Overview
The American College of Sports Medicine recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate cardiovascular exercise three days a week to maintain good health. To lose weight, you need to work even longer on those days. At the gym and in homes, two of the most popular ways to squeeze in the necessary exercise are the elliptical trainer and the treadmill. Both offer the opportunity to build heart, lung and muscle strength and endurance–but determining which one burns more calories will assist you in reaching your weight loss goals.
Treadmills
The treadmill is a popular way to fit in your walk or run indoors—so you can avoid the elements or unfriendly running environments. Walkers and runners can use the treadmill to achieve a good workout by adjusting their speed anywhere from .5 mph to as fast as 15 mph on some commercial models. Treadmills also provide a hill-climbing feature with gym models going up to at least a 15 percent incline. Most treadmills offer pre-programmed workout routines available with the touch of a button and the ability to enter your height, weight and target heart rate to help you form a workout and estimate calories burned.
Elliptical Trainers
Elliptical trainers have not been available as long as treadmills but have become quite popular in recent years. An elliptical machine mimics the natural rotation of the hip during walking or running, but because your feet never leave the pedals, no impact occurs. Some elliptical trainers include arm poles that can be used to move along with the rhythm of the feet and give you an upper body workout as well. Pedal backward or forward on an elliptical to vary your experience. Elliptical machines also offer pre-set workouts and tools to enter your personal data to allow you to track your calories burned.
Potential
The elliptical trainer offers you the ability to burn close to the same number of calories as jogging on the treadmill. A 150 lb. woman running at about 6 mph on a treadmill burns approximately 350 calories in a half hour. You will burn more calories on a treadmill by increasing your speed or by adding hills. The same woman, working at a moderate to hard intensity on the elliptical (getting the heart rate up to about 70 percent of maximum) can burn about 300 calories in a half hour, but without any wear and tear on the joints. Using an elliptical with the arms increases the calorie burn. Running on a treadmill builds strong calf, quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteal muscles. The glutes work even harder if you climb hills. The elliptical offers an opportunity to train the upper body in conjunction with the legs and an elliptical with an adjustable ramp (incline) can change the workout to emphasize certain parts of the legs.
Considerations
To burn the same amount of calories on an elliptical as you do running, you really have to push the intensity yourself—motivating your body to hit a certain number of stride speeds at higher and higher resistance levels. On the treadmill, increasing the speed on the treadmill console forces your legs to follow the path of the belt—it will tire you out, but you naturally go faster rather than having to concentrate on making yourself do it. If you are not accustomed to running, it is wise to begin a treadmill workout with walking and gradually adding in running intervals—this process helps prevent shin splints and intense muscle soreness from doing too much too soon. However, it will result in a lower calorie burn than jogging or running. Running on a treadmill causes your joints to experience as much as 2 1/2 times your body weight with each step—so if you have joint issues or are obese, you might consider using the elliptical to reduce this impact. If you are a competitive runner, you might burn fewer calories than the machine suggests because of your efficiency at the sport.
Verdict
Running burns more calories than the elliptical—especially if you incorporate lots of hills and speed drills. Some people might find it easier to simply get up the speed on their treadmill than to push aggressively on the elliptical trainer so as to burn off those extra cookies. If you have a physical condition that precludes running, the elliptical is an excellent alternative for calorie burn and muscle strengthening. Ideally, you will incorporate both modes of exercise into your workout regimen to avoid overtraining and boredom.