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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 stationary
bikes, recumbent fitness bikes
and portable exercise pedals.
His numerous articles offer
comprehensive tips and solutions
for the fitness enthusiast.
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