If you've decided you are going to invest in a home workout machine for your home gym, or maybe your wondering which machine is best for helping you burn fat, then you likely are looking at choosing a cross trainer or a treadmill.
Both types of exercise machines are effective for keeping you fit and burning calories but do have there own advantages and disadvantages which might make them more suited to different types of people.
In terms of calories, a cross trainer is an estimate to help you burn around 700 calories an hour, while a treadmill could help you burn slightly more such as 700-800 within an hour. This all depends however on the intensity you are working out with and your weight.
To help make your decision between a treadmill and a cross trainer, we have put together a detailed comparison guide which will help you understand the difference between cross trainers and treadmills, which one is better for calories and other advantages/disadvantages to each machine.
So without further chat, let's get into it!
Before we can start our comparison of cross trainers and treadmills we should understand what each exercise machine is and how they work.
A cross trainer is similar to an exercise bike, except it doesn't have a saddle. The machine works by having moving handlebars and pedals which have adjustable resistance and incline from the flywheel on the machine.
You end up burning lots of calories on these elliptical machines due to the way they require you to push forward with your muscles, making them a perfect low-impact exercise to shed pounds.
Three main factors will determine how many calories you can burn on a cross-trainer; your weight, the duration of the workout and the intensity you are using the elliptical at.
Weight is a big factor with a cross trainer, if you do a 60-minute session on the elliptical and you weigh 80kg, you will end up burning much more calories than a 60kg person would performing the same workout.
Doing HIIT sessions on your cross trainer can also help you burn calories in a very short amount of time due to the high-intensity bursts and of course, you will likely burn more the longer your session goes on.
At an average ball mark, we could probably say the average person who uses a cross-trainer at medium intensity for one hour would burn anything from 600-750 calories.
To increase the burn on a cross-trainer you could try doing HIIT sessions or upping the resistance every time you workout.
A treadmill on the other hand is the best solution for runners. This device is a stationary flat machine that allows you to jog, run or walk at varying speeds or inclines you set. The track on the treadmill is typically motorised and will force you to keep up with it as you run, helping you maintain the pace.
Now your probably wondering, how many calories can I burn with a treadmill compared to a cross-trainer?
Well, as we mentioned above, this will also depend on your weight, level of fitness, session length and intensity. For example, if you run at 7mph on a treadmill for around an hour and you weigh 130 pounds, then you will burn around 720 calories, however, a 180-pound person could burn up to 1000 calories as they will have to work harder.
Ways to improve your calorie burn on a treadmill could by incorporating HIIT sessions, rising the incline and trying to increase your running/walking speed gradually through your sessions.
Now we understand what each exercise machine is, how they work and how many calories they can allow us to burn, let's compared the two machines and see how they match up to each other.
Treadmills are the more common option for home workout gyms, as they offer more speed options and allow you to build up your endurance as a runner, they are also the best if you would be looking to take your running outside as you can practice your form and consistent speed.
These exercise machines allow you to burn more calories in a shorter amount of time than you would on a cross-trainer and are great for toning the core of your body too, as well as the lower body.
If you are also short on space, a treadmill will fold up to have a smaller footprint than an elliptical would.
Drawbacks of treadmills have to be their expensive price for a quality model with fast running options, these machines are also not suited for people who have bad joints as it is very high-impact.
Using a treadmill may also feel harder for people and doesn't work your full body as a cross-trainer would. They are additionally noisier and less safe as your feet are not stable on the machine.
Cross trainers on the other hand might not burn calories as quick as treadmills do, but are argued to be better for burning fat and toning muscles as they involve your whole body when working out. Cross trainers are further very quiet to use and more affordable.
These machines have the advantage of being lighter on your joints as your feet stay in one place, meaning it's also safer as there is a low-risk of falling off the machine.
In terms of difficulty, cross trainers are much better for beginners and allow you to easily adjust the intensity of your workout via resistance.
