Cardio Exercises - Why elliptical and not running?

[Rene152005]

A girl came over asking a very interesting question yesterday while I was at the gym, she said: "Are your knees injured?", to which I replied: "No! Why?". It?s simply because I always see you on the elliptical machine instead of the on the Bike or Treadmill and I simply thought it was because you had a knee injury.

To be honest with you folks, i was kinda shocked. After doing a little research on the REAL impact jogging/running has on our knees on the long-term I have to say, I was impressed. First off, in America statistics show that more people jogs or runs than assisting aerobic classes or using the elliptical machine for instance.

The knee is a very very complex joint. If you start feeling pain or "click-like" sounds, you should stop right away or might be getting yourself a free ticket of a very nasty problem called: "Runner?s Knee"? see how common the problem is?

According to specialists approximately 30% - 60% of runners will experience an injury over a year of constant running and almost 50 percent of those injuries will involve the knee.

I have nothing against running, just DON?T overdo it! Go for some alternatives like swimming, elliptical machine or aerobic training, etc.

What suggestions do you have?

[optimus1]

A girl came over asking a very interesting question yesterday while I was at the gym, she said: "Are your knees injured?", to which I replied: "No! Why?". It?s simply because I always see you on the elliptical machine instead of the on the Bike or Treadmill and I simply thought it was because you had a knee injury.

To be honest with you folks, i was kinda shocked. After doing a little research on the REAL impact jogging/running has on our knees on the long-term I have to say, I was impressed. First off, in America statistics show that more people jogs or runs than assisting aerobic classes or using the elliptical machine for instance.

The knee is a very very complex joint. If you start feeling pain or "click-like" sounds, you should stop right away or might be getting yourself a free ticket of a very nasty problem called: "Runner?s Knee"? see how common the problem is?

According to specialists approximately 30% - 60% of runners will experience an injury over a year of constant running and almost 50 percent of those injuries will involve the knee.

I have nothing against running, just DON?T overdo it! Go for some alternatives like swimming, elliptical machine or aerobic training, etc.

What suggestions do you have?

I get better cardio on a treadmill or track than the elliptical, but I agree with what you're saying. Dep. on genetics runners can work through the pain to be stronger and more resistant to injuries, obviously this is the case with many marathon runners. But not everyone is built for that kind of exercise and may not adapt as well to it. A mix of swimming, elliptical, and treadmill works for me and that's what I would recommend to others starting out. Most runners I know have knee and back problems because they overdo it and don't listen to their bodies. They have this ego that everything else is inferior and I guess they're embarrassed to use machines like an elliptical or a treadmill. Usually the same people that always have some sort of a knee or calf wrap on due to a recent injury.

[Daegus]

What suggestions do you have?

Learn to run correctly. Majority of the people who run don't run correctly and it's for a whole host of reasons.

[Gary1911A1]

I do elliptical as my cardio of choice. At my gym we have machines to vary resistance and ramp angle so you can work as hard as running without the impact or pulling on your knee you can get on a treadmill. I also get to watch TV!!!

[Tyrbolift]

I get better cardio on a treadmill or track than the elliptical, but I agree with what you're saying. Dep. on genetics runners can work through the pain to be stronger and more resistant to injuries, obviously this is the case with many marathon runners. But not everyone is built for that kind of exercise and may not adapt as well to it. A mix of swimming, elliptical, and treadmill works for me and that's what I would recommend to others starting out. Most runners I know have knee and back problems because they overdo it and don't listen to their bodies. They have this ego that everything else is inferior and I guess they're embarrassed to use machines like an elliptical or a treadmill. Usually the same people that always have some sort of a knee or calf wrap on due to a recent injury.

I just don't think the human body evolved being moderate paced jogging/running over long times and distances. What good would that have been to ancient man?

We either ran all out (sprinted) or walked.

[HALON]

I just don't think the human body evolved being moderate paced jogging/running over long times and distances. What good would that have been to ancient man?

We either ran all out (sprinted) or walked.

True

The best thing to do for long duration cardio is eliptical.


