Cardio Exercise Machines: Which is Better?

When it comes to cardio exercise machines you most likely have your favorite one that you always stick to, but in respect to your workout goals we’ll look at come fundamental concepts so you can get the best results from all your efforts.

Obviously each gym has their own cardio machines and not matter which ones you choose the key here will be to use them in a way that leads to your advantage.

The reasoning behind this is simply because of the variation principle. If you don’t know what the variation principle is with regards to your workouts it follows one major principal.

This principal lies in the fact that our bodies are incredible machines that are able to adapt to exercises that are repeated over and over again.

Cardio Exercise Machines: The General Rule

So the first and most important principal alluded to above is that no matter what cardio activity you are doing, you should be switching it up or adding variety to it at least every 6 weeks.

This means if you are one to be doing the elliptical week after week, you have to make an effort to switch it up and incorporate treadmill, bike, rowing or stair machine.

I should state that this doesn’t mean you have to do just one machine or another but you can do 10 minutes on one and then 10 minutes on another, the key is that you just switch it up.

But which is the best cardio machine?

Cardio Exercise Machines: Which is Better?

Without a doubt in terms of calories burned very few come close to the treadmill and hence why it is the hardest. To match running on the streets and how much resistance the ground provides you need to be running at an elevation of about 1.5, but the treadmill is a great alternative to running on concrete since the impact on your joints is much less.

The following cardio exercise machine which is almost as hard is the stair machine which seems to be less and less common in gyms today simply because their repair costs are quite high. I like the challenge of a stair machine especially if you try doing it fast for just 5 minutes because it’ll really get your heart rate up and warm you up.

The elliptical trainer is a great variation because it pretty much takes out all the impact from your bones and also continues to bring in some activation of your core muscles. Just be careful with the arm placement of some of these machines as I find that depending on your height this is simply not always where it should be and can cause shoulder and neck injuries.

The bike machine is very commonly used in rehab because it is one of the least intense especially with impact on your joints. It is great to help you build strength in your knees and ankles so keep that in mind if you find that these areas have caused you problems in the past.

Lastly, the rowing machine is an excellent cardio machine that has the benefit of working out both your lower and upper body at the same time. The one thing to keep in mind with the rowing machine is that you will have to be aware that you don’t over train your upper body with weights so it’s a good idea to do it on the days that you aren’t weight training.

Cardio Exercise Machines: Better Measurement of Your Results

You may have recently heard a lot of controversy about the accuracy of the calories burned from cardio machines. This has been validated by a number of independent scientific studies as almost all cardio machines show more calories burned than actually occurs.

If you’re one who wants to measure your calories and track the progress along with changes you see on your body then I would recommend checking out BodyMedia Lifestyle and Calorie Management. This device has a convenient arm band and can show you total calories burned, total step taken and total time spent doing physical activity.