elliptical / ski and rowing machines vs running

[Nutt]

touched on in a previous thread, but what are some opinions on this for conditioning?

hitting the bag is in my humble opinion the ultimate for conditioning, but we all need to swap up some times, and I can see the joy a lot of people get from running. I think it makes them biased thou :p

Running is a bit of a tradition in martial arts, and while I can see its benefits I think rowing is just as, if not more taxing on the C.V. system, Im still not sure on the elliptical, even though I do all my cardio on it.

personally while I can walk very fast, for very long, I cant run for shit as about 10 mins in my shins decide its time to play how much can I burn. pretty sure its because I'm very flat footed, giving me shin splints if I over use them. been working hard on my calves lately so will give it a shot again soon however.

with the elliptical, according to the heart rate / calorie monitor thingies I can burn a shit load of calories, and therefore perform a shit load of work, while feeling relatively good about it. admittedly I do this in the gym, while ( discretely) checking out any eye candy and watching the just bearable TV stations with nine inch nails pumping in my headphones. Its about the easiest on your joints, which has to be good.

keep meaning to try the stair stepper thingy they have too.

[Dan's Knuckles]

If you've got flat feet and your shins burn when you run, try strengthening your toe flexors, do towel scrunches and pick up millions of marbles with your toes, it's not your calves (gastroc-soleus complex) that you need to strengthen, it's your tibialis posterior and deep flexors you should work on. Also, try using a motion control running shoe, that helps me, and if that doesn't work, you could try orthotics.

[Keith Shillan]

Originally Posted by Nutt

touched on in a previous thread, but what are some opinions on this for conditioning?

hitting the bag is in my humble opinion the ultimate for conditioning, but we all need to swap up some times, and I can see the joy a lot of people get from running. I think it makes them biased thou :p

Running is a bit of a tradition in martial arts, and while I can see its benefits I think rowing is just as, if not more taxing on the C.V. system, Im still not sure on the elliptical, even though I do all my cardio on it.

personally while I can walk very fast, for very long, I cant run for shit as about 10 mins in my shins decide its time to play how much can I burn. pretty sure its because I'm very flat footed, giving me shin splints if I over use them. been working hard on my calves lately so will give it a shot again soon however.

with the elliptical, according to the heart rate / calorie monitor thingies I can burn a shit load of calories, and therefore perform a shit load of work, while feeling relatively good about it. admittedly I do this in the gym, while ( discretely) checking out any eye candy and watching the just bearable TV stations with nine inch nails pumping in my headphones. Its about the easiest on your joints, which has to be good.

keep meaning to try the stair stepper thingy they have too.

Personally I use them all. I know some people think sticking with one thing is best but I get bored. I usually run 2 miles in the morning. It is mostly hills so it makes it more fun then say running on the track. I do extra cardio at night. Mon, Wed, and Fri, I do 400 meter sprints or interval training. Tues, Thurs, and Sat, I do sprints on a football field. Going 5 yards more each time. On Sunday (If I don't take it off) I will do any of the following lightly (Rowing, Stair machiine, elliptical, mechanical bike, or treadmill).

Basically what I am saying is try mixing it up. It will make it more fun. Also you don't have to go all out every time. I have burnt myself out many times doing it.

[Flounder]

While I think all three offer different things, I think the key is your HR, and the HR zone you're trying to work if you're strictly doing it for conditioning. I find rowing very boring. I actually like the treadmill. The elipitical is ok, but it really works my legs making training any length of time difficult, although I do mix it in to build up my legs more.