I find that I can tear it up on the elliptical for 30 minutes but jog about 3 minutes (out of every 5 minutes) on a treadmill (at 4.50)...why is that?

My hubby saw me this weekend working out and said if I can do what I did on the elliptical I should be able to do the same thing on the treadmill...do you think this is right??? I find the elliptical much easier...I wonder if it's just all in my mind???

Thoughts???

Our minds are very powerful. They can heal us, make us believe irrational stuff, etc. Yes it is possible.

I'm like you. I cannot jog to save my life! But I can tear it up on the elliptical for 30-min.

The difference is the impact. The elliptical machine is low to no impact on your knees and whatnot. With the treadmill, there's much more banging/jostling around. I feel the same way, even when I was 100 lbs lighter, I could feel the difference. You're not crazy

I have the same issue that you have dear and I even asked my personal trainer recently. My trainer said that the elliptical is good because is easier than the treadmill.

She recommended to me to use the elliptical on the days that I do my weight training and the next day to do the hardcore walking fast/jogging on the treadmill .

She also recommended me to work harder on the treadmill because the treadmill works EVERYTHING!!! I need to work on my belly fat and the elliptical is not helping me to get rid of that fat on my belly,however is working great for my arms,legs and calves. Plus I am doing crunches and abs etc. I can burn way more calories at the elliptical and spend 60-65 minutes easily. With the treadmill I can only do 35-45 minutes,but I always put the incline more 5 so the treadmill do the job lol

The difference is the impact. The elliptical machine is low to no impact on your knees and whatnot. With the treadmill, there's much more banging/jostling around. I feel the same way, even when I was 100 lbs lighter, I could feel the difference. You're not crazy

OK I've had both knees worked on so maybe that's it

I have the same issue that you have dear and I even asked my personal trainer recently. My trainer said that the elliptical is good because is easier than the treadmill.

She recommended to me to use the elliptical on the days that I do my weight training and the next day to do the hardcore walking fast/jogging on the treadmill .

She also recommended me to work harder on the treadmill because the treadmill works EVERYTHING!!! I need to work on my belly fat and the elliptical is not helping me to get rid of that fat on my belly,however is working great for my arms,legs and calves. Plus I am doing crunches and abs etc. I can burn way more calories at the elliptical and spend 60-65 minutes easily. With the treadmill I can only do 35-45 minutes,but I always put the incline more 5 so the treadmill do the job lol

I really like the elliptical, and I feel like it's really working every part of my body especially my arms, legs and calves. Since I'm not trying to lose (or gain lol), I just want to get strong and tone, I do machine and weights first for 30 minutes and then do cardio for 15-30 minutes depending on my schedule...I just saw something from Nike that said "strong is the new beautiful" I LOVE THAT!!!

I'm like you. I cannot jog to save my life! But I can tear it up on the elliptical for 30-min.

YOU GO GIRL! It feels awesome, doesn't it??? We are still workin it

Our minds are very powerful. They can heal us, make us believe irrational stuff, etc. Yes it is possible.

OK I'm gonna start thinkin I can...I will keep you posted

My girlfriends and I call the elliptical the ellipti-hell. I've always hated the darn thing. I know I need to get on it sometimes, but I have better luck motivating myself to do other things.

Personally, I have horrible, destined-for-replacement knees, so I hit the stationary bicycle like crazy and am trying to work up on the treadmill. The impact on the treadmill is a big issue for me, but I think it's important to get some at least. I usually do 30 minutes of intervals on the bike and 15 on the treadmill.

I'm back to doing an hour of yoga twice a week with a trainer and am just going back to strength training, which I'm planning on doing three times a week.

I'm so, so stalled ... have only lost one pound in two weeks and going a little batty from that. Eager to start seeing the scale start moving again.

CC

I've always thought the same thing. I can go twice as long on the elliptical than on the treadmill. As a matter of fact I just recently started forcing myself to jog on the treadmill (doing couch to 5k) and am learning to like it. I think I'm going to try what Liliana said and switch back and forth between the two.

