Looking to add the perfect equipment to your home gym? Or trying to plan a personalized workout routine? But you’re fixated on the two basic cardio equipment, the treadmill and the stationary bike. Well then search no further, because we have compiled some research for you on the two exercise gears which will surely help you formulate a decision for yourself.
Be it weight loss or muscle building, to achieve either of your goals your workout routine should comprise of some heated cardio exercise to get you started.
In this article we will be focusing on your weight loss plans and help you choose the machine that suits your needs best.
Burn those Calories!
Cardio and high intensity interval workouts are a great way to lose extra calories and melt away your fat. Undoubtedly, treadmills and stationary bikes are the most widely known and ideal ways to get your dose of daily cardio.
In terms of amount of calories burnt, treadmills take the lead here. Running puts your whole body into motion and achieves a higher calorie burn count of around 600 to 700 if used for about an hour. The calorie burn along with a calorie deficit in your diet is going to be very beneficial in your journey towards a healthier leaner self.
Stationary bikes, though great for workout, achieve a relatively lower calorie burn count. When you exercise on a stationary bike you are essentially seated and only using the lower half of your body as compared to while you’re running. So that is why exercise bikes help you burn around 400 calories in an hour long bike session.
Muscle engagement
Running on a treadmill puts your legs, arms and core into exercise, which helps in fat loss throughout the body and full body strength.
Stationary bikes mobilize your legs and gluteal region, targeting strength and fat loss in that particular area.
So in comparison treadmills provide a more wholesome workout than an exercise bicycle.
Impact and Safety
While investing into an exercise equipment you also need to take into consideration the injury risk and safety of the machine.
Treadmills are prone to more accidents, you can fall while running or twist your ankle if your posture isn’t correct. Whereas, cycling on a stationary bike is less risky as the most probable injuries that you can sustain from it are back/gluteal pain or knee pain from sitting and continuous flexion of the knee.
So treadmills gives more impact and less safety as compared to an exercise bike.
Plan Variation
In order to lose weight, our body needs a constant change of our exercise routine, otherwise the body adapts to the exercise leading to fewer calorie loss each day.
In those terms both the equipment are great, treadmills offer speed variation and incline that helps you change your monotonous exercise routine every now and then to help you achieve better results. As for stationary bikes, speed and resistance can be increased or decreased, giving you fluctuation enough to help lose more calories.
Conclusion
To summarize, treadmills are a better companion for you if your goal is to lose weight, because it helps you achieve a higher calorie loss in the same amount of time you would spend on a stationary bike, pacing you towards your goal weight. By providing you a full body and core workout, it melts away the extra blubber from under your skin.
Stationary bicycles, though great for workout and safer than treadmills are our runner up, enabling lower body exercise and a great cardio workout.
Some treadmills are multifunctional. In additional to the usual running functions, they are designed to have a sit ups rack with an integrated rack for a pair of small dumb bells and an Ab (abdominable) mat. Running with these dumb bells increases your calories burnt by up to 10% for the same period of time. The Ab mat protects your tailbone when you are doing the sit ups. These treadmills provide total body workout exercises which will accelerate your fitness goals in the comfort of your own home.