Comparing exercise bikes and treadmills

So you've decided you want to exercise at home? There are numerous amounts of home cardio equipment to choose from. The exercise bike and treadmill seem to be the most popular. To decide between the two, compare safety, the effectiveness of the workouts, and long-term sustainability.

Getting rid of boredom

The biggest problem people have with at home excercise is sticking with it. Your equipment is more convenient, because you're not driving all the way to a gym. The problem is other things just as convenient are distracting. The trick is to make your routine more fun, so you look forward to your daily workout. Be realistic. Watching the calorie counter go up, or play8ing with the heart monitor will only be fun for a short time.

Boredom vs. Treadmill

You walk on a treadmill, which isn't that much fun. You change the speed, but don't do much. Getting a treadmill with an incline can make things a little more interesting. Going uphill isn't really fun, but it's different, as it presents a challenge.

Boredom vs. Exercise bike

Exercise bikes are different in that several of them come with already programmed routines. It simulates pedaling uphill, sprinting, and other levels, that don't require you to push different buttons to change everything. You may even select random programs so you'd don't know what's coming at you, keeping you on your toes. Special bikes can be jacked into video or television for interaction with visuals.

To successfully keep up a good workout, you need to defeat boredom, and this is much easier with an exercise bike than a treadmill.

The calories burnt

Nordic track performed a study in which healthy, young people used different exercise machines and did various cardio workouts. They burned the most calories on treadmills and ski machines.

A person averages about 750 calories on a treadmill in an hour. An exercise bike is only 550. You would think to go for the treadmill, right?

Not exactly. You shouldn't get so caught up in which machine burns more. Other factors have to be thought about. How likely are you to stay with a treadmill routine compared to an exercise bike?

Exercise bikes are normally more fun than the treadmills, so you're more likely to stick with it. You will burn more calories on a treadmill, but at the same time, you might stop using it quickly.

Your health

The most important difference between treadmills and exercises bikes are your health.

The first issue is the most simple. You can fall of off a treadmill, but it's very hard to fall off of an exercise bike. You're probably thinking that you'd have to be very clumsy to fall off of a treadmill, but it happens quite often. People get distracted with music or television, and one wrong step can lead to serious injury. You can also spill water on the track, and not notice until you slip.

Other safety hazards are hurting yourself just from the exercise! Treadmills put stress on your joints, like your ankles and knees. If you buy a treadmill with some kind of shock absorption, jogging or running can put serious stress on your body. People with arthritis will find this painful at times. Healthy people can get injured and sustain long-term damage over time.

Obviously, both have advantages. The treadmill is the most popular, but people ride an exercise bike more faithfully. This means you'll get more use out of an exercise bike, and the treadmill isn't in the corner collecting dust.