Treadmill vs Bike vs Cross-trainer

[San2]

I am sure this has been brought up before, so please forgive me for asking again. I simply don't have the peace and quiet to go through the old messages. And opinions might have changed in the meantime, so here we go...

I've been doing a bit of exercise, cardio as well as strength training. Things are getting easier with time though, so naturally, I want to step it up a notch. It's not really an issue with the strength training, since I can move to the more difficult exercises etc.

THe cardio part is different. I would like to walk, but the weather, being housebound and the area we live in doesn't really allow much of that outside. So I thought about getting a treadmill. My husband pointed out that treadmills can put extreme strain on my knees, ankles etc., and suggested a bike instead. Now, I don't like to sit, I want to move around properly.

I had a look at cross trainers, and they seem a little less heavy on the knees, and generally seem to require more body parts to move than the treadmill or the bike.

Now my question is, is there any significant difference between the three, or is it really just personal preference? I know that cardio doesn't do much in terms of weight loss or burning extra calories (not on its own anyway), but that's not what I'm after. Just get some workout, get moving, and use those muscles that haven't been used for far too long. I actually enjoy it, and it certainly can't hurt.

Any ideas / experiences / advice anybody?

Thanks in advance!

 

[spike99]

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I remember reading somewhere (can't remember where) that exercising on a TM and Stationary bike and elliptical machines has same "calories burn" output. This is assuming one is exerising with machine's calorie burn counter.

Luckily, my body can do TM, stationary bike and elliptical machines without any problems. For my one office buddy, he cannot do the TM machine. His body can do the TM but having his body between 2 rails, belt spinning under his feet and a tilted bed makes his head too dizzy. Thus, he can do the stationary bike and elliptical machines but TM machines is off his "will consistantly use" list. For the one lady I know, she hates the elliptical machine she currently has. She says it put her ankles into unnatural position and during each exercise session, it hurts her ankles / lower legs too much.

Personally, I like using my dual action stationary bike the most. It's a stationary bike with dual action bars for my arms. On my VitaMaster "dual action" stationary bike, I can exercise my legs more. Or when my legs get too tired, my arms can exercise more. A dual action stationary bike works great for me. Especially while using a cordless headphone system while watching TV (at the same time). However, I also read that sitting on one's butt while exercising doesn't burn MAXIMUM calories - within shortest time period. Standing machines burn more calories for shorter time period. This fall (when I get enough Sears points saved up), I'm getting my own elliptical machine. (Hopefully, Free machine - from saved points). Nice simple design / "lower cost" elliptical machine. Thus, do each machine every other night. For example, Stationary Bike, TM and elliptical machines. Thus, working many different body parts - and NOT working one specific muscle group or joints. And do muscle build sessions "the other nights". Thus, balanced exercise sessions.

Long post short, one's "machine list" is based on:
- Personal comfort / good feeling thing. If it feels good, one does it for longer period of time.
- Changing different muscle groups - to reduce "over use" joint wear. Or, ability to use other muscles when body gets too warn out. Thus, why I like dual action (legs and arms) exercise machines (like dual action elliptical machine & VitaMaster Airflow machines) the best.
- Use different machine if it hurts one's body part too much - like one's butt for sitting on a Stationary bike seat too long. I'm sure standing machines (like elliptical machine) doesn't hurt the butt very much. Thus, one uses this machine longer.

Hope this helps...

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