Treadmill vs. Elliptical: Which Machine Is Better For Weight Loss?

Both treadmills and elliptical or cross trainer are equally potential machinery that effectively helps in your weight loss process. Especially if you want to work out at home, these can be very powerful. But which one’s better depends on your usage and capability.

A treadmill may offer extensive calorie burn if you are the one who cannot live without inclined running. But elliptical performs best if you don’t want to get bored and accelerate the progress at your individual speed.

(Image Courtesy: The Health Site)

Weight Loss At Home: Treadmill 

PROS

#1. Treadmills are quite versatile as exercising equipment. They offer a wide range of workout options at varied speeds, inclination, and training programs.

#2. The rate of burning your calories is quite higher as you need to put in strenuous efforts for propelling your body weight forward.

#3. In the recent times, several types of machinery have been developed. Some of them are confusing while the others are awkward to use. Treadmill remains to be natural and much familiar till now.

#4. Treadmill usage aids in maintaining a better posture of an individual.

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#5. Treadmills are now a staple for any fitness freak. They’ve been perfected to naturally fit into anyone’s workout regime. And years of research have been invested in finalizing this equipment.

#6. One can create custom workout sessions with the help of a treadmill to aid in a faster weight loss process.

#7. The probability of slowing down your velocity remains infrequent. So unless you don’t lessen the speeds, the machine is not going to let you stop!

#8. Treadmill motion assists a more natural movement of the body that literally relates to our species.

CONS

#1. It’s definitely tougher on joints in the longer run. It stresses your body altogether including hips, knees, spine and ankle joints. Even if you are quite used to the motion and have been stretching and running excessively, the negative impact remains to be significant.

#2. Running on the treadmill when its is inclined is difficult. And when the surface is harder, some people tend to give up.

#3. According to a few studies, people have shown signs of posture issues and muscular imbalances. The style of walking changes while running/ walking on a treadmill.

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#4. If you are inadequate in taking up high-intensity training, you are prone to risk your safety.

#5. Treadmills are quite an exertion if you are a beginner.

Weight Loss At Home: Elliptical

PROS

#1. An elliptical trainer allows you to exercise both the upper and your lower body. This motion is what’s termed as cross training.

#2. A whole lot of different muscle groups can be activated and trained by this equipment’s reverse motion.

#3. You feel less stressed but you are actually putting in a lot of efforts for a better workout. You are working much harder than what’s perceived.

#4. The impact on your joints is quite low as compared to that of the treadmill working.

(Image Courtesy: Building Muscle 101)

#5. You are less likely to get injured on a cross trainer.

#6. You get a variety of inclinations and other modes for targeting the preferred body part.

#7. This equipment can be considered for those who have a reasonable amount of weight to lose and want to go about at their own movement.

#8. It helps strengthen your back muscles as you don’t strain but stay upright, holding on to the handles and rolling from heel to toe.

CONS

#1. There’s not much of an exceptional variation when it comes to the intensity of exercising programs.

#2. Sometimes it gets too easy as your legs are the one controlling the motion. Doesn’t that become easier for you to slow down as and when you feel like?

#3. The fact that your feet are off the ground makes it somewhat an unnatural movement.

(Image Courtesy: Livestrong)

#4. As your feet stay on those pedals, you have a restricted movement.

#5. An elliptical machine is quite expensive and unless you are totally into it, you wouldn’t want to consider buying it for home usage.

At the end, both the machines are here to stay for a long time. Some people choose to make use of both the equipment. While for some, their personal preference of picking either one dictates the decision. Have you made use of any of the equipment? Want to share your personal experiences with us? Let us know through the comment section below. We would love to hear from you!