The Showdown: Treadmill Vs. Elliptical

Hi there. I hope you are having a great week. I have been super busy lately. 2 weeks ago I was celebrating my 1st Anniversary in Las Vegas. I know what happens in Vegas is suppose to stay in Vegas but check out this pic of the desert that was sent out for us for dinner one night.



Not that it makes it much better but this wasn't all just for us. As some of you know my parents, wife's parents, and us all share the same anniversary day. It's weird but true.

After Vegas we had a wedding to go to and needless to say, I have some extra calories that I need to burn off.

As you probably have heard me say, I do not like doing traditional cardio for burning fat. I find other modes of exercise to be much more excited to me. None the less, I understand that not everyone hates cardio. If you perform cardio are you performing exercises that burn the most calories?

A few weeks ago I posted an article discussing what burns more calories, running or cycling. If you missed it you can click on the link below to read more:


http://premiertraining.blogspot.com/2010/05/does-running-burn-more-fat.html

I came across another study that looked at the treadmill vs. the elliptical and which would burn more calories at the same exertion level. They found that, when intensity levels are the same there is no significant difference in energy expenditure between the treadmill and the elliptical. They did find however that there was a higher heart rate recorded on the elliptical. The researchers were not sure why this was but it could be attributed to the upper body motion combines with the lower body work on the machine.

So what does this mean for your workout? Well it shows that both treadmills and elliptical seem to both be effective ways to burn calories. If you have a preference for one over the other then you should stick to the one that you prefer. If you experience knee pain you might want to stick with the elliptical. Also, if you need to keep your heart rate monitored and below a certain number you might want to stick with the treadmill.

Enjoy the rest of your week and get your cardio done in some form.

You stay healthy San Diego,

Mike Deibler MS, CSCS
San Diego Personal Trainer
My Workout Creator

The Playing Card Workout

Here is a short video I shot while I was in Minneapolis, MN last weekend. Sometimes when I am on the road or just in the mood for a different kind of workout I use playing cards to create my workout. Check out the video below to see exactly how you can do it.





Here is one you can try at home:

Hearts = Push Ups
Diamonds = Lunges
Spades = Squat Jumps
Clubs = Burpees

Shuffle the deck and deal out 12 cards at random face down. Flip over the first card. What ever the number is that is how many of the matching exercise you peform. Jacks are 11, Queens are 12, Kings are 13, and Aces are 14. The next time you try it you can either assign new exercises or you can deal out more cards.

You Stay Healthy San Diego,

Mike Deibler MS, CSCS
San Diego Personal Trainer
My Workout Creator

My New Toy

Hi there. I hope your workouts are going great. There are hundreds of pieces of equipment out there. If you have stayed up late I'm sure you have been sucked into one of those infomercials that tell you how hooking your abs up to electronic stimulation or sitting on a moving saddle will get you the stomach you have been dreaming of. Hopefully you can see right through these marketing scams.

There are however a few pieces of equipment our there that I think are awesome. If you aren't sure what pieces of equipment are worth it or not here is a test you can use. Just ask yourself can this piece of equipment work multiple areas of the body. If the answer is yes then it is probably a useful tool. If the answer is no then keep moving. There is no such thing as spot reducing so don't listen to any ads that claim they can shape an area of your body doing one exercise.

For example, one of my favorite pieces of equipment to use is the TRX Suspension Trainer. This single tool can be used for hundreds of exercises for your entire body. They can be used in your home or outside. They can incredible convenient for exercise. You can click on the pic below to pick one up.





Another piece of equipment that I love are Battling Ropes. I have two of these at my studio. I just got one of few weeks ago and love using it for myself and well as with my clients. I love it because it is challenging, fun, and different. You don't see things like this at most gyms. It is a great tool to break up your traditional workout program. Here is a video I made of a few exercises.



These are tough to use in your home but if you want to pick one up you can click on the pick below:





You Stay Healthy San Diego,

Mike Deibler MS, CSCS
San Diego Personal Trainer
My Workout Creator

The Truth For Lean Legs

I have been in the fitness industry for almost ten years now. Over that time a great deal has changed in research, training methods, and philosophies. Although much has changed, many things have remained the same. The basics are always going to stick. For one if you are trying to lose weight you need to burn more calories than you consume. That will always be the foundation of any program. If you are gaining or not losing weight it will always come back to this formula.

Another thing that always seems to stick are the objections to high intensity strength training. Most people are just too scared to push themselves. Surprisingly though, they are not scared of getting hurt usually. They are scared that if they lift harder they will bulk up or gain weight. I am starting to realize though that many people just are hearing what they want to hear, or just making things up as they go possibly.

Here is a clear example. Most women are scared to bulk up as I mentioned and will not push themselves hard for certain exercises or they will not even strength train altogether. They will, however, kill themselves on the adductor/abductor machines (inner/outer thigh machine). So if you are too scared to do squats and push ups because they will bulk you up, why would you do inner/outer thigh machines? Would that just give you bigger inner and outer thighs?

Obviously no. You will not get bigger legs using the adductor/abductor machines, just like you will not get big doing most strength training exercises. Unless, of course, you train to get big and follow a proper nutrition plan. Most people do not eat enough or train hard enough to put on significant muscle mass.

And while I am ranting I have another problem with the inner/outer thigh machines. No matter how many times people hear it they just don't believe that you cannot spot reduce. Yes those machines will strengthen those muscles but they will not necessarily burn fat from that area. The body will burn calories from other places as well. In fact there was a study in Med Sci Sports Exercise 39 no7 Jl 2007 that looked at this exact concept. They used arm exercises instead. They had subjects perform bicep exercises and measure the amount of fat in the arm. While body fat was lost it did not come from the arm but all over the body.

If you are trying to get leaner legs then you want to just burn fat in general. You will burn fat from all over and it will get to your thighs at some point. This is determined by genetics unfortunately. This is the same reason it is a waste of time to perform hundreds of ab exercises to try and get a six pack. It just won't work. The inner and outer thigh muscles are relatively small muscles as well. This means you won't burn as many calories working on them as you will bigger muscles, such as the quads, hamstrings, and glutes. Spend your time on the bigger muscles to burn more calories.

Well that is my rant for the day. I hope this information will help you with your workout.

Mike Deibler MS, CSCS
San Diego Personal Training
My Workout Creator