[Jermsgirl]

Do you burn as many calories running as you do on the eliptical? I recently purchased one because my knees started hurting from running. What do you all think?

[beerab]

I found this:

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/ellip...ng-weight.html

I agree with the article it depends on how hard you work- if you just "go through the motions" then you aren't going to burn much- whether it's a treadmill or elliptical.

I too use an elliptical instead of a treadmill, but I also do high resistance and the different programs- I see people come to the gym and not even break a sweat- to me that's not working hard enough- you need to exert yourself somewhat to lose some weight IMO.

[nelie]

The only real way to answer this question would be to use a heart rate monitor and monitor calories burned over the same time period. It is conceivable that someone could burn more calories running than they do on the elliptical and vice versa. It would depend on a number of factors including their running routine and their routine on the elliptical.

Beyond that, ellipticals are great and it has been said that your perceived exertion on an elliptical can be less than doing other forms of cardio while burning the same amount of calories. To maximize your time on the elliptical, I'd recommend looking into HIIT or High Intensity Interval training.

[bethbeth]

You burn calories based on your heart rate. So, whichever one best gets your heart rate up will help you burn the most calories.

[Meg]

The number of calories you burn doing any exercise is determined by your heart rate, not the kind of exercise you're doing. In other words, if your heart rate while running is 150 bpm, for example, and it's also 150 bpm on the elliptical, you'll be burning exactly the same number of calories per minute.

So the answer to your question all depends on what your heart rate is when you run and when you use the elliptical. The easiest way to check is to use a heart rate monitor but you can also take your pulse for 15 seconds and multiply by 4 to find your heart rate for a minute.

For me, the elliptical elevates my heart rate to at least as high as when I used to run (can't any more due to arthritis and knee replacements). I find it to be a fantastic workout and I hope you enjoy yours!!

ETA: Bethbeth and Nelie beat me to it!

[JigglyBits]

I own both a treadmill and an elliptical. I notice that for the same amount of time spent on both machines I tend to burn more when I am on the elliptical so for example for me an hour spend on the treadmill I would burn 420-450 cals but on the elliptical it could go as far as 500 cals (it depends on your weight and heart rate). and although I don't believe in spot-reduction I notice that whenever I work on the ellpitcal more my hips/thighs seem to lose weight the most.

[jessisaokay]

do what gets you out of breath and sweaty. I work at a gym and see plenty of people do a half *** jog for an hour and barely break a sweat and some people do 20 min on an elliptical and get soaked. Do whatever gets you to work harder.

[Coffee Luver]

I have a great elliptical that I have been getting a lot of use out of recently . My husband bought me this for Mother's Day a few years back - a heart rate monitor - it comes in two pieces, one part goes around your chest (you can't even feel it), and the other part is like a wrist watch. You put your sex, age, weight, and desired heart rate parameters in to it and it give you your heart rate percentages real time, calories burned, the amount of time you stay in the desired HR "zone" that you set up in the thing. It is great. When he first gave it to me I was like, "Uh, ok ... Thanks " but as I got to using it I have found that it is honestly one of the best gifts he has ever given me. It is so wonderful - no matter what exercise I do, I have the information right there on my wrist.
The one he got me is from a company called Polar, but I am sure that there are several different companies out there that make this kind of thing.