by Ron Higgins
In many home gyms, you will notice the stationary bikes and the treadmills having their fair share of fans. Each has their upsides and downsides, hence their almost – emphasis on almost – comparable popularity. In comparing the two, is one more advantageous than the other?
Sticking to the Fitness Regiment
One of the main dilemmas of doing your workouts at home is sticking to the exercise regiment. After all, there are no personal trainers to offer motivation, direction and inspiration as well as different gym rats to talk with. In short, you may just fall prey to the clutches of boredom.
Why don’t we look at how much fun you’ll have on each of these machines? On a treadmill, you have the option to just walk and run, two activities that you do in the usual course of activities and that perhaps will not be as fun. Of course, you have the option to vary the speed and the slant on a treadmill but still, it might not be as fun as you are hoping for.
On a stationary bike, you can find other activities to keep from getting bored. You are comfortably seated, making it easy for reading books and magazines, catching up on your t.v. programs, listening to music and even watching the everything around you, since you’re not hopping on your feet. Now, look at that versus running on a treadmill. With a wider variety of entertainment options, you are more likely to stick to your home exercise program.
Shout Adios to Calories
It’s true that analysis has recognized that the treadmill burns more calories than the stationary bike with all other things being equal. In general, using the treadmill sheds 750 calories an hour while the stationary bike only burns 550 calories.
So, the next conclusion is that you should opt for the treadmill instead of the stationary bike because the numbers tell it all, right? Well, not necessarily as these stats are just one part of the complete equation.
If you cannot work out on the treadmill as much as you will want to work out on the exercise bike, then it is simple to see that the bike will offer more opportunities to burn calories. Because of that, the exercise bike is triumphant yet again.
Safety Issues in Usage
This is probably the most critical comparison simply because you exercise to achieve a better body, not one that is injured from exercise itself. Again, the exercise bike comes out ahead of the treadmill in the safety of usage area for two reasons.
When looking at the impact of each machine, the treadmill has a higher impact than the bike. This is because your feet constantly come into hard contact with the floor of the treadmill but in the stationary bike, your feet don’t move from the pedals. One other reason is that you are more in danger of stumbling off the treadmill than on a stationary bike. You do have to maintain your balance on a treadmill at all times.
Learn more about tredmills. Stop by Ron Higgins’s site where you can find out all about tredmill and what it can do for you.