So I'm kind of curious as to which you all think is better.. I was using an elliptical for two weeks, but I find that I get tired and once I hit my hour I stop and go veg out somewhere. When I bike I tend to be more relaxed. So what one should I go with? Should I mix it up? Which one gives off better results?
Also, I have some resistance bands that a doctor gave me a few years back when I injured my ankle. I have seen a lot of people mention trying resistance training, but I have no idea where to begin...
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
Are you talking about an exercise bike or a real bike? Personally, I'd say biking on a regular bike outdoors is awesome and generally gives you a varied workout especially if you ride hills.
Also, I'd say an hour on an elliptical is a lot, I could never do that much, I'd be bored. Have you looked into HIIT? (High Intensity Interval Training) It'll give you an intense workout in a shorter amount of time.
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An hour on an elliptical seems like too much to me. If you can go that long, then you are either a beast, or you should try one of the varied resistance programs (with "hills") and possibly pedaling at a faster pace, or doing intervals as Nelie said. I'd keep it at about 20 mins and up the intensity. The bike is good, also, as long as you are working hard at it. No reason you can't do both, switching off between them on your cardio days.
As for what to do for resistance training, "The New Rules of Lifting for Women" is a good book for beginners and will explain things better than I could. It also has about 6 month's worth of workouts already written up that you can follow. If you belong to a gym, they will likely have the equipment you need.
I can go a half hour on the elliptical and burn 300 calories, but the bike at the gym only registers 200 calories in that same time. I find the elliptical easier and because it appears to burn more I stick with it. Or do the treadmill!
I personally don't believe in stationary bikes.. I don't think you should be that relaxed and only work half your body when you're trying to get in cardio. But that's my personal opinion.
I agree with ladies above, riding outdoors is great! Especially with summer officially a couple of days away and try HIIT - it's awesome.
Cheryl I loveeeee NROL - it's like having a personal trainer to plan your workouts without paying the high price for it!
I did some of NROLW last year and thought it was a good program.
But this year I am doing The Female Body Breakthrough by Rachel Cosgrove (she's the wife and business partner of Alwyn Cosgrove, who designed the workouts for NROLW), and I actually like it much better for my current needs. It's designed as a fat loss program, whereas NROLW is not; and the program's overall emphasis on unilateral movements has been super-helpful to me. I feel like I'm really developing much more strength and capability than I did with NROLW. Also, I feel like The Female Body Breakthrough is better designed for at home use (I don't belong to a gym).
As to cardio training, personally I avoid using machines if at all possible, because they bore me and I don't feel challenged on machines. The Female Body Breakthrough actually includes some HIIT workouts (she calls these "metabolic workouts") which are designed around bodyweight exercises and equipment like kettlebells, and they are quite intense. I do those on occasion, but more frequently I ride my bike on the road (3 to 4x per week). Hills and headwind give a great workout.
I personally enjoy both the eliptical and biking. Both on road and stationary biking. However, when I excercise on a stationary bike it is in a spinning class not on my own. I probably would not be as motivated and burn as many calories as I do in the spinning class that I go to on my own. In reference to Kukkie84's comment, spinning classes kick your butt! Especially, if you have a good instructor. Spinning classes incorporate the full body. Obviously you are using your lower body more than the upper, but you DO use the upper body becasue there is a lot of jumping in and out of the seat using both stength from you upper body and lower body. When you leave a spinning class you are drenched in sweat and feel about 5 pounds lighter. At least I do. Lol. I typically burn about 650-700 calories in a 45 minute spinning class. You should definitely look into it! I love them. Great cardio work out!
In reference to Kukkie84's comment, spinning classes kick your butt! Especially, if you have a good instructor.
I absolutely 100% agree with you. Spinning is intense and kudos to anyone who can get through it. I just meant when you use stationary bikes on their own, you're more likely to be a lot more relaxed and don't use the full body. That's why I don't think they're a good cardio workout.
I love biking... outdoors. The wind in your hair, and on your body helping to cool you down during the ride, the constant change of scenery... I really enjoy it alot.
If I were stuck in the gym, then I tend to alternate between all the machines as I get bored. I might run on a treadmill one day, use the elliptical the next. Or start on the incline treadmill or stair master for 20 - 30 mins then go to the elliptical for another 20-30 mins.
I'm 5'4" and I have found that the ellipticals have a tread stance that is a little too wide for my comfort. Its just a little wider than the width of my shoulders so it makes my stride feel off. Its not my favorite machine to work out on.
I use to do an hour on the elliptical. I did different speeds and resistance every 10 or so minutes. However, it didn't last. I quickly grew tired of spending so much time and energy and than I just gave up exercise completely for awhile.
I would change it up more to get a variety. I think that will help keep you motivated and not get bored and tired of the same routine. An hour on an elliptical is doable, but difficult to stay with.
Here's my opinion: We spend enough time sitting throughout our day...why exercise sitting down as well. I vote for the elliptical Lets open up those hip flexors, encourage good posture by strengthening our core muscles.
Learn how to do the elliptical without holding onto the rails or hunching over. Be careful with this and it does take practice but it really is an added benefit to the session.
An hour on the elliptical is way too much. If you are doing that then it's time to challenge yourself on that equipment in a new way. Go faster for and interval of 20 -45 seconds and bring it back down for five to ten minutes to recover. Do that three to five times in the course of your workout and you can experience a pretty effective cardio session in 30 to 40 minutes.
Really, the only time I suggest a bike, stationary recumbent that is, is if the client is working around a specific injury where standing is really not an option and even then the bike may not be the best fit.
If the bike is being used, I always make sure to include stretches and movements before and after that open up the hip flexors to counterbalance the seated position imposed by the bike.
I prefer the elliptical myself. I like using the C25K podcasts to do intervals, as he does all the timing for you, has decent music, and throws in encouraging comments! I don't like the stationary bike much - I will sometimes use it for a leg warmup/loosen up my knees before a lower body weight workout. Biking outside - a whole different story! SOme days I ride my bike to the gym (9.4 miles RT); some times I just go for a ride. SUmmer here is so short, I try to get in all the outdoor exercise I can.
As for resistance bands, there's a sticky thread at the top of this forum that gives you a good start to working out with bands.
I do both because I have noticed the same thing that you have - the biking is not as terrible. But, because its not as terrible, I wonder if it's working well. (haha, no pain no gain?)
So I use the elliptical for a minimum of 40 minutes, but I use to varied hill or the interval training mode, then I go to the recumbent bike and do an hour or so, but I use the varied hill mode and I keep my resistance high. I like to feel like I'm pedaling up hill a lot.
Elliptical.. Or biking?
I don't like the stationary bike much - I will sometimes use it for a leg warmup/loosen up my knees before a lower body weight workout. Biking outside - a whole different story! SOme days I ride my bike to the gym (9.4 miles RT); some times I just go for a ride. SUmmer here is so short, I try to get in all the outdoor exercise I can. 
