Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Exercise and Fitness
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
 
Old 01-01-2018, 03:23 PM
 
17 posts, read 8,687 times
Reputation: 17

Advertisements

Treadmill.
Quick reply to this message

 
Old 01-01-2018, 03:45 PM
 
Location: Scottsdale
2,067 posts, read 1,618,275 times
Reputation: 4051
Quote:
Originally Posted by riaelise View Post
I use both, and both are great for cal burning, but I find the elliptical to be really effective, especially if you use the poles and adjust the crossramp/resistence. It's also great if you have knee issues as the fluid motion is better. I use two different types of machines (elliptical plus treadmill or stairclimber) during each cardio session to change things up and not get bored.
I agree. I tore my left knee in 2005. I was able to use the elliptical machine aggressively (700 cal/30 min)
during recovery.

For running, I like to ride the bike for 30 minutes then run 1 or more miles on the treadmill afterwards.
A fantastic workout is a 30 minute bike ride at high intensity followed by a 3 mile run in 30 min at an incline. For my size that burns about 1100 calories (or more).

Treadmills are good. I would mix it up with elliptical machines for cross-training. For example, 10 minutes on the tread mill, 10 on the elliptical, and 12 on the bike would be a good combo. Then work it upwards in time over weeks gradually.
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-01-2018, 11:02 PM
 
3,158 posts, read 4,565,626 times
Reputation: 4883
Hands the treadmill here, 8 years and still loving it!
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-03-2018, 02:00 PM
 
Location: OHIO
2,575 posts, read 2,053,902 times
Reputation: 5965
My feet/ankles can't handle running on a treadmill, but I think of the two it's best for a beginner. I will sometimes use the treadmill to do some brisk walking at an incline, but then do the elliptical. So you could do a combo of the two.
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-21-2018, 10:27 AM
 
15 posts, read 11,892 times
Reputation: 24
I've been using my treadmill for a few months now! It's been great for me. My knees used to kill when I would use it but I recently learned if you set the incline to a 1% or so it takes some of the pressure off of your knees. It's been great!

Last edited by Matt from Idaho; 08-21-2018 at 10:42 AM..
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-21-2018, 10:38 AM
 
Location: Watervliet, NY
6,916 posts, read 3,894,702 times
Reputation: 12875
Quote:
Originally Posted by Adrian75 View Post
When I first started exercising I starting walking on a treadmill....it took me at least 6 weeks to go at least a half hour on an elliptical but the treadmill I was able to stay on right away without a struggle (gradually adding in inclines and different speeds etc. My friend who is out of shape has started on an elliptical and can’t last 5 minutes as of yet. I told her to start on the treadmill. Walk 3.0 mph for a half hour for a few weeks and then start pushing it to 3.5 and inclines etc....then add in the elliptical. I think starting on an elliptical when you haven’t exercised in many years is too hard and could be discouraging? Any input?
I know you want to add in strength training also.
3 MPH is actually a very fast rate of speed, especially for someone just starting out. That was my average walking speed when I weighed about 70-80 pounds less than I do now.

If she can't last 5 minutes on an elliptical there is no way in hell she would be able to do 3 MPH on a treadmill for a half an hour. I just did 2.09 miles in 44 minutes last night myself, most of that was at 3 MPH on a #3 incline level. That was hard work for me, and I've probably been at the fitness game a lot longer than your friend has been. Incidentally, I can do a sub-14 minute mile on the elliptical at this point.
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-21-2018, 11:10 AM
 
Location: Wine Country
6,103 posts, read 8,763,961 times
Reputation: 12324
When you first start exercising you need to focus on baby steps. Do not allow yourself to get frustrated if you cannot do much. If you are consistent your ability to do more at a more intense rate will grow steadily.
As far as what machine to use the answer is the one YOU like better.

I personally like the treadmill but I have many friends that swear by the elliptical. I never liked it.

Years ago when I was in the worst shape of my life I started on the treadmill, very slow with no incline. Within a year I was at walking on a high elevation level and much higher speed than I started.
How I got to that point is that every day that I was on the treadmill after the first few weeks getting a handle on it, I challenged myself. Incrementally making it faster or higher and for a minute at a time.
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-21-2018, 11:34 AM
 
Location: Bloomington IN
8,590 posts, read 12,236,223 times
Reputation: 24241
I realize the OP posted this thread many months ago. In the past 3 weeks I've started exercising again. We have a gym quality elliptical. My husband's doctor recommended an elliptical over a tread mill so that's what I use.

I like it because I can get a full body workout as long as I use the poles and don't just hang on to the stationary handles.

In the past I never really bothered to learn what the different settings meant. I understood adjusting the stride, but I didn't know how it effected my workout. I just knew that increasing the level made it harder. I'm finding I can do a HIIT type workout on the elliptical a few different ways now: change the stride, change the level and change my speed. Still figuring out what I like best and what I need to do to get where I want to be.

I do one day of regular cardio for about 15 minutes now, followed by a day of HIIT, etc.
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-21-2018, 04:10 PM
 
366 posts, read 361,792 times
Reputation: 588
I wore my fit bit on both the elliptical and stairmaster, as I don't trust gym treadmills. I'm also an outside runner. My HR gets higher on the elliptical, though I sweat way more on the stairmaster.
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-21-2018, 07:10 PM
 
Location: Brawndo-Thirst-Mutilator-Nation
22,573 posts, read 24,376,202 times
Reputation: 20219
I really like the elliptical, you work more of your body compared to a treadmill.
Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


 
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:
Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Exercise and Fitness
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top