Treadmill Vs Elliptical Machine: Which is Better?

Let’s be real, cardio isn’t exactly the highlight of our workouts, yet we can’t escape its importance for a healthy lifestyle.

The treadmill and the elliptical are the go-to machines for our cardio fix. They’re both solid choices, packing a punch with health perks, but they often get pitted against each other in the fitness arena.

We’re going to dive into the details of the treadmill versus elliptical debate. By the end of this read, you might realize that choosing between them isn’t about good or bad—it’s about what meshes with your fitness aspirations and what you’re seeking in workout gear.

So, are you team treadmill or team elliptical? Let’s jump in and figure it out!

What is a Treadmill?

A treadmill offers a static workout setup where you can walk, jog, or sprint in place. The belt rolls beneath you, mimicking the forward motion of walking or running.

Originally, treadmills weren’t about fitness at all—they powered machines and even served as punishment. Now, they’re a staple in fitness routines, and thankfully, today’s versions are anything but penal. They boast the latest tech to make your exercise experience smooth, with speed controls, preset exercise programs, and tracking features for things like your heart rate and calorie expenditure.

You can also tweak the incline for an extra burn, making the treadmill a versatile choice for everything from a light warm-up to a high-intensity session.

Benefits of Treadmill Workouts

The treadmill is crafted to mimic the experience of outdoor running or walking, aiming to offer equivalent benefits. Here’s why they can be a great part of your fitness routine:

Unmatched Convenience

For those in urban settings or areas with extreme weather, finding a good route for a run isn’t always easy. Treadmills offer a hassle-free solution, providing a consistent and weather-proof place to exercise indoors.

Calorie Tracking

Much like an outdoor jog or brisk walk, treadmill sessions are excellent for burning calories. They have the added bonus of displaying your calorie burn in real time, which can be super motivating and helpful for those who don’t use fitness trackers.

Heart Health

Treadmill workouts are a fantastic way to get your heart pumping, which is key for maintaining a healthy cardiovascular system. Regular use can lead to better circulation and overall heart fitness.

Personalized Workouts

Modern treadmills come packed with a variety of workout options, speeds, inclines, and resistance levels, allowing you to tailor your exercise to your specific fitness level and goals.

Choose Your Impact

Whether you prefer a gentle walk or an intense sprint, treadmills are versatile enough to accommodate both low and high-impact exercise routines. Plus, there are countless treadmill workouts available, ranging from high-intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions to programs focused on weight loss.

Negatives Of Using A Treadmill

While treadmills are fantastic for a variety of reasons, they’re not without their drawbacks, particularly when you weigh them against ellipticals. Here are a few points to consider:

Static Viewpoint: The invigorating experience of outdoor exercise, with its ever-changing landscapes, is something a treadmill can’t offer. The static environment might become monotonous over time, lacking the fresh air and views you get outside.
Lower Body Emphasis: Treadmills tend to focus on your lower half, especially your thighs. Unlike ellipticals, which offer a full-body workout, treadmills require you to mix in runs and incline adjustments to engage your core and target your legs and glutes more intensely.
Impact on Joints: Treadmills might offer a smoother surface than the unpredictable outdoors, but they still pack a punch with every footfall. This high-impact exercise can stress your joints, tendons, and ligaments, potentially leading to injuries, especially if you’re already prone to joint pain.
Space Consumption: Treadmills are not exactly space-savers. Averaging around six feet in length, they demand a good chunk of real estate in your home. That said, for those with tighter spaces, foldable treadmills offer a compromise, blending convenience with a smaller footprint.

What is an Elliptical Machiine?

An elliptical is a stationary workout machine that offers a full-body exercise experience, engaging more muscle groups than a treadmill, which primarily targets the lower body.

It’s akin to a hybrid of a stationary bicycle and a ski machine, featuring pedals and handlebars that work in tandem. As users grip the handlebars, they push and pull them while their feet move in a gliding, circular motion on the pedals.

This dual-action workout involves the upper body—including the shoulders, chest, arms, and back—alongside the core, while the legs follow a path that traces an elliptical pattern, giving the machine its name.

The elliptical provides a low-impact workout that combines the rhythmic motion of running with the resistance of stair climbing, effectively engaging both the upper and lower body simultaneously.

The Benefits of Using an Elliptical Machine

Exploring the benefits of an elliptical compared to a treadmill reveals that ellipticals have several advantages.

Comprehensive Muscle Engagement

Ellipticals stand out by involving both the lower and upper body, providing a more extensive workout. The machine’s handlebars contribute to training the arms, chest, shoulders, and core, unlike a treadmill that focuses on the lower body.

Gentler on Your Body

Ellipticals keep the feet stationary on the pedals, minimizing impact. This makes them an ideal choice for those seeking a workout that’s gentle on the joints. Research has indicated that using an elliptical can significantly decrease the impact and effort required by your muscles compared to treadmills, which is beneficial for injury recovery.

