Exercise Bikes vs. Treadmills

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.

o 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.

o 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.

_By: *Michael Walker*_

*About the Author:*

Michael Walker is a freelance author providing useful information
about exercise bikes [1], recumbent bike [2] and home fitness
equipment [3]. His numerous articles offer comprehensive tips and
solutions for the fitness enthusiast.

Links:
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[1] http://www.all-in-exercise-bikes.com/
[2] http://www.all-in-exercise-bikes.com/recumbent-exercise-bikes.htm
[3] http://www.all-in-exercise-bikes.com/10001-home-fitness-equipment.htm