If you’ve ever stepped off an elliptical feeling more gassed than after a treadmill session, you’re not alone. Many people find the elliptical harder than the treadmill, and the reasons might surprise you. It’s a common misconception that the elliptical is just a low-impact, easy alternative. In reality, it demands more from your body in specific, often overlooked ways.
This article breaks down why this machine can feel so challenging and how you can use that to your advantage in your fitness routine.
Why Is The Elliptical Harder Than The Treadmill
At first glance, the elliptical seems forgiving. Your feet never leave the pedals, so there’s no joint pounding. But this smooth motion is deceptive. The real difficulty comes from the unique combination of full-body engagement and constant resistance. On a treadmill, you can simply walk or run with a relatively natural gait. The elliptical, however, places you in a fixed, biomechanically foreign position that requires more muscular stabilization and coordination from start to finish.
The Science of Perceived Exertion
Your feeling of effort, or Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE), is often higher on the elliptical for the same heart rate. This is due to several key factors:
* Upper Body Integration: You’re not just using your legs. You’re actively pushing and pulling with your arms and shoulders, engaging your back and core. This recruits more muscle mass overall.
* Constant Tension: Unlike a treadmill’s belt that moves freely under your feet, the elliptical’s pedals are connected to a flywheel. You must actively drive the motion against resistance the entire time—there’s no true “coasting.”
* Neuromuscular Demand: The motion is less familiar. Your brain and muscles work harder to coordinate the synchronized push-pull of limbs, which can be mentally and physically fatiguing.
Breaking Down the Key Challenges
Let’s look at the specific elements that make the elliptical a stealth workout.
1. Full-Body Engagement vs. Lower Body Focus
The treadmill primarily works your lower body—glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calves. You can choose to swing your arms or not. The elliptical is a different beast.
* It forces your upper body to work, targeting your chest, back, shoulders, triceps, and biceps.
* Your core must constantly engage to stabilize your torso as you rock side-to-side.
This total-body effort burns more calories for the same duration and leads to faster overall muscle fatigue.
2. The Resistance Factor
On a treadmill, incline is your primary added challenge. On an elliptical, you deal with both incline and resistance settings.
* Increasing resistance on an elliptical mimics climbing a steep hill while carrying a weight. It directly challenges your muscular strength and endurance.
* High resistance intervals can quickly lead to muscle burn in your quads and glutes, similar to heavy squat sets.
* Many people mistakenly leave the resistance too low, but even a moderate setting demands more continuous power output than steady-pace running.
3. The Issue of Momentum (or Lack Thereof)
This is a crucial difference. When you run on a treadmill, you build momentum. Each stride propels you forward, and the belt assists slightly with the leg cycle. The elliptical offers no such help.
* You are the sole engine. From the top to the bottom of each pedal stroke, you are actively driving the motion.
* This eliminates rest phases and creates constant time-under-tension for your muscles, which is inherently more strenuous.
4. Balance and Coordination Demands
While it seems stable, the elliptical requires subtle balance adjustments.
* The pedals move in an oval path, not a straight line. Your ankles, knees, and hips must stabilize through this entire range of motion.
* Going backwards changes the muscle focus and coordination pattern, further challenging your motor skills and often feeling harder.
* This constant micro-adjustment engages stabilizer muscles that are less active on a treadmill.
How to Make the Elliptical Work for You
Now that you know why it feels harder, you can use these principles to design better workouts. Here’s a step-by-step guide to an effective session:
1. Start with Form. Stand tall, shoulders back. Grip the handles lightly without hunching. Let your legs power the movement, not your arms.
2. Don’t Fear Resistance. Begin with a moderate level where you feel a solid push. If you can pedal super fast with no effort, the resistance is too low.
3. Try an Interval Structure. This manages the challenge. Do 2 minutes at a steady pace, then 1 minute of high resistance or speed. Repeat for 20-30 minutes.
4. Go Backwards. Spend 2-3 minutes pedaling in reverse every 10 minutes. This targets your hamstrings and glutes more and breaks the monotony.
5. Release the Handles. For short 1-2 minute periods, let go of the moving handles. This forces your core to work overtime to maintain balance and form.
When the Treadmill Might Be More Challenging
It’s fair to note that the treadmill has its own advantages for intensity. For pure high-impact, high-speed cardiovascular training, running at a fast pace or on a steep incline is extremely demanding.
* It places greater stress on the cardiovascular system at higher speeds.
* The impact forces can lead to more fatigue for joints and bones over long distances.
* For sport-specific training (like running a race), the treadmill is obviously more specific and therefore “harder” in a functional way.
However, for total-body muscular endurance and calorie burn with low impact, the elliptical often wins the difficulty contest percieved by the user.
FAQ: Your Elliptical vs. Treadmill Questions
Q: Which machine is better for weight loss?
A: Both are effective. The elliptical may allow you to workout longer with less joint stress, potentially burning more calories overall. The key is consistency and intensity on either machine.
Q: Why do my legs burn more on the elliptical?
A: The constant resistance and lack of momentum create more time-under-tension for your quads and glutes, similar to a strength exercise. Your muscles are working through a fuller range of motion against weight.
Q: Is the elliptical harder than running?
A: It’s different. Running is harder on your joints and can demand more from your cardiovascular system at peak speeds. The elliptical is often harder on total-body muscular endurance and can feel more strenuous at moderate intensities.
Q: Can I build muscle with the elliptical?
A: Yes, especially if you use higher resistance settings. It’s great for building endurance and tone in your lower and upper body, though it won’t replace heavy weight lifting for maximum muscle growth.
Q: Why do I get tired so fast on the elliptical?
A: You’re likely using more muscle groups than you realize, and the unfamiliar motion pattern requires extra energy for coordination and stabilization. Start slow and focus on form, and your endurance will improve.
Final Thoughts
The feeling that the elliptical is harder than the treadmill is valid and rooted in biomechanics. It’s not just in your head. The elliptical challenges your body through full engagement, constant resistance, and coordinative demands. Instead of avoiding it, embrace this added challenge. By adjusting your resistance, incorporating intervals, and focusing on form, you can turn this often-underestimated machine into a powerhouse for improving cardiovascular fitness and building lean muscle endurance. Next time you’re at the gym, you’ll understand exactly why that elliptical workout leaves you so thoroughly spent—and you’ll be better for it.