Elliptical Cross Trainer Or Stationary Bike: Which is the Right One for You?

Are you confused between an elliptical cross trainer and a stationary bike? If yes, then you’ve come to the right place. It’s not easy to choose and understand which machine is more effective in terms of helping you stay fit, lose weight and tone your muscles. This article will help you understand the functionality of both these cardio machines and the benefits they offer, so you can make the right choice!

To Stay Fit:
The stationary bike and elliptical cross trainer are both great when it comes to improving your endurance and overall fitness. These machines exercise your cardiovascular system and can help lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and hypertension.

The workouts these machines provide are considered impact-free whereas jogging or running are high-impact workouts. This makes these machines an excellent alternative for people who are experiencing joint or knee problems because they exert less stress on your joints and muscles.

Both these machines win when it comes to staying fit. For older people or someone with knee problems, we recommend a stationary bike. Reason being, the cross trainer is slightly more demanding since it involves the whole body whereas the bike is stationary and only requires the involvement of the lower body.

To Tone Muscles:
When it comes to tone your muscles, both these machines do an excellent job. Keep in mind that these cardio machines are not meant for bodybuilding. Let us look at the exact body parts these machines can help tone.

Elliptical Cross Trainer – It works 80% of all your muscles in your lower and upper body. The workouts can be tailored to target specific muscle groups. To work your chest, arms and shoulders, hold onto the handles and pump the handle back and forth. As you move your feet on the pedal, you will work your lower body. To target the glutes, simply increase the resistance. By letting go of the handles, you can work on your midsection and tone your torso.

Stationary Bike – It focuses on the lower body such as the thighs and claves. You can work out your abs by contracting your abdominal muscles and having a tight grip on the handlebars. To work out the glutes you need to increase the resistance of your machines and peddle by standing up and coming out of the saddle.

To Lose Weight:
When it comes to reducing weight, both the stationary bike and elliptical cross trainer will get the job done. However, the elliptical cross trainer will burn 15% more calories than the bike. Reason being, the cross trainer allows for a complete body workout. Keep in mind that the calories burned on both the machines depend on the duration of the workout and the intensity of exercise.

An hour of workout on a stationary bike will burn anywhere around 450 to 750 calories. Whereas, an hour of workout on an elliptical cross trainer will burn around 455 to 830 calories. The cross trainer wins over the bike in terms of calories burned. However, it’s not a huge difference and you can successfully lose weight with a stationary bike if you workout consistently and intensely.

As you can see, both these machines are different in terms of their operation, impact on the body and fulfil different workout objectives. To summarize it, both these machines help improve endurance and general fitness conditions, but the cross trainer provides a broader workout alternative for the entire body.