What's better 3000 steps of high-resistance elliptical machine "steps" or 10000 daily walking steps?

[FeelsLike]

I have a small portable elliptical machine that I often use on a high resistance level so that it's harder to do the exercise than walking? Is there an equivalency to normal walking steps vs high resistance setting elliptical machine rotations? 

[MarciM]

Hi @FeelsLike 

I think it really depends on what your goal. Are you focused on general movement, getting your heart rate into a cardio zone or preparing for a distance walk. I like to track steps and heart rate, but on a really busy day with little time to walk, I might focus on high resistance elliptical or spinning for a short period of time to get my heart pumping. 

[FeelsLike]

Thanks, MarciM - I guess this a "minimal effective dose" question. And: My goal, for now, is to maximize the health benefits (i.e. increased healthspan/longevity) of cardio and resistance training - not really to optimize athletic fitness or aesthetics. And then there are the immune system benefits for example, as Dr. Rhonda Patrick recently put it quoting a new major study: 

"Routinely engaging in 150 min. of exercise per week may protect against severe COVID-19. People who are sedentary had a 2-fold higher chance of being hospitalized and a 2.5-fold higher risk of death compared to those that are highly physically active."

[Heybales]

Sounds like you've been hitting some of the research. Good.

Walking may be a workout for the cardiovascular right now - but it can easily not be anymore as CV system improves.

And if you are losing weight, usually pace can only go up so fast to compensate for moving less mass - so then it can easily stop being even as much of a workout as it used to be.

Getting the HR actually up there higher, even if for shorter time - is generally going to allow better health benefits.

Include time in the equation - like your available time to actually do it, may make the hard workout more realistic on continuing basis.

Steps should be left out of the discussion as it's rather meaningless - except for challenges.

But never let a "step" challenge prevent you from actually doing a more "challenging" workout for you.

[emili]

@FeelsLike so based on your research and input from Marcy and Hey, what did you decide?