But your kness do need running to help keep them healthy, and your muscles functional.


sprinting is best it helps strengthen your knee joint against hard impact

[Daegus]

I just don't think the human body evolved being moderate paced jogging/running over long times and distances. What good would that have been to ancient man?

We either ran all out (sprinted) or walked.

I disagree with that.

Our heads act as a dampers both in balance and movement similar to how tuned mass dampers are used in skyscrapers and we cool ourselves by dissipating heat externally and sweating.

Knowing those to things makes the Running Man theory is very plausible and probably means we evolved from distance running style of ancestors. It's how some bushmen in Africa still hunt and how(theory) our ancestors used to hunt before spears, bows and arrows.

[Tyrbolift]

I disagree with that.

Our heads act as a dampers both in balance and movement similar to how tuned mass dampers are used in skyscrapers and we cool ourselves by dissipating heat externally and sweating.

Knowing those to things makes the Running Man theory is very plausible and probably means we evolved from distance running style of ancestors. It's how some bushmen in Africa still hunt and how(theory) our ancestors used to hunt before spears, bows and arrows.

Our heads work in balancing and dampers in any movement we do, and we sweat with any strenuous activity. Those don't point exclusively to running.

I'm not saying ancient man never ran long distances at a moderate pace. I just don't think it as essential to survival nearly as much as sprinting and walking are. However, I'm not an anthropologist, so this is just my bro-thropology theory.

[Daegus]

Our heads work in balancing and dampers in any movement we do, and we sweat with any strenuous activity. Those don't point exclusively to running.

I'm not saying ancient man never ran long distances at a moderate pace. I just don't think it as essential to survival nearly as much as sprinting and walking are. However, I'm not an anthropologist, so this is just my bro-thropology theory.

Neither am I. Just a lot of rather interesting stuff that has been brought up in the last couple years about it.

http://seedmagazine.com/content/arti...man_revisited/

There's even disagreements in the link between experts. Being an ultra-marathon, I side with the the running expert. I know, biased.

[AFMARQ]

me: *on the eliptical*
dude: why you ain't running?
me: Cause
dude: eliptical is ghey
me: you're ghey
dude: runners rule
me: fck u, HIIT on eliptical rules bish-400 calories in 20 minutes
dude: ? how do you HIIT ?
me: fck off *******-git

[SDFlip]

me: *on the eliptical*
dude: why you ain't running?
me: Cause
dude: eliptical is ghey
me: you're ghey
dude: runners rule
me: fck u, HIIT on eliptical rules bish-400 calories in 20 minutes
dude: ? how do you HIIT ?
me: fck off *******-git

elliptical is ghey

[lee__d]

me: *on the eliptical*
dude: why you ain't running?
me: Cause
dude: eliptical is ghey
me: you're ghey
dude: runners rule
me: fck u, HIIT on eliptical rules bish-400 calories in 20 minutes
dude: ? how do you HIIT ?
me: fck off *******-git

elliptical is ghey

cardio is ghey.....for burning fat,

good for a multitude of other health benefits, though.

[Rene152005]

cardio is ghey.....for burning fat,

good for a multitude of other health benefits, though.

LOL! Agreed... i hate cardio too, still... we have to do it!

[PickItUp]

Learn to run correctly. Majority of the people who run don't run correctly and it's for a whole host of reasons.

But if having some guy on the internet tell you to learn something does not really help you learn it...you can stick with the elliptical for now...

[hessunit]

What suggestions do you have?

STAIRMASTER. Burn more calories, way faster. No cardio gets you sweating like this does.

Rowing is good too.

[Turco]

^stairmaster is great, but it's hard on the knees if you do it a lot. At least for me.

[VVSKing]

me: *on the eliptical*
dude: why you ain't running?
me: Cause
dude: eliptical is ghey
me: you're ghey
dude: runners rule
me: fck u, HIIT on eliptical rules bish-400 calories in 20 minutes
dude: ? how do you HIIT ?
me: fck off *******-git

That never happend. I eliptical because I have shin splints.