Gazelle Vs. Exercise Bike

Depending on your goals for fitness, the Gazelle elliptical-type exercise machine or an exercise bike may be a better choice for you. Both provide you with the opportunity to create aerobic and anaerobic workouts and lower-body resistance work, as well. That's where the similarities end, however.

Mechanics

Both exercise machines rely heavily on leg movements. The exercise bike has you pedaling, while the Gazelle has you striding in a standing position, using the arms more or less, depending on what muscles you wish to exercise. Both offer different resistance settings. Depending on the bike you have, you may be able to change resistance settings without stopping your exercise. With the Gazelle, you'll have to stop your workout, get off the machine and manually change the resistance setting. This takes a matter of seconds.
Exercise bikes come in traditional and recumbent versions, with the latter requiring you to sit while leaning slightly back with your hands below your hips the entire time. If you are cyclist, a traditional exercise bike will give you a more realistic training aid for racing since you mimic the riding position and your knees go higher than on a Gazelle.

Aerobic Capabilities

Both the Gazelle and the bike allow you to exercise in your aerobic zone by increasing or decreasing resistance settings. By increasing the resistance settings, you'll get your heart rate up because you'll have to work harder against the resistance; however, this may cause you to fatigue faster and shorten your workout. Decreasing the resistance settings on the machines allows you to pedal or stride faster, raising your heart rate with increased intensity, but less overall muscular effort.

Anaerobic Capabilities

Both machines allow you to sprint train, most easily by decreasing the resistance settings to increase the pace of your leg movements. On the bike, you'll sprint by pedaling at an extremely high rate for 30 to 90 seconds, depending on your conditioning, then coasting during the recovery portion of your interval training. With the Gazelle, you will perform a "Power Glide," consisting of either increased upper- or lower-body movements to move the machine's levers and pedals at a fast rate. During your recovery, you'll use smaller strides and no arm movements.

Muscle-Building Capabilities

This is where the two machines part company. An exercise bike limits your workout to your lower body; standing on the pedals will require a bit more upper-body effort, but won't give you a true upper-body workout. The Gazelle allows you to target upper-body muscles with decreased use of the legs during the workout.

Body Shaping Capabilities

A bike works primarily the quadriceps and calves, with the glutes and hamstring also involved throughout your workout. The Gazelle allows you to target many specific muscles for resistance work, including the calves, quads, hip flexors, hamstrings, glutes, biceps, pectorals, triceps, deltoids and lats. You target muscles by changing your body position on the machine. For example, leaning forward targets different muscles than leaning backward. Keeping your elbows in works the biceps and chest, while flaring your elbows out from your side targets the triceps and lats. Standing sideways on the machines lets you work inner and outer leg muscles.