Elliptical training a good substitute/suplement for running?

[Eduardo Suasteg]

This question is often asked around here, especially by those of us struggling with injury recovery
or trying to avoid injuries by not running every day. Here are a couple of articles on the subject:

http://www.primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/library/equipment/elliptical.htm "Researchers at the
University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, compared the NordicTrack Ellipse elliptical trainer against a
motorized treadmill, a stairstepper, and a cycle ergometer to see how the Ellipse compared with
other modes of exercise. The study revealed no significant difference in oxygen consumption, heart
rate, and calorie expenditure between treadmill running and the Ellipse. Both the treadmill and
Ellipse provided the test subjects with a superior workout over the stairstepper and cycle
ergometer."

http://www.principalhealthnews.com/topic/elliptical "Even more surprising, most people who use the
trainer underestimate their own efforts. In a University of Mississippi study, participants rated
their workouts as easier than running on a treadmill, even though measures of their oxygen and heart
rate showed they put in the same effort." (Interesting: this is my experience also.)

http://www.runnersworld.com/home/0,1300,1-78-79-391-3-4,00.html "I guarantee that if you put in 45
minutes on an elliptical trainer, stationary bike, stairclimber or rowing machine, you will be
drenched in sweat. More important, several studies suggest that if you do these aerobic alternatives
properly and with high enough intensity, they can maintain and even increase your fitness level."

http://www.allnaturalalternatives.com/runner_cross_training.htm "For runners who have suffered
overuse injuries, i.e. knee, hip, low back, ankle, Achilles, heel and foot, exercising on an
elliptical trainer may be just what the doctor ordered. In the rehabilitation phase of your
recovery, these machines can offer a safer, yet excellent 'training effect.' I have recommended it
to many of my patients and I love to follow my own running with a half hour program on the
elliptical."

Caveat Emptor: You will not improve your running unless you run. But the elliptical trainer does
seem a good option to maintain one's fitness level when a need to reduce or stop running arises.

--
ø¤º°`°º¤ø,,,,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,,,,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,,,,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,,,,ø¤º Eduardo Suastegui "Test everything.
Hold on to the good." (remove '701' when replying via e-mail)
ø¤º°`°º¤ø,,,,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,,,,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,,,,ø¤º°`°º¤ø¤º°`°º¤ø,,,,ø¤º

 

[Ed Prochak]

Eduardo Suastegui wrote:
> This question is often asked around here, especially by those of us struggling with injury
> recovery or trying to avoid injuries by not running every day. Here are a couple of articles on
> the subject:
[]
>
> Caveat Emptor: You will not improve your running unless you run. But the elliptical trainer does
> seem a good option to maintain one's fitness level when a need to reduce or stop running arises.

So should this be the suggestion for injuries instead of pool running? Certainly sound easier than
pool running.

Anyone tried both and care to comment??

--
Ed Prochak running http://www.faqs.org/faqs/running-faq/ netiquette http://www.psg.com/emily.html
--
"Two roads diverged in a wood and I I took the one less travelled by and that has made all the
difference." robert frost

 

[George Grattan]

on 5/6/03 1:43 PM, Ed Prochak at [email protected] wrote:

> Eduardo Suastegui wrote:
>> This question is often asked around here, especially by those of us struggling with injury
>> recovery or trying to avoid injuries by not running every day. Here are a couple of articles on
>> the subject:
> []
>>
>> Caveat Emptor: You will not improve your running unless you run. But the elliptical trainer does
>> seem a good option to maintain one's fitness level when a need to reduce or stop running arises.
>
> So should this be the suggestion for injuries instead of pool running? Certainly sound easier than
> pool running.
>
> Anyone tried both and care to comment??

I used both all winter when dealing with IT pain during marathon training. I think the combination
is what kept me going, and the conditioning they provided is was kept the IT at bay enough for me to
run and finish the race. Had I had more time, I would have just taken it as full rest and recovery
time, but the elliptical and water running together enabled me to keep up with the training as the
long runs increased from the 12-13 mile range (onset) to the 20 miler.

There are advantages and disadvantages to each, from my perspective:

Pool running can be deadly, deadly boring. But the workout feels whole-body, is intense, and puts no
discernable strain on the injuries if you're doing things right and should be exercising at all. If
you can find a pool that's got open recreational swim times for an hour or two, you can put in all
the time you need/can stand to approximate a long run time. (My upper limit was an hour and a half
one day. I longed for a coat of fresh coat of paint so I could watch it dry...)

With ellipticals, most of us, I assume, don't have them in our homes, so access gets limited. At my
local Y, I never had the option of just hoping on one of the ellipticals for more than 30 minutes at
a time-- though I'd sometimes cheat the rule and do 45 when the place was relatively empty. If
you're of a mind to listen to headphones, ellipticals allow that, obviously, and the pool doesn't.
You can vary the workouts tremendously on most machines, adjusting intervals and intensity as you
wish/need, and tracking your distance and heart rate, as well, on the better models. I would,
occasionally, feel a twinge or three in the knee on the elliptical-- never in the pool-- but never
as bad as it was/would have been when running at that time. I tended to prefer the models with the
accompanying poles for the arms-- to me that felt more like running.

Physically, each seemed to do what I needed it to do. Psychologically, I'm *really* glad I had
both at hand.

--
Shalom, Peace, Salaam

George Grattan

(This post is intended for a Usenet newsgroup only. Its appearance in any other forum that does not
clearly identify it as originally posted to Usenet is therefore a misrepresentation, is done against
my wishes, and may indicate other unauthorized distortions of content and/or context. Correctly
attributed and/or unedited copies of this post in other forums do not necessarily indicate my
willing participation in them.)

 

[Roger Wrolstad]

"Eduardo Suastegui" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> This question is often asked around here, especially by those of us struggling with injury
> recovery or trying to avoid injuries by not running every day. Here are a couple of articles on
> the subject:
>

> Caveat Emptor: You will not improve your running unless you run. But the elliptical trainer does
> seem a good option to maintain one's fitness level when a need to reduce or stop running arises.

Its true value as a rehab tool would be a test designed to measure how much a runner's performance
may be diminished if relegated to using only the eliptical trainer for a number of weeks. For
example, does an
18:00 5K runner remain an 18:00 5K runner after rehab on the machine (provided time and exertion on
the machine are the same as previous run training). I'm not aware that this has been explored.

 

[David Forbes]

Ed Prochak wrote:
>
> Eduardo Suastegui wrote:
> > This question is often asked around here, especially by those of us struggling with injury
> > recovery or trying to avoid injuries by not running every day. Here are a couple of articles on
> > the subject:
> []
> >
> > Caveat Emptor: You will not improve your running unless you run. But the elliptical trainer does
> > seem a good option to maintain one's fitness level when a need to reduce or stop running arises.
>
> So should this be the suggestion for injuries instead of pool running? Certainly sound easier than
> pool running.
>
> Anyone tried both and care to comment??
>
> --
> Ed Prochak running http://www.faqs.org/faqs/running-faq/ netiquette http://www.psg.com/emily.html
> --
> "Two roads diverged in a wood and I I took the one less travelled by and that has made all the
> difference."

I have aqua jogged (run) and used an elliptical trainer while trying to heal achilles bursitis. I
never felt that I worked my legs hard enough in the pool and it was boring as hell. Aqua jogging can
give you a really decent aerobic workout. I would be sweating as I flailed through the water, but
seemed to have no effect on leg muscles. The elliptical trainer can give you a hell of an aerobic
workout too, and you feel like your legs got some exercise too. Both useful if you keep the
intensity up there.

dave