Downfalls of cross-trainers in comparison to treadmills are that you burn fewer calories, they are also not the best for building up endurance and can take up a lot of space with their larger size.
After comparing the two machines above, we can probably say that if you have good joints, want to build up endurance and enjoy running, then a treadmill is the better choice for you.
However, if you hate running and want a cardio alternative, cross trainers can be perfect in aiding fat loss and the more suitable option to workout your full body with.
If your planning to lose weight with a cross trainer or treadmill then there are a couple of useful tips and tricks which could be worth implementing to help speed up your weight loss.
We have listed a few of the essential tips out below.
What's more expensive a cross trainer or a treadmill?
Treadmills do tend to be slightly more expensive than cross-trainers.
How many time should I do cardio a week?
You should do cardio at least three times a week as a beginner then include more sessions as your fitness grows.
What are the benefits of HIIT?
HIIT is a great workout to do on either a treadmill or a cross-trainer as it forces you to work at your maximum intensity within a short amount of time, helping you burn calories fast.
Overall, we hope you enjoyed our guide to cross trainers and treadmills, and it has helped you figure out which machine is right for you to aid with your weight loss journey.
Always remember calories burned on these machines will vary depending on the intensity and length of a session, as well as your weight.
Cross trainers are one of the best and most popular machines in the gym for getting that cardio session in, wether you are doing a 30 minute steady session or a full on HIIT workout, you can do this all on a cross trainer.
But how effective is it for cutting belly fat? Well, the answer to that is very, however it all depends on the speed and resistance you are using and how consistent your are with your exercise regime.
Find The Best Cross Trainers Here!
When using a cross trainer with a goal of weight loss, you want to be making sure you are doing intense and consistent workouts so as you can keep your heart rate up and burn the most amount of calories possible, this can be done by following a variety of different exercises for a set amount of time per week.
You need to achieve a good balance between pushing yourself and being able to maintain your workout at the same time, if you combine this with a calorie deficit and a healthy diet then you will be losing belly fat in no time.
Cardio, HIIT and resistance exercises are great for burning calories and increasing stamina, however there are pros and cons to each type of exercise and how they will aid in fat burn.
Doing a cardio session on your home cross trainer or at the gym is an effective way to lose weight, for example, not only does this kind of workout increase your endorphins and get your blood pumping, but a one hour session at a medium intensity can burn up to 600 calories easily on your machine!
HIIT is a great exercise to burn belly fat due to its high intensity which allows you to burn a large amount of calories in a short amount of time, great if you need to get a quick cross trainer workout in before work.
Using the HIIT method enables you to continue to burn calories for 24 hours after your session too!
The whole objective of this exercise is that you work at high intensity for a period of intervals followed by a rest and repeat process, this torches your body fat as it taps into your sugar and fat reserves to power through the high intensity, therefore is more effective in aiding fat loss.
Doing a resistance style workout on a cross trainer is not be underestimated in terms of helping you lose weight. By upping the resistance on the machine you can burn even more calories by doing the exact same workout for the same amount of time. This also helps tone your legs and build muscle.
Now we've got into how you can lose belly fat by using specific exercises on a cross trainer, you have to know that diet also comes into play to cut belly fat.
You can spend all the hours doing cardio or HIIT sessions on a machine, but if your not eating clean and at calorie deficit you will likely not see a change in your body.
The recommended amount of calories to cut per day for fat loss is 500 calories, or 3,500 calories a week in total which will result in a pound of fat lost each week, although if you are factoring in an HIIT session each day on the machine, then you may need a smaller deficit as this will already help in burning your existing calories.
Not only is a slight calorie deficit important when using a cross trainer to burn belly fat, but also so is what you eat.
You need to be eating a balanced diet of healthy fats, carbs and protein (don't forget some chocolate now and then) so as you can have enough energy to do your high intensity cross trainer workouts and burn maximum fat.
