Treadmill vs Elliptical

Treadmill vs elliptical fun is the main difference along with impact between these fitness machines.



Treadmill vs elliptical fun is the main difference along with impact between these fitness machines. I remember being at a Fitness Industry Trade show the year elliptical machines were being introduced. I have a habit of standing or sitting on the equipment while talking to the sales person. I realized as I was talking I was using the machine. I had never done that on any equipment before. It felt that natural and fun. Even though I have a policy of never buying newly introduced equipment because they are maintenance nightmares until they figure out how they will wear under our heavy use I bought a handful of machines. And yes even though they assured me I would not have repair problems they caused me all kinds of nightmares. They are no longer the same machines mechanically.

As you can see from the photos above a treadmill has flat deck and the elliptical has a wheel in the back that makes the pedals travel in an ellipse hence the name. A treadmill is a walking/running simulator. An Elliptical is a 0 impact machine in which the movement pattern is an ellipse thus eliminating the strike point in normal gate. The Arc Trainer is the same concept as an elliptical (non-impact) except the movement is an arc. Really a stationary bike is a zero impact

workout as well.

There are pro's and cons to non-impact exercise. Really they are not natural environments for us. Good to help stay moving through injuries etc. but the impact is important for spatial awareness and bone density. Elliptical are easier too....that's really why people gravitate towards them I think.

They work the same muscle groups just differently. Because the applications of resistance (force) and movement patterns are all different so you are asking the same muscles to do different types of work.



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