If you want to add a piece of cardiovascular fitness equipment to your home gym, you may be considering whether to buy a treadmill or an stationary bike. Both are very suitable to provide different intensities of exercise, can help you build strength and endurance, and thus become healthier.

Treadmills and stationary bikes are very common. Which one is better, stationary bike or treadmill? What is the difference?

Treadmill VS Stationary Bike: Pros and Cons

Stationary bike

These home stationary bikes are quiet and usually compact, offering upholstered seats, lumbar support, and even cooling fans. They also come in a variety of styles, such as vertical bicycles and recumbent bicycles. Many stationary bikes also provide advanced features, such as a heart rate monitor, programmable workouts, or global Google Maps courses, so you can ride on terrains around the world. All these bells and whistles are great, but let's take a look at the pros and cons of stationary bikes for your health.

Pros

• Unlike a treadmill, you are less likely to fall off the bicycle, which reduces the risk of injury.
• Many family members are easy to use.
• Helps strengthen the muscles of the lower body.
• Provides easy non-impact exercises for knee joints and back.

Cons

• Can not burn as many calories as a treadmill.
• The arms and upper body receive different amounts of exercise.
• Sitting for too long can cause pain in the buttocks and hips.

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Treadmills

Like stationary bikes, treadmills are an excellent alternative to outdoor exercise in unpredictable weather. Treadmills also come with a variety of specs and features, such as incline control, customizable workout programs, and fitness monitors, which help you set your own pace so that you can build stamina gradually.

Advantages

• Easy to learn cardio equipment for different ages and physical endurance.
• These machines offer an incline that can burn more calories when running or walking.
• Offers varying, adjustable speeds and incline levels.

Disadvantages

• Considered a high-impact exercise that can be hard on joints and potentially cause knee and back pain and injuries.
• Incline functions can break down more frequently.
• Treadmills are associated with higher fall risk.

Treadmill VS Stationary Bike: Safety

No matter where you exercise, no matter which way you lose weight is better, exercise safety is the most important factor, especially at-home fitness. Therefore, let's talk about exercise safety, which is better, stationary bike or treadmill?

When using a treadmill, the knee joint needs to bear the body weight, and it will also be directly exposed to the reaction force from the ground. Therefore, running has a greater burden on the knee joints. In addition, the treadmill needs to be driven by a motor. When people use the treadmill, once they cannot keep up with the speed of the treadmill, there is a risk of falling.

In the process of using the exercise bike, the body weight can be shared between the arms and the seat, and the burden on the knee joint is relatively small. In addition, when we step on the stationary bike, the trajectory of the leg is circular, and the reaction force on the knee joint can be cushioned to a certain extent.

Unlike treadmills, stationary bikes do not require a motor to drive. It is up to you to step on how many blocks you want. In addition, many stationary bikes now use magnetic control flywheel technology. Simply put: when you use the stationary bike, as long as your feet stop, the pedals will also stop and will not continue to rotate due to inertia. Security has been further improved.

Therefore, in terms of exercise safety, stationary bikes and treadmills have higher exercise safety.

Treadmill VS Stationary Bike: Lose Weight

After discussing the content of exercise safety, in terms of the weight loss effect that you are very concerned about, which one is better, an stationary bike or a treadmill?

The easiest way to lose weight is to do aerobic exercise.

Assuming that an adult has an hour of low-to-medium-intensity aerobic exercise training, a treadmill can consume 500 calories, and an stationary bike can consume 420 calories.

If one hour of high-intensity aerobic exercise training is carried out, the treadmill can consume about 700 calories, and the stationary bike can consume about 600 calories.

It seems that the weight loss effect of the stationary bike is not as good as the treadmill. In fact, it is not. In recent years, a training method called HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) has become more and more popular. Simply put, after warming up, use the highest intensity exercise for 30-40 seconds, and then use low intensity. Exercise for a while, and then repeat the switch between high and low intensity for 20 to 30 minutes.

The weight loss effect of HIIT training has been proven by experts to far exceed that of aerobic training. Its principle is called EPOC (Excessive Oxygen Consumption After Exercise). Simply put: continuous high-intensity training will produce a large amount of lactic acid. After exercise, the body will continue to consume fat (calories) to metabolize this lactic acid.

Since the speed change of the stationary bike is very fast and the switching intensity is very convenient, it is also one of the best exercise methods for HIIT training.

Therefore, in terms of weight loss effect, if you only use aerobic exercise for a long time, the weight loss effect of the treadmill is better, and if you perform HIIT training, the weight loss effect of the stationary bike is better.

Treadmill VS Stationary Bike: home workout

Nowadays, many people like to exercise at home, and if you want to add sports equipment at home, you must consider whether the size of the sports equipment is appropriate, whether the appearance is suitable for the home style, whether it will generate noise, and so on. In terms of home comfort, which one is better, an stationary bike or a treadmill?

Treadmills generally cover an area of more than one square meter, and noise will be generated when they are in use. If you like to exercise at night, you may be noisy to your family.

The stationary bike occupies a relatively small area, only 0.6 square meters, and the flywheel component uses magnetic control technology, which is completely silent when used.

Therefore, in terms of home fitness, stationary bikes and treadmills are more suitable for the home environment.

In general, stationary bikes are better in terms of exercise safety. In terms of weight loss effect, if only ordinary aerobic exercise is carried out for a long time, the weight loss effect of the treadmill is better, and if HIIT training is carried out, the weight loss effect of stationary bike is better.