Which is better, a Treadmill or a Exercise Bike?

Two of our most popular items over the last 13 years across our whole site are our Treadmills and Exercise Bikes. The benefits of working from home are obvious, no hassle of getting organised and packing a bag and going out to the gym, others watching as you splutter and sweat your way through your workout as they wonder why you are not wearing the latest gym clothing fad.

Also, while things are getting better slowly, we do not have sufficient bike lanes or safe places outside to run and/or walk, particularly for this of us living in rural areas but many of the cities are not set up well either.

Ask any tourist, but we are not well know for our weather in Ireland. We’ve all left the house in warm sunny weather for a walk or a cycle, only to be soaked half an hour later. That is not an issue when working out from home.

The big factor though is the cost. Gym prices have sky rocketed and it is just no affordable. A treadmill or bike should last you ten years plus, once they are looked after. Also, most gyms are only open at certain times, often can have equipment that is not working or you can not get to even use the equipment you desire as too many people are already using it. So, we will give you some information below and you can make your mind up and buy what is best for you. You can always also get both and we have some great discounts on bike and treadmill combination bundles.

Please feel free to call our advisors on 0214389345 who will be happy to talk you through the options of products that are open to you and will let you know the best option, at the best price, for you.

Reasons to use treadmill as compared to other exercise equipment

1. Weight loss and improved fitness.

Treadmills have helped millions of people to achieve their weight loss and fitness goals and they may be able to help you too.

Walking, jogging and running on a treadmill can help you burn a lot of excess calories and can improve the strength and health of your heart and lungs.

Walking at 5 kilometres per hour (3 miles per hour) burns nearly 8 kilojoules / 2 calories per kilo of body weight every half an hour. For a person weighing 100 kilos, that equates to 800 kilojoules or 200 calories every 30 minutes.

Jogging at 10 kilometres per hour (6 miles per hour) burns 21 kilojoules / 5 calories per kilo of body weight every half hour. For a person weighing 100 kilos, that equates to 2100 kilojoules or 500 calories every 30 minutes.

Running at 14 kilometres per hour (9 miles per hour) burns 30 kilojoules / 7 calories per kilo of body weight per half hour. Again, for a person weighing 100 kilos, that equates to 3000 kilojoules or 700 calories every 30 minutes.

Walking and jogging on a treadmill is also great for raising your heart rate into the zones most appropriate for weight loss and fitness.

An image of our C-44 Treadmill

2. Treadmills can help prevent you from training too hard.

One of the most common mistakes people make when they first start exercising is to walk, jog or run too fast.

Training too hard in the beginning of your walking or jogging program can lead to injuries and may encourage you to quit because you feel it\’s too hard and not worth all the effort.

By helping to regulate the speed at which you walk, jog and run, treadmills can help you avoid this common exercise mistake.

Some treadmills are even sophisticated enough to adjust the speed of the walking belt by monitoring your heart rate.

What a great way to make sure you\’re always training in the right heart rate zone!

3. You can make small adjustments as your fitness improves.

Because the speed of most treadmills can be adjusted in very small increments, treadmills are perfect for training at increasingly higher intensities once you\’ve built a base level of fitness.

Because making treadmills go a little faster or a little slower can be done with the touch of a button, they are also great for including interval training into your routine where you walk, jog and run at various speeds within the same workout.

4. A treadmill can be used at anytime.

One of the greatest benefits of owning a treadmill is that you can exercise when you want, day or night, hot or cold, sun or rain.

Many of us today lead hectic lives and find it hard to fit exercise into our busy schedules.

What we need is the ability to exercise when we want and for as long as we want.

Having a treadmill at home can be better than joining a gym in this respect because we don\’t need to worry about gym opening and closing times and having to share our treadmill with a hundred other time-poor exercisers.

5. Make maximum use of your time.

Owning a treadmill allows you to get your daily exercise done while you\’re doing other things, like watching your favourite TV show or listening to your favourite music.

Watching TV while walking or jogging on a treadmill often makes your workout seem a lot shorter and even a little easier. All of our Next Generation Treadmills have a built in screen that allows you to watch YouTube, Netflix etc. or anything else you can normally watch online. WiFi must of course be available where the machine is located.

Benefits of Using an Exercise Bike

The advantages of utilising an exercise bike at home are explored here What are the confirmed scientific benefits of using an exercise bike, and is it appropriate for you? Some of these advantages will astound you, and they might even help you stay active and healthy for a very long time.

#1. The weather is always ideal for spinning at home.

The Irish weather isn\’t just bad for BBQs; it might also decide to pour rain on that free afternoon when you were planning to go biking. Fortunately, one of the biggest advantages of spinning at home is that the weather and temperature are always perfect.

#2 – It is safe to cycle at home.

Having access to suitable and safe cycling terrain is another significant disadvantage of outdoor cycling. Cycling can be particularly dangerous for city dwellers because you have to share the road with large trucks.

Additionally, cycling in polluted places has a hidden cost because breathing exhaust fumes damages your lungs and defeats the purpose of most cyclists\’ efforts to improve their health. The fact that the only risk you face from using an exercise bike at home is dehydration is another huge plus!

#3. It\’s beneficial for your heart. Benefits of Home exercise Bike Use

Spinning is a great aerobic exercise since it burns a lot of calories and gets your heart rate up. Although many of us focus on the immediate effects of exercise (namely, weight loss), routinely pushing your heart through high-intensity workouts has some very significant long-term benefits. If you want to acquire some incredibly exact information about your heart rate, wear a heart rate monitor.

An image of our S-240 B Bike

#4: Spinning strengthens you

Spinning doesn\’t strictly count as strength training, but it does assist your lower body tone and gain muscle.

Exercise bikes, as was already said, have a variety of speeds that can be utilized to increase strength – more quickly than you might expect! Your lower-body muscles will expand and adapt surprisingly quickly to handle higher gears.

Reaching a higher level than you could previously manage or putting in more time at your top gear may be tremendously motivating, even if you\’re not into documenting your workout statistics in detail.

#5: YOU MANAGE THE EXERCISE INTENSITY

The fact that you can completely regulate the intensity of your workout when you exercise at home is one of its best features. 

#6: SPINNING IS A LOW IMPACT EXERCISE

During a decent home spin workout, your body will likely experience the most impact where your bum touches the seat. Spin classes at home have almost no negative effects on your joints compared to more strenuous kinds of exercise (looking at you, treadmill).

#7: BALANCE YOUR LIFE BETTER

A recent study found that upright cycling, such as spinning or the standard \”outside\” form, helps enhance stability and balance, particularly as we age.

#8 IT’s FUN!

Most of us will have many happy memories of being out with our friends on our bikes. Cycling on a exercise bike can evoke those memories when we thought we were Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche or Sam Bennett.

An image of our Revolution Active Exercise Bike

#9: NO ONE IS WATCHING YOU CYCLE AT HOME!

If you\’ve ever visited a commercial gym and found the selection of exercise bikes to be a little frightening, your living room at home is the ideal setting for getting comfortable with spinning and finding your footing.

#10: You\’ll burn a ton of calories.

Spinning is a really powerful kind of exercise, and it doesn\’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out.