The battle of elliptical vs treadmill is currently going on in every health club in the world and each piece of equipment is trying to hold the title. While each piece of equipment does have its own positives and negatives the elliptical machine is starting to emerge as the overall winner of the elliptical vs treadmill battle!

Elliptical trainers are the new player to the fitness game and were designed to combine the the functions of not only a treadmill but also that of an exercise bike and a stair climber, this in turn will give you a very effective and efficient workout. Many ellipticals also have the ability to exercise the upper body allowing you to get more workout in less time. To mix things up and have more fun with your workouts you can even run backwards on these machines and target your muscles from another angle. Ellipticals were also designed to be extremely low impact and are great for people with joint problems, back problems and even arthritis! With combined movements the elliptical machine is a great way to work your whole body, burn calories and lose fat all in a low impact workout environment.

The treadmill is the old gym standby and has been around for over 40 years and is by far the most popular piece of aerobic gym equipment in use today. The treadmill does a good job of burning calories and working the lower body but they do have some drawbacks when this debate comes up. First off the surface of the treadmill is not very low impact so people with joint problems or other aliments may find it painful to use one effectively. Second the workouts are very basic and can become boring and mundane relatively quickly. The standard treadmill also offers no upper body workout so you must use another piece of equipment for that further increasing your workout time. Although this is the best piece of equipment for training and conditioning serious runners.

With the overall ease of use combined with low impact efficient total body workouts the elliptical machine is the clear winner of the elliptical vs treadmill battle. But for training and conditioning the serious athlete the treadmill may is still the better choice.