Exercise Bikes vs. Treadmills
You've decided you want to exercise at home. There are hundreds
of pieces of home cardio equipment available. The most popular
are treadmills and exercise bikes. In deciding between the two,
you should compare long-term sustainability, the effectiveness
of the workouts, and safety.
Overcoming Boredom
The biggest obstacle to a home exercise routine is sticking with
it. You don't have to drive to a gym, so your home fitness
equipment is more convenient. The problem is that other
distractions are just as convenient at home. The key is to make
your routine fun. You want to look forward to your daily
workout. You have to be realistic. Playing with the heart rate
monitor or watching the calorie counter go up will only be fun
the first couple of times you exercise.
Treadmill vs. Boredom
On a treadmill, you walk. Walking isn't that fun. You can walk
at different speeds, but that isn't really much more fun. If
you get a treadmill that offers an incline, that keeps it a bit
more interesting. Walking uphill isn't exactly fun, but it's
different. It presents a challenge.
You can't really read on a treadmill because you are bouncing up
and down. You can't keep your eyes on the same sentence, and
you usually end up with a headache. Basically, the only thing
fun to do on a treadmill is watch television or movies. If you
are really into TV or movies and are able to put your treadmill
in front of a television, you can probably keep your treadmill
workout from becoming too boring. Problems consist of
commercials, the noise coming from the machine, and again, the
bouncing.
Exercise Bikes vs. Boredom
Exercise bikes are unique in that many of them come programmed
with various biking routines. You simulate different courses
that require you to sprint, pedal uphill, and perform at
different levels within one workout without having to keep
pressing buttons and changing everything. You can even select
random programs so you don't know what's coming, which really
keeps you on your toes. Some exercise bikes can even be plugged
into televisions and video games to let you interactively pedal
through visual courses.
On upright exercise bikes, you run into some of the same
problems as treadmills as far as reading is concerned. Recumbent
bikes, however, allow your hands to be free to hold a book or
magazine, video game controller, or phone. Multi-tasking during
an exercise bike workout keeps it from becoming boring and
allows your workout to more easily fit into a busy schedule.
Defeating boredom to successfully keep up a long-term exercise
routine is much easier with an exercise bike than a treadmill.
The Calorie Factor
In a study conducted by Nordic Track, young, healthy people used
various exercise machines and did cardio workouts. Although
they felt they used the same intensity on all machines, they
burned the most calories on treadmills and ski machines.
On average, most people burn about 750 calories per hour on a
treadmill. The same people are likely to burn about 550
calories per hour on an exercise bike. So it's a no-brainer,
right? You should get a treadmill because they burn more
calories.
Well, not exactly. You can't get so caught up in which machine
burns the most calories. You have to take a lot of other
factors into consideration. How likely are you to sustain a
treadmill routine as opposed to an exercise bike routine?
Because exercise bikes are usually more fun than treadmills, you
are much more likely to stick with it long-term. This means
that even though you can burn more calories on a treadmill, you
are also more likely to stop using it altogether.
You might also find it difficult to use it long enough per
workout session to get the full benefits. Most people find it
easier to workout for 20 minutes on an exercise bike than 20
minutes on a treadmill. You have to think about that. If you
are likely to only do 10 minutes on a treadmill but can easily
do 20 minutes on an exercise bike, you will burn more calories
per session on an exercise bike.
So just going strictly by the numbers, treadmills burn more
calories. If you easily get bored or have tried and failed to
stick with exercise routines in the past, you might want to
consider burning less calories per hour in favor of a
sustainable long-term exercise bike regimen.
Your Safety
The biggest difference between exercise bikes and treadmills is
overall safety to your body.
The first case of safety is the most basic. You can fall off of
a treadmill. It's very difficult, however, to fall off of an
exercise bike. In fact, you would probably have to try to fall
when riding an exercise bike. While you might be thinking you'd
have to be pretty clumsy to fall while walking, it happens more
than you'd think. People get involved with watching television
or the beat of music. One wrong step and you can seriously
injure yourself. It's also possible to spill water or sweat on
the treadmill track, causing a safety hazard you might not
notice until after you've slipped.
Another safety hazard is injury from the activity itself. A
treadmill puts quite a bit of stress on your joints, especially
your knees and ankles. Even if you invest in a treadmill with
some degree of shock absorption, when you eventually get to a
jogging or running point, you can put severe orthopedic stress
on your body, even up to three times your body weight. People
with existing conditions such as arthritis will find a treadmill
painful at times due to this stress. Otherwise healthy
individuals can sustain injury and possible long-term damage
over time.
Exercise bikes put much less stress on your joints. A properly
positioned exercise bike supports your weight and still allows
you to receive the benefits of a higher impact cardio workout.
Upright bikes can sometimes stress your back in the way you have
to bend to reach the handlebars. Recumbent exercise bikes,
however, can actually improve existing back pain by forcing
proper posture and giving support as you exercise. On any
exercise bike properly used, your knees and ankles are not
stressed as they are on a treadmill.
The less you stress joints, the less likely you are to sustain
an injury during your workout. You are also less likely to be
sore afterwards. Most importantly, a non-workout injury doesn't
always have to halt your exercise routine on an exercise bike.
If you hurt your back or neck, you will find the support of a
recumbent exercise bike will keep you from having to stop your
exercise regimen altogether. Let's face it - if you have to
stop, you are less likely to start again.
An Exercise Bike is Better for Your Health than a Treadmill
As you can see, both pieces of home fitness equipment have
advantages. While the treadmill continues to be the most
popular piece of home gym equipment, most people are more likely
to faithfully use an exercise bike. This means you're more
likely to have to dust a treadmill until it gets the garage sale
sticker.
Michael Walker is a freelance author providing useful
information about
http://www.all-in-exercise-bikes.com/ ,
His numerous articles offer comprehensive tips and
solutions for the fitness enthusiast.
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