If you’re looking to start an exercise program, and you’re choosing between a treadmill, elliptical machine or running on a track, it might be time to overcome the hesitation, follow the advertising slogan and just do it.
“The best kind of exercise is the one that you’re doing,” says Neil M. Johannsen, a post-doctoral researcher at Pennington Biomedical Research Center. “I don’t
think there’s any kind of additional benefit with any of them, as long as you’re doing something.”
A mostly sedentary person shouldn’t start any sort of exercise program without first consulting a doctor. But experts say the most important thing is just getting off the couch.
“It’s mainly a preference thing,” says DeAnna Sharbonno, head trainer and program designer with Foxy’s Fitness Centers.
She says people under the age of 40 often enjoy the elliptical machines, people over 70 prefer stationary bikes and walking on a track, and people in the middle gravitate toward the treadmills. People with back problems prefer the elliptical machine or bike because neither has the impact of the treadmill.
Sharbonno says any cardio exercise is going to burn an average of 250 to 450 calories per hour, but results will vary based on the person and the exercise. Frequent runners might burn more calories on a treadmill because they can run fast on an incline, but fewer calories on the elliptical. Someone with a knee injury likely will do better on the elliptical.
For most people, just going for a brisk walk on a regular basis probably is the easiest way to get started on the road to better fitness. Studies show psychological benefits to exercising outside on top of the physical ones, says Laura Stewart, an assistant professor of kinesiology at LSU.
The standard prescription for aerobic exercise is at least 30 minutes of activity per day at least three days per week. Try to work your way up to most days or every day, and maybe add in some weight training as you feel yourself progressing.
Even less than 30 minutes of aerobic exercise can be beneficial. Johannsen describes a study by Tim Church, the director of Pennington’s Laboratory of Preventive Medicine, involving hypertensive women. Subjects experienced some health benefits from exercising as little as 15 minutes per day.
“[Meaningful exercise] doesn’t have to be out there busting it for three miles as hard as they can go,” Stewart says. “It can be a quick walk outside for 10 or 15 minutes at multiple times that day.”
The real key is finding things you like enough so that you will keep doing them. Stewart recommends setting some simple goals to help stay motivated, like planning to walk in a 5K race in six or eight months.
“You’re more likely to adhere to an exercise program,” Stewart says, “if you like what you’re doing.”