GoldenRasin is correct, it is all about impact. It is not that the Elliptical is easier than the treadmill, the treadmill just has more impact on your knees. I talked with my trainer about this and I was surprised at his answer. I thought that the elliptical would give a much better calorie burning workout than the treadmill but that is not so. I was told that if the impact of the treadmill bothered my knees, increase the incline, well, that did the trick. You can really feel a totally different burn by adjusting the incline even without running or jogging. The bad news that I have found to be correct as well is the ONLY way to get rid of stubburn belly fat and love handles is to jog/run whether it be on the treadmill or outside. I have been concentrating on this for the last few weeks and my trainer is right, it is working. Good luck with your workouts, I too am very cautious of my knees.

OK I'm gonna start thinkin I can...I will keep you posted

if you have worked on both knees, please be careful on a treadmill jogging. Go into real store, not a mall or outlet mall, and get fitted for running shoes, not cross trainers.

Alot of trainers are going to call that overkill,and they are wrong. That advise comes repetitively from some of the best docs in Houston - I have a bad knee too that required surgery after a knee injury. I also made my Hubby do that and his lower back pain went away.

Your mind can do amazing things but a blown knee is a blown knee.

if you have worked on both knees, please be careful on a treadmill jogging. Go into real store, not a mall or outlet mall, and get fitted for running shoes, not cross trainers.

Alot of trainers are going to call that overkill,and they are wrong. That advise comes repetitively from some of the best docs in Houston - I have a bad knee too that required surgery after a knee injury. I also made my Hubby do that and his lower back pain went away.

Your mind can do amazing things but a blown knee is a blown knee.

I agree on the being careful with the treadmill impact.

About two years ago, when my orthopedic surgeon told me I was definitely a candidate for knee replacement, he also recommended putting it off as long as I could with joint Fluid replacement therapy. The actualy product was Supartz.

The first week they shot my knees with a cortizone substance, then every week thereafter for 5-6 weeks with Supartz, which is a thick goopy substance. Bottom line is that it worked. Insurance paid for it, and will let you do it every six months from the last injection. (Yes, it hurts, but I'm thinking not as much as knee replacement and no cutting.)

Also, a general surgeon told me the technology on knee replacements is improving so fast that I should put it off as long as possible. I'm figuring my weight loss will help a lot, so we'll see about that soon.

So .... I wouldn't overdo it on the treadmill. If your knees start rebelling, hit the ellipti-hell or the bike. Or swim. Just saw the new ElliptiGo on GMA and that looks interesting. A bike crossed with an ellipti-hell.

Hope that helps.

CC

GoldenRasin is correct, it is all about impact. It is not that the Elliptical is easier than the treadmill, the treadmill just has more impact on your knees. I talked with my trainer about this and I was surprised at his answer. I thought that the elliptical would give a much better calorie burning workout than the treadmill but that is not so. I was told that if the impact of the treadmill bothered my knees, increase the incline, well, that did the trick. You can really feel a totally different burn by adjusting the incline even without running or jogging. The bad news that I have found to be correct as well is the ONLY way to get rid of stubburn belly fat and love handles is to jog/run whether it be on the treadmill or outside. I have been concentrating on this for the last few weeks and my trainer is right, it is working. Good luck with your workouts, I too am very cautious of my knees.

I have already had my knee replaced so I can't run/jog. I do use a treadmill and also the elliptical. Why won't those 2 help get rid of the belly fat and love handles? I realize it might take twice as long as running, but wouldn't it eventually help? I always thought that walking was just a "slow, low impact" version of running? Am I wrong and if so, why? Thanks for any input/insight.

Impact is one thing, but I think the biggest thing is that you don't really have to raise your knees on the elliptical - when you push down on one pedal, the other one automatically comes up for you. So there's half the work right there. Also, running outside is harder than the treadmill, because with the treadmill, you don't have to work to propel yourself forward. I keep hearing that elliptical and treadmill are equally challenging, but let's get real, running is way harder. I don't believe those calorie counters.