Treadmill Vs. Elliptical

When you go to a gym to workout, you have many choices on machines you can use. Long debates have gone on about which machines give you the most bang for your workout. Today I want to talk about treadmills and elliptical machines. Just to start; the fact that you're going to the gym and working out makes you farther ahead than anyone sitting on the couch, so ultimately you can't go wrong. As we know both of these are cardio machines, and that is the biggest thing to work on while working on being fit. Each have their own pros and cons so when standing around trying to decide which one to use, just remember why you're there and what your goals are.

Treadmills from your bodies stand point is more like running and walking than an elliptical is. Treadmills are great for anyone training to run a marathon or get your mile run to a certain point. These machines make your body work and move like you're actually running which is good to achieve those goals. They are more versatile because you can adjust your speed and even incline to make it seem like you're running up hills. This in turn can help build up muscle strength and endurance. On the other side of that coin though, is a higher risk of injury compared to an elliptical because of the impact it puts on your joints. The other part of this is if the treadmill is not long enough it can alter your normal stride and then is not as effective for training for a marathon or distance running. So when you hop on  treadmill make sure it feels natural and not short changing your steps.

With the elliptical machine you're not putting as much stress on your joints as you are on the treadmill. With that in mind, if you are bigger or have ankle or knee problems an elliptical would be a good and safe choice. The other good part about this is since its less stressful, your body will be able to endure it for a longer time than if you're on the treadmill. So for those of you wanting to lose fat this is a good thing to keep in mind. To lose 1 pound of fat you have to burn 3500 more calories than you consume. The other aspect of losing fat is getting your heart rate between 60-70% of your maximum heart rate for 45 minutes to start burning fat during excercise. Now if you're on a treadmill for that long your body is going to hurt and be pron to getting an injury. I spend about an hour on the elliptical when I'm at the gym and still feel good afterwards. This helps too because then you are not going to have the excuse "I'm to sore" to work out the next day.

When it comes to the calorie burning effect of these to machines its close. Side by side on these machines for 1 hour you will burn close to the same amount of calories but for those starting out being on a treadmill running or jogging for 1 hour can be to much. So you could alternate to get the best of both worlds and be up for more the next day. At some point though you will want to include that treadmill in your gym visits because it will help strengthen your leg muscles for the way you make them work and that's something the elliptical can't give you. Now putting the machines aside from this, the best thing you can really do for your body is get outside and walk or run because that puts your body in the best natural element and give you the best results.

Challenges

To reach a goal you have to challenge yourself and push yourself to reach that goal. When it comes to fitness everyone has a distinct goal they want to reach and different ways of doing it. I think that instead of people using 1 challenge to reach their goals that through out your journey you should put many different challenges in your routine. Putting milestones and little goals leading up to your ultimate goal can make the journey more fun and easier to achieve. If you think about it putting 1 major challenge in your routine can lead to disappointment and lead to you giving up. Some people will persevere from their first or second failure but for those without the high strong confidence this trick can help you get there. My wife started a cardio challenge and I decided to include this in my workout routine. Here is a link to the challenge: Cardio Challenge. There are different ways to create challenges but you want to make sure the pertain to what your ultimate goal is. Don't stray from your goal and I think including small challenge will help give you the boost of confidence you need to continue fighting for your goal.