Exercise bikes Vs Treadmills

The need to remain fit is catching up to many of us now. With the importance of fitness on the rise, the need to exercise has become a must for most of us. But many don’t have the time to go across to a gym to workout; hence exercising at home would be very convenient to many of us.

There are hundred’s of home exercise equipment available to choose from. The two most popular home fitness equipments are treadmills and exercise bikes. If you have to decide one among the two, a lot has to be looked into.

Effectiveness of workout, Long term sustainability and safety are some of the most important aspects that you need to take into account before you select the exercise machine of your choice.

Exercising at home can have a few obstacles too. Sticking to a home exercise routine is tough as there are many distractions in and around your home. When you have to go to a gym, you would have a time slot and lesser distractions. For a good home exercise routine, the fun element holds a lot of importance. The gizmos like heart rate monitor, calorie meter, blood pressure meter are fun only for the first few days. You tend to get bored of them very soon. Hence boredom is one of the most important deterrents when it comes to home exercising.

Treadmill’s basic concept is walking. But walking on a treadmill is not that exciting too. With the modern treadmills you have the option of variable speeds and also inclines. But they can also bore you after a few days. Reading on a treadmill isn’t easy as you’ll be bouncing up and down. Trying to concentrate on a line while moving up and down can give you a headache. The best option would be to watch a movie or some favorite program on the TV or even listening to some music to do away with the boredom.

On the other hand, exercise bikes have a lot of biking routines programmed into them. You have the options to set your routines for sprinting or pedaling uphill at different levels. Many exercise bikes have the option of random biking routines. This means you have no clue what routine is coming up and that can add to the fun. Some of the latest exercise bikes have the option of being plugged into video games or television with the added feature that lets you to pedal through visual courses interactively. But just like treadmills, reading would be a problem on exercise bikes too. When it comes to boredom, exercise bikes scores over the treadmills as exercise bikes have various long term exercise routines programmed in them.

We use a treadmill or an exercise bike to lose calories. So the calories burnt per hour on each of the exercise machines are to be considered. An average person tends to burn 750 calories an hour on a treadmill and about 550 calories per hour on an exercise bike. But the fact is that sustained treadmill routine for 1 hour is very tough whereas it is much easier on an exercise bike. Also since exercise bikes are more fun when compared to treadmills, it is easier to do long term exercise routines in exercise bikes. It is a proven fact that people find it easier to workout for 15 minutes on an exercise bike when compared to 15 minutes on a treadmill. Hence even though treadmills burn a lot more calories per hour, you could get bored very soon and stop earlier. As for exercise bikes, they burn less calories per hour but allow you to have a good long term exercise routine.

Safety has prominence in all exercise routines. When it comes to treadmills, the possibility to fall off is greater than in an exercise bike. In fact it is almost impossible to fall off from an exercise bike unless you make an effort to do so. We might think that the chance of falling while walking is very less. But we need to know that one wrong step can make you lose your balance and bring you down. Another possibility is you spilling water or sweat on to the treadmill track and slip on it. Even though you have some safety features in treadmills nowadays to stop the treadmill if you are about to fall, it can be too late to stop.

A treadmill workout in itself has a safety hazard. During a treadmill routine a lot of stress is put on the joints, more on your knees and ankles. Any stress on a joint for a sustained period of time can lead to long term joint problems. On the contrary, in an exercise bike, the stress on your joints is minimal. It has been proven that a properly positioned exercise bike can support your weight and still allow you to receive the benefits that you would get out of a high cardio workout. If an exercise bike is used properly, the strain on your joints is almost non-existent.

Both exercise machines have their own advantages and disadvantages. Treadmills have been the most popular home piece gym equipment in use. But results have proved that an exercise bike is better for your health when compared to that of a treadmill. Hence there is every possibility that a treadmill that you buy could end up in your garage sale sooner than you expected.