benefits of an exercise machine

[lmft]

i would like to tone my body, such as building muscle in my legs and losing fat in my stomach. i was wondering what type of exercise machine would be more beneficial, a treadmill or an exercise bike?

[Impret-Sir]

Neither will build muscle, although running does firm the muscles of the legs. Both are good for trimming waistlines, if you use them hard enough and often enough for long enough. If I could only have one machine, and was not going to do any other form of excersise, for example weight training, then I would opt for a rower, it is a good calorie burner, but will also tone more muscle groups than the other two.

[snook]

I agree, a rower gives you tremendous exercise, but remember you can get a really good workout using bodyweight exercises (press ups, squats, squat thrusts, skipping, chins, shadow boxing, etc.).

The main drawback with any exercise machine is that you get fed up doing the same thing over and over again, but you can vary it all the time if you use freehand exercises instead/as well.