Tailored Exercise Experience

Elliptical machines, much like treadmills, offer various settings allowing users to adjust their workout intensity. With options to change resistance levels, incline, and pedal direction, ellipticals provide diverse workout possibilities.

Cardiovascular Conditioning

Ellipticals are effective for cardiovascular workouts, just like treadmills. They elevate heart rate and promote circulation, which benefits the heart and lungs.

Engaging Workouts

The involvement of the upper body on an elliptical can make for a more engaging and less monotonous workout than a treadmill, potentially keeping the user more mentally stimulated and focused.

Space-Saving Design

Ellipticals generally have a smaller footprint than treadmills, with many models designed to fold up for easy storage, making them suitable for smaller living spaces.

Affordability

When it comes to cost, ellipticals often come with a smaller price tag than treadmills, making them a more budget-friendly option for home gym enthusiasts.

Drawbacks of an Elliptical

Despite the numerous benefits, ellipticals have their downsides too:

User Learning Curve

Unlike the natural movement of walking or running on a treadmill, ellipticals require users to learn a specific motion, which can be challenging at first, especially for beginners or those with less core strength.

Less Bone Density Benefit

The lower-impact nature of an elliptical workout may be kinder to joints but doesn’t offer the same bone-strengthening benefits as the weight-bearing action of a treadmill.

Caloric Burn Comparison

While ellipticals provide an effective workout, they may not burn as many calories as running on a treadmill, according to some studies.

Treadmill vs Elliptical Machine: Muscles Used

Diving into the world of indoor cardio, we find two champions: the trusty treadmill and the versatile elliptical. The main distinction? It’s all about the muscle groups they recruit. Treadmills are famed for their lower body burn, hitting the legs from every angle – the quads, hamstrings, calves all get a piece of the action, not forgetting the glutes with every powerful push-off.

Your abs also get in on the treadmill fun, working subtly yet effectively to keep you upright and your form on point. If your treadmill tilts, cranking up that incline shifts the spotlight to your quads or glutes, depending on the angle, and even gives your calves a bit more to grapple with.

Now, let’s talk ellipticals. They’re like the Swiss army knife of cardio machines, offering a head-to-toe workout. Those handlebars aren’t just for show – they invite your biceps, triceps, shoulders, back, and even your chest to the party. And it’s not just a one-way street; pushing and pulling those bars means every rep is a full-body effort.

Below the belt, ellipticals are just as thorough, ensuring your calves, quads, and hamstrings share the workload. They also give your core a better workout than treadmills, engaging your abs and obliques to keep you balanced and poised. For those looking to dial up the intensity, straighten up and lean in a tad, and you’ll feel your core asking for mercy.

Some ellipticals even step it up with an incline feature, piling on more pressure to your legs. Want to give your hamstrings extra attention? Just pedal backward. It’s that simple.

Curious about which muscles are firing with each glide on the elliptical? Take a look at our detailed breakdown in “What Muscles Does The Elliptical Work?” and get the full scoop on how this machine can sculpt your body.

Treadmill vs Elliptical: Calories Burned

You might think swinging your arms on an elliptical would torch more calories than a treadmill session, but studies suggest you might want to think again.

Harvard Health threw down some numbers comparing these two gym staples. Picture someone weighing 155 pounds working up a sweat for half an hour. On an elliptical, they’ll shed around 335 calories. But on a treadmill? They’re looking at about 372 calories, assuming they’re keeping a pace of a 10-minute mile.

And that’s not just a one-off finding. Another piece of research pitted treadmills against other exercise machines and found treadmills led the pack in cranking up heart rates and calorie burn.

Treadmill vs Elliptical: Which Is Better For Weight Loss

It’s a pretty solid bet to lean towards treadmills if you’re looking to up your calorie-burning game, according to the research. But what’s the actual scoop when we dig into the studies?

Take this one piece of research where a group of women put treadmills, ellipticals, and stair climbers to the test over a three-month period. Turns out, when they matched the effort and time, the benefits across the board were pretty much the same.

Then there’s the face-off on fat burning. When it comes to how much fat you’re melting away during your workout, treadmills seem to blaze ahead, with ellipticals not too far behind.

Putting numbers to it, treadmills scored a 0.61 on the fat-burning chart, while ellipticals hit 0.41, and rowing machines were close with 0.40. So, if we’re talking strictly numbers, treadmills might just be your MVP for dropping pounds.

Yet, when you jump into the real-world chat, like a Reddit discussion on whether treadmills or ellipticals are the way to go for losing weight, you’ll find folks aren’t all singing the same tune. It’s a pretty mixed bag with a lot of it coming down to personal choice.

For those who are all about the elliptical, it’s often about how kind it is to the joints. You’ll find comments like “Elliptical is the way to go for a total body workout that’s gentle on the knees and hips.”

And you know, they’ve got a point. If you’re not into the high-impact hustle, sticking with an elliptical could mean you’ll keep at it longer without the aches and pains, and consistency is key. After all, it’s the long game that gets results.

