Stationary Bike or Treadmill?

agthompson · Post by **agthompson** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 10:21 am

I've been doing HIIT on the treadmill for the past 2 months, and I've gradually had worse and worse ankle pain during and afterwards. I only do 30 minute sessions.

I switched over to the stationary bike a week ago (HIIT 3x a week), and I've noticed that I feel much more accomplished and worked after the bike sessions. According to the readout, I'm also burning 23-30 more calories on the bike.

Is the treadmill any more beneficial than the bike or vice/versa?

One little tidbit that's not really fitness related. I play drums in a metal band, so I naturally incorporate a lot of foot work into music. I use upper legs and foot muscles for doing so. After only 2 work outs on the stationary bike, I had noticeable improvements in endurance, and accuracy to a lesser degree behind the kit. So I'm leaning towards making a permanent move to the bike.

oscarmadison · Post by **oscarmadison** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 10:52 am

"feels good do it"

I use stationary bike before and after work outs, to warm systems up after stretching and to sorta cool down after GPP and weights.

I figured running or jogging with massive amounts of weight on lower extremities might injure me and kill new lifestyle in its infancy.

I increase resistance on alternating minutes and increase tempo on the harder notch.

but i don't live on the bike, just 10 minutes a day at the mo.

If i decide to start marathoning maybe i increase time to 20 minutes a day

RobH · Post by **RobH** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 11:46 am

I don't know if either one is better in an absolute sense. I think you might be noticing the improvement with the cycling because you switched from an exercise to which your body had adapted to an exercise that was different, so your muscles responded. It's a good thing to switch it up periodically and cross-train. I'm an outdoor cyclist, but I regularly do spinning classes and long walks and hikes to keep the conditioning fresh.