So now we know that having a healthy diet and getting enough cardio on your cross trainer are the magic mix for burning belly fat. There are few other tips and tricks that can super charge your fat burning journey while using your cross trainer.
Organise how many times as week you want to train and stick to it but make sure you include some rest days for your body to recover, for example if you do two HIIT sessions a week followed by one resistance or cardio, make sure you schedule it in and rest on the other days.
If you keep to a regular boring exercise regime when using your cross trainer then your body will get used to this style of exercise and your fat burning might plateau.
A solution to this is by doing HIIT workouts and cardio alternately so as your body can stay surprised and continue to lose weight.
Another solution is to increase the intensity of your workouts some days and lower it on others.
Find a style of workout to do on your cross trainer that challenges you but also that you enjoy, if you dread going on that cross trainer everyday then your likely to not be consistent with your training.
If you make sure you enjoy what you are doing then your more likely to keep up with it, thus giving consistent weight loss results.
An easy way to enjoy something is to set yourself challenges, for example, bumping up the resistance and speed every week so as you can see yourself getting fitter.
Rest days are important so as your body can recover and refuel itself for your next training day. The more muscle you have from training will also help your burn calories when resting.
If your over do your workouts this will inevitably put stress and strain on your body, once your body gets stressed its goes into something will call 'starvation mode', meaning your body will try and store more than it expands, making it harder for you to cut belly fat.
This means it's important to rest and not go too overboard with your training.
Using a cross trainer for workouts doesn't just help you cut fat, it also has numerous other benefits too.
As we already know, using a cross trainer can torch calories easily and give weight loss effects when combined with a healthy and nutritional diet.
By doing regular exercise on a cross trainer you will experience positive side effects such as anti-anxiety and mood stability.
Cardio exercise also lowers cortisol levels and increases the positive endorphin chemical instead, therefore raising your mood.
Using a cross trainer to exercise is very impact free due to your feet never leaving the pedals which is different to exercises such as running, which are very impactful due to the motion of your feet hitting the ground.
This reduces the chances of injury and strain on your legs in comparison to other exercises.
A cross trainer is effective on your whole body, however they can give even greater toning benefits to you glutes, hamstrings and quads.
You can change the intensity of this toning by adding up resistance to make your leg muscles work even harder.
Due to its cardio and resistance a cross trainer not only improves your stamina but can make you heart, lungs and muscles even stronger.
Strength benefits from a cross trainer can be even faster if you bump up the resistance.
If you want to know if cross trainers are good for bodybuilding, you can check it here.
Overall, with all the information we have provided you, you can probably see that it is very possible to lose belly fat by exercising with a cross trainer, as long as you combine it with a healthy diet and be consistent.
Cross trainers can work up to 80% of your muscles when used correctly and help burn fat not just during your workout but even for hours after.
So to conclude yes, you can lose weight, cut belly fat, and reap many other benefits by using a cross trainer consistently as part of a healthy life style. We recommend for full effect you combine this with HIIT workouts and normal cardio so as you can see results as quick as possible.
Everyone knows cross trainers are great for getting a cardiovascular workout in, but what about for building muscle too? Do this workout tool help with gym building muscle?
Well, although cross trainers will not help you build muscles in your arms and legs as much as weights will, they can help tone your muscles and make them more defined by helping with fat loss. They can additionally help you tone your leg muscles.
We have put together an informative guide below which will take you through which muscles your cross trainer and can help you tone, as well as some tips for bodybuilding with a cross-trainer below.
A cross trainer is a piece of cardio workout equipment and can make you lose weight if you combine these workouts with a calorie deficit.
If you do not eat at a calorie deficit and exercise with an elliptical trainer workout then you will not lose weight. For example, a person with an average weight of around 150 pounds can burn 225 calories per half an hour of a workout on a cross-trainer at a low intensity, combined with eating at a deficit can result in weight loss with up to three sessions a week.
This works out great if you are in the cutting process of your bodybuilding phase and want to lose weight, but if you are in the bulking process you want to ensure you are eating enough calories to avoid losing weight.
