Elliptical Trainer vs. Treadmill Exercising

One of the main benefits of the elliptical trainer is that it allows you to work your whole body, similarly to jogging, but without putting any strain onto your leg joints. When running on a treadmill, your knees and ankles have to absorb the impact force each time your foot makes contact with the belt surface. On the elliptical bike, your feet stay in permanent contact with the pedals, so your joints are safe. It is well-known that overweight and obese persons often have joints problems, because their legs have to support too much weight. If such a person attempts to lose weight by jogging or by treadmill exercising, they might get in trouble before reaching their fitness goals. Elliptical trainers are safe for this category of people. Moreover, they help to both upper and lower body workout, as long as you keep your hands on the handlebars. This is something treadmills don’t offer, so you may need additional exercises for a complete workout of your body.

As adaptability and exercise routines customization are key to successful weight loss programs, elliptical trainers make no exception. They offer the user the possibility of adjusting the exercise intensity level as to comply with your personal requirements and capabilities. Some people even say that elliptical trainers increase the ability of building bone density, thus avoiding osteoporosis. I don’t remember where I’ve read about this, but if it is true, it makes it an excellent choice for menopausal women, who are at risk of developing osteoporosis, because of the hormonal changes which affect their bone mass by contributing to its deterioration.

If you live in a small apartment, you may find it more convenient to get yourself an elliptical bike rather than other kind of home gym equipment, because its footprint is smaller than, for example, the one of a treadmill.

Before spending money on any fitness equipment, you should consider discussing your intention with your doctor, because you may discover that exercise is not indicated for such and such diseases, therefore you may risk your health if you do what you shouldn’t be doing. Take advantage of your health professional, because the final purpose of any fitness program is to make you healthier, not ill.

You should know that there is not golden rule to follow when building your home gym. If you enjoy running, treadmills are the way to go. You can find cheap treadmills on the internet. I remember some months ago seeing the weslo cadence c44 treadmill for sale, for an unbelievably low price. I’m still sorry I didn’t act then, because it soon was sold. If your intentions are serious, then keep an eye on a few auction websites for a couple of weeks, as used treadmills appear all the time. Be it York or Reebok, or Horizon, or Nordic Track, or Landice they all do pretty much the same thing, so you don’t have to worry too much for a specific brand.

I’m going to review a few treadmill models, because I intend to buy one and I’ll be doing the research anyway, so why not make it public, maybe you can use it for your home gym equipment acquisition.

Treadmill or not, there is something else you could start with: the elliptical bike. Very advantageous from the point of view of the occupied space, the elliptical bike is much better than the regular exercise bike we all know from ages, because it helps burn calories faster, thus being more efficient. The elliptical motion and the involvement of both legs and arms are the main keys to this efficiency of elliptical bike exercises. Of course, your results will depend of your determination in following a fitness routine at least three-four times a week, for a longer period of time. You’ll see that the more you exercise, the easier it will seem for you, so you’ll use the device which allows gradually increasing the speed and the resistance level. Most elliptical bikes, if not all, come with a computer which monitors your heart rate, your speed, the calories consumption and the distance you’ve “walked”. If you decide to go for the elliptical, you don’t even need a special gym room, because it perfectly fits in smaller spaces, so you can put it in your bedroom or living, thus being able to watch TV while doing your fitness exercises.

If you really enjoy exercising, you can try to buy a total body trainer. Bigger than the elliptical bike, the total body trainer will allow you to integrate strength training into a cardio workout, thus contributing to your weight loss as well as to your overall well-being.