running will burn more calories than the elliptical although it's pretty close (about 100 calories per hour difference). some of the difference is due to the pounding of running and the fact that you propel your body through the air so that both feet are off the ground simultaneously. this kind of movement takes lots of energy. both the elliptical and running burn substantially more calories than the bike at the same level of perceived exertion (about 200-240 calories per hour more). in a classic study comparing energy expenditure of exercise machines the order of calories burned from highest to lowest is posted below. (the elliptical was not studied in this research but it would fit between rowing and cross-country skiing. it should be noted that rowing the elliptical and cross-country skiing are all very close in calorie expenditure with probably not more than 100-125 calories per hour difference among them. ) treadmill walking/running stair stepping rowing cross-country skiing biking (stationary) now this is not to say that exercises that burn the fewest calories are all bad. to the contrary you can get a great workout and burn lots of calories doing any of them. you'd be hard pressed to say that lance armstrong isn't fit. he's one of the fittest human beings alive and he did it by biking. the point is that if you work hard enough on any of the exercise machines and you work up a sweat and you get your heart rate into your training zone then your heart lungs and muscles aren't going to know the difference. bottom line is that you'll get fit and healthy using any of the machines if you use them consistently and with sufficient intensity. one final note: there is error in estimating energy expenditure on most if not all exercise machines. in some cases it can be as high as 25 percent (the machine overestimates how many calories you burn). there are simply too many variables for the machine to give you an accurate number and so you need to keep that in mind during weight-loss efforts if you are calculating how many calories to eat based on your energy expenditure. the answer depends on many different things since your weight the type of exercise how intense you are doing each exercise and how long you do each exercise will all influence how many calories you burn. simply put however i would say that you have the potential to burn the most calories by running followed by biking and lastly by using the elliptical. one way to measure how many calories you burn during exercise is to look at metabolic equivalents (mets). mets are a way to measure and gauge the amount of energy you burn during physical activity with 1 met being equal to the energy you burn simply being at rest. for instance running at a 10 minute mile pace is roughly the equivalent of 10 mets or ten times the calories you burn at rest. unfortunately there really is no good answer for how many mets you burn while using an elliptical. a study entitled “2011 compendium of physical activities: a second update of codes and met values” only lists using an elliptical at a moderate intensity which was the equivalent of 5 mets. for comparison bicycling with a moderate effort (12-13. 9mph) is 8 mets. you can find a comprehensive list of mets by doing an internet search for “compendium of physical activities tracking guide”. websites utilizing a formula involving these met values for each type of exercise along with your weight and the duration can help to estimate how many calories you will burn during exercise. keep in mind that these are just based off of averages but one such site is: <link>. play around with the types of activities and the duration of the activity to see what can provide you with the most calories burned.
does using an elliptical machine at the gym burn more calories than running on the street or bike riding?