Effectiveness comparison: walking vs elliptical

[xboxist]

285lbs, 6'1", 33 yrs old

I've been doing a mix of these two things in the past few weeks. Here's a summary of some of the details I've noticed:

1) elliptical

-DISTANCE: I've been doing 5 "miles" (who knows how accurate that is).
-DURATION: about 35 minutes
-HEART RATE: between 150-165 once I'm warmed up.
-Heavy breathing, heavy sweating

2) walking

-DISTANCE: I have a route that's exactly 3 miles, and sometimes I do it twice for 6 miles.
-DURATION: about 45 minutes per 3 miles
-HEART RATE: walking as hard as I can without breaking into a jog, HR tops out at 130-ish.
-Moderate breathing, barely sweat

So at a glance, the elliptical seems like a way better value for your time. I sweat a lot, breathe hard, and cover more distance.

However, after I walk I feel like my body had more of a workout. There's more soreness. I assume this is because walking means you have to transverse varying elevations and obstacles, and thus you use all your stabilizing muscles.

But is that reason enough to choose a real walk over some time on my elliptical? Goal is general weight loss for right now.

PS - a pair of knee surgeries has left me in a state where jogging is too painful at this stage, so that's why I don't do that.

 

[Syborg1211]

When you're on the elliptical, are you using the hand grips? When you walk, are you swinging your arms as much as you would on an elliptical? I would guess you aren't getting your full body as involved while walking as you do on the elliptical, and this could explain the HR difference. I've also always been skeptical of the "distance" and "speed" ratings on the elliptical machines as well because I don't think ellipticals translate to actual walking/running, but I've never looked into it.

 

[xboxist]

Good thoughts. Yes, I use the hand grips on the elliptical. And when I walk, I walk very hard, so there's some good arm swinging motion there too.

 

[highland145]

My 1st thought would be that a higher heart rate=more exertion/more calories. Couple of years back, I hated my new MTB so much that I went solely to the elliptical. 40 min elliptical vs. 1hr on the MTB and I lost weight. I also lost muscle in my thighs. YMMV

Ignore any info the elliptical gives you other that the heard rate and I'd double check that.

Read S.C.'s stickey. Great info. You need to weight train so that you lose as little muscle as possible. It burns calories just by being there. Fat, not so much. Read an article (that I can't find), 2 groups of sedentary people #1)increased cardio (30 min, IIRC) #2)10 min cardio, 20 min weights. Both lost weight weight but #2 lost more fat and gained muscle at the end and their overall weight loss was far greater.

Right there with you on the surgeries. My last of 3 was 27 years ago. Old fart.

Good luck.

 

[vi edit]

Elliptical is far away more cardio demanding than walking. If you have the resistance up high enough and your RPM's up you're going to sweat your ass off. Walking on the other hand...there's only so much you can do there. You have to up your tempo to a jog which if you are overweight is almost worse than walking due to stress on your joints.

If you want to burn fat, get on the elliptical and sweat your flab away. I'm a bit of an school'ist when it comes to burning calories. If you aren't sweating you aren't working hard enough. You gotta be working hard to get a siginicant calorie burn going.

As far as "feeling" like you worked more walking, not really sure what to say there. Technically it's more of an impact and you are getting more of range of motion, but it's just not the same type of intesnity as hammering away on an elipical or exercise bike for 30-45 minutes.

 

[HN]

the sweating could just be due to doing the elliptical indoors vs. cooler outdoor walking.

as for doing one or the other, i'd say keep doing both -- some days elliptical some days walk. it breaks up the monotony and keeps you going.

 

[vi edit]

the sweating could just be due to doing the elliptical indoors vs. cooler outdoor walking.

Heh. He's in Kentucky. That's not exactly a cool place this time of the year

 

[Miramonti]

I agree with vi edit. Elliptical is going to be more demanding because of the resistance setting, and also your quads never get to rest, which will also increase your heart rate. When you walk, your quads are able to rest between steps.

 

[xboxist]

Yeah, you guys are right. Elliptical just seems superior in every way, when it comes to getting exercise. I was kind of hoping that walking had some valuable merits, since it's nice to actually be outside sometimes and get some fresh (and hot) air. When it comes down to it though, I think walking is just very inefficient and will always just be one of those "better than nothing" things.

I've now ramped up to 7 "miles" on my elliptical (~46 minutes). Feeling great. Going to try to keep this up. Thanks for the responses.

 

[z1ggy]

You should keep us posted with weight loss and waist measurements. I am curious as to how the elliptical will perform. Are you lifting any weights or doing any type of strength training? As of right now I am running for 20-30 mins every morning, then after work I do p90x for my strength training needs.