Find out here if cross trainers are good for weightlifting.
A cross train workout is extremely beneficial for your body as it is a full-body workout, allowing you to tone and strengthen numerous muscles at a time, from your leg muscles to your core muscles.
We will list the main muscle groups a cross trainer can help you tone and strengthen below.
During cross-training workouts, your hips are extended back and forth a lot which engages them and encourages growth. You can fire up your glutes and tone them by increasing the incline on your cross training workout to feel a bigger effect if needed, also try pedalling backwards.
Hamstrings in leg muscles are consistently engaged throughout a cross trainer workout through extension and flexion. When you sit back on your cross trainer and dig into your heels you can work your hamstrings more and get a nice workout in for your legs.
You can also try increasing the resistance or pedalling backwards.
When pressing down the pedals of your cross trainer it activates your quadricep muscles which helps you gain muscle strength over time. It is a great low impact exercise for a tired runner or an alternative workout for someone who has knee problems.
Both your triceps and chest are put to work on a cross trainer when you use the handlebars on your machine. As you pedal forwards and backwards with the poles this is what keep them activated, although you will not grow muscle this way, it can still tone your arms.
Even though cross trainers do not target your abdominal muscles in particular they can help strengthen your core.
The best way to put your core to test on these machines is by letting go of the handlebars and forcing your core to balance itself. As you work out, you should also think about squeezing your abdominals in while moving on the machine for maximum core engagement.
Your calves are located at the lower end of your leg muscles, they are activated when pedalling forwards and backwards and become toned along with the rest of your leg muscles. Especially when you increase the resistance and engage them even more.
It should be noted that a cross-trainer will not increase your calf size. You will need to do weight training for this.
Raising your heart rate while doing a cross-trainer workout activates your heart and increase blood flow to your muscles. Cardiovascular is very important for your heart health.
If you are wondering if cross trainer can slim thighs, this article is what you are looking for!
If you are in the bulking phase of bodybuilding, you want to concentrate on growing your muscles, not losing them or losing weight in general.
We have listed our best tips for using a cross-trainer when bodybuilding bulking below.
Doing a cardio body workout with a cross trainer is important during the cutting phase of your bodybuilding, we've listed our top tips below to help you out.
Will I lose muscle when using a cross trainer?
No, as long as you eat enough calories a cross trainer will not make you lose muscle, a matter of fact it will only make your muscles stronger.
What does cutting and bulking mean?
Bulking is a period of bodybuilding when you eat more calories to build muscle mass and strength, cutting is a period after where you have reached your muscle mass goal and you focus on getting rid of excess body fat while maintaining your muscle mass through weight training and cardio.
Are there any benefits to using a cross trainer?
There are many positives about cross workouts, they are a low impact alternative workout for running, they tone your lower leg muscles, improve cardiovascular health and are a general mood booster. The elliptical-training machine is also one of the only machines which give you a total full-body workout!
Is a treadmill or cross trainer better?
Cross trainers and treadmills both provide a good cardio workout as a stationary exercise machine, cross trainers are preferred over treadmills when it comes to working out leg muscles due to the resistance and are lower impact with a similar workout intensity.
Treadmills are better for an intense workout or for people who want to practice running.
Will a cross trainer help me build muscle in my lower body?
A cross trainer is great for your leg muscles, although it will not help you gain additional muscle it will tone and strengthen the leg muscles you already have such as your quadriceps muscles.
How long should I work out on a cross trainer for?
This depends on your goal, for weight loss and cutting you might aim for 3-4 times a week, but for bulking 1-2 times a week for cardiovascular health might be more beneficial.
To conclude, a cross trainer is good for cardiovascular health and can help you maintain your fitness during bodybuilding. Always remember to avoid high impact workouts on your cross trainer and eat enough calories if you are looking to build muscle and vice versa if you want to cut fat.
