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Should You Buy an Exercise Bike or Treadmill?

Most people will equip their home gym with a stationary bike or a treadmill. Exercise bikes and treadmills each have their benefits and drawbacks, which is the reason for their almost - emphasis on almost - similar popularity. But is one of them more useful than the other?

Sticking to the Workout Routine

One of the main issues of doing your exercises at home is keeping on top of the exercise program. It’s fairly obvious to see why, as there are no personal trainers to provide encouragement, coaching and help as well as fellow gym rats to talk with. Although your intentions may be good, it’s quite simple to see how you may easily become uninterested in your at home workout.

So, which machine is actually more fun to use? When you’re on a treadmill, you can only walk and run, two actions that you do in the normal course of activities and that may not be as entertaining. Of course, you are able to vary the speed and the slant on a treadmill but still, it might not be as fun as you are hoping for.

You can help prevent boredom on a stationary bike, by doing different activities during your workout. You are able to easily do other things, such as reading your favorite book, watching a movie or t.v. show, listening to uplifting songs and even watching the things happening all around, since you’re not bouncing on your feet. Now, contrast that with running on a treadmill. With a wider variety of entertainment options, you are more likely to stick to your home exercise program.

Wave Goodbye to Calories

The majority of research has established that the treadmill sheds more calories than the stationary bike if all other factors are equal. Typically working on the treadmill gets rid of 750 calories per hour while the stationary bike only gets rid of 550 calories.

So, the next conclusion is that you should opt for the treadmill instead of the stationary bike because the numbers tell it all, right? Well, not necessarily as the numbers are just one piece of the total equation.

If you cannot work out on the treadmill as much as you will want to work out on the exercise bike, then it is easy to understand that the bike will give you more occasions to burn calories. Due to it’s great appeal, the exercise bike comes out on top yet again.

The Importance of Staying Safe

This is probably the most significant comparison simply because you exercise to attain a better body, not one that is injured from exercise itself. Again, the exercise bike triumphs over the treadmill in the safety comparison for two reasons.

First, the stationary bike is a very low-impact exercise compared to the high-impact workout of the treadmill. This is because your feet repeatedly pound down on the floor of the treadmill yet in the stationary bike, your feet don’t move from the pedals. One other reason is that you are more susceptible to taking a tumble off the treadmill than on a stationary bike. If you’re on a treadmill, unlike a stationary bike, you need to stay balanced the whole time.

Want to find out more about tredmills, then visit Ron Higgins’s site on how to choose the best tredmill for your needs.

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