At face value, the treadmill and the elliptical seem like two pretty similar pieces of gym equipment. Both machines have you up on your feet, moving in the same plane of motion and largely calling on the same set of muscles. Their basic purpose—giving you a cardio workout—is downright identical.
Yet these machines can inspire some big feelings: Most folks who use them strongly prefer one or the other. Those on Team Treadmill love how it simulates an outdoor run or walk, plus how quickly it can get them huffing and puffing. Team Elliptical, on the other hand, will wax poetic about how it feels better on their body—and never leaves them paranoid about missing a step.
But which machine gives you a better workout? Well, that depends on exactly what you’re looking to get out of your cardio session. “They’re both beneficial,” physical therapist and running coach Kimberly Melvan, DPT, CSCS, tells SELF. “It isn’t necessarily one over the other.” To help you decide which to hop on when, we asked experts to break down the differences in how treadmills and ellipticals affect our bodies. Here’s what to keep in mind before you hit that start button.
The biggest difference is the impact of your strides.
If you’ve only ever heard one thing about the elliptical, it was probably about it being “low-impact.” Because your feet are attached to the pedals the entire time, you don’t put a bunch of stress through your joints with each step the way that you do on a tread where your feet have to come off the belt then land back down to keep walking or running.
But that’s not to say that impact is bad. In fact, it’s hugely helpful for our bone health. “Every step that you take, you’re providing force to the joints, which leads to more osteoblast activity, which will play a very large role in bone mineral density,” Susie Reiner, PhD, CSCS, certified exercise physiologist and post-doctoral researcher at the University of Kentucky’s Sports Medicine Research Institute, tells SELF. For that reason, weight-bearing exercise like walking or running gives your bones the stimulus they need to strengthen, making it a smart part of a balanced fitness routine (particularly if you’re prone to choosing cardio over bone-building lifting workouts).
Yet there are times when it’s best to minimize that impact. In particular, people with arthritis, those coming back from lower-body injuries, or anyone who needs to minimize impact during pregnancy or the postpartum period are better off on the elliptical because of that boon. “Since it is low-impact, there’s less wear and tear on the joints, making it easier to do longer sessions without discomfort,” Dr. Reiner says.
The elliptical can also work your body in a couple of unique ways.
There are a few different kinds of ellipticals out there. Some keep your feet on just one circular path, and the only tweak you can make is the amount of resistance you’re pushing against. In this OG case, the muscles you work are pretty darn similar to those on a treadmill. Think: hamstrings, calves, glutes, quads. (Though you might get a little more glute and calf action on the tread.)
