Stationary biking

I  have a question for you fitness guru's ..  Which would be a more beneficial workout for the lower body..   Riding the bike ( HILLS AND VALLEY'S ) at a 5.0 speed for 30 minutes or 30 min on the eliptical ..  AM curious as to how good a workout  the stationary bike is . I also do weights for upper body. Thanks for any or all responses . Shirl

Really the best way to analyze this is by measuring your heart rate. I don't really know what "5.0" speed means; i can't imagine it would mean 5 mph. Heart rate does not directly measure caloric burn but if you find a level for each that produces the same heart rate, you can be quite confident that you are burning a similar number of calories. Let me know if this helps. If you need more clarification please let me know.

I'm finding out that the eliptical machine works my heart better than the stationery bike does. Now I've ridden my bicycle 2 to 3 miles...  I can do 30 minutes on the bike easily but I just started the eliptical this week, and I'll tell you what...I am just at 3 minutes right now.  I'll work it up to 30 but I've had to deal with a bad hip and my physical therapist told me that the eliptical machine would be the ideal exercise for me.  give it a try and see what you think.  It's an intense workout that is for sure and you will feel it right away.

If your gym has a Treadmill with adjustable incline, I'd use that. I have mine set at 2.5 incline and a speed of 2.5 - 3.0, and after 15 - 20 minutes on it I'm sweating like a mad-woman! If you're going to do the stationary bike, try switching to the recumbant bike (lower to the ground, less knee impact). Set it to level 10 - 12 and try to keep the RPMs between 65 and 85... that keeps my heart rate in the target range while burning the most calories.* *Of course, your heart rate/caloric needs will be different from mine, so check with your doc or trainer!