Elliptical v.Treadmill: Is one better?

Elliptical v. Treadmill: Is one better?
There isn’t a more ever-present cardio conundrum than deciding whether the
ever popular elliptical trainer should be your go-to exercise choice or
the even-more-popular treadmill should get your workouts. That is until now.
The answer may surprise you.
First, let it be known that both give you a good workout and, as long as
you exercise for the same amount of time and at the same intensity, they
will give you the same workout—in physiological terms. A _June 2010 study
published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research_
(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20453685) found that when untrained subjects
exercised at the same perceived exertion rate on each machine, the amount of
calories burned and the amount of oxygen consumed was the same. The University of
Nebraska at Kearny researchers wrote that “an elliptical device is an
acceptable alternative to a treadmill.” These results confirm a _2004 Journal of
Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness study_
(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15470311) that found that when training volume and intensity were
the same, moderately trained subjects experienced the same physiological—
calories burned, oxygen consumed—improvements over a 12-week period whether
they used a treadmill or an elliptical (or a stair stepper, which was also a
part of this study).
Now that that’s out of the way, there is one big aspect where the two
differ—workout variety. On a treadmill you can walk, jog or run either on a
flat surface or an incline with resistance or without. There are your options.
You might be able to change it up by slowly walking backwards or
sidestepping (also at a slow pace). On an elliptical, the incline changes the
workout. For instance, set an elliptical at a low incline where you are
performing a horizontal motion and your movement is more like a Nordic Track
cross-country skier, especially if you are using arm levers. Raise it to a
mid-level incline and the action is similar to a bike’s—this is the typical
elliptical movement. Increase the incline to a more vertical angle and it
simulates a stair-climber. It is these options that make the elliptical the
ultimate workout boredom buster not just for your mind but for your muscles.
This makes the machine a great cross-training tool since your muscles will be
taxed in a way that they may not be accustomed and thus they work a bit
harder. (When this happens, you perceive the exertion as greater.)
Ultimately, your training goals will determine the best machine for you.
An avid runner training for a road race will look to the treadmill most of
the time, for instance. However, that same person may do a weekly session on
an elliptical to help prevent overuse injuries, break the monotony of
running, or simulate hills. When it comes to the elliptical v. treadmill
face-off, the two machines complement each other—like black and white.
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