If you frequent the gym but don’t know the difference between training on a cycle and an elliptical trainer, you’ve got to read this. We spoke to two fitness experts about how these two cardio workouts and how they impact our bodies. So if you prefer one over the other, read on to know what to expect.
Elliptical Trainers
Abbas Ali, celebrity fitness expert and founder of Bodyholics Combine Studio, says “Elliptical training helps to treat your back’s fatigue and it has some excellent fat-burning potential. But what’s important is that you must be cautious when using this machine. If used in the wrong form it can injure the ankle or lead to toe numbness. Working out on an elliptical trainer will burn around 400 to 500 calories in an hour, while the same amount of time on the cycle will burn up to 300 calories.
According to Amaresh Ojha, founder, CEO, Gympik.com (a fitness website), “An elliptical trainer is a low-impact machine that burns calories without injuring your joints. When you use these machines, you’re getting an aerobic workout involving your heart and lungs”. Abbas further adds, “But just moving your arms doesn’t burn more calories. It is the tension adjustment on the handlebars that provides the resistance for a good upper and lower body workout. There are many disadvantages of using an elliptical too. Since many people don’t stretch their muscles enough and increase the resistance adjustments too much, it results in straining their muscles.
An elliptical trainer is great for a full-body workout that gives cardio benefits and does more in less time.
Cycling
“Cycling is a healthy, low-impact exercise that can be enjoyed by people of all ages, from young children to older adults. It is also fun, cheap and good for the environment. It’s ideal for people who are fit and have a normal body weight. For overweight people, cycling can lead to knee and lower back injuries,” shares Amaresh.
Saurabh Aggarwal, Co-founder, Fitso, says “In cycling, you work majorly on your lower body: your quadriceps, hamstrings, calf muscles and glutes. Cycling allows you to perform high intensity exercise with very little risk of injury as there is no back and forth movement like we use in elliptical, rowing and treadmill.”
The middle ground
“Cycling and elliptical trainers both play an important role in building the strong aerobic base. Cardio workouts are important for the body as they build the stamina to carry out physical activities for a longer duration. Though both of these workouts work well for cardio, there is a difference in the way these activities affect different parts of the body,” adds Saurabh.
According to Abbas, “Both (cycle as well as elliptical) can prove beneficial only and only if it is accompanied by a healthy diet. One needs to strengthen the lower body muscles and core and work on improving mobility of every joint. This will help improve your performance while doing such activities”.
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