If you want to meet your fitness or weight loss goals the soonest time possible, the best way to do so is by maximizing every minute that you spend working out. As such, it pays to know whether a particular exercise will help you shed off the excess pounds that you have as compared to another form of working out.
This is what we will look into in the following sections. Will running outside for an hour give you better results as compared to when you workout on an elliptical trainer in the same span of time? What other benefits will these two similar workouts using different tools give you? Read on to find out.
Calculating the Calories Burned while Running
First, let us try to check on just how effective a workout running is. The general rule if you are looking forward to shedding off any number of excess pounds that you have is to be as physically active as you can. No matter which type of physical exertion it is that you take on, working out for about half an hour to one hour most days of the week is a good schedule to follow.
To give you an idea about the number of hours that you will be able to burn during one hour of running, here’s a list from MayoClinic.com:
- For a person weighing 160 pounds (73 kilograms) = 986 calories burned
- For a person weighing 200 pounds (91 kilograms) = 1,229 calories burned
- For a person weighing 240 pounds (109 kilograms) = 1, 472 calories burned
The list applies if you are running at a speed of 8 mph. As you can see, the heavier a person is, the greater the number of calories burned during one hour of running. Next, let’s see how it compares with working out using an elliptical trainer.
How about Using an Elliptical Trainer?
So what about if you workout using an elliptical trainer? Before that, let us first check what this type of a stationary exercise equipment is all about.
When you visit a gym or a local fitness club, you will see something similar to an exercise bike – only it has handles which are used to work on the upper body. This is what is called an elliptical trainer or a cross-trainer. Over the years, this type of an exercise machine has gained popularity because using it is similar to gliding on air. The name is derived from the elliptical pattern that your feet makes as you pedal away.
Basically, the number of calories that you will burn when using an elliptical trainer depends on the settings, your body composition, weight and even your gender.
Here’s a general estimate of the number of calories that you will burn using an elliptical machine:
- For a woman weighing 120 pounds = 620 calories
- For a woman weighing 150 pounds = 774 calories burned
- For a man weighing 180 pounds = approximately 1,000 calories
Interestingly enough, the manufacturers of elliptical trainers claim that you can burn a maximum of 720 calories in one hour using this type of an exercise machine.
The Verdict: Which Type of Workout is Best?
As you can see from the list, the number of calories burned during one hour of working out suing an elliptical trainer and running outside is almost the same. Perhaps the only difference is that when you workout using an elliptical trainer, you don’t have to leave the comforts of your own home.
When you run, however, you will get to breathe fresh air and interact with other runners. All in all, the way to enjoy the best of both worlds is to use a combination of these two types of training so that you can more effectively and quickly meet your fitness goals.
