One of the most common questions people have is what type of gym exercise machines they should use to accomplish their fitness goals. With a limited budget, people will often ask: Treadmill vs elliptical? In many ways, they both provide the workout you need — they help increase endurance, they help to lose weight, they occupy the same space in your home (some treadmills fold up while some elliptical machines actually fold away) and on and on and on. Ultimately, though, there are some pretty key differences between the two, particularly with how your body will respond to the workout you have on them.
Now that we have established that both can help you achieve the same goals in terms of endurance, weight loss, fat burning, distance, etc., let’s take a look at some of the key differences between the two and explore what machine is better suited for which person.
Treadmills
Treadmills provide a great workout and can particularly help runners train for events. While a treadmill will never fully emulate outdoor conditions, they can help with specific training conditions, such as speed/pace (since the machine operates at a defined speed or pace, the runner will work hard to keep up with that speed or pace) and incline or decline (each condition is very specific for runners and specific training is often helpful depending on the venue). As well most modern treadmills are great for helping runners conserve their joints.
The Lifefitness treadmills, for example, offer a pliant track that helps cushion impacts, making for quicker recovery times versus regular outdoor terrain. However, since there is still an “impact” treadmills in general are considerably “tougher” on your body, punishment that is rather unnecessary for regular fitness addicts whose objectives are more aligned with weight loss and cardiovascular training (you can get a good cardio workout on just about anything, so why subject your body to the beating?).
Ellipticals
Elliptical trainers, as mentioned above, can provide many of the same workout benefits as treadmills. However, what makes elliptical trainers a better choice for many general or typical fitness fanatics is that it allows a more complete cardio exercise since it does not focus on a specific muscle group (such as legs for a treadmill). In fact, elliptical trainers provide arm, chest, shoulder and back cardio exposure. This allows more muscular areas of the body to “work” at burning fats in those areas.
Many of the top elliptical trainers, such as the Proform elliptical trainers, provide users with adjustable resistance levels and allows users to target specific areas of the body. A treadmill, in comparison, does not allow this kind of workout.
Ideal users of elliptical trainers are folks looking for a more inclusive fitness workout. Although endurance can be improved from a cardio perspective on either machine, elliptical trainers allow for less impact and extremely quick recovery; treadmills in contrast are higher impact and require more of a recovery period.
In the ages-long treadmill vs elliptical debate, consider that a treadmill can really help someone train for a running or walking event with minimized impact (if an appropriate treadmill is used). An elliptical trainer on the other hand, provides a broader fitness workout will no impact whatsoever. Depending on your needs, either works but will help you achieve different goals.