If you’re weighing your options, sure, the evidence tips in favor of the treadmill for shredding calories if you’re good with the impact. But the best workout is the one that feels right for you—the one you’ll stick with.

Pair that with a solid eating plan, and you’re on your way. If you need a little guidance on the food front, don’t miss our Weight Loss Meal Plan for some tips to complement your workouts.

Related: Best Treadmills for Home Gyms

Treadmill vs Elliptical: The Price

When comparing prices for treadmills and ellipticals, there’s quite a range to consider. For treadmills, on average, you might be looking at about $574. This cost can be influenced by several factors, including the machine’s features like incline options, built-in workout programs, and heart rate monitors, as well as the machine’s size and overall performance.

Ellipticals have a broad price range as well, with some basic models starting at just a few hundred dollars. However, for a durable machine with a good warranty and a slew of features, the price can land anywhere between $1,000 and $2,000. If you’re eyeing high-end models, the cost can jump significantly, with some machines reaching prices of $3,800 to over $4,400. I

t’s also noted that while you can find ellipticals for as low as $129, the prices can go up to $3,299 depending on where you shop and the discounts available. And for a high-quality elliptical, prices can vary from $500 to $3,000, highlighting the diversity in options and features that can affect the cost.

Both treadmills and ellipticals can fit a range of budgets, but generally, you may find that ellipticals can have a higher upper price limit due to the added complexity and features that some models offer. It’s essential to consider not just the price but also the quality, durability, and features that fit your workout needs and home gym space.

Which Is Better For A Home Gym?

Choosing between a treadmill and an elliptical for your home gym? Ah, it’s like picking between coffee and tea for some of us—both have their own charm.

If you’re tight on space or prefer a quieter machine, an elliptical might be your best bet. It’s generally more compact and a bit more neighbor-friendly if you live in an apartment with thin walls.

Plus, if you’re into multitasking, an elliptical lets you work out your arms and legs simultaneously and is easier on the knees and hips—perfect if you’re binge-watching your favorite series while breaking a sweat.

But if you’re after that calorie-torching, heart-pumping session, and love the feel of pavement underfoot (well, sort of), a treadmill could be the way to go. It’s fantastic for simulating that outdoor running experience, come rain or shine. And with options to adjust the incline, you can mimic those hill workouts without stepping outside.

Ultimately, the “better” choice boils down to what you’re looking to get out of your workouts and which machine you’ll hop on consistently.

Because let’s face it, the best workout equipment for your home gym is the one that you’ll use regularly, not the one that turns into an expensive clothes hanger. So go with the one that makes you excited to lace up those sneakers and get moving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here’s the lowdown on the most frequently asked questions we get about the elliptical showdown with treadmills and bikes.

Which Reigns Supreme for Fitness: Treadmill, Elliptical, or Bike?

It’s all about your fitness mission. Treadmills are ace for cranking up the calorie burn and shedding pounds. Want to rope in the upper body, too? Ellipticals have your back. And if you’re curious about how they stack up against stationary bikes, we’ve laid it all out in our detailed comparison.

Elliptical vs. Treadmill: Which Lasts Longer?

Both can be long-haul companions with a little TLC. While budget models might tap out after a year or five, invest a bit more, and you could be workout buddies for a decade or beyond. Don’t forget to check the warranty for some extra peace of mind.

Is Running Easier on a Treadmill or an Elliptical?

Most folks find treadmills a breeze compared to ellipticals. You’ll need a good dose of core strength and upper body oomph for ellipticals, not to mention some balance.

Does an Elliptical Trump Walking for Cardio?

If we’re talking heart-pumping, sweat-dripping cardio, ellipticals outpace a stroll on the treadmill. But if you really want to kick it up a notch, running on the treadmill is your best bet.

Is Half an Hour on the Elliptical a Solid Workout?

Absolutely, 30 minutes on the elliptical can definitely count as a legit workout, especially if you’re pushing yourself. Aim for that half-hour to an hour sweet spot for the best results.

When Will I See Results from the Elliptical?

This is the million-dollar question, right? It varies from person to person, but with consistent workouts, a balanced diet, and time on your side, you could start to see a difference in as little as three to four weeks. Keep at it, and you’ll be on your way to reaching those fitness goals.

Final Word

Ellipticals and treadmills are both top-notch choices for getting in some cardio at home. They’re like your personal mini-gym, ready whenever you are.

Picking between the two is a bit like choosing your adventure. If you’re all about burning through calories and seeing those numbers drop on the scale, treadmills might just be your ticket. They’re calorie-burning powerhouses, after all. But if you’re leaning towards a gentler option that still gets your whole body in on the action and gives your core a bit of extra love, then ellipticals could be calling your name.

It’s a toss-up, really. Both have their perks and their quirks, and it’s up to you to decide which aligns with what you’re looking for—be it budget-wise, space-wise, or fitness-wise. No matter which one you go with, they’re both a win for your physical and mental well-being, giving you that workout high without stepping out the door.