an elliptical, but due to the above mentioned factors elliptical is the preferred choice.