If you are new to your cross trainer, you need to make sure you introduce yourself slowly to the machine, to begin with, and warm yourself up before heading into intense physical activity.
There are many beginners workout routines you can do with an elliptical trainer to ease yourself in, but you should make sure your cross trainer workout is right for you, at a comfortable pace and the right duration.
So to help you out, we have composed a guide below that will go over how to use a cross trainer for a warm-up, how long should be using your elliptical trainer, how to perform beginner workout routines on your machine and our main teaching points to understand more about your cross-trainer.
If you are looking to do a full-body workout on either your treadmill or a different machine then an elliptical machine can be great for a warm-up.
This is because you have complete control over the resistance level, allowing you to set the cardio machine to activate your muscle activity and heart rate for warming up. They are typically low impact too, so will not tire you out too much before the main workout.
If you are wondering if cross trainers can be used for bodybuilding, this article will give you a detailed explanation.
If you want to warm up your legs muscles and body when using a cross trainer, you want to make sure you use your RPE to track how hard you are working. Your RPE refers to the rate of perceived exhaustion, or in other words, how much you feel you are working.
We have listed a short basic 10-minute warm-up to try on your cross trainer below.
There is lots of advice on how long you should work out with your cross trainer to get a good full-body workout in.
Typically, it is recommended to do at least 4x sessions a week for 30 minutes on your treadmill to get a recommended amount of exercise in as an adult per week.
But you should also consider your goals and time, for example, you might be keen to do 3x 20 minutes HIIT cardio workout programs to lose weight if you are short on time.
As a beginner, starting with 10 minutes on your cross trainer 3-4 times a week is a good way to ease yourself back into cardio exercise without burning yourself out. We would suggest upping the amount of time when you start to gain exercise confidence.
Doing 3-4 times 30-minute sessions on your cross trainer is more than enough for effective workouts, these can be used to help you lose weight or just maintain and improve your cardiovascular health.
Cross trainer elliptical workouts do not have to be exhausting as a beginner, they are simply about easing yourself back into a low-impact workout a couple of times per week.
We have listed a 25-minute beginner workout for you to try out below to get some calorie burning.
Cross trainers are a straightforward machine to understand once you get to know more about elliptical exercise and its benefits.
We have put together a shortlist of the main teaching points about using this low-impact cardio exercise machine below.
Cross trainers are great for losing weight, but to achieve results you have to make sure that you are watching your calorie intake and that you are in a deficit. You should be eating below your maintenance calories while working out with your cross-trainer at least 3-5 times a week to help with burning calories and fat.
Although cross trainers do target legs muscles, they are not the best for building muscle, instead, they tone it through resistance exercises. To avoid losing muscle make sure you are in a calorie surplus or to help tone your muscle you can try using a higher resistance exercise mode. Find out here if cross trainers are the best for building your muscles.
An elliptical exercise machine cannot help your spot reduce fat, but it can cause weight loss all over your body which might lead to reduced belly fat. Once again this has to be combined with a healthy diet and a calorie deficit, however.
Using a cross trainer is easy, just make sure that your weight is on your heels when you pedal, you make use of the handlebars and keep your back straight to avoid strain on the upper body.
What are the benefits of warming up with a cross-trainer?
Cross trainers are very low-impact machines, so are perfect for people who have knee issues or do not like the impact of normal running.
How many times a week should I use my cross trainer?
This all depends on your goal, for weight loss 4-5 times, but for beginners, 3x sessions a week is more achievable.
Can I use a cross-trainer to cool down?
Yes, just simply set your cross trainer to a comfortable pace and cool down for around 5 minutes until your heart rate starts to slow.
Overall, cross trainers are a great machine for warming up with or working out within general as a beginner, just ensure you follow a structured beginner workout plan like our one above and follow our main teaching points to understand more about your machine and what it can do for you.
What type of cross trainer you should use? Check this comparison between magnetic cross trainers and flywheel cross trainers.
