Elliptical vs. Walking: Which Is a Better Workout?

Walking and the elliptical machine are one of the best forms of low-impact exercises out there. Both are great if you do not overwork your joints, burn calories and help in muscle building.

You should consider what you want to achieve in terms of your physical fitness goals.

Here is what you should know when considering which is better: walking vs elliptical.

Do Ellipticals Help Lose Belly Fat?

In terms of losing calories, using the elliptical machine will make you burn calories faster than walking.

A 155-pound person can burn around 335 calories after 30 minutes of working out on the elliptical, according to Harvard Health Publishing.

However, a person with the same weight will burn only around 149 calories after 30 minutes of walking.

However, you can always increase the intensity or pace of your walking to have the same calories as using the elliptical.

You can walk uphill or go walking in rocky terrain.

Check out our fast walking guide.

Using the elliptical has a high ability to burn calories and thus will help you lose body faster than walking. It also will help with muscle toning.

To maximize the potential of using the elliptical in burning your fats, you should increase the intensity of your workout.

Is Elliptical Good for Buttocks?

Yes!

The elliptical is a popular low-impact cardio exercise that will tone and tighten your buttocks. To best achieve this, you need to set the setting of resistance on your machine to or more than a level three.

The key is the more the resistance, the more muscles that your buttocks will build.

It is okay if you are not the fastest. To have the best results in using the elliptical, you should make sure to hold the hips back and hold a squat position and bend your knees so that your buttocks will have toned and tightened muscles.

What Does 30 Minutes on the Elliptical Do?

Using the elliptical machine for just 30 minutes can help you burn around 270 to 400 calories, in consideration of how much you weigh.

Also, exercising on the elliptical is actually cardio, which is an important part of doing a full and balanced exercise routine.

When you do cardio on the elliptical, you improve your heart and lung strength as they work hard to provide blood and oxygen throughout your whole body.

Besides cardio, the elliptical helps strengthen the muscles in your arms and legs as they are pushed to build up your stamina and muscle endurance.

An elliptical machine allows you to use both your arms and legs to work out your arm and leg muscles.

As you work hard in exercising your arms, you are also utilizing the muscles in your legs, thus having both upper and lower body workouts in one.

So, thirty minutes on the elliptical will help you have a cardio workout, strengthen your lungs, heart, and muscles. It can also allow you to have a lower and body workout as you target your legs and arm muscles.

Besides working those muscles out, you are also strengthening your buttocks, chest, back, triceps, and core muscles.

How Long Should I Use My Elliptical a Day?

If you love using your elliptical and are marveling at the wonderful results you have gotten, it is easy to use and go on for just a few minutes.

However, it’s important to know how long you should use the elliptical to achieve the best possible results.

• First, it is important that you do a pre-workout warm-up first. Try to do some stretching or yoga poses to stretch and prepare your muscles.
• Make sure you do proper breathing. Other warm-ups can be jogging in place or do some squats and lunges.
• Next, hop on the elliptical and do some slow to medium ride for five to 10 minutes to really get the heart pumping and raise your body heat up.

You can ride the elliptical to what you desire, the speed, intensity, and resistance you want to one hour to one and a half-hour.

After this, as you would want to have your muscles and heart go back normally and recover, have a cool-down exercise of gradually slowing down your pace to bring the heart rate down.

This is helpful to prevent injury or damage to your muscles and bones.

Make The Most Out of Your Workouts

Whether you prefer walking outdoors or using an elliptical machine in the comfort of your home.

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