Treadmills vs. Exercise Bikes Which one is best?

Exercise bikes and treadmills are one of popular home fitness equipments that many exercisers either use at their comfort homes or at the gyms.  There’re varieties of home fitness equipments, consumes face the hard decision choosing the best exercise machine suits for their workout needs and fitness goals. 

No doubt both of these machines are excellent calorie burner and easy to use, but the question is which one is the best? Everyone is different e.g. their training needs, goals, fitness level, workout capabilities, and health condition. 

Both of these machines have advantages and disadvantages weigh pros and cons and decide which one is best suited for you.  However there’re three factors to consider when choosing home fitness equipment, long-term sustainability, the effectiveness of the workouts, and safety. Your decision whether to buy a treadmill or stationary bikes should be based on the above three factors.

Treadmills

Unlike stationary bikes treadmills have being around longer and they are more popular than exercise bikes. They are best selling home fitness equipment, for aerobic and cardio workout, they’re by far the best and it is convenient for any type of aerobic workout. 

This machine is mainly designed for weight-bearing exercises such as walking and running, which offers you the best opportunity to build bone density in the lower extremities and greatly improves overall muscle tone. 

Treadmills are not only limited to running or waking it can be used for cross training, interval training, Incline Intervals, and waking on toes and heals.

treadmill, treadmill, treadmill workout, treadmill exercise, exercise treadmill, treadmill vs exercise bikes

They’re excellent for cardiovascular workout which makes them the highest calorie burner when compared to other popular home fitness equipment such as bikes and elliptical trainers. 

Studies showed that on average most people burn about 750 calories per hour on treadmill, on stationary bike people are likely to burn about 550 calories per hour. If you want to lose weight and be fit then treadmill is your ideal home fitness simple because of high calorie burning ability.

Even though high calorie burning machine is ideal, there’re other factors to consider such as types of workout and its endurance. Treadmills tend to be boring when compared to other machines such as bikes; boredom is number one factor why many treadmill users quit using their machine.

If you choose treadmill for your home fitness machine learn how to beat treadmill boredom, so you can get more out of your workout.

Treadmills are less safe then bikes, as they are designed to run or walk faster to keep up with the belt, there’re high chance you may fell off the machine if you loose your focus. 

You might think is unlikely to fell off, you will be surprised how fast it can happen and how often. Doing workout routine most people entertain themselves by watching TV or listening music, all it takes is one wrong step and you can seriously injure yourself. 

When using the machine do not drink water while using if you do so take extra cautious with the water, if you spill the water on the treadmill track it can cause a safety hazard.

Treadmills are very expensive fitness equipments, infact they’re the most expensive home fitness equipments. The prices range from 170 to 3,500 and above depending on what type of machine you want, whether manual or motorized, each of these machines have it’s pros and cons.

Manual treadmills are cheaper because of the absence of the motor, therefore the exerciser powers the belt and it moves according to the ability of the user, if the exerciser slows down the belt will slow down accordingly.

Motorized treadmills in the other hand are the advanced machines built in motor, incline, heart rate monitor, featured programs and calorie counter.

Exercise Bikes

Exercise bikes have been around less than treadmills nonetheless they’re as popular as treadmills and provide good aerobic workout, their popularity increased over the years and become one of best sellers for home fitness equipment. 

Over the years their design and technological aspect have improved and the immensely popular spinning programs that allow exercisers to simulate outdoor cycling in the comfort of their homes or at the gym. 

These types of machines are less expensive than treadmills, they are reasonably cheap and you most likely don’t need to save up huge amount of many so you can lose weight and get fit. 

These types of machines are less expensive than treadmills, they are reasonably cheap and you most likely don’t need to save up huge amount of many so you can lose weight and get fit.

exercise bikes, stationary bikes, exercise bikes vs. treadmill, workout bikes, bikes

Exercise bikes are no different then outdoor bikes and most people feel comfortable using stationary bikes, it is simple and non-intimidating because most people have cycled in their youth.

This type of machines provides a gentle, yet effective low or non-impact workout without putting too much stress on the spine. Stationary bikes are ideal fitness machines for those who experience low back discomfort from time to time.

In fact physical therapists have incorporated exercise bikes into their practices for years in rehabbing knee injuries in athletes so that they can main their cardiovascular endurance.

Unlike treadmill which is mainly running and walking stationary bikes offer the user an opportunity to increase their heart rates without substantial stress on knees, ankles, feet or hips.

Despite the variety of fitness equipments available for home gyms, exercise bikes remain a constant aerobic exercise machine in most homes. They are undeniably a superb form of cardiovascular training, but doing it in indoors is often counterproductive. 

Exercising on stationary bike strengthens the quadriceps and hamstrings and involves the use of the gastrocnemius, anterior tibialis, and ankle joint. Many models even offer electronic features, which allow you to program the bike for a specific goal or workout. 

This is very helpful for achieving effective, measurable results. The disadvantage of using this machine is they don’t workout the whole body like treadmills, when cycling you have to monitor your posture by keeping your body in the upright, vertical position to maintain alignment of the pelvis and prevent hyperextension of the back.

There is less chance to get injured by bikes then treadmill, since bike machines put less stress on your joints; the less likely you are to sustain an injury during your workout routine, also you are less likely to be sore after the workout. 

Riding a bike whether stationary or outdoor bikes, improves the flexibility of the leg muscles especially the hamstrings, which further helps to reduce low back pain from muscle strain. 

The cycling action also helps maintain the range of motion and flexibility of the many joints in the spine and legs, which in turn aids in maintaining flexibility levels thought out the lower body. 

The safest home fitness equipment out there is exercise bikes unlike treadmill is easy to fall off.


Final word

Treadmills have being around longer than stationary bikes; both of these machines are great for home fitness. 

Training perspective walking or jogging on a treadmill will burn more calories and exercise a greater number of muscles than using an exercise bike, but the benefits of an exercise bike are that they are cheaper to buy, easier to store in your house and have less impact on your body if you are prone to injury.

If you don’t care the type of workout and cost of the machine is an issue than bikes are cheaper than treadmill. In conclusion both of these machines burn a lot of calories and are excellent fitness equipment to improve your fitness level and lose weight.

 



footer for exercise bikes page